How to Find 1700s Scarborough Birth Records: A Guide to the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Don Taylor

Introduction

Scarborough’s 18th-century birth records can be challenging to locate, but many have been preserved thanks to the work of early genealogists. This post explains where to find these transcribed Scarborough records in the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, how to access them online, and tips for searching them effectively.

Why Use the Recorder?

Original town records from the 1700s can be scattered or hard to read. Fortunately, historian S. M. Watson transcribed many early Scarborough births and published them in the late 1800s. Today, these volumes are digitized, OCR-scanned, and freely available on the Internet Archive.

Where to Look

Scarborough birth records appear in three volumes:

• Volume V (1888) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 56–60, 114–121, 134–138, and 214–220. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg05port/page/n55/mode/2up

• Volume VI (1889) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 302–310, 367–377, and 396–406. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg06port/page/n301/mode/2up

• Volume VII (1893) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 46–51. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg07port/page/n45/mode/2up

How to Search

Use the “Search Inside” box (usually in the top left corner of the Internet Archive page) to search for surnames. For example:

– A search for “Harmon” in Volume V brings up 27 matches.
– The first result is in the index.
– The fourth result (page 58) shows that Elizabeth Harmon, daughter of James and Elizabeth, was born November 28, 1764. Isaac, their son, was born March 31, 1770.
– Page 60 shows that John and Mary Harmon had eight children from 1747 to 1761.

This method saves time and can help you quickly find ancestors in these historic records.

Genealogy Tip

Always cross-check transcriptions with any available original records to confirm accuracy.

Thanks to S. M. Watson’s dedication, these volumes remain a valuable resource for anyone researching Scarborough’s earliest families.

Posted in Genealogy Resources, How-to Guides, Local Records & Archives, Scarborough History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How to Find 1700s Scarborough Birth Records: A Guide to the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder

A Glimpse of the Southgate House in Dunstan Village

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Don Taylor

The Southgate House has been a landmark of Dunstan Village, Scarborough, Maine, since the early 1800s. Built around 1805–1810 by members of the Southgate family, the house served as an inn and tavern for travelers along the Portland Road—today’s U.S. Route 1. The Southgates were an influential family in Scarborough’s early history, with Dr. Robert Southgate playing a prominent civic and religious role.

Aerial photo of the Southgate House, circa 1960s
Southgate House (Aerial) 2025.16.11b

This aerial photo, likely taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s, shows the house’s distinctive wrap-around porch and the surrounding barns and outbuildings that once supported its use as both a home and a working farm. For generations, the Southgate House stood as a welcoming stop for locals and visitors alike, symbolizing the village’s long tradition of hospitality and community life.

The building remains a reminder of Dunstan’s rich past and the families who shaped Scarborough’s history.

Today, the historic Southgate House has been repurposed and now serves as affordable housing managed by Avesta Housing. The property—formerly including the original farmhouse and barns—was fully redeveloped between 2015 and 2018 into a 38-unit residence for individuals and families earning between 50%–60% of the area median income [Source].

The centerpiece, the historic 1805 brick farmhouse built by Dr. Robert Southgate, underwent internal renovation to include eight apartments, while additional apartment buildings were constructed on the surrounding three-acre parcel [Source]. This development was honored with a 2021 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award for its successful fusion of historic preservation and affordable housing [Source]

The Southgate House no longer operates as a farm or inn. Instead, it provides community-focused, income-restricted rental housing, blending its rich history with meaningful contemporary use.

(This article was developed with the help of ChatGPT and edited using Grammarly.)

Posted in Buildings, Dunstan, Local Landmarks | Tagged , , | Comments Off on A Glimpse of the Southgate House in Dunstan Village

Knight’s Furniture: A Dunstan Village Landmark

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Don Taylor

Knight’s Furniture was once a beloved family-run business at the heart of Dunstan Village in Scarborough, Maine. Located on U.S. Route 1, the store served generations of local families with quality furniture and home goods, all within a converted barn that became a familiar landmark.

At a time when Dunstan Corner was a bustling stop along the main coastal route, Knight’s was part of a thriving village economy that included small shops, gas stations, and restaurants. Many remember stopping in to browse sturdy bedroom sets, dining tables, and living room pieces.

As Scarborough grew and larger retail stores changed the furniture business, Knight’s eventually closed, but its barn and the memories live on in the stories of residents who furnished their homes through this trusted local store.

Aerial photo of Knight's Furniture, circa 1960.
Photo: Knight’s Furniture (Aerial) 2025.16.13)

This aerial view, taken around 1960, shows Knight’s Furniture at its peak — a reminder of Dunstan village’s role as a vital hub in Scarborough’s commercial past.

Today, this area, 581 US Route 1, is home to Suburban Home Outfitters and Gurley Antiques Gallery, “A Quality Multi-Dealer Shop.”

(This article was developed with the help of ChatGPT and edited using Grammarly.)

Posted in Businesses, Dunstan, Local Landmarks | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Updates June 2025

Posted on July 1, 2025 by Don Taylor

Library

Middle Room

Tax Valuation Books

“Explore the Scarborough Valuation Books to uncover property and personal wealth details of residents and non-residents from Scarborough’s past. A valuable genealogy and local history resource, fully indexed for easy searching; many of the books/registers have been digitized.”

Videos

The Development of Higgins Beach, presented by Rodney Laughton, 5 May 2025, for the Scarborough Historical Society.

Blog Posts

Letting Out the Poor by Ron Romano

The Clam Man of the Spurwink: Ivory Kilborn’s Shoreline Legacy

The McCullum (Hunnewell) House: Scarborough’s Red House and Its Legacy

Links

Maine Links

Historical Societies

Maine Historical Society

Research

Annual Reports – Town of Scarborough

Updated the 1853-1854 Finance and School Reports on Digital Maine & Internet Archive to better copies..

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Updates June 2025

Scarborough Town Farm Cemetery

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Don Taylor

Ron Romano’s The Graves of Scarborough’s Paupers: The Town Farm Cemetery, 1867–1891 offers a moving, thoroughly researched account of Scarborough’s 19th-century approach to caring for its poorest citizens. When the town purchased the Brackett Farm in 1867, it became a self-sustaining alms house for residents who were unhoused, mentally or physically unwell, or otherwise unable to care for themselves. A cemetery was established onsite, where at least 19 individuals were interred, including Deborah Dyer and Priscilla Burnham. Romano reconstructs lives often forgotten, using town reports, census data, vital records, and cemetery surveys. He details the farm’s operations, changes in overseers, and the transition of remains from the farm’s cemetery to Dunstan Cemetery around 1891. The cemetery and farm, once central to Scarborough’s welfare efforts, are now lost to development, but through this paper, their history and the names of those buried there are spoken again and remembered.

Topics include:

  • The 1821 Town Warrant
  • Scarborough’s Earliest Annual Reports
  • 1850 & 1860 US Censuses for Scarborough
  • “The Poor of the Town Should Find a Home”
  • The Sad End of Daniel Richards
  • More Than Four Decades of Care for Samuel Snow
  • The Brackett Farm becomes the Town Farm
  • The First Residents of the Farm
  • Deborah Dyer: First to Be Buried at the Town Farm Cemetery
  • The Farm’s Second Keepers
  • Following the Paper Trail
  • The Whereabouts of Samuel Plaisted’s Remains
  • Through the 1870s
  • Through the 1880s
  • More Burials at the Town Farm Cemetery
  • Into the 1890s
  • The Longest-term Resident of the Farm
  • Curiosities in the 1892 Town Report
  • Checking Records Through 1899
  • The Overworked Matron
  • The End of the Farm
  • Lingering Questions…
  • …and Summary Thoughts
  • The Paupers’ Field at Dunstan Cemetery

There are also four appendices:

  • Appendix A: Those who died at the Town Farm, 1867 to 1891, and are believed to have been interred at the farm cemetery.
  • Appendix B: Overseers of the Town Farm, 1867 to 1900 (As recorded in Town Annual Reports).
  • Appendix C: Number of Residents at the Town Farm, 1867 to 1900 (some years unreported).
  • Appendix D: Others who died while under the town’s care and may be buried at Dunstan Cemetery’s paupers’ field.

Find the report/paper HERE.

Posted in Cemeteries, History, Notable Papers & Presentations, Scarborough History, Social Welfare & Poor Relief | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scarborough Town Farm Cemetery