Maine Memory Network

William Ellery on shipping fees, Newport, Rhode Island, 1789

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1789-08-29 Location: Newport Media: Ink on paper

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Roger Sherman on import taxes, New York, 1789

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1789-05-06 Location: Philadelphia Media: Ink on paper

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Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.

This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War

For Mainers like many other people in both the North and the South, the Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, had a profound effect on their lives. Letters, artifacts, relics, and other items saved by participants at home and on the battlefield help illuminate the nature of the Civil War experience for Mainers.

Mantor Library, University of Maine Farmington

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Freedom & Captivity Portal

The Freedom & Captivity digital collection in the Maine Memory Network, and the complete digital archive housed at Colby Special Collections, is a repository of personal testimonies, ephemera, memorabilia, artifacts, and visual materials that capture multiple dimensions of the experiences of incarceration for individuals, families, and communities, as well as for survivors of harm.