DEAR SUN SPOTS: My great-grandfather, James Albee Parsons, born June 28 1860, lived near Marston’s Corner in Auburn. He died July 10 1902, as a result of an accident. Does anyone have any information concerning him? He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn near where he lived. He was married to Ida (Brown) Parsons and had three children. Thank you. — aepell@metrocast.net

ANSWER: A lot of people write to Sun Spots looking for people, and she can rarely offer them much help. But as so often happens with this column, one of her readers — in this case a genealogist — has come through with some helpful suggestions.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I came across the Aug. 16 request for information and photos of Pasquale Sandonato’s restaurant in 1946-47.

I did not answer the granddaughter’s letter via email, as a bad experience led me to abandon email, but I have some information you might want to share with her.

I use Lewiston-Auburn city directories available in both local libraries for names, addresses, etc. These treasures date back to the late 1800s. They also contain a good amount of business advertisement, too.

Another really good resource are the Ferris Sanborn Co. fire maps, prepared and used by insurance companies until the 1960s. They contain detailed town plats of buildings (with lots of details of occupancy), streets and fire mains. I love them!

The Lewiston library has two such original maps in color. They were used by the Lewiston Fire Department and have been corrected (with paste-ins). You will find them in the reference room.

The University of Maine Library in Portland has a set of Sanborn fire maps for each city in Maine. They are located in the UM Library reference room. There is no fee for making copies.

The University of Maine in Orono has a complete set of original (in color) Sanborn fire maps, a gift from the Library of Congress after they microfilmed them a number of years ago. Each state received original copies of their cities.

Also, visit the Androscoggin County museum in the County Court House. In the office there are many file cabinets loaded with all sorts of interesting material. Not all of it is sorted very well, so you do have to do a bit of digging. — Doug Rogers, family history researcher, Auburn

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am in search of a relative of a resident of Lewiston who died March 9, 1994. The relative, a classmate of mine, was the daughter of Alden B. Wilson.

I have been searching for her for quite some time for an upcoming 50-year high school reunion. Priscilla Jeanne is the last classmate to be found. She graduated with me from Taunton High School in Taunton, Mass., in 1963.

In my search for Priscilla, I found out her father died in Lewiston. I have been searching in your obituaries archives for Alden’s obituary or death notice, and I have not been able to locate it. I thought it might have a reference of where his daughter Priscilla was living at the time of his death.

At the time of his death, he was living at 65 Googin St. in Lewiston. Alden and his daughter were living in Boston, which made me wonder why he moved to Lewiston. Maybe they have relatives living there. After all, someone would have made the funeral arrangements.

Any assistance you can give me with my search would be appreciated. Perhaps you can give me a different direction to search. — Norma Lima, njlima@verizon.net

ANSWER: The tips Doug provided probably won’t help you much unless you come to Maine. But because your request is more recent, readers may actually know Priscilla or her dad and contact you.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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