Transcribing Peter E. Vose
2025-09-30 18:30 - 20:00 UTC | Lincoln Memorial Public Library, 17 King Street, Dennysville, ME, 04628, United States
Note: Scroll to the end for the Zoom link to this meeting
On Tuesday, September 30, at 6:30 p.m. the Dennys River Historical Society will present the story of the community as seen through the eyes of a local nineteenth century teacher, storekeeper, selectman, magistrate, deacon and family man.
For forty-six years, Dennysville resident Peter E. Vose wrote nearly every day in his diary. He was a careful observer of life in Washington County, Maine and commented on local, state, national and international events and personalities. Starting in 1853, Vose filled three volumes totaling more than 1,500 pages. At an average of 500 words per page, the Dennysville selectman and Congregational Church deacon penned some three-quarters of a million words.
The Dennys River Historical Society (DRHS) has made a digital copy of the page-images of the diary. The images are in digital format, but they are not digitized, meaning they cannot be searched by names or keywords using a computer. What is needed to make the diaries truly searchable is a transcription of what Vose wrote by hand transcribed into a computer document. The task of transcribing 1,500 pages of difficult-to-read handwriting is daunting. As an experiment, DRHS member James Oberly has applied a machine-learning/artificial intelligence computer program to transcribe the images of Vose’s sometimes blurry handwriting into a text document. Oberly will share what he learned about using artificial intelligence as a tool for the DRHS and other local historical societies in Maine, as well as what he learned by searching Vose’s diaries for insights into Dennysville and Washington County history.
ZOOM LINK:
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/88944550352

A Chance to View The Great "She"Bible
2025-10-28 18:30 - 20:00 | Lincoln Memorial Public Library, 17 King Street, Dennysville, ME, 04628, United States
Most people have heard of the King James Bible, but how many have actually seen an original copy? Translated by a team of seventy scholars from Oxford, Cambridge and Westminster in England under the authority of the newly crowned King James I, this famous edition became the standard Bible for the English-speaking world for nearly four hundred years.
On Tuesday, October 28, at 6:30 p.m., a full-sized original printed edition will be on display during a presentation by the Dennys River Historical Society at the Lincoln Memorial Public Library in Dennysville. Source of many common phrases like “an eye for an eye”, “by the skin of our teeth”, “a thorn in the flesh”, “let there be light,” the story of how this book came to be published in 1611 will be the subject of the evening’s program.
One of about 250 complete copies still extant today, this issue of the first edition is known as “the Great She Bible” because of a misprint on a page of the Old Testament. Acquired by Pembroke resident Sidney Bahrt, it was originally placed at the Moulton Library of the Bangor Theological Seminary, to be available to anyone from Washington County who wanted to see it. When the seminary moved to Portland, Maine, Mr. Bahrt turned to the Washington County Association of Congregational Churches with help of the Dennys River Historical Society to become the custodians of this bibliographical treasure.
The general public is welcome to attend this free program to see this King James Bible for themselves.

Annual Show & Tell Event, Feb. 24, 2026, 6 PM
2026-02-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Lincoln House Woodshed, 49 Main Street (Route 86), Dennysville, Maine, 04628
The annual DRHS Show and Tell event has come around once more. Hope to see you at what is always a fun meeting. Learn the story of these cannonballs and more

Film NIght: Episode 2 of Ken Burns' American Revolution
2026-03-31 18:00 - 20:00 | Lincoln Memorial Public Library, 17 King Street, Dennysville, ME, 04628, United States
Join us for Episode 2 of Ken Burns’
epic story of the American Revolution
“An Asylum for Mankind “
This episode refers to the Battle of Machias (also known as the Battle of the Margaretta) in June of 1775, although the town is mentioned only in passingd only in passing in the show. Inspired by the resistance at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, a few dozen Sons of Liberty, lumbermen and fishermen of the area, captured the British cutter Margaretta, which was escorting British ships into Machias Bay. Armed primarily with pitchforks and axes, and helped by the seeming incompetence of the British sailors, the patriots’ efforts represented the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
