Hello everyone! My name is Gordon Smith. I live in Augusta, Maine. Just subscribed to this list a couple days ago and I must say I am becoming more confused with every e-mail I receive from the list. My Bearce line is through my mother. The following is a note I posted on the FamilyHistory.com Bearce surname board: I am hoping to fill in some LARGE gaps in my information on the Bearce family in Maine. My mother's father was George Elmer Bearce b. 9/24/1884 in Dover Foxcroft, ME. His father was Peter Bearce, b. 3/1863 in "french canada" according to the Maine state archives. My mother always told me Peter's parents could not speak English. Don't know how true that is because I haven't any info. whatsoever on them. George E. was a barber in Dover most of his life. I hope someone can help me fill in some of the pieces. Thanks for any help. I received a reply from someone named Sue saying there must have been two Bearce lines in Dover because the only ones she was aware of came from Asa Bearce of Hebron, Maine. I have been trying with no success to find any Bearce records in the eastern provinces of Canada. Is it possible my Bearce line did indeed originate in MA with (Austin) Augustine Bearce who came on the ship "Confidence" in 1638 after having been deported from England as a "Gypsy"? If so then they somehow appear to have ended up in Canada before returning to the States. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Gordon