SPRINGVALE — Who came to live in Lyman first – or second, or fifth – all those years ago? Did they come from afar or from relatively close by? Were they farmers, or were they engaged in the lumber trade?

These facts and more are part of the puzzle of genealogy – tracing families and their roots by talking to descendants; poring over archives; trudging through old, sometimes overgrown, private cemeteries; and increasingly, these days, searching out documents on the Internet.

Fred Boyle, who is writing a book on Lyman’s early history, developed the history and genealogy bug early in life, no doubt influenced by a great aunt who lived with the family and by his mother, who was also interested.

And so it began.

Boyle, 85, spent 30 years in education in Massachusetts, and upon retirement to Springvale, was able to spend more time digging into the past. He had begun as a certified genealogical researcher, acquiring a few clients while he was still working as a teacher, then went on to become a certified genealogist searching out his own family roots, those of others, and ultimately early families of Sanford, Springvale and neighboring towns.

Eventually, Boyle published two volumes of “Early Families of Sanford and Springvale,” then went on to “Early Families of Shapleigh and Acton” (the two towns are in one book because they used to be one community). He’s also published “Early Families of Alfred” and “Early Families of Waterboro.”

It just seemed, he said at his Springvale home Monday, a natural progression to go on to “Early Families of Lyman.” And he’s found connections between some of the communities, like the Andrews family, which had members in both Waterboro and Lyman.

After the Waterboro book was published in 2012, “I thought I’d do my own genealogy, but my cousins’ records didn’t materialize,” he said with a smile. “So I got a bit bored. I love this stuff, and I thought I had another book in me.”

Seems like he does.

“I try to start with this census,” he said, pointing to the 1790 census of Maine. “I try to include the families that were here in 1790, and some who came a bit later. I’ll try to cover about 110 families.”

Altogether, Boyle will research and assemble as much information as possible on the families, which have familiar names like Kimball and Emmons, and others, like Valentine Hill and his descendants, who came from Nottingham, New Hampshire.

Along the way, there are fascinating puzzles, such as the unknown location of the burial of Stephen Andrews, a Revolutionary War soldier. So far, no headstone for Andrews has been found, Boyle said.

The Goodwin brothers – Benjamin and Nathaniel, for whom the Goodwins Mills area of Lyman and Dayton is named – gave their name to the mills, Boyle said, but didn’t settle and stay in Lyman.

Boyle pointed to a photocopy of an early map of Lyman that was once called Coxhall, but became Lyman in 1803. Those who came to the southern part of Lyman in the early days weren’t from very far away – many came from Kennebunk, he said.

Boyle has had some help from folks like Jim Carll of Waterboro, who helped with Lyman birth and death records, Jim Hathorne of the Lyman Cemetery Committee, and others.

“I rely on information contained in private cemeteries,” he said.

What Boyle hasn’t been able to do so far is talk to folks who have done research on their own Lyman families. So he’s asking people to contact him, either by filling in the online form at frederickboyle.com or by calling him at 324-4360.

The Lyman book will be his ninth – besides the “Early Families” series, Boyle has completed some family histories.

And yes, he has published work about some of his own genealogy, despite that information from the cousins that hasn’t yet appeared in his mailbox.

Seems the Boyles hail from Castlecomer in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].