Database News

NYG&B Record Vol. 36-40

2013-05-20T14:30:00Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas. Published quarterly since 1870 by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features compiled genealogies and transcriptions of Bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, wills and deeds, and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This week, we have added volumes 36-40, containing more than 51,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 40, publication years 1870 to 1909. In total, this database contains over 264,000 records. Future volumes will be added periodically.

Other New York databases include: New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835; New York: Long Island Cemetery Inscriptions, 1652-1910; and New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Rhode Island Roots Vol. 11-15

2013-05-06T11:00:00Z

When Rhode Island Roots began publication in 1975, the publication served both as a newsletter for the newly formed Rhode Island Genealogical Society (RIGS) and as an aid to careful genealogical research. While it was short and unsophisticated in design, Roots was a serious publication assembled by people with considerable genealogical experience. This update includes volumes 11-15, publication years 1985-1989, and adds more than 21,000 records to this collection.

Each issue of the quarterly journal, now 52 pages, features at least one compiled genealogy along with Bible records, transcriptions of original sources, book reviews, and studies of the genealogical implications of historical events. Indices of land and Notarial records and petitions to the General Assembly, transcriptions of estimates of ratable estate, gravestones, and early census records all provide invaluable clues to Rhode Island genealogy. The authors include well-known genealogists as well as RIGS members with stories of their own families to tell.

Other Rhode Island databases available through our digital collections include Rhode Island Vital Records, 1636-1850; Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Database Index; and Members of the Artillery Company of Newport, Rhode Island.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Vol. VIII

2013-04-29T11:00:00Z

We continue with our ongoing series of family sketches featured in The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Frank J. Doherty's multi-volume study. The Settlers of the Beekman Patent contains data on over thirteen hundred families who settled in the Beekman Patent, an original land grant given to Col. Henry Beekman in 1697 by the English Crown and the second largest patent in present-day Dutchess County, New York. Many emigrants from New England lived in and passed through the Beekman Patent on their way west. Others, such as the Palatines and Quakers (almost all from New England), were early settlers and remained for several generations or more.

Compiler and author Frank J. Doherty has researched the settlers of the Beekman Patent for over thirty years and is considered the foremost expert on these families. He began his research after he purchased property in the town of LaGrange in Dutchess County and became interested in the history of the area. His research includes all eighteenth-century records from Dutchess County courts, probate, cemeteries, churches, stores, leases, tax lists, military, census, and other documents pertaining to the area.

The eighth volume, published in 2005, includes family sketches pertaining to the following surnames: Lee, Lent, Leonard, LeRoy, Lester, Lewis, Light, Lightheart, Linsey, Lobdell, Lockwood, Losee, Lossing, Lovejoy, Loveless, Luckey, Lyon, Mabie, Mace, Macomber, Macy, Maguire, Mainger, Mallory, Maloney, Mancius, Mandigo, Manter, Mentor, Marble, Marcy, Marks, Marsh, Marshall, Martin, Martling, Marvill, Masten, Matthews, McAuley, McCarty, McCarthy, McClave, McCollum, McCord, McCready, McDaniel, McDonald, McDougal, McDowell, McIntire, McLees, McNeal, McPherson, McWilliams, Mead, Meloy, Merrick, Merrihew, Merritt, Meyer, Myers, Miles, Milk, Millard, Miller, and Millington. The inclusion of this volume adds more than 32,000 individual name entries to this database.

Hard copies of The Settlers of the Beekman Patent are available through our bookstore, and you can find additional information about this resource here.

Other New York databases available through our digital collections include First Settlers of Albany County from 1630 to 1800, First Settlers of Schenectady from 1662 to 1800, and New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

If you have questions about this or any other database, you may contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Barbour Collection Update: Hartland, Norfolk and more

2013-04-22T10:00:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Hartland (1761–1848), Norfolk (1758–1850), Redding (1767–1852), and Salisbury (1741–1846). Together, these towns add more than 11,000 records to this database.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Cornwall, Danbury, Derby, Durham, East Haddam, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hartland, Hebron, Kent, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Litchfield, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norfolk, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Redding, Ridgefield, Salisbury, Saybrook, Sharon, Simsbury, Somers, Stafford, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, Torrington, Union, Voluntown, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Willington, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year. Our library also offers the complete Barbour collection onsite.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

Connecticut publications available through our bookstore include: Stamford Town Records, Volume 1, 1641-1723; Colony of Connecticut Minutes of the Court of Assistants, 1669-1711; and Hartford County, Connecticut, County Court Minutes.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Massachusetts and Maine 1798 Direct Tax

2013-04-17T09:00:00Z

In 2003, NEHGS released the first edition of this searchable database on NewEnglandAncestors.org. In 2010, the same database content was moved to AmericanAncestors.org when that website became the new website of NEHGS. In the past year, our volunteer team has been diligently working to re-index the collection, which contains 187,000 name records and 16,600 page images. In addition, many page images which were formerly unavailable on the website have been rescanned and added to the collection. This historic collection was detailed in an article by Michael J. Leclerc in the Spring 2003 issue of New England Ancestors magazine. That article is available at AmericanAncestors.org, here. In 1979, NEHGS published an Index and Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Massachusetts and Maine 1798 Tax. Excerpts from that guide, which explains the collection content and the towns it covers, is available here.

Other tax record database collections include Rochester, NH: Tax Lists for 1790 and 1815; Tax List of New Milford, Connecticut, 1756; and Tax List of Boston, 1831.

If you have questions about this or any other database collection offered through our website, you may contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org

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NYG&B Vol. 31-35

2013-04-09T09:30:00Z

This week, we have added volumes 31-35, containing more than 47,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 35, publication years 1870 to 1904. In total, this database contains over 228,000 records. Future volumes will be added periodically.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Great Migration, Vol. 7, T-Y

2013-04-03T09:30:00Z

This Great Migration database, covering surnames beginning with T through Y, is the last of seven volumes in a series documenting the watershed years of 1634 and 1635. It traces families and individuals immigrating to New England during those two years – a time of rapid migration and settlement.

Each entry for a featured individual includes:

• Place of origin, if known

• Date and ship on which they arrived in New England, if known

• Earliest known record of the individual or family

• First residence and subsequent residences, when known

• Return trips to their country of origin, whether temporary or permanent

• Bibliographical information such as birth, death, marriage(s), children, and other important family relationships, church memberships, and civil and military offices held.

The full introduction to this volume is available for download as a pdf file. The introduction includes a description of the methodology used to create the sketches as well as thorough descriptions of the sources used.

This database provides an index to the sketches of 203 Great Migration individuals, and the 6,978 name references contained within those sketches. The images of the original book pages are available from the search results pages.

Our bookstore also offers hard copies of The Great Migration series and other related materials.

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Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas

2013-04-01T13:00:00Z

The dockets and extended record books for the Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas for the period 1756 - 1776 are largely missing and many scholars speculate that the British took these volumes at the time of the evacuation of Boston in 1776. The volumes have never been located in Massachusetts, and repeated searches of the Public Record Office in London and the Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have failed to turn up the missing volumes. The file papers for the period 1692-1830, however, were "rediscovered" in 1974 in the basement of the Suffolk County Court House, and a project sponsored by a series of NHPRC grants allowed those file papers to be preserved.

In 1981, the Supreme Judicial Court took over and created what has become the Supreme Judicial Court's division of Archives and Records Preservation. That organization compiled this index and abstract of the cases in the 1756-1776 period. Each abstract contains plaintiff and defendant information, the type of action, number of documents in the case, date filed, year and term the case was decided, amount of damages, and the attorney or individual filing the case. If present, additional information concerning the verdict, co-plaintiffs, co-defendants, and others involved in the case is included in a notes section. Unfortunately, no other information is available for these cases, the associated record books having been lost.

The larger collection of Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas file papers of which this index presents a part is stored at the Massachusetts Archives, Columbia Point, Boston. For information concerning use of that collection, contact the Supreme Judicial Court's division of Archives and Records Preservation.

Other court record collections offered through our online databases include Bristol County, Mass. Extracts from Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 1697-1801; Middlesex County, Mass. Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674; and Plymouth Court Records, 1686-1859.

If you have questions about this or any other database collection offered through our website, you may contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Barbour Collection Update: Cornwall, Kent and more

2013-03-25T10:00:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Cornwall (1740-1854), Kent (1739-1852), Sharon (1739-1865) and Torrington (1740-1850), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns add more than 15,000 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Cornwall, Danbury, Derby, Durham, East Haddam, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hebron, Kent, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Litchfield, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Sharon, Simsbury, Somers, Stafford, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, Torrington, Union, Voluntown, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Willington, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775

2013-03-19T11:00:00Z

The database "Massachusetts Soldiers in the Colonial Wars" has been updated and renamed "Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775." This update includes images of the source material as well as the addition of search fields to assist in the location of records relevant to your research.

Prior to the American Revolution many men served in the militia and fought against Native Americans, the French, and other opponents. Many of these battles were extensions of European wars. This database contains over 35,000 records of service for individuals in Massachusetts and other New England states who served from the seventeenth century to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. These records, originally published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society with support from the Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts between 1975 and 1985, were compiled from many different sources to create as comprehensive a list as possible. Not all individuals who gave service are represented here, however.

More details about the individual resources included in this database can be found in the citation information provided by our database catalog. This database can be found by selecting "Military Records" from the drop-down menu located on this page. You can also download PDF copies of the introductions to these resources from this page.

Other military records databases offered by our website include Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners and Vermont Soldiers in World War I.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Connecticut: Minutes of the Court of Assistants, 1669-1711

2013-03-18T13:30:00Z

This database is based on Colony of Connecticut, Minutes of the Court of Assistants, 1669-1711 which was written by Helen Schatvet Ullmann and published by NEHGS in 2009.

From the introduction to the book:"The Connecticut Court of Assistants began holding sessions in May, 1666. It functioned as the court of appeal for the colony, many cases coming from the county courts. But it was also the original jurisdiction for some matters, particularly divorce and murder.""In the index, spelling of names has been standardized. Many subjects have been indexed, but not common ones such as debt, land titles, or disputes over boundaries, hay, and timber. Places are included, often indexed both by the town and the specific place name within the town. “Indians” and “Negroes” are indexed under the racial heading. Those with two names are also indexed with a surname. Other inclusive headings are animals, occupations, and weapons."

The full introduction to this volume is available for download as a pdf file from the advanced search page for the database.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

Connecticut publications available through our bookstore include: Stamford Town Records, Volume 1, 1641-1723 and Hartford County, Connecticut, County Court Minutes. You may also purchase a hard copy of this resource, Connecticut: Minutes of the Court of Assistants, 1669-1711.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Black Families in Hampden County, MA, 1650-1865

2013-03-11T10:00:00Z

This database is based wholly upon Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1865 (2nd Edition) by Joseph Carvalho III, which was published by NEHGS in 2011.

From the introduction: "Hampden County, Massachusetts, was a significant center of African American life between the years 1650 and 1865. Its location at the “crossroads of New England,” close over the border from Connecticut to the south and across the wide Hudson River and a mountain range away from slavery in New York to the west, made Hampden County a haven for escaped slaves. The establishment in Springfield of the U.S. Armory in 1794 placed the town at the very epicenter of America’s Industrial Revolution. The main body of the work consists of genealogical and biographical information in alphabetical order by surname. There is a separate alphabetical list of individuals only known by their slave names."

Our bookstore also offers this resource in hard copy: Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1865, Revised Edition.

Search Hampden County, MA: Black Families in Hampden County, 1650-1865

NYG&B Vol. 26-30

2013-03-11T09:00:00Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas. Published quarterly since 1870 by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features articles with a wide variety of records such as bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, will and deed and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This week, we have added volumes 26-30, containing more than 48,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 30, publication years 1870 to 1899. Future volumes will be added periodically.

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New Haven & Armenian Marriages

2013-02-25T12:00:00Z

Families of Ancient New Haven — Completely Re-indexed

This eight-volume, 2,100-page database has been completely re-indexed, increasing the number of name entries from 65,000 to 92,000. The original index was based on a work which only indexed the names of individuals who did not have the same surnames as the featured families. The new all-name index provides many more search results.Families of Ancient New Haven is an eight-volume work created by Donald Lines Jacobus between 1923 and 1932. These volumes were originally published as New Haven Genealogical Magazine, which was the predecessor of The American Genealogist.

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Armenian Immigrant Marriages in Massachusetts - 1880-1915

This database of marriages of Armenian immigrants to Massachusetts was created by William Andreas Brown as a means for furthering Armenian heritage research in Massachusetts. The database contains marriage information for 3,565 individuals married in Massachusetts with surnames ending in "ian" or "yan". The information is searchable by the individual's first and last name and by the father's first name, the mother's first and last name, and the spouses first and last name. All data was compiled from Massachusetts vital records data contained on AmericanAncestors.org and FamilySearch.org. Information in the "Notes" section was gathered from personal experience, Ancestry.com and other genealogy websites.

Search Armenian Immigrant Marriages in Massachusetts - 1880-1915

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

The American Genealogist Vol. 78-82

2013-02-25T09:30:00Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 78 through 82, publication years 2003 to 2007. This update adds more than 33,000 name records to this database.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–82. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Founded by Donald Lines Jacobus, TAG is edited by a trio of NEHGS members: Dr. David L. Greene, FASG; Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of the NEHGS Great Migration Study Project; and Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, who is also editor of The Maine Genealogist. These distinguished genealogists, along with dozens of highly-regarded contributors, uphold and advance the standards for genealogical scholarship so carefully articulated by Jacobus and the Jacobus “School.”

Our Digital Collections also include these additional genealogical journals: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The Essex Genealogist, and The Virginia Genealogist.

Search The American Genealogist

Penn. Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 31 - 35

2013-02-11T10:00:00Z

Volumes 31 to 35 (publication years 1979 to 1988) of The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine are newly added online to AmericanAncestors.org, offering an additional 31,079 records. Now, volumes 1 to 35 are available to search. Additional volumes will be added throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records. Our library also offers this resource in both hard-copy and CD-ROM format.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

We also offer a wide variety of other regional and national journals, including the The Mayflower Descendant, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and The American Genealogist.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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The Barbour Collection Update: Canaan, Goshen & More

2013-01-28T11:45:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Canaan (1739-1852), Goshen (1739-1854), Harwinton (1737-1854) and New Hartford (1740-1854), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns add more than 11,000 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canaan, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Durham, East Haddam, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Goshen, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Harwinton, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Litchfield, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New Hartford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Simsbury, Somers, Stafford, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, Union, Voluntown, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Willington, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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The Barbour Collection Update: East Haddam, Somers & More

2013-01-14T10:20:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): East Haddam (1743-1857), Somers (1734-1850), Union (1734-1850) and Willington (1727-1851), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns add more than 22,000 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Durham, East Haddam, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Litchfield, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Simsbury, Somers, Stafford, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, Union, Voluntown, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Willington, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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Rhode Island Roots Vol. 6-10

2013-01-07T14:00:00Z

When Rhode Island Roots began publication in 1975, the publication served both as a newsletter for the newly formed Rhode Island Genealogical Society (RIGS) and as an aid to careful genealogical research. While it was short and unsophisticated in design, Roots was a serious publication assembled by people with considerable genealogical experience. This update includes volumes 6-10, publication years 1980-1984, and adds more than 20,000 records to this collection.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search Rhode Island Roots.

The American Genealogist Vol. 74-77

2012-12-31T18:00:00Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 74 through 77, publication years 1999 to 2002. This update adds more than 26,000 name records to this database.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–77. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Our Digital Collections also include these additional genealogical journals: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The Essex Genealogist, and The Virginia Genealogist.

Search The American Genealogist

The Barbour Collection Update; Litchfield, Stafford & More

2012-12-24T15:20:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Litchfield (1719-1854), Stafford (1719-1850), Tolland (1715-1850) and Voluntown (1708-1850), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns add more than 31,100 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Durham, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Litchfield, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stafford, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Tolland, Voluntown, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search the Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

The Essex Genealogist & Western Mass. Families in 1790

2012-12-17T11:00:00Z

The Essex Genealogist, Volumes 26 & 27 added.

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Anentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

Currently, volumes 1 to 27 (publication years 1981-2007) are available. Volume 28 (2008) will be added in 2013.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title; and subject. There are now 191,649 records in this database.

Other genealogical journals available through our digital collections include the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The American Genealogist, and The Virginia Genealogist.

Search The Essex Genealogist.

Western Massachusetts Families in 1790 – Five new sketches.

Added this week, sketches of Luther Pomeroy, Chester, MA; Nathaniel Porter, Great Barrington, MA; Christopher Bowen, Partridgefield (Peru), MA; James Cody Apthrop, Partridgefield (Peru), MA; and Jonathan Remington, Adams, MA.

This database contains genealogical sketches of families enumerated in the 1790 census for Berkshire and Hampshire Counties (in what now also includes Franklin and Hampden Counties). Each sketch begins with the head of household, their genealogical information, followed by their spouse and any further biographical information. Following this is the information about their children and their spouses. Many families migrated into western Massachusetts only to migrate further west, often through New York, and elsewhere. These sketches were submitted by NEHGS members and staff and edited by Helen S. Ullmann, FASG.

Our bookstore also offers Western Massachusetts Families in 1790 in print.

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American Ancestors Magazine Vol. 13 & Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts

2012-12-10T10:10:00Z

American Ancestors Magazine, Volume 13

A 64-page magazine published by NEHGS beginning in 2010, American Ancestors contains a wealth of information for family historians. American Ancestors features a wide range of article topics and styles, and is designed to appeal to family historians of all levels. Topics include coverage of a particular region or group of people; case studies; descriptions of particular record sets; “how-to” articles; compelling historic accounts that illuminate the past; research strategies and methodology; and accounts of migration and immigrant groups. Over time, regular columns have included Jeremy Bangs’ “Pilgrim Life”; Diane Rapaport’s “Tales from the Courthouse”; David Lambert’s “Online Genealogist”; Rhonda McClure’s“Computer Genealogist”; and “Genetics and Genealogy,” as well as columns featuring Bible records, diaries, and other items from the NEHGS manuscript collection. The magazine’s “Family Focus” column features announcements of genealogies in progress, recently published books, family association news, and DNA studies in progress.

This update to the American Ancestors magazine database adds Volume 13 (2012), bringing the total number of records in this collection to more than 14,000.

Other journal databases included in our digital collections include the New England Historic Genealogical Register, American Ancestors Journal, and The American Genealogist.

Search American Ancestors.

Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts – Three new cemeteries

NEHGS is pleased to add three new cemeteries to the Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts database. The new cemeteries include: Poali Zedeck in Everett, MA; and Puritan - Mt Sinai and Hebrew Volin in West Roxbury, MA. Together, these cemeteries add more than 1,900 records to this collection.

The records in this collection are courtesy of the American Jewish Historical Society – New England Archives, who, in collaboration with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts maintain records for 105 Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts. Records range from 1853 to present.

Our digital collections also includes the following databases that refer to additional cemetery records: Brooklyn, NY: Cemetery Inscriptions, 1686-1882; Long Island Cemetery Inscriptions, 1652-1910; and Northampton, MA: West Farms Cemetery.

Our bookstore also offers A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries, 2nd Edition by David Allen Lambert.

Search Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts.

Rhode Island Roots

2012-12-03T13:15:00Z

NEHGS is happy to announce an agreement with the Rhode Island Genealogical Society that allows us to add Rhode Island Roots to our growing collection of nationally-renowned scholarly publications.

When Rhode Island Roots began publication in 1975, the publication served both as a newsletter for the newly formed Rhode Island Genealogical Society(RIGS) and as an aid to careful genealogical research. While it was short and unsophisticated in design, Roots was a serious publication assembled by people with considerable genealogical experience.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search Rhode Island Roots.

The Register and American Ancestors Journal

2012-11-26T15:30:00Z

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register – Volume 166 (2012)

Published quarterly since 1847, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register is the flagship journal of American genealogy and the oldest in the field.

A wide variety of genealogies and source material have been published in the Register for over 160 years, with an emphasis on New England. Authoritative compiled genealogies have always been a primary focus of the Register. Thousands of New England families have been treated in the pages of the journal, and many more are referred to incidentally. Typically, these articles solve a genealogical problem, identify immigrant origins, or present a full-scale treatment of multiple generations.

Volume 166 adds 8,300 searchable names to our existing Register database. You can also read the Register in PDF format.

Search The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

American Ancestors Journal – (2012)

American Ancestors Journal provides readers genealogical content of national scope, with an emphasis on New York State and out migrations from New England. The editors are Henry B. Hoff and Helen Schatvet Ullmann, who are also the editor and associate editor of the Register, respectively.

The 2012 issue adds 900 searchable names to our existing American Ancestors Journal database. You can also read the Journal in PDF format.

Search American Ancestors Journal

Other digital collections of journal publications include The Essex Genealogist, The American Genealogist, and The Virginia Genealogist.

Our bookstore also offers Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century: A Guide to Register Style and More.

The Barbour Collection Update; Ashford, New Milford and more

2012-11-19T15:30:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Ashford (1710-1851), New Milford (1712-1860), Newtown (1711-1852) and Pomfret (1705-1850), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns add more than 36,900 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Ashford, Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Durham, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search the Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

The Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 36-40

2012-11-12T15:40:00Z

Volumes 36 to 40 of the The Mayflower Descendant (publication years 1986-1990) are now available to search. Additional volumes will continue to be added regularly throughout the year. With the addition of these volumes, The Mayflower Descendant database now contains more than 245,000 records.

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

Other databases related to early New England families include the following: Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633; Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700; and the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

Some of the publications available through our bookstore related to early New England families include the following: New Englanders in the 1600s; Genealogical Notes: First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts; and Mayflower Births and Deaths.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search The Mayflower Descendant

The Barbour Collection Update; Durham, Hebron and more

2012-11-05T15:20:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Durham (1708–1852), Hebron (1708–1854), Killingly (1708–1850) and Ridgefield (1709-1850), birth, marriage, and death records. These towns provide an additional 26,965 records to this database collection.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Durham, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Preston, Ridgefield, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and Families of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search the Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

NY G&B Record, Vols. 21-25

2012-10-15T11:35:00Z

This week, we have added volumes 21-25, containing 34,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 25, publication years 1870 to 1894. In total, this database contains 168,505 records. Future volumes will be added periodically.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

The Barbour Collection Update; Canterbury, Groton and more

2012-10-08T11:40:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Canterbury (1703–1850), Groton (1704–1853), Lebanon (1700–1864) and Plainfield (1699-1852), birth, marriage, and death records. In total, this database contains 356,063 records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Branford, Canterbury, Colchester, Danbury, Derby, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Killingworth, Lebanon, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainfield, Preston, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windham, Windsor, Woodbury, and Woodstock.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year. Our library also offers the complete Barbour collection onsite.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Other Connecticut databases include: Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut: Early Probate Records, and the Family of Ancient New Haven.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search the Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

Penn. Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 26 - 30

2012-10-01T08:00:00Z

Volumes 26 to 30 (publication years 1969 to 1978) of The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine are newly added online to AmericanAncestors.org, offering an additional 30,645 records. Now, volumes 1 to 30 are available to search. Additional volumes will be added throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records. Our library also offers this resource in both hard-copy and CD-ROM format.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

We also offer a wide variety of other regional and national journals, including the The Mayflower Descendant, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and The American Genealogist.

If you have any questions about this, or any other database on the AmericanAncestors.org website, please contact us at webmaster@nehgs.org.

Search the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine.

Charleston, SC: Inscriptions in Old Jewish Cemeteries, 1762-1903

2012-09-10T12:55:00Z

This collection of tombstone inscriptions from Jewish cemeteries in Charleson, South Carolina was compiled by Rabbi Dr. Barnett A. Elzas in 1903. The inscriptions date from 1762-1903 and were found in Coming St. Cemetery, Shearith Israel Cemetery, Hanover St. Cemetery, DaCosta Cemetery, and Lopez Cemetery.

Search the Charleston, SC: Inscriptions in Old Jewish Cemeteries, 1762-1903

Western Massachusetts Families in 1790

2012-09-03T09:50:00Z

The first printed volume of this series is now available. Our database will be enlarged over time thanks to the submitted contribution of NEHGS members and staff.

Search Western Massachusetts Families in 1790

The American Genealogist Vol. 69-73

2012-08-27T15:31:18Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 69 through 73, publication years 1994 to 1998.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–73. Additional sets of five volumes are scheduled to be added periodically throughout 2012. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Search The American Genealogist

Connecticut vitals to 1870 update

2012-08-20T12:40:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Colchester (1699–1850), Glastonbury (1690–1854), Windham (1692–1850) and Woodstock (1848 –1866), birth, marriage, and death records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Branford, Danbury, Derby, Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Killingworth, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Preston, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windsor, and Woodbury.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection)

The Town Book of Bow, New Hampshire

2012-08-13T10:33:14Z

The town of Bow, New Hampshire was organized in 1727. In 1933, Priscilla Hammond transcribed the records of Bow, NH town meetings from 1767 to 1820, and vital records from 1710 to 1890. This database contains records of 1,287 births, 607 marriages, 92 deaths, and 5,773 other records.

Search the Town Book of Bow, NH

The Essex Genealogist to Volume 25

2012-08-06T11:45:00Z

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Currently, volumes 1 to 25 (publication years 1981-2005) are available. Additional volumes will be added through the year.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title; and subject. There are now 183,198 records in this database.

Search The Essex Genealogist to Volume 25

Connecticut Vital Records

2012-07-30T09:37:48Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Branford (1644–1850), Danbury (1685–1847), Preston (1687–1850) and Waterbury (1686 –1853), birth, marriage, and death records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Branford, Danbury, Derby, Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Killingworth, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Preston, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stonington, Stratford, Suffield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Windsor and Woodbury.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

Portsmouth, NH Records, 1776 to 1838

2012-07-23T13:30:00Z

Portsmouth, N.H.: Abstracts from Portsmouth Newspapers, 1776-1800

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These abstracts were created from the online newspaper images of America’s Historical Newspapers, Early American Newspapers Series 1, 1690-1876 and from newspapers reviewed at the Library of Congress and the Library at Dartmouth College, by NEHGS member Sean Furniss. Abstracts are grouped as Births, Deaths, Marriages, Probate, Advertisements, Notices, and News items.

The information provided consists solely of abstracts. These abstracts are not exact transcriptions of the wording that was used in the original printed publications. The spelling of the names and words in the abstracts was generally left the same way the names were spelled in the newspapers articles. Readers are encouraged to review the actual publications to obtain the exact text and wording from the original printed versions. Date, page, and column number citations are provided for each abstract.

Portsmouth, NH: Records of the Overseers of the Poor, 1817-1838.

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This compilation of abstracts is intended to provide information about the people who received goods and services from the Overseers of the Poor, Town of Portsmouth. It does not include records for all the general payments made by or to the Overseers of the Poor that could not be associated with individual beneficiaries (paupers).

These abstracts were created from the Family History Library microfilm copy of the Volume 10 transcriptions of the Portsmouth town records containing Vol. II Expenses of Overseers of the Poor.

The Mayflower Descendant, Vol.31-35

2012-07-16T15:25:00Z

Volumes 31 to 35 of the The Mayflower Descendant (publication years 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, and 1985 ) are now available to search. Additional volumes will be continue to added regularly throughout the year. (Note – The Mayflower Descendant was not published in 1936, or between 1938 and 1984.)

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

Search The Mayflower Descendant

Blue Hill, ME: Vital Records, 1766-1809

2012-07-09T15:55:00Z

The town of Blue Hill, in Hancock County, was established in 1789. These records were transcribed from the town books by Grace Limeburner, of North Brooksville, Maine, in 1941. They include vital records, marriage intentions and a few gravestone inscriptions.

Search Blue Hill, ME: Vital Records, 1766-1809

Brooklyn, NY Records 1660 to 1882

2012-07-02T16:55:00Z

Two new databases now available to search:

Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Cemetery Inscriptions, 1707-1882
These records of Brooklyn, NY cemetery inscriptions were published by the King's County Genealogical Club between 1882 and 1898. They record 1,416 births and deaths from inscriptions in four cemeteries in the Brooklyn area.

Brooklyn, NY: Baptisms and Marriages in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1660-1719
These records of Brooklyn, NY Reformed Dutch Church Baptisms and Marriages were published by the King's County Genealogical Club in 1898. They summarize 735 baptisms and 129 marriages.

NY G&B Record, Vols. 16-20

2012-06-25T13:30:00Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas. Published quarterly since 1870 by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features articles with a wide variety of records such as bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, will and deed and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This week, we have added volumes 16-20, containing 33,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 20, publication years 1870 to 1889. Future volumes will be added periodically.

Search The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

Cities and Towns in Massachusetts

2012-06-18T14:45:00Z

This week’s database, launched several years ago, is a hidden gem and deserves to be featured. Essential for Massachusetts researchers, Historical Data provides summary information for counties and municipalities in the Bay State. The first edition of this book was published in 1920; the 1997 version was prepared by William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and published by NEHGS.

This database may be searched by the name of the municipality to find related section, village, or archaic names. Or searches of section, village, or archaic names can determine the name of the associated municipality. Pages of the original book may be viewed from the search results page. These pages include information on the dates of incorporation of the municipality and any legislated changes in territorial limits.

A useful map of Massachusetts, with county and town boundaries marked, was published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and is reproduced on page 4 of Historical Data. Two versions of the map are available online on the Secretary’s website: cities and towns http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/City_Town_Map.pdf and counties, cities, and towns http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/County_Map.pdf.

Search: Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts, 5th edition

Great Migration, Vol. 6, R-S

2012-06-11T22:55:00Z

This Great Migration database, covering surnames beginning with R through S, is the sixth of seven volumes in a series documenting the watershed years of 1634 and 1635. It traces families and individuals immigrating to New England during those two years – a time of rapid migration and settlement.

Each entry for a featured individual includes:

• Place of origin, if known

• Date and ship on which they arrived in New England, if known

• Earliest known record of the individual or family

• First residence and subsequent residences, when known

• Return trips to their country of origin, whether temporary or permanent

• Bibliographical information such as birth, death, marriage(s), children, and other important family relationships, church memberships, and civil and military offices held.

This database provides an index to the sketches of 201 Great Migration individuals, and the 7,539 name references contained within those sketches. The images of the original book pages are available from the search results pages.

Search The Great Migration, Vol. 6, R-S.

Pennsylvania Gen. Mag., Vol to 25

2012-06-04T15:15:00Z

Volumes 21 to 25 (publication years 1958 to 1968) of The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine are newly added online to AmericanAncestors.org. Now, volumes 1 to 25 are available to search. Additional volumes will be added throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

Search The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine

Massachusetts 1915 Deaths

2012-05-28T14:55:00Z

1915 death records for Massachusetts are now available on AmericanAncestors.org. This update to the Massachusetts Vital Records 1911-1915 database includes 97 volumes of death certificates with 63,009 searchable names. Note that 1915 Boston death records are in their own volumes, named “1915/Death Boston V1” and “1915/Death Boston V2.” Unlike the individual death certificates in the other 1915 volumes, the Boston volumes are printed on two pages, with multiple names per page.

Search the Massachusetts 1915 Deaths

New Connecticut Vital Records

2012-05-21T15:40:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Derby (1665–1852), Suffield (1674–1850), Wallingford (1670–1850) and Woodbury (1674 –1850), birth, marriage, and death records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Derby, Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Killingworth, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Suffield, Wallingford, Wethersfield, Windsor, and Woodbury.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records

The American Genealogist to Vol. 68

2012-05-14T15:09:22Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 64 through 68, publication years 1989 to 1993.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–63. Additional sets of five volumes are scheduled to be added periodically throughout 2012. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Search The American Genealogist

Portsmouth, NH: Vitals, 1706-1841

2012-05-07T06:05:00Z

These vital records of Portsmouth, NH were abstracted by NEHGS member Sean Furniss from microfilmed records held by the New Hampshire State Archives. The majority of these birth, marriage and death records date from 1706-1841, but a handful are as early as 1700 and as late as 1867.

Mr. Furniss also abstracted Portsmouth records from the Overseers of the Poor, Warnings Out records, and a variety of Portsmouth newspapers. These databases will be released in coming weeks.

Search Portsmouth, NH: Vital Records, 1706-1841.

Dutch Church Marriages, 1639-1801

2012-04-30T12:05:00Z

This database contains marriage records from The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York, for the period 1639-1801. The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York was officially founded in 1628, although services conducted by laymen had been held for several years earlier. The church building was rebuilt on several occasions and the most famous today is probably the Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue at 29^th St. in New York City More information on the church and its history is available at Wikipedia.

This database contains 14,530 names of Brides and Grooms.

Search New York, NY: Marriages in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1639-1801

The Essex Genealogist to Vol. 20

2012-04-23T11:00:00Z

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Anentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

Currently, volumes 1 to 20 (publications years 1981-2000) are available. Additional volumes will be added through the year.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title; and subject. There are now 160,559 records in this database.

Search The Essex Genealogist

Massachusetts Deaths, 1914

2012-04-16T10:30:00Z

1914 death records for Massachusetts are now available on AmericanAncestors.org. This update to the Massachusetts Vital Records 1911-1915 database includes 112 volumes of death certificates with 62,780 searchable names.

Search Massachusetts Deaths, 1914

Mayflower Descendant to Vol. 30

2012-04-09T13:50:00Z

Volumes 26 to 30 (publication years 1924-1925 and 1930-1932) are now included to search. Additional volumes will be added regularly throughout the year.

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

Search The Mayflower Descendant

Baptism Witnesses, Reformed Protestant Dutch Church

2012-04-02T22:20:00Z

This database continues the baptism records from The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York, for the period 1731-1800. The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York was officially founded in 1628, although services conducted by laymen had been held for several years earlier. The church building was rebuilt on several occasions and the most famous today is probably the Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue at 29th St. in New York City More information on the church and its history is available at Wikipedia.

This database contains 35,100 names of Mothers, Fathers and Witnesses at baptisms.

NEHGS also has a database of earlier baptisms found here, Parents and Witnesses at Baptisms in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1639-1730

Search New York, NY: Parents and Witnesses at Baptisms in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1731-1800

NYG&B Record, Vol. 11-15

2012-03-26T22:00:00Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas. Published quarterly since 1870 by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features articles with a wide variety of records such as bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, will and deed and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This week, we have added volumes 11-15, containing 40,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 15, publication years 1870 to 1884. Future volumes will be added periodically.

Search The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts

2012-03-19T21:25:00Z

NEHGS is please to add eight new cemeteries to the Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts database. The new cemeteries include: Kehillath Jacob, Mohliver, Olita, Sons of Benjamin, Polonnoe and Pultusker cemeteries in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, Framingham-Natick cemetery in Natick, Massachusetts and Agudas Achim cemetery in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

The records in this collection are courtesy of the American Jewish Historical Society – New England Archives, who, in collaboration with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts maintain records for 105 Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts. Records range from 1853 to present.

Search Jewish Cemeteries in Massachusetts

Mason Database Complete

2012-03-12T06:05:00Z

NEHGS is pleased to announce the completion of our Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts 1733 – 1990 membership database. This final installment of 31,055 new records represents surnames “U”-“Z”. This important collection contains information on Masons from original membership cards of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts. Membership card data includes date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residency information.

The Grand Lodge is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts and once maintained Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama, Chile, the People's Republic of China (meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The database includes information from all former jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1733-1990.

Founded in 1733, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Masonic lodge in the United States and the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (the United Grand Lodge of England, 1717; the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1725).

Data is now available for Masons with surnames "A" through "Z". The complete database contains 348,766 membership cards for those Masons who died, dropped, or demitted before 1990.

Substantial support for the creation of this database was generously provided through the work of the dedicated NEHGS volunteer corps.

Search the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts 1733 – 1990

Pennsylvania Gen. Magazine

2012-03-05T14:25:00Z

Volumes 16 to 20 (publication years 1948 to 1957) of The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine are newly added online to AmericanAncestors.org. Now, volumes 1 to 20 are available to search. Additional volumes will be added throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

Search The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine

Long Island Cemetery Inscriptions

2012-02-27T11:40:00Z

This database contains over 13,000 inscriptions from 98 cemeteries on Long Island, in Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Nassau counties. Created from a typescript set of cemetery inscriptions donated to NEHGS by Josephine C. Frost between 1912 and 1914, the original typescript volumes are numbered 1-12, but only ten volumes remain, volumes 6 and 10 being lost to time. The records date between 1652 and 1910.

A complete list of the cemeteries included can be seen here: New York: Long Island Cemetery Inscriptions, 1652-1910.

Search New York: Long Island Cemetery Inscriptions, 1652-1910

Connecticut Vital Records Added

2012-02-20T17:55:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Haddam (1668–1852), Killingworth (1867–1850), Lyme (1667–1852) and Simsbury (1670 –1855), birth, marriage, and death records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Haddam, Hartford, Killingworth, Lyme, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Saybrook, Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Wethersfield, and Windsor.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection)

The American Genealogist Vol. 59-63

2012-02-13T13:00:00Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 59 through 63, publication years 1983 to 1987.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–63. Additional sets of five volumes are scheduled to be added periodically throughout 2012. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Founded by Donald Lines Jacobus, TAG is edited by a trio of NEHGS members: Dr. David L. Greene, FASG; Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of the NEHGS Great Migration Study Project; and Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, who is also editor of The Maine Genealogist. These distinguished genealogists, along with dozens of highly-regarded contributors, uphold and advance the standards for genealogical scholarship so carefully articulated by Jacobus and the Jacobus “School.”

Search The American Genealogist

Reformed Dutch Church Baptisms, 1639-1730

2012-02-06T16:00:00Z

The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York was officially founded in 1628, although services conducted by laymen had been held for several years earlier. The church building was rebuilt on several occasions and the most famous today is probably the Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue at 29^th St. in New York City.

This database contains 44,600 names of Mothers, Fathers and Witnesses at baptisms.

Histories of the church can be found here: upword.com and here: Wikipedia.

Search Parents and Witnesses at Baptisms in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1639-1730

The Essex Genealogist, Vols. 11-15

2012-01-30T12:45:00Z

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Anentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

Currently, volumes 1 to 15 (publications years 1981-1995) are available. Additional volumes will be added through the year.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title; and subject. There are now 116,890 records in this database.

Search The Essex Genealogist

Connecticut Nutmegger - Vols. 42 & 43

2012-01-23T16:00:00Z

The Connecticut Nutmegger has served as the “journal of record” for the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc. (CSG) for forty years. During this time it has captured a wealth of information for genealogists. Vital records, probate records, bible records, headstone records, memorials and other useful records have been published and made readily accessible for genealogical research. Well-documented family histories and genealogical articles, covering hundreds of families – mainly with Connecticut ties - have been presented.

This update adds Volumes 42 and 43 (2009 and 2010).

Search the Connecticut Nutmegger

American Ancestors Magazine Vol. 12

2012-01-23T14:05:00Z

A 64-page magazine published by NEHGS beginning in 2010, American Ancestors contains a wealth of information for family historians. American Ancestors features a wide range of article topics and styles, and is designed to appeal to family historians of all levels. Topics include coverage of a particular region or group of people; case studies; descriptions of particular record sets; “how-to” articles; compelling historic accounts that illuminate the past; research strategies and methodology; and accounts of migration and immigrant groups. Over time, regular columns have included Jeremy Bangs’ “Pilgrim Life”; Diane Rapaport’s “Tales from the Courthouse”; David Lambert’s “Online Genealogist”; Rhonda McClure’s “Computer Genealogist”; and “Genetics and Genealogy,” as well as columns featuring Bible records, diaries, and other items from the NEHGS manuscript collection. The magazine’s “Family Focus” column features announcements of genealogies in progress, recently published books, family association news, and DNA studies in progress.

This update to the American Ancestors magazine database adds Volume 12 (2011).

Search American Ancestors Magazine

New York: Albany County Deeds Completed

2012-01-23T13:50:00Z

With the addition of Volumes 13 and 14, our Albany County deed database is now complete, with a total of 302,300 records.

This important fourteen volume set of 250,000 land transactions in Albany County, searchable by grantor, grantee, corporation and date of transaction represents some of the only surviving early records of Albany, NY after a devastating fire on February 10, 1880 at Albany City Hall destroyed or severely damaged many records for the city and county.

The Index to the public records of the County of Albany, State of New York, 1630-1894 was compiled and printed pursuant to chapter 429 of the laws of 1893, and acts amendatory thereof, under direction of Wheeler B. Melius, Superintendent [1893-1906] of the Albany County (N.Y.). Board of Supervisors.

Search New York: Albany County Deeds

The Virginia Genealogist Completed

2012-01-16T17:35:00Z

The Virginia Genealogist database, newly updated, now includes volumes 1 through 49, publication years 1957 to 2005. Edited and published by John Fredrick Dorman from 1957 to 2005, The Virginia Genealogist has a reputation for quality research and genealogical information not available elsewhere. Topics include compiled genealogies, personal property tax lists (which serve as useful substitutes for non-existent census records), and other local record abstracts, including court orders, deeds, wills, marriage registers, and other county sources. Also included are a wide variety of transcriptions and abstracts of Bible, church, military, and mercantile records.

With this addition of the final 36,750 records, this 482,790 record database is now complete.

Search the Virginia Genealogist

New York: Albany County Deeds added

2012-01-09T14:00:00Z

This important fourteen volume set of 250,000 land transactions in Albany County, searchable by grantor, grantee, corporation and date of transaction represents some of the only surviving early records of Albany, NY after a devastating fire on February 10, 1880 at Albany City Hall destroyed or severely damaged many records for the city and county.

This database update adds 93,655 records to our database, which now contains Vol. 1-12. The remaining two volumes in the series will be added in the future.

Search New York: Albany County Deeds

The Mayflower Descendant to Vol. 25

2012-01-02T18:08:00Z

NEHGS is pleased to update the Mayflower Descendant database with volumes 21 through 25, publication years 1919 to 1923.

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

The database covers volumes 1 to 25, 1899 to 1923. Additional volumes will be added throughout 2012.

Search The Mayflower Descendant

Providence, RI: Vital Records Index to 1940

2011-12-26T16:35:00Z

Published by the city of Providence, Rhode Island between 1879 and 1945, this series, in total, contains thirty-one volumes of alphabetical name indexes for Providence vital records. NEHGS previously added the first 22 volumes as the database Providence, RI: Alphabetical Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1636 - 1930.

This database, Providence, RI: Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1931-1940 is now complete with this week's addition of 49,420 Providence marriage records for 1931-1940. These records are indexed by both bride and groom names and year of marriage. The search results contain the dates of marriage and citations to the volume and page numbers of the original records in the Providence city records.

Search: Providence, RI: Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1931-1940

NYG&B Record, Vols. 6-10 Added

2011-12-19T10:25:00Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas.

Published quarterly since 1870 by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features articles with a wide variety of records such as bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, will and deed and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This week, we have added volumes 6-10, containing 39,000 additional name records. The database currently contains volumes 1 through 10, publication years 1870 to 1879. Future volumes will be added periodically.

Search The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

Massachusetts Vital Records, 1913 Deaths

2011-12-12T10:10:00Z

1913 death records for Massachusetts are now available on AmericanAncestors.org. This update to the Massachusetts Vital Records database includes 112 volumes of death certificates with 67,571 searchable names.

Search Massachusetts Vital Records, 1913 Deaths

The Van Deursen Family

2011-12-05T10:35:00Z

This genealogy was compiled by Captain Albert Harrison Van Deursen in 1912. It traces the descendants of Abraham Pietersen (Van Deursen), who was was born in Haarlem, Holland, where he was baptized November 11, 1607, in the Dutch Reformed Church.

"It is probable that Abraham Pietersen and his wife left Haarlem for America very soon after their marriage, as no baptismal records of any of their children are found at that place between 1630 and 1635, and he is known to have been in New Amsterdam, now New York, in 1636, when he was recorded as 'of Haarlem.'"

This database contains 29,300 name records from the two-volume, 725 page book.

Search The Van Deursen Family

The Register & American Ancestors Journal

2011-11-28T17:45:00Z

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register – Volume 165 (2011)

Published quarterly since 1847, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register is the flagship journal of American genealogy and the oldest in the field.

A wide variety of genealogies and source material have been published in the Register for over 160 years, with an emphasis on New England. Authoritative compiled genealogies have always been a primary focus of the Register. Thousands of New England families have been treated in the pages of the journal, and many more are referred to incidentally. Typically, these articles solve a genealogical problem, identify immigrant origins, or present a full-scale treatment of multiple generations.

Volume 165 adds 9,500 searchable names to our existing Register database. You can also read the Register in PDF format.

Search The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

American Ancestors Journal – Volume 165 (2011)

American Ancestors Journal provides readers genealogical content of national scope, with an emphasis on New York State and out migrations from New England. The editors are Henry B. Hoff and Helen Schatvet Ullmann, who are also the editor and associate editor of the Register, respectively.

Volume 165 adds 1,000 searchable names to our existing American Ancestors Journal database. You can also read the Journal in PDF format.

Search American Ancestors Journal

Penn. Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 1 - 15

2011-11-21T11:00:00Z

Volumes 1 to 15 (publication years 1895 to 1945) are currently available to search. Additional volumes will be added regularly throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

Search The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine.

Mason Membership Cards Update

2011-11-14T10:20:00Z

NEHGS is pleased to announce the addition of 65,898 new records to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership 1733 – 1990 database. This important collection contains information on masons from original membership cards of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts. Membership card data includes date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residency information.

The Grand Lodge is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts and once maintained Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama, Chile, the People's Republic of China (meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The database includes information from all former jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1733-1990.

Founded in 1733, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Masonic lodge in the United States and the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (the United Grand Lodge of England, 1717; the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1725).

As of November 15, 2011, data is available for Masons with surnames "A" through "T". Additional surnames will be added on a regular basis. Upon completion, the database will contain 348,678 membership cards for those masons who died, dropped, or demitted before 1990.

Substantial support for the creation of this database was generously provided through the work of the dedicated NEHGS volunteer corps.

Search: Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership Cards, 1733 –1990

Connecticut Vital Records Update

2011-11-07T00:20:00Z

Newly added to Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection): Norwalk (1651–1850), Norwich (1847–1851), Stamford (1652–1852) and Stratford (1639 –1840) birth, marriage, and death records.

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Hartford, Middletown, Milford, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Saybrook, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Wethersfield, and Windsor.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The remaining towns will be added to the database over the next year.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1850, some towns include records up to 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

The American Genealogist to Vol. 58

2011-10-31T21:30:07Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 54 through 58, publication years 1978 to 1982.

The journal now known as The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–58. Additional sets of five volumes are scheduled to be added periodically throughout 2012. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Founded by Donald Lines Jacobus, TAG is edited by a trio of NEHGS members: Dr. David L. Greene, FASG; Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of the NEHGS Great Migration Study Project; and Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, who is also editor of The Maine Genealogist. These distinguished genealogists, along with dozens of highly-regarded contributors, uphold and advance the standards for genealogical scholarship so carefully articulated by Jacobus and the Jacobus “School.”

Search The American Genealogist

New Netherland Connections Completed

2011-10-24T20:10:00Z

Begun in 1996 and edited by Dorothy A. Koenigh, New Netherland Connections is a genealogical quarterly that aims to help people trying to identify and document their New Netherland ancestors. It focuses on the Dutch colonial period (1624-1664) In New York and New Jersey. Each issue has feature articles, replies to queries, items of Dutch colonial interest, and queries (of any length) and runs to about 28 pages.

Particular attention is paid to identifying the European origins of New Netherland settlers -- for example the issues from August 1999 to August 2000 (volumes 4:3-5:3) contain translated excerpts -- made by the late Dutch genealogist, Pim Niuwenhuis -- from the notarial documents containing the phrase Nieuw Nederland preserved in the Amsterdam Archive (Gemeentearchief). Another rich source never before indexed is the Doopregister der Hollanders in Brazilie (Some Baptisms of the Dutch in Brazil, 1633-1654), compiled by C.J. Wasch in 1888 and 1889. These records document the names of children baptized at Recife and the surrounding areas and include the names of their parents and baptismal sponsors. These records appear here from February 2006 to February 2008 (volumes 11:1 - 13:1).

Though the late Jean D. Worden produced hard-copy, every-name indexes for volumes 1 through 9, and Henry B. Hoff published 3 indexes in The NYG&B Newsletter and its successor, the NYG&B Researcher identifying families that had been substantively featured in New Netherland Connections, this database is the first full index to names and topics to be found in all issues of New Netherland Connections.

This database includes an index to all 57,463 names referenced in the full fifteen volume run (1996-2010) of New Netherland Connections. The images of the original journal pages are available from the search results pages.

Search New Netherland Connections.

New York: Albany County Deeds Updated

2011-10-17T14:15:11Z

The database currently contains Vol. 1-8. Additional volumes will be added regularly.

Search New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894

The Essex Genealogist, Vols. 1-10

2011-10-10T21:20:00Z

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by the The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Anentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

Currently, volumes 1 to 10 (publications years 1981-1990) are available. Additional volumes will be added through the year.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title and subject.

Search The Essex Genealogist

Jewish Cemetery Assocation Update

2011-09-26T15:15:00Z

NEHGS, together with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts (JCAM), and the American Jewish Historical Society of New England (AJHSNE) has made available for the first time, a comprehensive database of Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts. Currently, the database contains the records of 18 cemeteries for more than 15,000 Jewish burials in Massachusetts. More records will be added weekly until all 106 JCAM cemeteries are online. The names in this extensive database cover the years 1844 to the present, and, when completed later next year, will offer access to more than 100,000 names of Jewish Americans buried in Massachusetts.

NEHGS President and CEO, D. Brenton Simons, said, “For genealogists and researchers, this database is a tremendous resource and provides unique access to a set of names vital to Jewish family research. We are pleased to work with AJHS and JCAM in this way. The Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts is a marvelous society for those with Jewish ancestry and we know countless people will benefit from having it available online.”

“This is one of the first of many benefits that will accrue as a result of our strategic partnership with NEHGS,” said Justin Wyner, chair of the Boston Board of Overseers of the American Jewish Historical Society. “This additional resource is of significant genealogical importance. AJHSNE now makes its home inside the NEHGS research center in downtown Boston.

According to JCAM’s Executive Director Stanley Kaplan, “This partnership with NEHGS and AJHS provides people with access to where their loved ones are resting, a source that is known for genealogy,” said Kaplan. “We have broadened …our reach within the community.”

Search Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts

Session Book of Aghadowey, 1702-1725

2011-09-19T15:35:00Z

In 1905, J. W. Kernohan, Secretary of the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast, Ireland, transcribed the beginning years of the session book for Aghadowey, County Londonderry, Ireland at the request of a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The member subsequently donated Mr. Kernohan’s transcription, which covers the period 1702 – 1725, to NEHGS. The manuscript begins in 1702, since the earlier years are lost.

In the summer of 1718, a number of ships bearing passengers from Coleraine and Londonderry, Ireland arrived in Boston - the first organized mass migration of Irish and Scots Irish people to America. Among these passengers were Presbyterians from the area of Aghadowey, County Londonderry, Ireland, and their minister, Reverend James McGregor. Many of the Aghadowey immigrants eventually established the community of Londonderry, New Hampshire. A good history of this migration is available at The 1718 Migration.

A session was composed of the ministers and elders of a congregation. Session records cover financial, legal and disciplinary matters. A good discussion of the types of topics that may be addressed by the session is located in Short History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland by Prof. John M. Barkley, M.A., Ph.D., D.D., F.R.Hist.S. Many session books have been microfilmed and are available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. However, the Aghadowey Session Book has not been microfilmed and is available only at the Presbyterian Historical Society, Church House, Fisherwick Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Charles Knowles Bolton, in his book Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America [Boston: Bacon and Brown, 1910], described the acquisition of the Agahadowey Session Book by the Presbyterian Historical Society and the contents of the book. Bolton’s description is available online at Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America.

Search Aghadowey, Ireland: Session Book of Aghadowey, 1702-1725

Providence, RI: Index of Deaths, 1931-1940

2011-09-05T15:20:00Z

Published by the city of Providence, Rhode Island between 1879 and 1945, this series, in total, contains thirty-one volumes of alphabetical name indexes for Providence vital records. NEHGS previously added the first 22 volumes as the database Providence, RI: Alphabetical Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1636 - 1930

This database, Providence, RI: Index of Births and Death, 1931-1940, currently contains records from Vol. 23, Births 1931-1935; Vol. 26, Births 1936-1940; Vol. 24, Deaths 1931-1935; and Vol. 27, Deaths 1936-1940. These records include child and parent names, dates of birth, and citations to the volume and page numbers of the original recording in the Providence city records.

NEHGS will continue, periodically, to add volumes to AmericanAncestors.org until the full series is online.

Search: Providence, RI: Index of Births and Deaths, 1931-1940

Virginia Genealogist, Vols. 1 - 45

2011-08-22T15:50:00Z

The Virginia Genealogist database, newly updated, now includes volumes 1 through 40, publication years 1957 to 2001. Edited and published by John Fredrick Dorman from 1957 to 2006, The Virginia Genealogist has a reputation for quality research and genealogical information not available elsewhere. Topics include compiled genealogies, personal property tax lists (which serve as useful substitutes for non-existent census records), and other local record abstracts, including court orders, deeds, wills, marriage registers, and other county sources. Also included are a wide variety of transcriptions and abstracts of Bible, church, military, and mercantile records.

Search The Virginia Genealogist

Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 Updated

2011-08-15T13:20:00Z

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Hartford, Middletown, Milford, New London, Saybrook, Stonington, Wethersfield, and Windsor.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The database will be enlarged over time to include all towns.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

The Mayflower Descendant, Vols. 16 - 20

2011-08-08T13:45:00Z

NEHGS is pleased to update the Mayflower Descendant database with volumes 16 through 20, publication years 1914 to 1918.

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

The database covers volumes 1 to 15, 1899 to 1918. Additional volumes will be added throughout 2011.

Search The Mayflower Descendant

Mason Membership Cards, Surnames M-P

2011-08-03T12:09:16Z

NEHGS is pleased to announce the addition of 58,640 new records to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership 1733 – 1990 database. This important collection contains information on masons from original membership cards of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts. Membership card data includes date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residency information.

The Grand Lodge is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts and once maintained Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama, Chile, the People's Republic of China (meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The database includes information from all former jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1733-1990.

Founded in 1733, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Masonic lodge in the United States and the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (the United Grand Lodge of England, 1717; the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1725).

As of August 3, 2011, data is available for Masons with surnames "A" through "P". Additional surnames will be added on a regular basis. Upon completion, the database will contain 348,678 membership cards for those masons who died, dropped, or demitted before 1990.

Substantial support for the creation of this database was generously provided through the work of the dedicated NEHGS volunteer corps.

Search: Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership Cards, 1733 –1990

New York County: Will Abstracts, 1662-1801

2011-07-28T17:18:46Z

This database contains 2,223 will abstracts and more than 40,000 additional indexed names within the abstracts for wills on file in New York City for residents of New York County and some surrounding counties including Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Richmond.

The earliest records date to 1662, while a majority of the records fall between 1782 and 1801. These five volumes (11-15), originally published as "Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's office, City of New York" complement the records in the existing NEHGS database "Abstracts of Wills, Administrations and Guardianships in NY State, 1787-1835 by providing access to records for New York City which are not available elsewhere.

The volumes included in the database are:

Vol. 11: Unrecorded wills, prior to 1790
Vol. 12: June 17, 1782-September 11, 1784
Vol. 13: September 3, 1784-June 12, 1786
Vol. 14: June 12, 1786-February 13, 1796
Vol. 15: February 15, 1796-January 14, 1801

The testator of any given record is indicated as record type "will" and can be searched by using the record type filter. Other names mentioned in wills are indicated by record type "record."

The publication used to create this database was New-York Historical Society Collections, The John Watts de Peyster publication fund series, volumes 25 through 41.

Search New York: Abstracts of Wills, 1662-1801, New York County

NYG&B Record, Vols. 1 - 5

2011-07-18T13:24:54Z

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the premier genealogical journal devoted to scholarship on families residing in New York State and surrounding areas.

Published quarterly since 1870 by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Record features articles with a wide variety of records such as bible records, census records, church registers, newspaper extracts, muster rolls, will and deed and proceedings of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

This database currently contains volumes 1 through 5, publication years 1870 to 1874. Additional volumes will be added periodically.

Search The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

Providence, RI: Index of Births, 1931-1940

2011-07-12T12:51:00Z

Published by the city of Providence, Rhode Island between 1879 and 1945, this series, in total, contains thirty-one volumes of alphabetical name indexes for Providence vital records. NEHGS previously added the first 22 volumes as the database Providence, RI: Alphabetical Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1636 - 1930

This database, Providence, RI: Index of Births, 1931-1940, currently contains records from Vol. 23, Births 1931-1935 and Vol. 26, Births 1936-1940. These records include child and parent names, dates of birth, and citations to the volume and page numbers of the original recording in the Providence city records.

NEHGS will continue, periodically, to add volumes to AmericanAncestors.org until the full series is online.

Search: Providence, RI: Index of Births, 1931-1940

Haring, Clark, Denton, White, Griggs, Judd

2011-07-08T08:37:30Z

The newly updated database, Genealogical and Biographical Notes: Haring-Herring, Clark, Denton, White, Griggs, Judd, and Related Families, compiled by Peter H. Judd, and published by Newbury Street Press of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, is now available to search.

A follow-up to Peter Judd's 1999 award-winning Hatch and Brood of Time, this work examines the lives of the interrelated Haring, Herring, Clark, Denton, Phelps, White, Griggs, and Judd families beginning in the years of the Revolutionary War through to the late twentieth century.

This database includes genealogical and biographical notes on the above families and related familes, that, due to space limitations, were not included in the book. (These notes involve over 300 pages of text.) In modified Register format, the notes set forth the descents on paternal lines, from the immigrant ancestors of six of the principal families in the narrative. These provide a comprehensive set of references to vital and other records, with particular emphasis on prominent individuals in the preceding account. The notes in most instances carry the descents to the point at which there is a juncture with the family line covered in the narrative in the author's More Lasting than Brass that continues to later generations, also included are descendancy charts for Jan Pietersen Haring, Elbert Herring, and Julia Phelps Haring, and ancestor charts of Sarah Clark, Deborah Denton, George Luther White, Robert Foote Griggs, and Stuart Edwards Judd.

The notes include an examination of an early nineteenth-century manuscript devoted to the Haring family, "The Haring Family Notebook," established as the earliest family record validating the Hoorn, Holland, origins of Jan Pietersen Haring of New Amsterdam. There is also a biographical note on Thomas Ivers, father of Elizabeth Ivers, who married Abraham4 Herring, and tables showing burials in the Herring family vault at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, and land transactions associated with Sarah4 Clark and Samuel5 Haring in Oneida County.

Search: Haring-Herring, Clark, Denton, White, Griggs, Judd, and Related Families

Penn. Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 1 - 10

2011-06-27T16:27:10Z

Volumes 1 to 10 (publication years 1895 to 1929) are currently available to search. Additional volumes will be added regularly throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

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New Netherland Connections, Vol. 1 - 13

2011-06-20T17:53:35Z

Begun in 1996 and edited by Dorothy A. Koenigh, New Netherland Connections is a genealogical quarterly that aims to help people trying to identify and document their New Netherland ancestors. It focuses on the Dutch colonial period (1624-1664) In New York and New Jersey. Each issue has feature articles, replies to queries, items of Dutch colonial interest, and queries (of any length) and runs to about 28 pages.

Particular attention is paid to identifying the European origins of New Netherland settlers -- for example the issues from August 1999 to August 2000 (volumes 4:3-5:3) contain translated excerpts -- made by the late Dutch genealogist, Pim Niuwenhuis -- from the notarial documents containing the phrase Nieuw Nederland preserved in the Amsterdam Archive (Gemeentearchief). Another rich source never before indexed is the Doopregister der Hollanders in Brazilie (Some Baptisms of the Dutch in Brazil, 1633-1654), compiled by C.J. Wasch in 1888 and 1889. These records document the names of children baptized at Recife and the surrounding areas and include the names of their parents and baptismal sponsors. These records appear here from February 2006 to February 2008 (volumes 11:1 - 13:1).

Though the late Jean D. Worden produced hard-copy, every-name indexes for volumes 1 through 9, and Henry B. Hoff published 3 indexes in The NYG&B Newsletter and its successor, the NYG&B Researcher identifying families that had been substantively featured in New Netherland Connections, this database is the first full index to names and topics to be found in all issues of New Netherland Connections.

This database includes an index to the 50,473 names referenced in the first thirteen volumes (1996-2008). The images of the original journal pages are available from the search results pages

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Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 Update

2011-06-13T05:55:00Z

Compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections, this database currently contains records for the towns of Fairfield, Farmington, Greenwich, Guilford, Saybrook, Stonington, Wethersfield, and Windsor.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The database will be enlarged over time to include all towns.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

Massachusetts Vital Records, 1912 Deaths

2011-06-06T23:43:18Z

1912 death records for Massachusetts are now available on AmericanAncestors.org. This update to the Massachusetts Vital Records records database includes 111 volumes of death certificates with 63,526 searchable names.

Search Massachusetts Vital Records, 1912 Deaths

The Essex Genealogist

2011-05-31T12:56:25Z

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by the The Essex Society of Genealogists (founded in 1975).

Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Anentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

Currently, volumes 1 to 5 are available. Additional volumes will be added through the year.

The database is searchable by first and last name; volume and page; article title and subject.

Search The Essex Genealogist

Londonderry, NH: Vital Records to 1910

2011-05-23T15:23:12Z

This database contains the records of 5,094 births, 2,012 marriage intentions, 3,603 marriages, and 2,709 deaths between the years 1720 and 1910 for the town of Londonderry, New Hampshire.

The immigrants who settled the Town of Londonderry, New Hampshire, were descendants of a colony migrating from Scotland to Northern Ireland (Ulster) about 1612.A large number of these Scotch-Irish settlers left their homes in Londonderry, Ireland, and arrived in Boston in 1718 to start a new life without religious wars and persecution.

Of the five shiploads of people under the guidance of Rev. James MacGregor, one group remained in Boston, one group settled in Dracut and Andover and a third group ventured north to what is now Portland, Maine. A harsh winter and low provisions forced the third group to retreat south to Haverhill, Massachusetts, where they heard of a twelve square mile area “abound with nut trees”. Sixteen families left Haverhill for Nutfield in 1719 and on June 21, 1722, established a charter for the Township of Londonderry.

Search: Londonderry, NH: Vital Records to 1910

Plaistow, NH: Vital Records

2011-05-20T14:15:27Z

Plaistow, NH: Vital Records contains 7,298 records of birth, marriage, and death between 1652 and 1905 for the town of Plaistow, New Hampshire.

Plaistow was originally part of Haverhill, Massachusetts, before its annexation to New Hampshire. It was chartered as a separate parish in 1749 and the town was established in 1761.

These records were abstracted by Priscilla Hammond of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1937 from a voluminous manuscript notebook in the possession of the New Hampshire Historical Society. The information from the manuscript notebook was compiled from church records, later town records, and records from neighboring towns about Plaistow as well as private sources.

Search: Plaistow, NH: Vital Records, 1652 - 1905

New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894

2011-05-09T12:24:30Z

The Index to the public records of the County of Albany, State of New York, 1630-1894 was compiled and printed pursuant to chapter 429 of the laws of 1893, and acts amendatory thereof, under direction of Wheeler B. Melius, Superintendent [1893-1906] of the Albany County (N.Y.). Board of Supervisors.

This important fourteen volume set of 250,000 land transactions in Albany County, searchable by grantor, grantee, corporation and date of transaction represents some of the only surviving early records of Albany, NY after a devastating fire on February 10, 1880 at Albany City Hall destroyed or severely damaged many records for the city and county.

The database currently contains Vol. 1-4. Additional volumes will be added regularly.

Search New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894

Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

2011-04-29T15:44:51Z

Newly added, the Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 database is compiled from an original Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript in the NEHGS special collections. This database currently contains records for the towns of Windsor, Fairfield, Saybrook, and Wethersfield.

The complete Barbour collection contains information on 137 Connecticut towns. The database will be enlarged over time to include all 137 towns.

This collection contains records of marriages, births, and deaths in Connecticut towns from the 1640s to about 1870. These records were collected, transcribed, and abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Connecticut Examiner of Public Records, 1911–1934) and his team of researchers between 1918 and 1928.

Mr. Barbour became a member of NEHGS in 1907, in which capacity he remained until his death in 1934. This set of typescripts was donated to NEHGS by Mr. Barbour's wife and children in 1938.

Search Connecticut Vital Records to 1870

Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine

2011-04-25T14:07:33Z

NEHGS, in partnership with the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, is pleased to announce the addition of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine to AmericanAncestors.org.

Volumes 1 to 5 (publication years 1895 to 1914) are currently available to search. Additional volumes will be added regularly throughout the year.

The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, published by the Philadelphia-based Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania since 1895, publishes family histories, original records, book reviews, and scholarly essays.

Early volumes (1895–1947) focus on southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring areas of New Jersey and Delaware and publish original records and documents for the use of genealogical researchers; these documents include public records, election returns, births, deaths, marriages, court records, census reports, and immigration/emigration records.

From 1948–1964, the journal primarily published biographies and family histories. In 1965, the journal expanded the focus of its scholarship to facilitate genealogical research beyond southeastern Pennsylvania and has maintained a more or less consistent balance between publishing compiled genealogies and original source materials.

From 2001 the journal has also published “genealogical summaries” to accompany all compiled genealogies and has further expanded its geographical scope to emphasize research on the European backgrounds of immigrants to Pennsylvania.

From 1895 to 1947, the magazine was called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

Search Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine

The Descendants of Thomas Lamkin

2011-04-14T16:57:52Z

The newly updated database, The Descendants of Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia, by Harold E. Wilkins, MD, edited by Barbara J. Mathews, C.G., is now available to search.

Research into seventeenth-century court records of Virginia's Northern Neck led to the discovery of three individuals all named Thomas Lamkin (seemingly father, son, and grandson) residing near the head of the very short Yeocomico River, which empties into the Potomac River a short distance from the Chesapeake Bay. This unpublished finding led to the writing of The Descendants of Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia, first published by the Newbury Street Press in 2001, which is devoted to the first six generations of this family. The author believes that perhaps ninety-five percent of people in the United States with this surname, regardless of spelling, could be traceable to Thomas Lamkin (c. 1620–1665) of Northumberland County, Virginia.

Search The Descendants of Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia

Mason Membership Cards, Surnames I-L

2011-03-29T12:36:09Z

NEHGS is pleased to announce the addition of 36,011 new records to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership 1733 – 1990 database. This important collection contains information on masons from original membership cards of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts. Membership card data includes date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residency information.

The Grand Lodge is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts and once maintained Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama, Chile, the People's Republic of China (meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The database includes information from all former jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1733-1990.

Founded in 1733, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Masonic lodge in the United States and the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (the United Grand Lodge of England, 1717; the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1725).

As of February 7, 2011, data is available for Masons with surnames "A" through "L". Additional surnames will be added on a regular basis. Upon completion, the database will contain 348,678 membership cards for those masons who died, dropped, or demitted before 1990.

Substantial support for the creation of this database was generously provided through the work of the dedicated NEHGS volunteer corps.

Search: Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership Cards, 1733 –1990

Virginia Genealogist, Vols. 1 - 40

2011-03-25T16:03:07Z

The Virginia Genealogist database, newly updated, now includes volumes 1 through 40, publication years 1957 to 1996. Edited and published by John Fredrick Dorman from 1957 to 2006, The Virginia Genealogist has a reputation for quality research and genealogical information not available elsewhere. Topics include compiled genealogies, personal property tax lists (which serve as useful substitutes for non-existent census records), and other local record abstracts, including court orders, deeds, wills, marriage registers, and other county sources. Also included are a wide variety of transcriptions and abstracts of Bible, church, military, and mercantile records.

Search The Virginia Genealogist

Amherst, MA: Vital Records

2011-03-15T16:55:12Z

Compiled from the Corbin Collection, this database contains vital records for Amherst, Massachusetts from the 1660's to 1955, including 2,353 records of birth, 183 baptisms, 1,696 marriage intentions, 4,403 marriage records, and 486 records of death.

The Corbin Collection is long considered to be one of the most definitive sources for western Massachusetts research. Transcribed by Walter E. Corbin and Lottie (Squier) Corbin, the collection includes transcriptions of vital records, cemeteries, town histories, town records, and other sources, making it one of the most comprehensive and valuable manuscript collections for western Massachusetts in existence.

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Jewish Cemetery Association

2011-03-10T13:41:55Z

NEHGS, together with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts (JCAM), and the American Jewish Historical Society of New England (AJHSNE) has made available for the first time, a comprehensive database of Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts. Currently, the database contains the records of 13 cemeteries. More records will be added weekly until all 106 JCAM cemeteries are online. The names in this extensive database cover the years 1844 to the present, and, when completed later this year, will offer access to more than 100,000 names of Jewish Americans buried in Massachusetts.

NEHGS President and CEO, D. Brenton Simons, said, “For genealogists and researchers, this database is a tremendous resource and provides unique access to a set of names vital to Jewish family research. We are pleased to work with AJHS and JCAM in this way. The Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts is a marvelous society for those with Jewish ancestry and we know countless people will benefit from having it available online.”

“This is one of the first of many benefits that will accrue as a result of our strategic partnership with NEHGS,” said Justin Wyner, chair of the Boston Board of Overseers of the American Jewish Historical Society. “This additional resource is of significant genealogical importance. AJHSNE now makes its home inside the NEHGS research center in downtown Boston.

According to JCAM’s Executive Director Stanley Kaplan, “This partnership with NEHGS and AJHS provides people with access to where their loved ones are resting, a source that is known for genealogy,” said Kaplan. “We have broadened …our reach within the community.”

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Enfield, NH: Vital Records, 1761 - 1940

2011-03-04T12:03:43Z

Enfield, NH: Vital Records, 1761 - 1940 contains 26,403 records of birth, marriage, and death from the founding of the town to 1940.

Enfield, New Hampshire was incorporated in 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. First named Enfield by settlers from Enfield, Connecticut, the town was renamed Relhan in 1766 to honor Dr. Anthony Relhan Following the American Revolution, the New Hampshire town was renamed Enfield in 1784.

The transcription from which this databases was created was compiled from survivingtown records and supplemented with information from probate and land records, tax lists, censuses, newspaper items, correspondence, genealogies, and other resources.

Compiled by George McKenzie Roberts in 1957, this collection is especially valuable because many of the town records prior to 1851 were destroyed by a number of fires.

Roberts' original transcription also included cemetery records, which can be found in our cemetery transcriptions database. In total, only four copies of this typewritten, unpublished manuscript were produced — in addition to the copy at NEHGS, one is kept in the Enfield Public Library and two were given to the New Hampshire State Library

The original text may be accessed at the NEHGS Research Library. The call number is Mss 996

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The American Genealogist, Vols. 49 - 53

2011-02-16T12:14:24Z

Newly updated on AmericanAncestors.org, The American Genealogist database now includes volumes 49 through 53, publication years 1973 to 1977.

The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly since 1923, and represents an important body of scholarly genealogical research covering the breadth of the United States (with an early preference for New England). NEHGS is pleased to offer it as a fully searchable online database. The current TAG database covers volumes 9–53. Additional sets of five volumes are scheduled to be added periodically throughout 2011. Volumes 1–8, covering the years 1923–1932, are already available online under the name “Families of Ancient New Haven.”

Founded in 1923 by Donald Lines Jacobus, TAG is edited by a trio of NEHGS members: Dr. David L. Greene, FASG; Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of the NEHGS Great Migration Study Project; and Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, who is also editor of The Maine Genealogist. These distinguished genealogists, along with dozens of highly-regarded contributors, uphold and advance the standards for genealogical scholarship so carefully articulated by Jacobus and the Jacobus “School.”

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The Mayflower Descendant, Vols. 11 - 15

2011-02-15T12:59:53Z

NEHGS is pleased to update the Mayflower Descendant database with volumes 11 through 15, publication years 1909 to 1913.

The Mayflower Descendant has been published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants since 1899. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.

The database covers volumes 1 to 15, 1899 to 1913. Additional volumes will be added throughout 2011.

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Mason Membership Cards, Surnames E – H

2011-02-07T15:53:44Z

NEHGS is pleased to announce the addition of 66,759 new records to the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership 1733 – 1990 database. This important collection contains information on masons from original membership cards of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts. Membership card data includes date of birth, place of birth, occupation, and residency information.

The Grand Lodge is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts and once maintained Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama, Chile, the People's Republic of China (meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The database includes information from all former jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, 1733-1990.

Founded in 1733, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is the oldest Masonic lodge in the United States and the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (the United Grand Lodge of England, 1717; the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1725).

As of February 7, 2011, data is available for Masons with surnames "A" through "H". Additional surnames will be added on a regular basis. Upon completion, the database will contain 348,678 membership cards for those masons who died, dropped, or demitted before 1990.

Substantial support for the creation of this database was generously provided through the work of the dedicated NEHGS volunteer corps.

Search: Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Membership Cards, 1733 –1990

Barrington & Argyle, Nova Scotia Vital Records

2011-02-04T12:01:09Z

This database includes records of births, deaths, marriages, and local family histories from the 1710s through the 1900s for Barrington & Argyle, Nova Scotia. It also includes information on the original proprietors of nearby towns Liverpool, Annapolis, and Yarmouth.

Barrington was established in 1759 and settled extensively by New England Planters and Loyalists. Argyle was granted township in 1771.

The records for Barrington are registers kept by town clerks Samuel O’Doane Junior and Senior, who recorded births, deaths, and marriages from the 1710s through 1856.

The records related to Argyle range from the 1770s through the first decade of the twentieth century. In addition to births, marriages, and deaths, the Argyle records include the genealogies of prominent local families.

Search: Barrington & Argyle, Nova Scotia Vital Records