American Ancestors Magazine Volume 14, Winter 2013

American Ancestors Magazine
The Society’s popular 64-page magazine —American Ancestors: New England, New York, and Beyond— features a wide range of article topics and styles, and appeals to family historians of all levels. Each issue includes articles on useful sources and helpful research strategies as well as compelling historical accounts and interesting case studieds.Regular columns delve into genetics and genealogy; examine NEHGS manuscript collections; and present announcements of new books, family associations, and DNA studies in progress.

American Ancestors is published four times per year. Subscription is a benefit of NEHGS membership.

Read a featured article from the Spring 2013 issue of American Ancestors, Growing Up in North Cambridge: Capturing a Time and Place in Print, by Stephen G. Surette for free.
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Volume 14, Number 1, Winter 2013

Connecting Families, Advancing History		5
In This Issue		8
Letters & Feedback		9
Announcements David Gergen to be honored at NEHGS Annual Dinner • Alicia Crane Williams joins the NEHGS staff • Lowell genealogy is awarded Jacobus Prize • NEHGS staff update • Gary Boyd Roberts recognized with award • New from Newbury Street Press • New search databases on AmericanAncestors.org • Obituary • Volunteers: The heart of NEHGS • Special NEHGS anniversaries		10
Education Programs & Tours Ancestry Day with NEHGS • Weekend Research Getaways • Writing and Publishing Your Family History, Part II • Come Home to New England • Washington, D.C., Research Tour • Hartford Research Tour • London Research Tour • Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk County Record Office Research Tour • Albany Research Tour • Boston Educational Programs • New Brunswick Research Tour • Salt Lake City Research Tour		14
Ask a Genealogist		17

Researching the Lives of Nineteenth-Century New England Mill Workers Judith A. Ranta		18
A Boardinghouse Keeper's Letters: Ellis (Meloon) Gilman of New Hampshire Judith A. Ranta		22
The Missing Mill Girl: A Tale of Life and Death in Antebellum New England Christopher R. Benedetto		26
Ellen Flynn, Speeder-Tender Michael F. Dwyer		30
The Fate of My Irish Ancestors Paula Casey Wood		33
The Will to Endure: The Life of June (Pennell) MacDonald Barry MacDonald		35
Rhode Island Roots on AmericanAncestors.org Cherry Fletcher Bamberg		39
Reclaiming My Finnish Heritage: A Journey to My Ancestral Village Penny Stratton		41
Reminiscences of NEHGS: 1976–2012 Marie Daly and David Curtis Dearborn		46

Manuscripts at NEHGS A Sampling of New Manuscript Collections Timothy G.X. Salls		50
Focus on New York Colonial New York: A Mixture of Nations Henry B. Hoff		52
Family Focus Genealogies in Progress, Genealogies Recently Published, Other Books & CDs Recently Published, Family Associations, DNA Studies in Progress		55
About NEHGS		64