Ask a Genealogist

Question:

I am in search of the gravestone of my immigrant ancestor Capt. Roger Clap  Can you tell me where in Boston he is buried?

Answer:

Your ancestor is buried at King's Chapel Cemetery on Tremont Street in Boston.  I can tell you this as I was only there recently myself, and this stone still stands upright  off the back path of the cemetery.  His gravestone inscription - Here Lyteth Buried / Ye Body of Capt  / Roger Clap / Aged 82 Years / Deceased Ye 2 Of / February 1690/1.  This comes from our publilshed volume of inscriptions for Boston by Robert J. Dunkle and Ann S. Lainhart, Inscriptions and Records of the Old Cemeteries of Boston. (Boston, Mass., NEHGS, 2000), pg. 737.

Question:
I found a deed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts for a unknown place in Boston today.  Can you tell me where in the 1740's "Turnagain(e) Alley" was located?

Answer: 

The location of where Turagaine Alley was  still exists as Temple Place in Boston today.  Turnagain Alley was named by the then town of Boston May 3, 1708.  It was an alley leading from the east of the Boston Common on the north side of Madam Usher's house.  The Alley was renamed Temple Place in 1830.  This reference source is the publication by the City of Boston, A Record of the Streets, Alley's, Places, Etc., in the City of Boston. (Boston, City of Boston Printing Dept., 1910), pg. 466.

Question:

In the supply inventory for my ancestors local militia unit are listed "a dozen housewives"? I am puzzled if I am missing the meaning of this, were these ladies who travelled with the unit?

Answer:  In this case the term "housewife" is actually referring to a sewing kit, with needle, thread and extra buttons.  The quick repairs of a soldiers uniform would be aided by this little sewing kit.  I have seen it mentioned from time to time in supply lists from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Question:  I will be visiting NEHGS and the Massachusetts area later next month.  Can you advise me how I can track down probate and deeds in 18th and 19th century South Braintree later Randolph, Massachusetts?

Answer: 

At NEHGS we can assist you with the probate and deeds in Randolph and South Braintree before 1793 when the land was part of Suffolk County.  At the same year Randolph was incorporated as a town (in 1793) from the south precinct of Braintree, there was the split between Suffolk and Norfolk Counties.  We do have probate record books on microfilm for Norfolk County at NEHGS after 1793, however we do not have land deeds for Randolph after 1793.  These deeds are available at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds in Dedham, Mass. http://www.norfolkdeeds.org/ You can search some of the Norfolk County Deeds for free online, and browse others by volume and page at the following website: http://www.norfolkresearch.org/ALIS/WW400R.HTM   You may also wish to search some of the databases we have on Americanancestors.org for Braintree and Randolph for vital records and church records. 

Question:

The New Jersery State Archives website states they have -  "microfilm copies of: births, 1878-1923; marriages, 1878-1940; and deaths, 1878-1940. These materials are available for in-person use only. Search service is provided by the Bureau of Vital Statistics (linked below)."  However, if you click on the "References Services" link, you are led ultimately to request forms that are consistent with New Jersey restrictive access policies.  For instance, the form to request a birth search only provides for a request for births through 1900, even though microfilms apparently exist with data through 1923.

The question is, if you go to the NJ Archives in person, can you use the microfilms and obtain information on births up to 1923 and marriages and deaths up to 1940.

Answer:

I have contacted the New Jersey State Archives on your behalf.  They informed me that you can review the microfilm at their archives, as well as make microfilm prints at .50 cents per page.  Their restrictions relate to the mailing of copies of the documents.

Question:

I am wondering what recent work has been done on my unusually named ancestor Hatevil Nutter of New Hampshire.

Answer:

Two recent publications available from NEHGS will be of interest of you.  His English origins were published by John C. Brandon, The English Origin of Elder Hatevil¹ Nutter of Dover, New Hampshire. With an Account of his Uncle the Reverend Anthony Nutter, Puritan Minister of Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire, and Woodkirk, Yorkshire. The American Genealogist (72:263-278).  Also a compiled genealogy on his descendants by Frederick R. Boyle, Hatevil Nutter of Dover, N.H., and his descendants (Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, 1997).

Question:

If Walnut Grove Cemetery was consecrated in 1844, why do the Danvers vital records say some of my ancestors who died well before that (for example Nathaniel Putnam who died in 1800) are buried there (G.R. 11)?  Was there an older cemetery that was incorporated into Walnut Grove?

Answer:

It is not very uncommon for a family to remove burials from another family lot, and rebury them in a new cemetery location.  This often occurs when a family plot was purchased in the 19th century.  An example of this I found with the Evergreen Cemetery in Stoughton, Massachusetts when I transcribed it.  There was a gravestone dated 1799, and this cemetery was not laid out until 1857.  Also the name and date on a gravestone may in fact be a cenotaph.  A cenotaph essentially memorializes an individual when they are not buried there.  To my knowledge there was not an older cemetery pre-dating 1844 at the Walnut Grove Cemetery location.

Question:

Can you advise me on where to find Revolutionary War Regimental histories for Massachusetts?  I would like to know where my ancestor may have fought during the Revolution, he did not have a pension file unfortunately.

Answer:

Unlike the Civil War the concept of the Regimental history in America is a 19th century creation.  There are various published accounts of the military events relating to the occasional officer and his company, however for the most part they are not very complete.  What I have suggested to researchers in the past is to follow the following steps: 1) "Adopt the company of your ancestor", which involves researching the military and pension files of his fellow soldiers.  Their pension may indicate particular battles that they were in, or locations that their regiment were stationed.  2) Search for diaries and letters of the officers, and the soldiers of the same regiment.  I have often found papers associated with the officers of the regiment, and on occasion even correspondence.  3) When searching for military documents search on the Colonel of the Regiment, and the Captains of the Companies.  The Massachusetts State Archives Collection will be very valuable using this method.  The archives can be reached at: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/

Question:

When I visit NEHGS will I be able to search deeds in New Jersey from the 17th century?  They lived in the Western division of the colony which existed to 1702.

Answer:

I would refer you to the published abstracts by John David Davis of West Jersey.  This compilation include West Jersey, New Jersey deeds abstracted in the late 17th and early 18th century. The title of this volume by Davis is West Jersey New Jersey Deed Records 1676-1721 (Westminster, MD, Heritage Books, 2005) - NEHGS Call # F133/D38/2005.  You may also wish to call ahead and order Family History Library microfilm of these deeds to view the originals.  You can place an order for FHL microfilm on our website with this link: http://web1.americanancestors.org/Product.aspx?id=20705

Question:

I am confused on why I can not locate deeds in Coos County, New Hampshire for the town of Milan in 1790?

Answer:

The reason you are not finding deeds that early is due to the incorporation of the county.  Coos County was formed in 1803 from Grafton County, New Hampshire.  The deeds you need would be under Grafton County.  We have these records on microfilm at NEHGS on the 4th Floor Microtext Library (Call # F42/G7/G47).

Question:

Can you explain what origin of the "Sufferers' Lands" that my ancestor were awarded in Erie Co., Ohio were?  It sounds like they were under some sort of hardship.

Answer:

The land in question was also referred to as "Firelands" property.  The land consisted of some 500,000 acres in Hudson and Erie Counties in Ohio.  The land was offered to replace the land destroyed along the coastline by the British Army during the Revolutionary War.

Question:

While reviewing family papers I find a reference to a David Force who played baseball for the "Canaries"?  Is there anyway I can locate records on this person?

Answer:

Your relative did in fact play professional baseball for a short lived team in Baltimore called the Canaries.  This team only was in existance from 1872-1874.  Known as "Davy Force" he played professional baseball between 1871-1886 in a variety of teams.  He was born David W. Force in New York, N.Y, and died in Englewood, NJ in 1918 according to www.Retrosheet.org  For a complete listing of his statistics use the following link: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/F/Pforcd101.htm   Retrosheet.org is very useful for those searching for a baseball connection on a surname they are researching.  If you reuire more information you may wish to contact the Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Question:

I am searching for the pension record of my War of 1812 ancestor.  Can you advise where I can find it online?  Also is there a Massachusetts War of 1812 Society currently active?

Answer:

Currently the War of 1812 pension files are located as textual records only.  They are house at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and are Record Group 15.  Current efforts are underway to digitize the more than 180,000 files, consisting of some 7.2 million pages.  Theses efforts are through a fund raising campaignthrough the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS).  To find out more go online to www.fgs.org/1812   The Massachusetts Society of the War of 1812 is still very active and can be reached at: http://ma1812society.org/

Question:

My 5th great grandfather was supposed to have given aide, or was a guardian to the Natick Indians in the mid 1700s.  Can you tell me where the records he kept might be?

Answer:

 I have spent a great deal of time with the Indian volumes of the Massachusetts Archives Collection.  These scrapbooks of documents were prepared in the late 19th century with documents dating back into the 1620's to the 1780's.  Part of this collection is indexed online, however the images still need to be consulted on microfilm at the Mass. State Archives.  I am delighted to tell you that the index does include all the Indian volumes from the early 1600s through 1775. The following link will take you to the search page for these records - http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionarySearch.aspx

Question:

Does NEHGS have any records for the burials for the Boston cemetery called Mount Hope?  Or can you advise where I can get information on burials from this large cemetery?  I understood that they had microfilmed the records.

Answer:

At one point NEHGS was considering purchasing a copy of the burial records for Mount Hope Cemetery. This cemetery was opened in 1851, and is located at 355 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, Mass.  However these microfilm are not with the Boston City Archives as some had advised me. These burial records covering 1852-1990 on twenty-five (16mm) microfilm masters were commissioned and delivered sometime before 1990 to the Executive Secretary for the Parks Commission. Neither the current Executive Secretary nor the Parks officials with whom he checked knew the whereabouts of these masters. The originals burial records are still at Mt. Hope Cemetery and can be searched in person or by phone. You can reach the cemetery directly at: 617-635-7361

The Boston City Archives does however have some microfilmed Cemetery records including the following Boston area cemeteries:

Mt. Hope Graves Books, ca. 1952-89, on six 35mm masters.

Mt. Hope cemetery Index, 1980-90, on three 35mm masters.

Evergreen Cemetery Index, 1980-90, on one 16mm master

Fairview Cemetery Index, 1980-90, on one 16mm master

The Boston City Archives can be reached at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/contact/?id=135

Question:

I would like to know if you can identify the following military badge.  This I believe belonged to my Union Civil War Ancestor when he was in the G.A.R. which was in his daughter's possession.

Answer:

This is not a membership badge for the Grand Army of the Republic, this is a badge for a son or male descendant of the S.U.V. (Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War).  This organization formed in 1881 is still active and you can find out about membership at: http://www.suvcw.org/   An example for the membership ribbon for the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) is below.