January 7, 2009
Question:
I am researching one
Isaac Hamblin/Hamlin, who served in the War of 1812, and was present at
(and wrote a description of) the death of Tecumseh. I believe that he
and his wife were also once prisoners of Tecumseh, perhaps taken to
Canada (most likely Ontario). I would like to learn more about the
captivity incident, but don't know where to turn for that information.
Is there a good reference work on Tecumseh, a museum, an authority?
Isaac may have once lived in Ontario - the people I believe to be his
grandparents were Tories, and went to Ontario during the Revolutionary
War - and the abduction may have occurred within that province.
Answer:
Thank you for your note. I
would
search for a narrative of his captivity in his pension if he ever
received one from his U.S. Military service. You may also wish to check
with the National Archives in Washington if there are materials directly
relating to his regiment's involvement in the death of Tecumseh. These
records are not online and need to be examined in person at the National
Archives. I cannot locate a museum or repository dealing with Tecumseh
but you may find the following publications on Tecumseh useful. Use the
website www.worldcat.org
to determine the closest repository
Allan Eckert, A
Sorrow in Our Hearts: The Life of Tecumseh. (New York: Bantam
Books, 1992).
R. David Edmunds, Tecumseh and the Quest for
Indian Leadership. (Boston: Little Brown, 1984).
John
Sugden, Tecumseh: A Life. (New York: Holt, 1997).
January
8, 2009
Question:
I am looking for
Helen
Purcell dob 5/14/1895 in Peabody. Massachusetts vital records has no
record of her birth. Could you suggest alternatives or give advice as to
how to find some sort of records that documents her.
Answer:
Thank you for your note. It was not
uncommon for a birth to go unrecorded in the 19th century. My own
grandmother’s birth in 1896 was not recorded until 1952. There are a few
options to consider. First off you may look for misspellings of the
name of the child, or even looking for “male” or “female” under that
surname. Often success occurs when you examine the births from that town
on the given year. A line by line inspection can occasionally help
locate someone skipped by the indexer. You may also consider a few
published volumes of corrections and additions at NEHGS. These volumes
are only indexes by name containing the year of birth, the place of
birth and the citation. The volumes cover 1841-1929, 1930-1941,
1942-1962, 1965, 1968.
You might also explore a church
baptism in the local churches in Peabody, Massachusetts, or surviving
school records that would confirm a birthdate. The town of Milton,
Massachusetts still had my grandmothers’ report cards on file from 1914
with her date of birth.
January 9, 2009
Question:
I have found the record of a marriage
between Frederick Rupp and Charity Peters on March 29, 1807 at New South
Church in the online Boston Marriages 1700-1809 and in the online
Boston Church Records. Do the handwritten originals exist, and did they
contain the birthplaces, ages and parents' names of the bride and groom?
Answer:
A marriage occurring before 1841 would
not include
the birthplaces or parents of the bride and groom. On occasion when a
bride was under age and permission was granted by her parent or guardian
this may be present. Also if the bride or groom was residing outside
the town the ceremony occurred you will find that indicated. NEHGS
produced a CD-ROM of Boston Church Records including the New South
Church. The entry for their marriage is no different than what you have
seen. If you would care to examine the original microfilm of The New
South Church of Boston it is available the Family History Library for
the years you need. New South Church - Church records, baptisms,
marriages, 1719-1812 [FHL US/CAN Film 837129 Item 2].
January
12 , 2009
Question: Do
original marriage records from Salem 1836 still exist? Andrew married
Ann Marshall on Oct. 12, 1836. This record is unavailable online as an
original view.
Answer:
The
original vital records that were used to compile the published Vital
Records of Salem, Massachusetts have been microfilmed. These records are
still on file at the City Clerk’s Office in Salem. You can however rent
the microfilm from the Family History Library. Two microfilms that are
available that would cover 1836 marriages. Records of birth, death and
marriage - v. 3 1650-1844 [FHL US/CAN Film 761209], and Records
of marriage, birth and death - v. 3-5 1650-1865 [FHL US/CAN Film
761210]. You can order these microfilm to use at NEHGS for $5.50 per
reel. You can place your order in person at the Microtext Floor (4th
Floor), or call 617-226-1239. The rental period is three weeks, and you
can renew up to two times. You can also order LDS Microfilm at location
nearest you if NEHGS. To learn more about locations nearby, and how the
ordering procedure click on this link: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Ordering_Microfilm_or_Microfiche_from_a_Family_History_Center
January 13, 2009
Question:
I understand that the province of
Newfoundland has later census
records then the rest of Canada. I would imagine that is because of it
not joining Canada until the 1940’s. What records do you have?
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. We have available at NEHGS the 1921 Census of Newfoundland
on eighteen reels of microfilm [call # HA741/C4/1921]. There are also
two other later census for Newfoundland for 1935 and 1945. You can
search transcriptions of some sections of these censuses online.
1921
- http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1921/project21.shtml
1935
- http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1935/135-dist-idx.shtml
1945
- http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1945/145-dist-idx.shtml
Microfilm of the 1935 and 1945 Newfoundland Census are available
directly from the archives “The Rooms” of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Rooms Provincial Archives Division
The Rooms Corporation
of
Newfoundland and Labrador
9 Bonaventure Avenue
P.O. Box 1800,
Station C
St. John's, NL, Canada A1C 5P9
http://www.therooms.ca/
January
14, 2009
Question:
Someone told me that they found some information relevant to my
family in a volume that's part of a set of books called the Boston
Transcript. Are those volumes on-line on the NEHGS website, or are they
only available there at the library? Thanks for any help you can give
me!
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. The index to the genealogical column in the former The
Boston Evening Transcript newspaper is part of the (AGBI) The American
genealogical-biographical index to American genealogical, biographical,
and local history materials. This index is available online via
www.ancestry.com to paid subscribers.
At NEHGS we have access
for patrons to search the online index I just mentioned before using the
newspapers. We also have the published issues of (AGBI) on the shelves
on the 6th floor [call # Z5313.U5 A55].The newspapers for the Transcript
genealogical column we have on microfilm for issues through April, 1912
in our Microtext library on the 4th floor. After 1912 we have cartons
containing the actual newspaper sheets located in cabinets in the 6th
floor reading room. A staff genealogist can assist you with locating the
appropriate box. If you can not visit our library our NEHGS Research
Service staff can be hired to obtain the records you need.
January
15, 2009
Question:
I am an author working on a biography
and note that your collection
has a work I'm looking for. It is the GHC Bulletin series called
Genealogie et histoire de la Caraibe. I need #177 (January 2005, page
4409). Please tell me if you have this issue and how I might procure it,
or even just the page I need. Thank you kindly.
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. We have the complete run of this publication from 1989
through the present. These books are available to examine at NEHGS or
you can order photocopies from us.
The call number for this
publication is F2155.G46. Click here for more information about our
photocopy
service.
January
16, 2009
Question:
I have found records of my ancestors’ burial
site via your
databases – my problem is that there are references that give two (or 3)
different cemeteries. How do I determine which is correct? My ancestors
are members of the Swan family – Jabez (Sr.) & wives (1) Mehitable
and (2) Lucy and Jabez (Jr.) & wives (1) Huldah and (2) Prudence.
The first reference is the NEHGS Register, Vol. 81, p. 266, which shows
them buried at Millington Cemetery in East Haddam. The second reference
is the NEHGS cemetery transcriptions from the manuscript collection
which indicates they are buried in North Granby Cemetery in East Haddam.
To add to the confusion the NEHGS Register, Vol. 143, p. 363, lists the
cemetery several times as Willington (in error for Millington?).
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. I would imagine the more recent article in the NEHGS
Register to be correct but that is not always the case. However
Millington is the correct name for the cemetery you mentioned. If you
were planning a trip to NEHGS I would advise you to look at the Hale
Collection on microfilm. The work compiled by Charles R. Hale is a
collection of newspaper notices and gravestone inscriptions. This
collection contains the cemetery transcriptions for many gravestones in
Connecticut and is very useful. This collection has a statewide index
also on microfilm, and if you can not visit, our Research
Service team can be hired to access it for you.
If you
would like to contact the Town
Clerk in East Haddam to see if they have a burial register, or an
inventory of their cemeteries they can be reached at the following:
Town
of East Haddam
7 Main St
East Haddam, CT 06423
(860) 873-1010
http://www.easthaddam.org/
January
19, 2009
Question:
Good
afternoon! I am wondering if there are any transcribed cemetery
documents that will help me locate the place of burial for an
individual, Solon Orville Burrington. Solon died on 15 October 1888 in
Saratoga Springs, NY, but according to his death certificate, he was
buried in North Adams. I have already consulted the North Adams Cemetery
Association, who has a card index for Hillside and Southview
Cemeteries. They were unable to locate a record for Solon within either
of these cemeteries. P.G.
Answer:
Thank you
for your note. In regard to North Adams I can supply the names of a few
additional cemeteries from my own publication – A Guide to Massachusetts
Cemeteries. (Boston, NEHGS, 2002). Each cemetery is given with the date
it opened or the earliest gravestone date. A new revision of my
cemetery guide will be published by NEHGS early this year. You may be
able to hire a local member of the historical society to visit these
cemeteries if you can not. In some cases we have transcriptions of these
gravestones in book and manuscript format.
Advent Cemetery (1835) -
old Military Rd. off Veazie St.
Beth Israel Cemetery (19th
century)
Walker St.
Blackinton Cemetery (1813) – Massachusetts
Ave.
A published transcription is available of this cemetery at
NEHGS under the call # [F74/n8/B5/1984].
Chilson-Gates-Hewett
Cemetery (1811)
off Myers Ave.
NEHGS has a manuscript of this
transcription call # [Mss/3/N/34]
East Hoosac Cemetery
South
State St.
Old Congregational Burial Ground (1830)
South State
St.
North Church Cemetery (1802)
North Church St.
NEHGS has
a manuscript of this transcription call # [MS70/NOR/3]
Wilbur
Family Burial Ground (1813)
West Mountain Rd.
January
21,
2009
Question:
Presently, I'm working on another branch of the family, the
Crofts
branch. Frank Spencer Crofts was my sons' great grandfather. He was born
in Spithfield, Providence, RI in 1859. I'd like to locate his birth
certificate, for starters (also marriage and death certs) but when I
search on this site for RI information, I am shown endless pages of
lists but don't seem to be able to look at the contents of any of those
lists. Can you advise me about gaining access to RI records?
Answer:
We presently
have the vital records for Rhode Island from 1636 to 1850 online. This
is from the published work of James N. Arnold.
NEHGS
does have records of the microfilm for Rhode Island births from 1853 to
1894. The index covers births from 1853 to 1889. You can utilize this
material in our 4th Floor Microtext Department under call number
[F78/R55/1992]. If you can not visit our library you can hire a staff
member our Research
Service team to assist you in completing your search.
January
22, 2009
Question:
Recently I found a Civil War pension index
card from the National
Archives microfilm with a notations I do not recognize. The card had a
“CX” at the bottom, and I saw some cards that had “C” followed by a
number. Does this indicate they were rejected because they were really
“C” for Confederates?
Answer:
Your ancestor
was a Union veteran, the “C” only represents a file class but it is
important when obtaining the record. In most cases Civil War soldiers
and their widows had deceased before the 1930’s. However if your soldier
or his widow died after 1930 their record may still be with the
Department of Veterans Affairs. The following is the suggested letter
you send to the Department of Veterans Affairs in your local state.
Department
of Veterans Affairs
Director, Records Management Service (005E3)
810
Vermont Ave., NW
Washington, DC, 20420
(write Freedom of
Information Act Request on the envelope)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I
am advised that there is a veteran’s pension file for my (list
relationship) (list name), designated C-(list certificate number), and
it is in the custody of the Department fo Veteran Affairs.
I am
requesting that you conduct a BIRLS search for the file and retrieve it
for my use from the Federal Records Center where it is currently houses.
Procedures for recall of records from Federal Records Centers are found
in VA Handbook 6300.1 Chapter 6, Part 5.
Sincerely,
(your
name, address, phone number, and e-mail address)
January
23, 2009
Question:
In the mail I received a certified copy of vital records from my
ancestors town in Vermont. To my surprise there were the names of all of
the children and their dates. Since these are all grouped together on
the same page are they authentic? The record was recorded in 1805 by the
town clerk.
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. It is not uncommon for the recording of an entire family at
once. Often a member of the family would bring forward a copy of the
family bible to prove the events occurred. Also if a family recently
arrived in town they may record all their children that had been born
elsewhere not clarifying those events. Therefore you may find children
being recored in two communities, or being born in a town before it was
even settled as a community. It is not uncommon to find the marriage
date of the parents on the same page as the family births. On occasion
various town clerks would set aside a page for each family in town and
record the births and deaths upon it. The town of Easton, Massachusetts
have their births records arranged in this manner, they are transcribed
in the Mayflower Descendant most recently in vol. 57, no. 1.
January 26, 2009
Question:
Do you have
the Dorchester school records of those schools or a listing of children
attending? This is the last hard search I have had problems with. I
can't find him any where.
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. We do not have school records foearly 20th century students
from Dorchester. You may wish to contact the Boston City Archives. They
do have records for all Boston area schools that were officially closed.
The records are arranged on index cards, with the dates of admission
into the particular grades, and the address of the student. Often you
will also get the date of birth of the student included on each card.
City
of Boston Archivist
201 Rivermoor Street
West Roxbury, MA 02132
Telephone
: 617-635-1195
Email : Archives@cityofboston.gov
January
27, 2009
Question:
I'm trying to sort out the John Somerbys in
Newburyport. There is a
reference to a Somerby death in Thomas Cary's Newbuyrport diary (online
at NEHGS) in which Cary refers to "Master Somerby" who was buried in
1800. Might this have been a reference to a child, as children were once
called Miss and Master? A child born in Newburyport abt. 1794, little
John Somerby, disappears from the records after his father (John
Somerby) dies and about the time his mother, who was Margery Merrill
Somerby, remarries to Robert Merrill in Newburyport in 1801. So, I
wondering if the death of Master Somerby refers to the child, or an
adult Somerby, or if it can't be determined. J.F.
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. The only death I find in Newburyport for 1800 is abstracted
from a gravestone at Old Burying Hill Cemetery. This record is for a
Joseph Somerby age 45 who died February 22, 1800, age 45. [Source:
Vital Records of Newburyport, Mass. to the end of the year 1849 (Salem,
1911)]. This would be the entry that Rev. Cary was speaking of as this
was a burial he wrote in his diary on February 25, 1800.
January
28, 2009
Question:
While consulting old deeds in Franklin County, Massachusetts I
came
across the reference to “Bardwell’s Ferry” as a location where my
relative lived. Can you tell me where this was located?
Answer:
Thank you for
your note. According to the book Historical Data relating to
Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts. (Boston, NEHGS, 1997)
– Bardwell’s Ferry is a section of the town of Deerfield,
Massachusetts.
January 29, 2009
Question:
My
grandfather’s record were destroyed in St. Louis, Missouri in the fire
in the 1970’s. I recall you mentioned at one of your military lectures
that on a local level there are some records? He lived in Haverhill,
Massachusetts before the war.
Answer:
The records of the Adjutant General’s Office for
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts contain the discharge papers for
veterans from the state. They will send you photocopies of the relevant
pages of the discharge. I would suggest sendind your request in writing
with a self addressed stamped envelope to the Mass. National Guard
Museum and Archives.
Massachusetts National Guard Museum and
Archives,
44 Salisbury St, Worcester, MA 01609
attn: Col. Leonid
E. Kondratriuk, Director
Email: mailto:leonid.kondratiuk@ma.ngb.army.mil
January
30, 2009
Question:
I am looking to research the annual town reports for a batch of
Massachusetts towns. I have gone to the Boston Public Library and to
NEHGS but you do not have the towns I need. Is there a complete
collection at the Massachusetts State Archives?
Answer:
Thanks for
your question. The Massachusetts State Library not the State Archives
has a fairly comprehensive collection of the annual city and town
reports for Massachusetts communities from the 19th through 21st
centuries. On their website you can also determine the towns and the
years they have availble.
http://www.mass.gov/lib/collections/gd/town.htm#reports
For some communities the town reports publish births, marriages and deaths
for the previous year. This is a quick way to search post-1915 vital
records not already open to the public. These records were made public
at the time of their publication, but remain an underutilized resource
among genealogists and historians.
Massachusetts State Library
State
House – Room 341
Boston, MA 02133
Tel: 617-727-2590