Vol. 1, No. 31
Whole #31
November 2, 2000
- Society Announcements: Thanksgiving Hours
- Publications: Newton Cemetery Epitaphs Arriving Soon
- Available in the NewEnglandAncestors.org Online Book Shop
- Trustee Tony Burroughs Testifies for Filming of Freedmen's Bureau Records
- Orlando Seminar Announced; Genealogy 101 in Duxbury MA
- Recent Acquisitions
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Thanksgiving Hours, Holiday Hours
We are open Wednesday, November 22 until 3PM. The Society is closed Thursday, November 23 for Thanksgiving, but is OPEN on Friday, November 24 and Saturday, November 25. Please see the "Hours of Operation" link on the home page of NewEnglandAncestors.org for 2000-2001 opening / closing information, including our closing for Inventory Week, which starts in late December.
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St. Mary's Cemetery, Newton Epitaphs Due
The Publications Department is pleased to announce that St Mary's Cemetery, Newton, Massachusetts Epitaphs, compiled by longtime Society member and volunteer Beverly E. Hurney, will be available within a few days. It is in softcover, 6 by 9, about 150 pages, and the price is $15. per copy plus shipping. It may be ordered through the NEHGS Sales Department.
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and Cemetery are listed in the Massachusetts State Register of Historic Places. Episcopal services were first held in Newton lower Falls in 1811. Drawing citizens from Needham and Weston, as well as Newton (Wellesley was apart of Needham at that time), these parishioners formed the first Episcopal parish west of Boston after the Revolution. Samuel Brown, a wealthy Boston merchant, donated the land for St. Mary's Church and cemetery.
Mrs. Hurney is Superintendent of St. Mary’s Churchyard. She has researched the families of many of the people buried in St. Mary’s and has surprised more than a few inquiring descendants by escorting them directly to the gravesite of one of their ancestors. She has recorded burials and inscriptions to the year 1999. Her introduction to the book includes a history of the churchyard written by Beth Rich, Church Historian.
The church was built in 1813, and that same year, Ebenezer Stedman, who fought in the Revolutionary War and was one of the signers of the Petition of Incorporation, was the first burial in the cemetery. At first, the yard was used by all the villagers of Newton Lower Falls regardless of creed. Only later, as lots became scarce, were they limited to parishioners only, and there have been exceptions at the discretion of the Churchyard Superintendent and Vestry.
Many distinguished people are buried in this small churchyard. Two former rectors of St. Mary's, the Rev. Dr. Alfred L. Baury, and the Rev. Roger Williams Bennett, lie here. Revolutionary War soldiers Zibeon Hooker and Elisha Bartlett are also here. It was told of Capt. Hooker that his drum was perforated at the Battle of Bunker Hill. A Civil War veteran of note, Dr. Albert Kendall, the first Worshipful Master of Dalhousie Lodge of Newton, was killed by a chance shot at Antietam, while binding up the wounds of his soldiers. Horatio William Parker, a renowned composer of church music, has the name of his master work Hora Novissimo on his tombstone. Samuel Lawton, a blacksmith, immortalized as Sam Lawson in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Old Town Folks, also rests here, with members of his family. Veterans include seven from the Revolutionary War, three from the War of 1812, 34 Civil War, one Native Indian War, four Spanish-American War, 17 World War I and 17 World War II.
All who have ancestors buried in this old churchyard will appreciate Beverly Hurney’s meticulous work, and anyone concerned with the history of Newton should find it of interest.
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Now Available in the New England Ancestors Online Book Shop
The Stones Speak: Irish Place Names from Inscriptions in Boston's Mount Calvary Cemetery
By Richard Andrew Pierce
This volume joins Missing Friends as an important resource for Irish-American genealogy. Mr. Pierce has captured all information still legible from every stone in Boston’s Calvary Cemetery that includes the name of a home county, parish or townland in Ireland. Given the frequent failure of naturalization, church and civil records to provide an immigrant's place of origin, these inscriptions may contain the only surviving record of a precise location in Ireland. Includes a name index and a place index.
NEHGS. 2000. 160pp. Soft-cover.
$22.95 Member price $20.66 Item #S2-76790
International Vital Records Handbook, 4th edition
By Thomas Jay Kemp
The latest edition of this essential handbook offers a complete up-to-date collection of vital records application forms from each of the fifty states and from all countries of the world. In addition to the forms, the book also includes current addresses of record offices, phone and fax numbers, email addresses, web sites, if available, as well as fees, starting dates of records, and alternative record locations. This fourth edition is over 200 pages longer than previous editions and contains hundreds of new or updated application forms.
GPC. 2000. 616pp. Softcover.
$34.95* Item #B2-62950
The Librarian’s Guide to Genealogical Research
By James Swan
A guide to offering better service and resources to patrons seeking genealogical information or assistance with researching their family history. Starting with the initial interview, the author takes the reader through the steps necessary to help the beginning researcher. Includes reproducible forms, time-saving hints, suggestions for collection development in libraries with differing budgets, electronic resources on the Internet, and contact information for agencies and organizations that offer assistance to genealogists.
Highsmith Press. 1998. 120pp. Softcover.
$19.00* Item #B2-63010
You may place your order online at www.NewEnglandAncestors.org or by calling the Sales Department toll-free at 1-888-296-3447, from 9-5 Eastern time, Monday through Friday. A shipping and handling charge of $3.50 for the first book and $1.25 for each additional book will be added to your order. Massachusetts residents will also be charged 5% sales tax on books not published by the Society. Please refer to this newsletter when placing your order.
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NOTE ABOUT PHOTODUPLICATED BOOK ORDERS
If you are planning to purchase any of the Society's photoduplicated books (item numbers beginning with the letter "P") for holiday gifts, please note that these are special order books and take about 5-6 weeks to produce. To guarantee a delivery by December 25th, please place your order by Wednesday, November 8th. For more information email sales@nehgs.org or call the Sales Department at 1-888-296-3447.
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Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act of 2000 Received in Senate
Society Trustee Tony Burroughs Testifies in Support of Microfilming Project
On October 18, Professor Tony Burroughs of Chicago State University testified before the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology about the Freedmen's Bureau Preservation Act. Asking whether "these Reconstruction-Era Records [are] being protected,” Professor Burroughs was the lone genealogist invitee on the witness panel.
Stating that he represented "those 85% of researchers using the National Archives and 60% of all Americans [interested in genealogy], Professor Burroughs explained that "because of the age, quality and quantity of these records, they are extremely valuable to both African American and white genealogists."
His testimony continues: "I devoted 25% of the instructional text in the African Americal Genealogical Sourcebook to researching records from the Freedmen's Bureau. I explain fourteen record series with genealogical and historical value including:
1. Apprenticeship records
2. Census lists and registers
3. Marriage records, among the most valuable because they often contain the only record of a slave marriage, and sometimes include names of the couple's children.
4. Labor contracts
5. Transportation records
6. Education records, which chronicle the beginning of black colleges.
7. Supervision of 850,000 acres of abandoned lands including leases, sales and restorations.
8. Food rations
9. Hospital records, which are extremely valuable because they are often the only record of an ancestor's death. I've seen hundreds of deaths in hospitals due to contagious diseases, epidemics, and poor sanitary conditions.
10. Complaints, outrages & murders
11. Trials
12. Correspondence
13. Civil War Veteran Claims
14. Miscellaneous records, including a few birth, death & cemetery records"
Howard University will be an instrumental participant in the processing of these records, and University President H. Patrick Swygert, along with faculty Dr. Thomas C. Battle and Dr. Elizabeth Clark Lewis, also testified on the bill's behalf.
In recounting the history of the Freedmen's Bureau, President Swygert noted that this filming would benefit all genealogists. "In Savannah, Georgia, the Freedmen's Bureau gave relief to more than six thousand poor white refugee families that had been in the path of General Sherman's march to the sea. In Western Arkansas and the Eastern Indian Territory extensive assistance was given to destitute white refugees who lost homes and property during the Civil War. The Educational Division of the Freedmen's Bureau provided support to nascent African American schools; however, in areas all over the South it enhanced education for people of all races. An important example, while the Freedmen's Bureau established Howard University in Washington, D.C. to help educate newly freed slaves, it has been coeducational as well as multiracial from its first year of operation. Most importantly, it must be noted that among Howard University's first graduates in 1870 were four white women."
Professor Burroughs noted the virtual wall that those genealogists searching for records encounter beyond the end of the Civil War: "The most challenging problem facing African American genealogists is identifying the name of the last slave owner, vital to extend research beyond 1865....Some of the best sources are records from the Freedmen's Bureau which were created during this transition from slavery to freedom."
Professor Burroughs also testified that the existing condition of the records makes this microfilming need more urgent. "Some....are now 135 years old and in poor condition. In addition to deteriorating paper, ink is fading from some of the pages and will undoubtedly be a challenge to microfilm... Of the few records from the Freedmen's Bureau that have been microfilmed, 75% were filmed prior to the 1977 television mini series Roots by Alex Haley which resulted in the explosion of Americans researching their family history. Records from the Bureau that were microfilmed pertain mainly to reports, correspondence and education-items related to the history of the Bureau and education of African Americans, not genealogy....If these records are microfilmed, thousands of genealogists will not only have access to the materials, many can begin to transcribe records that hold missing puzzles to their ancestors' lives, while other researchers can begin new studies which will contribute to the humanities.”
“I've been at the National Archives on many occasions when researchers located their ancestors in the records. The joy and exultation they exhibit is sometimes overwhelming. It is very exciting for me to share in their excitement. It's what keeps me teaching," he said.
For contents of the bill (HR 5157), which passed the House, was received in the Senate October 23rd and passed on the 26th, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the keyword "Freedmen". The full text of Professor Burroughs' testimony is available at http://www.house.gov/reform/gmit/hearings/ , as is that of the bill's co-sponsor, the Honorable Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), several representatives of Howard University, and archivists from the National Archives. Professor Burroughs' forthcoming book Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree (Fireside; ISBN: 0684847043) is due next month.
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Orlando Seminar Announced; Genealogy 101 in Duxbury
Save This Date: Weekend Seminar in Orlando, Florida February 9-10, 2001
NEHGS comes to Orlando, Florida for a weekend of lectures, consultations and receptions at the Radisson Hotel Orlando Airport. Join staff members David C. Dearborn, FASG, Dr. Ralph J. Crandall, David Allen Lambert, and Gary Boyd Roberts and special guest Patricia Law Hatcher, CG. Enjoy a selection of five lectures a day, catered continental breakfast, and speakers at two luncheons and a dinner banquet. The Hotel is conveniently located near such attractions as Walt Disney World and Epcot Center. NEHGS has reserved rooms for our guests at special rate of $114 per night/single/double (subject to local tax) until January 18, 2001. To take advantage of this reduced cost call the hotel directly at (407) 856-0100 or 1-800-333-3333 and be sure to identify yourself as a participant in NEHGS’s Weekend Seminar.
Genealogy 101 on the Road in Duxbury, Massachusetts is right around the corner! Saturday, November 18th
Don't miss this opportunity to participate in this day of talks on beginning and intermediate genealogy given by the popular Marcia Melnyk. This "101" will be held at the John Alden House in Duxbury, MA in collaboration with the John Alden Kindred of America, Inc. Topics include "Getting Organized in Your Research" and "Computer Resources for Genealogy." Registration is from 9-9:30AM. Tuition for Society members is $45 and for non-members, $50.
For registration and other information on either of these programs call the education department toll-free at 1-888-286-3447 extension 227, or email education@nehgs.org
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Recent Library Acquisitions
The following titles have recently been added to the collections of the Research and Circulating libraries. If a title is available for loan from the Circulating Library, the call number will include the word "LOAN". All other titles may be accessed by visiting the Research Library at 101 Newbury Street in Boston. To learn more about borrowing items from the Circulating Library, see our website www.NewEnglandAncestors.org or e-mail bookloan@nehgs.org.
Abstracts of the probate records of Rockingham County, NH, 1771-1799.
Author: Evans, Helen F.
Publisher: Bowie, Md. : Heritage Books, 2000
Call number: F42/R7/E93/2000
Les Amish : origine et particularismes 1693-1993 = The Amish : origin and characteristics 1693-1993.
Author: Hege, Lydie.
Corp. Author: Association francaise d'histoire anabaptiste-mennonite.
Publisher: Ingersheim : AFHAM, 1996
Call number: BX8129/A5/A44/1996
The Armagh County Museum records : an interesting and under-used source.
Author: Williams, Margaret.
Corp. Author: North of Ireland Family History Society.
Publisher: Belfast, Northern Ireland : North of Ireland Family History Society, 1998
Call number: CS497/A76/W55/1998 microfiche
The Babson genealogy : 1606-1997 : descendants of Thomas and Isabel Babson who first arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1637.
Author: Chaplin, Ann Theopold.
Publisher: Baltimore, MD : Gateway Press, 1997
Call number: CS71/B1182/1997 also LOAN
Bailey genealogy : descendants of Thomas Bayley/Bailey of Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Author: Bailey, Louis G. (Louis Glen), 1931-
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : The authors, 1999
Call number: CS71/B15/1999
Baltimore County, Maryland deed abstracts, 1659-1750.
Author: Barnes, Robert William.
Publisher: Westminster, Md. : Family Line Publications, 1996
Call number: F187/B2/B324/1996
Before the wind : the memoir of an American sea captain, 1808-1833.
Author: Tyng, Charles, 1801-1879.
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Viking, 1999
Call number: VK140/T96/A3/1999
The birthpangs of welfare: poor relief and parish governance in seventeenth-century Warwickshire.
Author: Hindle, Steve, 1965-
Corp. Author: Dugdale Society.
Publisher: Stratford-upon-Avon : Dugdale Society in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 2000
Call number: DA670/W3/D91/no.40
Branches & roots of Oliver Perkins : a genealogical study of his ancestry, his descendants, and their allied families.
Author: Perkins, Steven G. (Steven Gary), 1955-
Publisher: Baltimore, MD : Gateway Press, 1999
Call number: CS71/P45/1999
The Brethren encyclopedia.
Publisher: Philadelphia, PA : Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1983-
Call number: REF BX7821.2/B74/1983
The Brethren in colonial America : a source book on the transplantation and development of the Church of the Brethren in the eighteenth century.
Author: Durnbaugh, Donald F.
Publisher: Elgin, Ill. : Brethren Press,
Call number: BX7816/D87/1967
Churchwardens' accounts of Cratfield, 1640-1660.
Author: Botelho, L. A. (Lynn A.)
Corp. Author: Suffolk Records Society.
Publisher: Woodbridge : Boydell & Brewer, 1999
Call number: DA670/S89/S86/v.42
Danish emigration to Canada.
Author: Bender, Henning.
Corp. Author: Aalborg universitetscenter. Danske udvandrerarkiv.
Publisher: Aalborg, Denmark : Danes Worldwide Archives, in collaboration with the Danish Society for Emigration History, 1991
Call number: F1035/D3/D36/1991
Danish emigration to the U.S.A..
Author: Larsen, Birgit.
Publisher: Aalborg, Denmark : Danes Worldwide Archives in collaboration with the Danish Society for Emigration History, 1992
Call number: E184/S19/D36/1992
Descendants of John Cogswell : the Cogswell family, 1635-1996.
Author: Cogswell, Donald James.
Publisher: Westminster, Md. : Family Line Publications,
Call number: CS71/C678/1998
Dyer families from Sheepscot and Weymouth.
Author: Malcom, Elsa Barclift, 1930-
Publisher: Gladstone, Or. : E.B. Malcom,
Call number: CS71/D996/1999
L'evolution de la race francaise en Amerique. Tome I, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island.
Author: Wilson, Bruno.
Publisher: Montreal : Beauchemin, 1921
Call number: E184/F85/W55/1921
Fete des familles Letourneau, Ile d'Orleans, 1654-1979.
Author: Letourneau, Charles.
Publisher: Quebec : Service des impressions en regie du bureau de l'Editeur officiel du Quebec ; Pawtucket, RI : Available from Quintin Publications,
Call number: CS90/L397/1979
Forgetting frolic : marriage traditions in Ireland.
Author: Ballard, Linda.
Publisher: Belfast : Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast in association with the Folklore Society, London, 1998
Call number: DA925/B35/1998 also LOAN
The forgotten Portuguese.
Author: Mira, Manuel
Publisher: Franklin, NC : Portuguese-American Historical Research Foundation, Inc.,
Call number: E184/P8/M57/1998
Genealogical research in England's Public Record Office : a guide for North Americans.
Author: Reid, Judith P.
Publisher: Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Pub.,
Call number: Intl. REF CS49/R45/2000 also LOAN
Genealogy : Sagarino - Toce - Emma - Motta.
Author: Sagarino, J. Felix.
Publisher: Melrose, Mass. : J.F. Sagarino,
Call number: LOAN CS71/S128/1972
The genealogy of the descendants of Urbain Baudreau dit Graveline : errata [and] index of the descendants.
Author: Allard, Norman. Genealogy of the descendants of Urbain Baudreau dit Graveline.
Corp. Author: Urbain Baudreau Graveline Genealogical Association.
Publisher: [Palmer, Mass. : Urbain Baudreau Graveline Genealogical Assoc., 2000
Call number: CS71/G775/1998/Suppl.
A guide to research at the Arkansas History Commission.
Corp. Author: Arkansas History Commission.
Publisher: Little Rock, Ark. : The Commission,
Call number: V.F. F406/A632/1998
A guide to the North American collections of the Danish Emigration Archives.
Author: Bartlett, Nancy.
Corp. Author: Aalborg universitetscenter. Danske udvandrerarkiv.
Publisher: Aalborg, Denmark : Danish Emigration Archives in collaboration with the Danish Society for Emigration History, 1997
Call number: REF Z1361/D3/B37/1997
A Head family history : with allied colonial Maryland families of Bigger, Boteler, Lingan, and Wilson and with allied contemporary lines of Arthaud, Braun, Clark, James, Kimmis, and Parks.
Author: Arthaud, John Bradley, 1939-
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : Newbury Street Press, 1999
Call number: CS71/H4323/1999 also LOAN
History of Czechs in America.
Author: Habenicht, Jan.
Publisher: St. Paul, MN : Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International,
Call number: E184/C98/H33/1996 also LOAN
A history of the book in America.
Author: Amory, Hugh.
Publisher: [Worcester, Mass.] : American Antiquarian Society ; Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2000-
Call number: Z473/H57/2000
The homestead of Richard Dodge : successive owners of his "Pioneer Home" together with a general idea as to the location of the boundary lines of the several parcels herein described.
Author: Dodge Louis A.
Publisher: [Wenham, Mass.] : Wenham Historical Society, 1947
Call number: F74/W4/D63/1947
Index to Branches and twigs : a genealogical periodical published by the Genealogical Society of Vermont from 1972 through 1995.
Author: Murphy, Robert M.
Corp. Author: Genealogical Society of Vermont.
Publisher: St. Albans, Vt. : Genealogical Society of Vermont, 2000
Call number: F48/B8/Index also LOAN
Index to the Genealogical journal of Jefferson County, New York.
Author: James, Patricia R.
Publisher: Boise, Idaho : The Family Tree, 1997
Call number: F127/J4/G46/Index
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