Vol. 13, No. 9
Whole #468
March 3, 2010
Edited by Michael J. Leclerc and Valerie Beaudrault
enews@nehgs.org
Greetings from the New England Historic Genealogical Society! This newsletter has been sent to people who asked to receive it. If you would like to unsubscribe or change your email address, please click on the link at the bottom of the email and follow the instructions provided.
NEHGS collects, preserves, and interprets materials to document and make accessible the histories of families in America.
Contents:
* NEHGS Featured in Who Do You Think You Are? Premiere
* Early Registration Deadline for NGS Conference
* Research Recommendations: Puritanism
* Name Origins
* Spotlight: Cemetery and Funeral Home Databases
* Stories of Interest
* Save on Titles by Carl Boyer, III
* Upcoming Education Programs
* NEHGS Contact Information
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NEHGS Featured in Who Do You Think You Are? Premiere
American genealogists have been waiting years for the popular British television show Who Do You Think You Are? to jump the pond. The long wait is over, as the American version premieres on NBC this Friday, March 5, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. The first episode features popular Sex In The City actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Some of the research on Ms. Parker’s ancestry was done by NEHGS, and director of education and programs D. Joshua Taylor appears in the episode to share the results of our research. For more information about the show, visit http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/.
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Early Registration Deadline for NGS Conference
The early registration deadline for the 2010 NGS Conference is March 8, 2010. Follow Your Ancestral Trail will be held 28 April through 1 May, 2010, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. As always, NEHGS will have a booth in the exhibit hall. David Curtis Dearborn will be presenting Migration Out of New England. Assistant archivist Judy Lucey will be the NEHGS luncheon speaker on Friday, presenting Finding Family Treasures at NEHGS. Director of special projects Michael J. Leclerc will be the speaker for the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors banquet on Wednesday evening, presenting Tales from the Editor’s Desk.
For more information about the conference, or to register online, visit http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/.
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Research Recommendations: Puritanism
by Michael J. Leclerc
I first head about Puritanism (the book, not the movement) in a review by Robert Charles Anderson in his Editor’s Effusions column in the January–March 2010 issue of The Great Migration Newsletter. Bob strongly recommended this book by Francis J. Bremer as a great, simple introduction to the topic.
The book is one of a series by Oxford University Press entitled Very Short Introductions. The book is small in format, slightly smaller than 4.5”x7.” It has seven chapters: Reforming the English Reformation; Puritan experiments; The puritan and his God; Living the puritan life; The puritan and his neighbors; Puritans and the larger society; and The puritan legacy.
Bremer provides an excellent background for those researching their early-immigrant ancestors. As Bob says: “He describes the changing meanings of the term ‘Puritanism,’ which has become a very slippery category for modern scholars.”
Bremer delves into the effects of being Puritan on an individual. He also describes the effects on society at large, as well. One section is devoted to the subject of religious tolerance. He states that “It was not only other religious groups that puritans found themselves engaged with on both sides of the Atlantic. To a great extent, men and women of the modern era tended to define themselves by reference to other people and other cultures. In New England, that process of self-identification centered on cultural character. Native Americans were seen as a people apart not because of their race but because they lacked the civilized behavior and Christian faith of the puritans.”
You can get a copy of Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction for $11.95 from the NEHGS bookstore at www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=2869672813.
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Name Origins
by Julie Helen Otto
STATIRA (f): A name from the ancient Persian. Stateira, famous as a beauty, was the principal wife of Darius III, last Emperor of Persia. Their daughter Stateira became a wife of Alexander the Great and was pregnant by him when he died in 323 B.C. Soon thereafter she was murdered during intrigue among court factions.
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Spotlight: Cemetery and Funeral Home Databases
by Valerie Beaudrault
Loudoun Cemetery Database, Virginia
www.leesburgva.org/index.aspx?page=940
Loudoun County, Virginia, is located in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area. Leesburg, the county seat, is located approximately 40 miles west-northwest of Washington. Nearly all of the records in this database were originally published in 1995 by the staff of the Thomas Balch Library, although the online database contains updated and corrected records. Please be advised that the Loudoun Cemetery Database is not a complete listing of every cemetery and gravestone in Loudoun County. The book is still available for purchase.
More than 160 cemeteries are represented in the database. Enter a surname and/or given name in the search boxes. You can narrow your search by choosing a cemetery from the drop down list. Please note that each entry in the drop down list contains not only the name of the cemetery, but also the number of burial records. You can also choose a cemetery without entering a name in the search box. All of the records for the cemetery will be returned with this type of search.
The results returned may include any or all of the following: full name of the deceased; date of birth, if known; date of death, documented age and/or calculated age; cemetery name; relation; and memo. When possible the age of the deceased has been calculated in years, months and days, based on the dates found on the gravestones. Information in the ‘relation’ field includes the names of parents and name of spouse. In the ‘memo’ field you will find information such as notes of the individual’s death, plot information, and tombstone inscription.
Tulsa Funeral Home Records of Tulsa, Oklahoma
www.tulsagenealogy.org/library/FuneralHomeIndx.asp
Tulsa, located in northeast Oklahoma, is the second largest city in Oklahoma. The Tulsa Genealogical Society (TGS) published ten volumes containing the records of a number of funeral homes in the city. The indexes to the volumes have been transcribed and uploaded to the Society’s website. The records indexed cover varying periods between 1906 and 1986. The alphabetical index provides the following information: full name of the deceased, including maiden name, if known, volume and page number. The records in the volumes themselves contain the name of the deceased, the date of birth, place of birth, and date and place of death, as well as a brief history of the funeral home. The books may be purchased from TGS.
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Stories of Interest
A Recipe for Authenticity
Boston Globe correspondent David Lyon reports on his participation in Dinner in a Country Village, a program at Old Sturbridge Village. “Fifteen of us had volunteered - nay, even paid - to be time-warped to antebellum New England at dinnertime and thrown back on our own devices to make a meal. The intrigue smacked of ‘Survivor 1840: Old Sturbridge Village.’ Would someone burn the roast beef? Just exactly what did that woman slip into the mulled cider? What the heck is noyau? (Answer: an almond-brandy liqueur used here to flavor whipped cream.) There was also a camaraderie akin to an old-fashioned barn-raising - or at least what I imagine a barn-raising to be like, based on repeated viewings of the horse and buggy thriller, ‘Witness.’”
Overnight Train’s Virtues Put Anxieties to Sleep
Boston Globe staff writer Rebecca Ostriker reports on her overnight ride to Chicago aboard Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited in her Viewliner Roomette.
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Save on Titles by Carl Boyer, III
NEHGS members save 25% on 5 titles by Carl Boyer III. Not a member? You can still save 15% on these titles.
Ancestral Lines from Maine to Virginia
www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=492659572
Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans
www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=3114
Medieval Welsh Ancestors of Certain Americans
www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=959442338
Medieval English Ancestors of Robert Abell
www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=3115
Ancestral Lines, Third Edition, 206 Families in England, Wales, the Netherlands, Germany, New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
www.newenglandancestors.org/store/product.asp?sku=3038
Prices good until March 10th, 2010. Prices do not include shipping. NEHGS members must be signed in for 25% discount to show. Offer good while supplies last.
Did you know that the NEHGS Book Store offers library-quality copies of over 10,000 rare and out-of-print books? Some titles ordered by recent customers include:
- Desc. of Reinold & Matthew Marvin of Hartford, CT,1638 & 1635, sons of Edw. Marvin of Gt. Bentley, England (Item P4-S18696)
- Ancestry of Mary Isaac, c.1549-1613, wife of Thomas Appleton of Little Waldinfield, co. Suffolk, & mother of Samuel Appleton of Ipswich, MA (Item P4-S15837)
- Hist & Gen of the Desc of John Lawrence Hester & Godfrey Stough, 1752-1905 (Item P4-S14271)
- History of Keokuk County, Iowa (Item P5-IA0034H)
- Chronicles of New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1667-1931 (Item P5-NJ0125H)
You can search the entire Classic Reprints catalog online at www.newenglandancestors.org/store.asp. If you would like a list of FAQs and search tips for the Classic Reprints catalog, simply send an email with "Classic Reprints" in the subject line to sales@nehgs.org.
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Upcoming Education Programs
Each year the Society presents a number of dynamic lectures, seminars, and tours for genealogists and the general public. Programs are held at 99 Newbury Street unless otherwise indicated. For more information, please contact D. Joshua Taylor at 617-226-1226 or jtaylor@nehgs.org.
You can view a full listing of upcoming programs: www.newenglandancestors.org/events/6816.asp.
Seminars and Tours
Online Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research
Boston University’s Online Certificate in Genealogical Research will help you reach the next level of professionalism. Whether you are a serious amateur, a budding professional, or an expert with a CG®, this rigorous 14-week program will help you take your genealogical work to the next level. NEHGS members get a 10% tuition discount. The next class will begin on May 10, 2010, with a registration deadline of April 23. For more information, visit http://genealogyonline.bu.edu/.
Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research (Intensive Summer Program)
Weekdays, July 12–July 29, 2010.
Developed in collaboration with nationally-recognized experts, the Certificate in Genealogical Research is ideal for those who wish to develop the knowledge and skills essential to conducting quality genealogical assignments. This intensive summer program is offered Monday through Friday over a 14-day period. The program provides hands-on training in basic genealogical principles, techniques, and core competencies, and leads to a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. NEHGS members receive a 10% tuition discount. For more information, visit www.professional.bu.edu/cpe/Genealogy.asp.
Technology Seminar
March 26–27, 2010
Explore the important relationship between technology and genealogy with NEHGS experts. You will have hands-on training learning how to customize your internet experience, build your own electronic databases, and gain valuable insight into using genealogical software for the preservation and sharing of your family history. For more information visit www.newenglandancestors.org/events/9070.asp.
Irish Genealogy Research Tour
May 23–30, 2010
Discover your Irish heritage with the New England Historic Genealogical Society. This weeklong guided research tour will give you access to a treasure trove of records in Dublin and the benefit of consultations with some of the foremost experts in Irish genealogy. Your tour features guided research at various repositories in central Dublin, including the General Register Office, National Library, National Archives, and Registry of Deeds, among others. Daily programming includes tutorials, research tips and techniques lectures, personalized consultations and group dinning events. For more information visit www.newenglandancestors.org/9062.asp.
For more information about NEHGS programs, visit http://www.newenglandancestors.org/programs_events.asp or email education@nehgs.org.
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NEHGS Contact Information
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Copyright 2010, New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
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