The cover of Volume 1 of the NEHGR from January 1847.
We are very excited to announce the very first installment of a major new project to provide in-depth re-indexing of all the genealogical records in the database Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. Today we are delivering the full re-indexing of Volume 1 of the NEHGS Register published in 1847. This update includes over 6,500 records and 26,000 searchable names.
This initiative will unlock the value of all the information captured in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register since its first publication in 1847. We are reviewing every published article and extracting a broad set of records; for those articles that are genealogical in nature. This database previously only contained birth, marriage, and death records. We are now adding records of every type including; residence, immigration, military records, church dismissals, and more. The in-depth indexing for the new records includes, dates, locations, parents and spouses. This is the same approach we have used for the major Archdiocese of Boston and the Mayflower Silver Books projects.
Users of American AncesTREES will also benefit by being able to get hints from the newly indexed volumes in their family trees.
We will release each re-indexed volume of the register as it is completed. This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers: Larry Akin, Diane Arbuckle, Julie Bliss Hammons, Nancy Borman, Edna Curtin, Patricia Dalpaiz, Julie Esposito, Elizabeth Handler, Susan Hurlburt, Meghan McDonagh, Julie Nathanson, Liz Odell, Margaret Parker, Keenan Pawley, Kay Sencabaugh, Charlie Watson, Irene Weinmann, Marie Wells, and Mearte Winter.
WIth over 170 volumes yet to be reindexed, this is a large project and it is just beginning. To become part of the team working on this rewarding initiative and help your fellow family researchers; please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
The Vital Records from The NEHGS Register database is actually not new. Today, it contains records extracted from articles in the NEHGR that were published in a tabular format. These records will still be available, and there will be a dramatically larger set of records and searchable names. For example, today’s release of Volume 1 provides over 20 times as many records as were originally available for this volume. This database complements our other Register database, the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (NEHGR). The NEHGR database provides searchable access based the names in the printed index from each volume. The Vital Records from the NEHGS Register database is indexed in much greater detail.
Published quarterly since 1847, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register is the flagship journal of American genealogy and the oldest journal in the field. The Register has featured articles on a wide variety of topics since its inception, including vital records, church records, tax records, land and probate records, cemetery transcriptions, obituaries, and historical essays. Authoritative compiled genealogies have been the centerpiece of the Register for more than 150 years. Thousands of New England families have been treated in the pages of the journal and many more are referenced in incidental ways throughout. These articles may range from short pieces correcting errors in print or solving unusual problems to larger treatments that reveal family origins or present multiple generations of a family. The indexing for these records includes full names, Publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.