Author Archive

New sketches: Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies

By |

U.S. postage stamp depicting the scene of the Boston Tea Party, c. 1973 (Public Domain via the United States Post Office).

We’re excited to announce 19 new sketches to our Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

The goal of this project is to create comprehensive biographical sketches for all individuals associated with or known to have participated in the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor. This project is launched in conjunction with the announcement of the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program, a new lineage society for those whose ancestors participated in the historic revolutionary event. This project, as well as the Descendants Program, are both in collaboration with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. You can learn more about the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program here.

Below is the list of new sketches of participant biographies for the following individuals:

New sketches will be released regularly, so stay tuned for more!

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership

Read more »

New sketches: Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784

By |

Welcome to Vermont, The Green Mountain State Road Sign, c. 2017 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Today we’ve added 5 new sketches and 1 updated sketch to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784. The people profiled in the new and updated sketches all lived in Brattleboro.

With this study project, Scott Andrew Bartley researches the heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.  These sketches illustrate major players on political and religious fronts, uncover the migration patterns for this period in the region, and identify all those just looking to better their lives on the new frontier.  This project is proceeding in two series, settlers to 1771 and 1772-1784.  The work so far has been geographical, focusing on Windsor and Windham Counties.

The new sketches are listed below:

Whipple, Timothy (Brattleboro)

Whipple, Zachariah (Brattleboro)

Wright, James (Brattleboro)

Wright, Sawyer (Brattleboro)

Young, Alexander (Brattleboro)

The updated sketch is listed below:

Church, Timothy (Brattleboro)

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

Read more »

New database: Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies

By |

The Destruction of the Tea at Boston Harbor, hand-colored lithograph by N. Currier, 1846 (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the United States Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division).

We’re excited to announce a new database, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party: Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies.

The goal of this project is to create comprehensive biographical sketches for all individuals associated with or known to have participated in the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor. This project is launched in conjunction with the announcement of the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program, a new lineage society for those whose ancestors participated in the historic revolutionary event. This project, as well as the Descendants Program, are both in collaboration with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. You can learn more about the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program here.

Today, we’re releasing the first 20 sketches of participant biographies for the following individuals:

New sketches will be released regularly, so stay tuned for more.

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership.

Read more »

New database: Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Parish Cemetery Records, 1866-1940

By |

St. Mary Cemetery in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, photograph by John Phelan, 2010 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons).

Today, American Ancestors and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston (RCAB) are announcing a new database of Catholic cemetery records: Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Parish Cemetery Records, 1866-1940.

The cemeteries selected for this database are administrated by local parishes, which are distinct from those managed by the Catholic Cemetery Association. Most of the volumes contain records of lot sales or interments, and may include lot owners, date of burial and location of burial. This includes information for some people who no longer have, or may never have had, headstones, making this collection essential for research into Catholic burials in this region. This database offers records through 1940, with the exception being St. Joseph Cemetery (Plymouth) which offers records through 1970.

This database currently features eight parishes administered in eastern Massachusetts. Today we’re releasing 45 volumes from eight cemeteries, including nearly 25,000 records and over 70,000 searchable names. Records from additional parishes will be added in the future as we expand our collaboration.

Records are currently available from the following cemeteries:

  • St. Mary (Ayer)
  • St. Mary (Canton)
  • Annunciation Cemetery (Danvers)
  • St. Mary (Middleborough)
  • St. Joseph (Plymouth)
  • St. Mary (Quincy)
  • St. Joseph (Roxbury)
  • St. Anthony of Padua (Shirley)

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

Read more »

New sketches: Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784

By |

Postcard of the Episcopal Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, c. 1905 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons; available from the New York Public Library’s Digital Library)

Today we’ve added 3 new sketches and updated 4 sketches in Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784. The people profiled in the new and updated sketches lived in Brattleboro, Chester and Putney.

With this study project, Scott Andrew Bartley researches the heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.  These sketches illustrate major players on political and religious fronts, uncover the migration patterns for this period in the region, and identify all those just looking to better their lives on the new frontier.  This project is proceeding in two series, settlers to 1771 and 1772-1784.  The work so far has been geographical, focusing on Windsor and Windham Counties.

The new sketches are listed below:

Moore, Jonas (Putney)

Whipple, Daniel (Brattleboro)

Whipple, Joseph (Brattleboro)

The updated sketches are listed below:

Gile, Moses (Chester)

Wells, Jonathan (Brattleboro)

Wells, Samuel (Brattleboro)

Wilder, Tilly (Brattleboro, Newfane, Townshend)

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

Read more »

Vermont Genealogy: Volume 21 (2016) now available

By |

Vermont Mountain View, 2018 (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons).

Today we’ve updated our database: Vermont Genealogy, adding Volume 21 from 2016. This database is available thanks to our partnership with the Genealogical Society of Vermont. This update adds over 4,200 new records.

The indexing for this database includes full names, Publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.

Vermont Genealogy made its debut as a quarterly journal in January 1996. In addition to featuring compiled genealogies, the journal often contains other material including: freeman’s lists; church memberships and dismissals; newspaper vital record abstracts; probate abstracts, cemetery transcriptions, Bible records; Civil War journals; 1890 Census reconstructions; book reviews; and “Seen Elsewhere,” a bibliography of other journal articles relevant to Vermont.

In 2009, Vermont Genealogy switched to semi-annual publication with spring and fall issues. Appointed editor in 2016, Michael F. Dwyer, FASG, has expanded the scope of coverage to include nineteenth-century century immigrant studies, “Gems from the Vermont State Archives,” and continuation of family sketches from “Vermont Families in 1791.”

This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteer David Anderson. We’d also like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help in making this volume available online.

The entire run of Vermont Genealogy is available at our NEHGS Boston research library, call number F48.V48 1996.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership

Read more »

The Connecticut Nutmegger: Volume 50 (2017) now available

By |

New London, Connecticut, by William M. Hart, c. 1870 (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of Columbus Museum, Georgia).

Today, we have added Volume 50 (2017) to The Connecticut Nutmegger database. This update adds over 240 pages and more than 1,800 searchable names.

The Connecticut Nutmegger has served as the “journal of record” for the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc. (CSG) for forty years. During this time, it has captured a wealth of information for genealogists. Vital records, probate records, bible records, headstone records, memorials and other useful records have been published and made readily accessible for genealogical research. Well-documented family histories and genealogical articles, covering hundreds of families – mainly with Connecticut ties – have been presented. Published articles include commentary on and corrections to previously published family lines, vital records and town histories. Book reviews, research tips, queries and other valuable tools for genealogists have been presented.

The index for these records includes full names, publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.

This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteer David Anderson. If you have some time and would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.

We would also like to than Sam Sturgis for his help in making this volume available online.

The entire run of The Connecticut Nutmegger is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F91.C82.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

Read more »

The Essex Genealogist: Volume 37 (2017) now available

By |

Image showing ships off of the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, c. 2008 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons).

Volume 37 (2017) of The Essex Genealogist is now available! This update adds over 200 pages and 1,200 searchable names.

The leading publication for genealogical research in Essex County, Massachusetts, this quarterly journal has been published since 1981 by The Essex Society of Genealogists. Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Ahnentafels (Ancestor Tables) for the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.

The indexing for these records includes full names, publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.

This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteer David Anderson. If you have some time and would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.

We’d also like to thank Sam Sturgis for his assistance in making this volume available online.

The entire run of The Essex Genealogist is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F68 .S64.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

Read more »

Suffolk, MA Probate File Papers: new records

By |

Dartmouth Street, Boston, by Enrico Meneghelli, c. 1875 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts).

Today we’re announcing a major update to Suffolk County, MA Probate File Papers.  This addition includes case numbers 50000-61999, a total of 348,886 new file papers.

This database was created from digital images and index contributed to NEHGS by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.  The probate cases include wills, guardianships, administrations, and various other types of probate records.  We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his work on this update.

The complete Suffolk County File Papers collection will eventually cover cases 1-94,757, which includes years up to 1893. The cases are indexed chronologically, which allows us to present them in sections while digital photography is taking place. We will continue to add additional cases as they become available.

If you have questions on how to search this database, or about our collaboration with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, please watch our video, How to Search Massachusetts Probate File Papers.  The Massachusetts Archives also have a very helpful website that serves as a directory as to where you can find which pieces of probate information.

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.

Read more »

Brimfield, MA: Deaths and Burials, 1808-1850 Now Fully Indexed and Browsable

By |

Excerpt of Map of Hampden County, Massachusetts, by Henry Francis Walling, 1855 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the Library of Congress).

Today we are releasing an updated version of our Brimfield, MA: Deaths and Burials, 1808-1850 database. This updated version includes the images from the collection and the index now includes full names, relationships, and locations where available.

In 1930, Walter E. and Lottie S. Corbin transcribed a record book in the possession of the Chairman of the Cemetery Commissioners. In the introduction to the transcription they note that many items in the original record book were apparently copied from previously kept records that were no longer in existence. They also note that “practically every entry in the [original] records gives the locations of that particular grave in the cemetery … the location of the grave is given here only when it contains data of genealogical value.”

Therefore, this database is more useful to those wishing to determine a date of death than to those who wish to locate the cemetery in which an individual is buried (the cemetery is often not identified). It should also be noted that the information contained in the record books may not exactly match that of the gravestone inscription.

The original text is available to NEHGS members at the R. Stanton Avery Collections room at the NEHGS Library, call number MSS A 3286.

This project was made possible by the efforts of our wonderful volunteer, Jayn Stillson.

If you would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest members and NEHGS affiliates. Consider membership.

Read more »