Author Archive
The steamer Albany in Albany, NY. Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
We have updated the index to Albany Argus: Records of Deaths and Marriages, 1826-1828 so that it is now searchable by first name and last name, location, record type, and family members (where available).
The text of these extracted marriage and death records published in the Albany Argus newspaper continues to be searchable via Keyword search.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers, in particular, Bob Rainville. We appreciate the work of all our volunteers. If you would like to participate please contact Bianca Renzoni, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at bianca.renzoni@nehgs.org.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Image 1 – Access category searches now available from Advanced Search
We are happy to deliver a new search option for you this week: Category Search. We are providing separate search pages for each category of databases, and the link for each category can be found right at the bottom of Advanced Search (see Image 1). The new capabilities in category search include:
- Focused search fields – the search fields available for each category are only those that are commonly used in that category. This avoids the all too common problem of using search fields for which you will get no results (See Image 2).
- Search tips and category descriptions right on the search screen – you don’t need to perform a search or click to another screen to get tips on the available fields. You may need to scroll down to see this.
- List of all databases within the category – if you want to see what databases are in each category you can click on the button at the top right and it will list the relevant databases.
- Sample page images – A few sample page images are included for each category to provide you some perspective of what you can find in the databases for that category (See Image 3).
- Inclusive search results! – The results will include results that match any of your criteria. This is an important change. Results that match all or most of your search criteria appear at the top, and partial matches appear below.
New way to send comments. One additional change is an enhanced comment box on Search Results, Image and Transcript pages. This replaces the button to “Report an error”, and is meant to be a way for you to share comments and questions in addition to reporting errors. The comment box can be found right above the Help section on the image, transcript, and search results pages. The comment box takes up very little space on the form, but when you type in it, it expands to include your email address (prepopulated if you are signed in) and show the Send/Cancel buttons (See Image 3). When the message is sent it shows that you did successfully send a message.
We hope you enjoy these changes. Please address any feedback and comments to webmaster@nehgs.org.
Image 2: Category Search for Journals and Periodicals – with search tips
Image 3 – Category Search for Journals and Periodicals – with sample images and description
Image 4 – Expandable comment box
Constance Hopkins’ (dau. Of Stephen) beaver hat: At the Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
We have added a new volume to the searchable database of authenticated Mayflower Pilgrim genealogies, Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880:
- Hopkins, Stephen (Vol. 6)
This database is being constructed from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) very well-known series of books Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 which document the first generation of descendants of the Pilgrims. Through our partnership with GSMD, American Ancestors is delivering this database with a full index of the fifth-generation descendants, and their children, coupled with the page images for those people.
Stephen Hopkins served as a minister’s clerk on Venture, which was marooned on Bermuda in 1609 during a hurricane. He fomented a mutiny amongst the 150 survivors, but was granted a pardon due to his penitence and alleged ruin to wife and family. Hopkins sailed on Mayflower with his pregnant second wife Elizabeth Fisher, three children, and servants Edward Doty and Edward Lester. During the voyage, Elizabeth delivered a son who was named Oceanus. The whole family survived the first winter, and Stephen and Elizabeth lived in Plymouth for 20 years.
This database index includes birth, baptism, marriage, death, and deed records for these individuals, and where available, the names of parents and spouses.
This update is made possible by the invaluable efforts of our team of volunteers, including; Diane Arbuckle, Jeanne Brown, Julie Nathanson, Margaret Parker, Marie Wells, and David Anderson. We appreciate the work of all our volunteers. If you would like to join the team please contact Bianca Renzoni, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator bianca.renzoni@nehgs.org.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
The top 50 last names in the Hopkins volume
Replica of Mayflower in Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Uploaded by creator. Relased as CC-by-SA. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
We have added a new volume to the searchable database of authenticated Mayflower Pilgrim genealogies, Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880:
- Billington, John (Vol.21)
This database is being constructed from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) very well-known series of books Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 which document the first generation of descendants of the Pilgrims. Through our partnership with GSMD, American Ancestors is delivering this database with a full index of the fifth-generation descendants, and their children, coupled with the page images for those people.
John Billington travelled on Mayflower with his wife Elinor and sons John and Francis. His family was particularly troublesome for the order-loving Puritans. Billington killed a fellow colony member with whom he had a long-running feud, John Newcomen, and was hanged for the crime in 1630. He was the first man executed by hanging in the colony.
This database index includes birth, baptism, marriage, death, and deed records for these individuals, and where available, the names of parents and spouses.
This update is made possible by the invaluable efforts of our team of volunteers, including; Rich Wood, Marie Wells, and David Anderson. We appreciate the work of all our volunteers. If you would like to join the team, please contact Bianca Renzoni, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator bianca.renzoni@nehgs.org.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Last name cloud for the Billington Volume
Peter Brown’s Tankard: At the Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
We have added a new volume to the searchable database of authenticated Mayflower Pilgrim genealogies, Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880:
- Brown, Peter (Vol. 7)
This database is being constructed from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) very well-known series of books Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 which document the first generation of descendants of the Pilgrims. Through our partnership with GSMD, American Ancestors is delivering this database with a full index of the fifth-generation descendants, and their children, coupled with the page images for those people.
This database index includes birth, baptism, marriage, death, and deed records for these individuals, and where available, the names of parents and spouses.
This update is made possible by the invaluable efforts of our team of volunteers, including; Jane Kivlin, Nancy Borman, and David Anderson. We appreciate the work of all our volunteers. If you would like to join the team please contact Bianca Renzoni, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator bianca.renzoni@nehgs.org.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Kingfisher Tower on Late Otsego. Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
We have updated the indexes for three of our early databases of marriages and death notices from newspapers, that were originally only searchable by keywords. For the following three index-only databases you can now search by first name and last name, spouse names, dates and locations, and you can still do a Keyword search on the original text:
- New Canaan [CT] Era: Marriages and Deaths in New York State, 1868-1871
- New Hampshire: Marriage and Death Notices Published in Newspapers, 1848-1856
- Otsego County, NY: Newspaper Records, 1808-1831
This update is made possible by the invaluable efforts of our team of volunteers, including; Barbara Holt, Bob Rainville, and Marie Wells. We appreciate the work of all our volunteers. If you would like to join the team please contact Bianca Renzoni, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator bianca.renzoni@nehgs.org.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Bottom of Image and Transcript pages showing the database; citation, description, search tips, and help links
We are happy to deliver some new capabilities tooday to improve your search experience. The new capabilities include:
- Database information at bottom of Image and Transcript Pages – the database citation, description, search tips and help links are now displayed at the bottom of the page. This saves you the trouble of having to link off to a new page to get valuable contextual information when reviewing search results. So, don’t forget to page down!
- Streamlined headings for the Image and Transcript pages – with the database information now on the results page, we have been able to shrink the space at the top of the page by about an inch. This gives you more visibility on your results with less scrolling
- Print Search Results – When you are viewing your search results, you can now print the page out using the new button on the screen. The print includes only the actual search results, and just for the page you have currently selected.
The pictures below highlight where to look for these new capabilities.
Top of Image and Transcript pages showing streamlined headings and new buttons for New Search and Favorites
Search results page with the new Print button highlighted
As we deliver updates to the database search capabilities on American Ancestors, we will continue to let you know through DB News. We hope you enjoy this update, and wish you the best of luck in your research!
John Alden House post card – Public Domain, courtesy of Digital Commonwealth
We have added three new volumes to the searchable database of authenticated Mayflower Pilgrim genealogies, Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880:
- Alden, John (Vol. 16, p. 2)
- Alden, John (Vol. 16, p. 3)
- Alden, John (Vol. 16, p. 4)
This update adds over 65,000 names, and delivers three of the four volumes dedicated to the descendants of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.
This database is being constructed from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) very well-known series of books Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 which document the first generation of descendants of the Pilgrims. Through our partnership with GSMD, American Ancestors is delivering this database with a full index of the fifth-generation descendants, and their children, coupled with the page images for those people.
The database index includes birth, baptism, marriage, death, and deed records for these individuals, and where available, the names of parents and spouses. We thank our volunteers for all their efforts in bringing this newly searchable data to you!
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
“Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” by William Halsall, 1882 at Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. United States Public Domain.
We have added two new volumes to the searchable database of authenticated Mayflower Pilgrim genealogies, Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880:
- Warren, Richard (Vol. 18, p. 3)
- White, William (Vol. 13)
This database is being constructed from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) very well-known series of books Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 which document the first generation of descendants of the Pilgrims. Through our partnership with GSMD, American Ancestors is delivering this database with a full index of the fifth-generation descendants, and their children, coupled with the page images for those people.
This database index includes birth, baptism, marriage, death, and deed records for these individuals, and where available, the names of parents and spouses. We thank our volunteers for all their efforts in bringing this data to you.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Falls on the Saco river in West Buxton, Maine
We have updated the index to Maine: Marriages by Reverend H.F.A. Patterson, 1854-1892 to enable searches by first name and last name, spouse names, dates and locations. It is also still possible to do a Keyword search on the full transcription. Reverend Henry Fitz Allen Patterson served the Maine Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, primarily in the counties of Cumberland, York, and Penobscot, but performed marriages in other counties and states as well. This database is an index of Rev. Patterson’s hand-written marriage records.