Author Archive
We have just posted a new volume to The New England Historical and Genealogical Register database. This update adds volume 174; which contains the 2020 Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall issues, and it adds 440 pages and over 11,000 searchable names.
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.
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.
The entire run of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F1.N56.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added 5 new volumes and updated 2 volumes for the database Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include two parishes: Sacred Heart in East Boston, and St. Bernard in Newton. This update includes 7 volumes, over 1,300 pages, and over 70,000 searchable names.
The first Mass was said in Sacred Heart (East Boston) in 1873. The church was dedicated in 1874 and continues to serve parishioners in East Boston today.
St. Bernard began as a mission attached to St. Mary’s church in Waltham. St. Bernard’s church was dedicated in 1874. The original structure burned down in 1889, but the parish rebuilt a new church by 1890.
We thank our dedicated volunteer Sam Sturgis for his work on this release. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
There are two volumes that were updated in this release:
• St. Bernard (Newton) Baptisms, 1894-1911
• St. Bernard (Newton) Baptisms, 1911-1920
The 5 new volumes in this release are:
• Sacred Heart (East Boston) Baptisms, 1906-1915
• Sacred Heart (East Boston) Baptisms, 1916-1920
• Sacred Heart (East Boston) Marriages, 1906-1920
• St. Bernard (Newton) Baptisms, 1911-1920
• St. Bernard (Newton) Marriages, 1911-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are happy to let you know that we have fully revamped the database Springfield, VT: Records of the Rev. George W. Bailey, 1740-1902 so that it is now searchable by first name and last name, location, record type, and family members (where available). The page images from the original manuscript were also added to the database. This database now includes over 3,500 searchable names and the full 105 pages of the original manuscript.
Reverend George W. Bailey commenced preaching in 1839, was licensed and ordained by the Universalist denomination in 1840, and served in the Vermont towns of Springfield, East Randolph, and Morrisville, as well as Lebanon, New Hampshire.
The dates of marriages in the Reverend Bailey’s record book are from 1841 to 1902, inclusive, intentions of marriage are from 1845 to 1850, and funerals are from 1840 to 1900. The record types are primarily birth, marriage and burial.
The original text is also available in the NEHGS Research Library. The call number is Mss A 6567.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteer Greta Gaffin. 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.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added 25 new volumes and updated 3 volumes for the Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include two parishes: St. Leonard of Port Maurice in Boston, and St. Gregory in Dorchester. This update includes 28 volumes, over 5,400 pages, and over 270,000 searchable names.
The congregation that would become St. Gregory’s began to coalesce around 1863 from an area that formerly belonged to the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul in South Boston. The initial territory of this parish was quite large–before the year 1900, it was already divided at least five times. Some territory was given to the parishes in Hyde Park and Quincy and new churches were started in Dorchester including St. Peter, St. Ann, and St. Matthew.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice was Boston’s first Italian parish, established in 1873 to minister to the growing Italian population in the North End.
We thank our dedicated volunteer Sam Sturgis for his work on this release. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
There are 3 volumes that were updated in this release:
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1903
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Confirmations, 1876-1920
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1900-1906
The 25 new volumes are listed below:
• St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1914-1920
• St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1920
• St. Gregory (Dorchester) Marriages, 1914-1920
• St. Gregory (Dorchester) Sick Calls, 1915-1920
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1903-1905
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1905-1906
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1906-1907
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1907-1908
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1909
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1909-1910
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1910-1911
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1911-1912
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1912
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1912-1913
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1913-1914
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1914-1915
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1915
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1915-1916
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1916-1917
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1917-1918
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1906-1908
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1908-1912
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1912-1916
• St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1916-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added 10 new volumes and updated 5 volumes for the Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include two parishes: Most Holy Redeemer in East Boston, and St. Mary in Lynn. This update includes 15 volumes, over 4,000 pages, and over 160,000 searchable names.
Most Holy Redeemer was established in East Boston in 1844 as Catholics came to work in the area. The large stone church was completed in 1857 and dedicated by Bishop Fitzpatrick.
St. Mary’s Parish in Lynn was the first parish in Lynn, established in 1851 under the care of Rev. Charles Smith. In 1862 the church pictured above was opened.
We thank our dedicated volunteer Sam Sturgis for his work on this release. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
Thee 5 volumes that were updated in this release:
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Baptisms, 1883-1908
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Confirmations, 1896-1920
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Marriages, 1851-1908
• St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1897-1903
• St. Mary (Lynn) Marriages, 1893-1906
The 10 new volumes are listed below:
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1916
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Baptisms, 1916-1920
• Most Holy Redeemer (East Boston) Marriages, 1908-1920
• St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1904-1905
• St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1906-1908
• St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1908-1913
• St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1914-1920
• St. Mary (Lynn) Marriages, 1907-1908
• St. Mary (Lynn) Marriages, 1908-1920
• St. Mary (Lynn) Sick Calls, 1906-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added 15 new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include two parishes: St. Mary in Charlestown, and St. Peter in Dorchester. This update includes 14 volumes, over 3,600 pages, and nearly 122,000 searchable names.
St. Mary’s was the first parish established as a separate parish from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, in 1828. The Boston Public Library has a Charlestown Flickr page with images of St. Mary’s interior, repairs to the roof, and a fire that occurred in the building. Scroll about three quarters of the way down the page to view these images.
St. Peter (Dorchester) began in 1872 as an offshoot of St. Gregory in Dorchester. In James Sullivan’s One hundred years of progress, Joseph Byrne enthusiastically describes the appearance of the church which was dedicated in 1884, “No technical description can do more than faintly suggest the grandeur of St. Peter’s church which is a poem of architectural beauty” (175). The Dorchester Athenaeum’s history of the church has a very helpful paragraph (the sixth on the page) that explains the evolution of the Catholic parishes in Dorchester.
We thank our dedicated volunteer Sam Sturgis for his work on this release. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
There are 5 volumes that were updated in this release:
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1897-1904
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Marriages, 1869-1907
• St. Peter (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1895-1908
• St. Peter (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1882-1920
• St. Peter (Dorchester) Marriages, 1897-1920
The 9 new volumes are listed below:
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1904-1908
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1908-1914
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1914-1918
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Confirmations, 1908-1910
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Confirmations, 1913-1920
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Marriages, 1907-1909
• St. Mary (Charlestown) Marriages, 1908-1920
• St. Peter (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1908-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to announce a brand-new database today, Worcester, MA: Scots-Irish Settlers, 1700-1850.
This database is the result of a study project done by Shirley (Robinson) Pizziferri , and it is organized into 21 volumes by family. The database contains nearly 200 pages of family histories and contains over 12,000 searchable names.
Shirley (Robinson) Pizziferri was living in Rutland in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in 1976, doing research on her own family when the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester asked her to respond to the many messages they were receiving from people asking about their “roots.” Most of those who eventually became her clients were descendants of a group of Scots-Irish who settled in Worcester in 1718; Shirley quickly became fascinated with their families and their culture. Raising a family, part-time work, and late enrollment in college kept her busy, but recently Shirley decided that someone should put the research on these families together in a comprehensive format.
This study project is not an exhaustive work, but a primer for those with roots in this group of people who intermarried and left a mark on the towns in Worcester County. Shirley has used as her basis a list compiled by historian William Lincoln1 of those who remained in Worcester in the 1730s after many had moved and founded other towns such as Pelham and Colrain. She has supplemented that list with information from Ethel Stanwood Bolton’s Immigrants to New England, 1700-1775,2 vital records, deeds, probates, and other sources.
Each sketch is based, as a starting point, on Ethel Stanwood Bolton’s excellent collection of early New England immigrants, and will be supplemented by family histories, county and state histories, probates, deeds, and vital records from the pertinent towns. Each sketch will cover the first and second generations in America and list the children of the third generation. These sketches are intended as comprehensive sources on which researchers can base further study.
When asked about the Scots-Irish, most genealogists would first think of the Carolinas, or Nova Scotia, where many immigrated in the mid- to late 1700s. However, the Scots were in this country from the beginning, and those Scots who were banished to Ireland in the 1600s began immigrating here in the early 1700s.
J. P. MacLean writes, “Early in the spring of 1718, Rev. William Boyd arrived in Boston as an agent of some hundreds of people of Northern Ireland who had expressed a desire to come to New England should suitable encouragement be offered them. With him he brought a brief memorial to which was attached three hundred and nineteen names, all but thirteen of which were in a fair and vigorous hand. Governor Shute gave such general encouragement and promise of welcome, that on August 4, 1718, five small ships came to anchor at the wharf in Boston, having on board one hundred and twenty Scotch-Irish families, numbering in all about seven hundred and fifty individuals,” primarily of the Presbyterian persuasion. Some were from the Bann Valley in Ireland and others, mainly the ones who went to Worcester, were from the Foyle Valley. Some went north to the Casco Bay area and settled in what is now Portland, Maine. Others stayed for a while in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and its surroundings. Most ended up in Nutfield, New Hampshire, later Londonderry, settled in 1719, with their pastor, George McGregor.
In Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America, Charles Bolton writes that after the settlement at Londonderry [New Hampshire], Rutland and Pelham [Massachusetts], “the New England Scotch Irish spread gradually into other towns, Windham [Vermont], Antrim [New Hampshire], Peterborough [New Hampshire], Coleraine, Blandford and Palmer [Massachusetts] and many more.” The families that traveled west, probably along what was later to become the Boston Post Road, to Worcester, Massachusetts, are the subjects of this project.
Shirley (Robinson) Pizziferri currently lives in Florida but is a New England native. She has served as Executive Secretary of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, as Assistant Editor of the Mayflower Descendant journal, and as Library Chairman and past president of the Martin County, Florida, Genealogical Society. Shirley has been researching her own family tree since 1974 and has contributed articles to the Mayflower Descendant and the Register.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers; Nancy Borman, Alexandra Kiristy, Margaret Parker, Isabelle Watkins, and Richard Wood. 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.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to add volume #41 (2015) to the genealogical journal Rhode Island Roots database. This update adds over 270 pages and over 2,800 searchable names.
The Rhode Island Genealogical Society publishes Rhode Island Roots quarterly. It features many Rhode Island records, such as cemetery and tax lists, General Assembly petitions, civil and military records, and genealogical articles — all focusing on Rhode Island families. Other features include articles about Rhode Islanders in other state census records, queries and a list of RI research volunteers. The authors include well-known genealogists as well as RIGS members with stories of their own families to tell.
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 digitization and indexing process for genealogical databases please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
The entire run of Rhode Island Roots is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F78 .R2.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added Volume 35, covering the year 2015, to the genealogical journal The Essex Genealogist database. This update contains over 250 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 (founded in 1975). Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County, Massachusetts. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Ahnentafel’s (Ancestor Tables) of the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years. This journal continues to serve those researching Essex County families with valuable resources now entering nearly four decades in print.
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.
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.
We are very happy to add volume 37 for the year 2015 to The Maine Genealogist database. This update adds over 230 pages and nearly 4,500 searchable names.
Published since 1977, The Maine Genealogist is the quarterly journal of Maine Genealogical Society, founded in 1976. Beginning as a newsletter for the society, the publication evolved into The Maine Seine, published until 1990. The title was changed to The Maine Genealogist in 1991, and each issue, now 48 pages, contains scholarly articles on Maine families, emphasizing the solving of long-standing problems and primary source documentation.
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.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.