Author Archive
Today we are very happy to announce that Volumes 64 through 68, for the years 2016 through 2020, have been added to the database The Mayflower Descendant. This update adds approximately 1,100 new pages and 19,700 searchable names. Going forward, we will index The Mayflower Descendant shortly after each volume is completed.
Mayflower Descendant was originally published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants starting in 1899. In 2015, New England Historic Genealogical Society assumed stewardship of the venerable journal. It is an essential source of information on many New England families, and its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems.
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 a few hours a week and would like to get involved in the 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 announce a brand-new database today, The LeRoy Family in America, 1753-2003. This genealogy of the Le Roy family sets a new standard of quality and completeness as a full account of all descendants of a colonial New York family – and a particularly interesting family at that.
The family founder, Jacob Le Roy, a young merchant of French and Dutch ancestry, arrived in New York City in 1753. He married Cornelia Rutgers in December of the same year; after her death in 1765, he married her younger sister Catherine. During the American Revolution it appears that Jacob supported the American cause – but cautiously. Like other New Yorkers, he moved up the Hudson River during the long British occupation of New York City. After the war Jacob returned to the city, where he died in 1793.
The authors, Scott Cambell Steward and Newbold Le Roy, 3rd (both descendants of Jacob Le Roy), have traced Jacob’s descendants down to the present. Most descendants bear surnames other than Le Roy. Indeed, of the ninety-four heads of family groups with identified children in the fifth generation, only three have descendants named Le Roy in the eighth generation.
This database contains the entire Le Roy family book, and the 19 volumes match those in the book. All names from the index are searchable in the database. There are 800 pages and 13,500 searchable names in the database.
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 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 5 different parishes: St. Casimir in Brockton, St. Ambrose and St. Leo in Dorchester, and Sacred Heart and St. Patrick in Lynn. This update includes 15 volumes, over 2,600 pages, and nearly 93,000 searchable names.
St. Casimir Catholic Church dated back to 1898, a parish established by Lithuanian immigrants. The church was originally named St. Rocco, and it was the founding home of the national Knights of Lithuania which was organized in 1913. The building is between Ames Street and St. Casimir Avenue in Brockton.
St. Ambrose church was completed in 1921 and the Rectory in 1929, and both were designed by the noted Boston architect William H. McGinty. The original St. Ambrose Church was a twin-towered church and was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1984.
St. Leo parish was set of from a part of St. Peter’s Parish in 1902. The church was constructed on the former Bickell estate on Esmond street in 1902.
Sacred Heart (Lynn) was founded as Lynn’s population grew, becoming a more convenient location for the parishioners in West Lynn. This parish separated from St. Mary (Lynn) in 1894.
St. Patrick church was established in 1906 with a school and focused on the Irish-American population of Lynn.
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.
The new volumes are listed below:
• St. Casimir (Brockton) Baptisms, 1909-1920
• St. Casimir (Brockton) Marriages, 1906-1920
• St. Ambrose (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1914-1920
• St. Ambrose (Dorchester) Marriages, 1914-1920
• St. Leo (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1902-1909
• St. Leo (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1910-1920
• St. Leo (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1905-1920
• St. Leo (Dorchester) Marriages, 1902-1920
• Sacred Heart (Lynn) Baptisms, 1917-1920
• Sacred Heart (Lynn) First Communions, 1909-1920
• Sacred Heart (Lynn) Marriages, 1918-1920
• St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1906-1910
• St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1911-1917
• St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1917-1920
• St. Patrick (Lynn) Marriages, 1911-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to announce an addition to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970 database today. This update completes the applications, with 470 new applications to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts (CSWMA) for years up through 1970, and contains over 2,000 pages and 65,000 indexed names.
Since its founding in 1893, the SCWMA has combined fraternal good fellowship with a dedication to promoting patriotic values and a knowledge of colonial American history, particularly its military dimension. For more information about this society you can see the SCWMA web page.
In the future this database will include Supplemental Applications up through 1970.
We are grateful for the efforts of our volunteer who made this update possible: Jeanne Brown, Sandy Caldwell, Carol Farrington, and Amelia Devin Freedman. If you have a few hours available hours a week, and are interested in learning more about this or other exciting projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
This database provides an index to the applications to the SCWMA that includes, the applicant, their colonial ancestor, and the indexed birth, marriage and death information for each generation of descendants on the application. In addition, the membership numbers for the state and the general society are displayed. For the lineage section of the application the generation numbers are included; where generation 1 is the applicant.
The page number for the applications are in the format [member number]:[page]. So, for member 23, the first page is 23:1. The value of the Note field, which is presented on the Record and Transcript pages, indicates how many pages there are for that specific application. Most applications have 4 pages.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Membership options.
Today we have added 3 new volumes, and 3 extended volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions are for the parish of St. Stephen in Boston. This update includes 600 pages, and over 25,000 searchable names.
At its inception, this church was known as St. John the Baptist. As the parish grew, it became St. Stephen’s after taking over the former New North Church building.
The three new volumes are:
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1918
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) Marriage Supplement, 1908-1913
The three expanded volumes have records added beyond 1900 and are:
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1875-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) Marriages, 1872-1920
We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work on this, especially Sam Sturgis. 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.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we have added 11 new volumes, and 6 extended volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include the parishes of Holy Trinity in Boston, St. Anthony of Padua in Cambridge, and St. Theresa of Avila in West Roxbury. This update includes over 3,000 pages, and over 100,000 searchable names.
Holy Trinity was the heart of the German Catholic community in Boston. The parish was established in 1836; the first Mass in their church building was said in 1844. Read more about the history of the parish in our late volunteer Michael Hager’s American Ancestors magazine article. You can learn more about the Monatsbote, their parish newsletter in Thomas Lester’s article in the Pilot..
St. Anthony of Padua was established in 1902, serving the Portuguese immigrants of East Cambridge. The history of the church specifies the congregants came from mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. Boston College’s Global Boston project provides a helpful overview of Portuguese immigration to the Boston area including East Cambridge.
St. Theresa of Avila was opened as early in about 1869, and the first building was a small wooden church dedicated October 28, 1871. This church burned down in 1874 and school-chapel building was constructed on Spring Street and opened in 1875. The then small parish was attached to Dedham, and then Roslindale before it became an independent parish again on January 1, 1896.
The eleven new volumes are:
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1902-1908
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1920
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Burials, 1907-1920
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1914-1920
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1902-1913
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1913-1918
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Marriages, 1902-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Confirmations, 1902-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1910-1920
The five expanded volumes have records added beyond 1900 and are:
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1894-1902
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Deaths, 1878-1907
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1893-1914
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1896-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1896-1910
We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work on this project, especially Bob Rainville and Sam Sturgis. 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.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very excited to announce a new database in time for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower: General Society of Mayflower Descendants Membership Applications, 1620-1920.
In 1620, a brave group of 102 men, women and children sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower, searching for a life of religious and civic freedom. To honor Pilgrim ancestors and keep their story alive, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants was created in 1897. Membership requires proof of lineage from one of the passengers who traveled to America on this historic voyage in 1620.
Through the years, the Mayflower Society has established a network of more than 150,000 descendants all over the world who form lifelong bonds, cherish the sacred memory of our ancestors and continue on their legacy through purpose, preservation, and education. For more information about this society you can visit the General Society of Mayflower Descendants website.
This database includes all applications and supplemental applications to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) starting from their founding in 1897 and including only applicants who were born before January 1, 1920. The database index includes; the applicant, their ancestral Mayflower passenger, and the indexed birth, marriage and death information for each generation of descendants on the application. In addition, the membership number for the general society is provided. The dates of 93% the genealogical records indexed from these applications fall between 1620 and 1920. You may find marriage and death records for dates well after 1920.
The database is organized into 14 volumes, one for each family of passengers, and contains over 165,000 pages of applications with 4.5 million searchable names. Please note that all names are indexed to the first page of the application, and you can page forward to see the lineage details.
This database was created through a partnership of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, AmericanAncestors, and FamilySearch, and has taken more than a year to assemble. We thank the employees and volunteers of all three organizations for amazing work to make this information available online.
In addition to the searchable database of membership applications, there is a family tree constructed for each Mayflower Passenger that can be viewed in AmericanAncesTREES. The trees contain individuals from any application where the person was born before January 1, 1920.You must be signed into AmericanAncestors to view the trees. The links for each available tree appear in the database description at the bottom of the search page. A sample for Richard More appears below.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership. GSMD members may access this database free of charge through the GSMD website.
Today we have added 8 new volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions are for the parish of St. Joseph in Wakefield, and the update includes over 900 pages, and over 66,000 searchable names.
As early as 1854, Catholics were worshipping in Wakefield. In the 1870s, the congregation was expanding and a new church was built on Albion Street. During this time period, St. Agnes in Reading was also a mission of this parish.
We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work, particularly Sam Sturgis. 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.
The new volumes are:
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1873-1902
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1903-1917
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1917-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Confirmations, 1879-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) First Communions, 1881-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1873-1902
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1903-1908
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1908-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We have updated our American Ancestors Magazine database to include volume 20 covering the year 2019. This update contains over 280 pages and 2,800 searchable names.
The indexing for these records includes full names, Publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.
A 64-page magazine published by NEHGS beginning in 2010, American Ancestors contains a wealth of information for family historians. American Ancestors features a wide range of article topics and styles, and is designed to appeal to family historians of all levels. Topics include coverage of a particular region or group of people; case studies; descriptions of particular record sets; “how-to” articles; compelling historic accounts that illuminate the past; research strategies and methodology; and accounts of migration and immigrant groups.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 New England Ancestors is available at our NEHGS Boston research library, call number F1.N49.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we are announcing an update to a database that comes through a partnership with the Boston Athenaeum; Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882. We have added one new Waste Book volume which adds nearly 260 pages and 2,500 searchable names.
When complete, the database will contain 6 signature books and 6 “Waste” (Transaction) books. The volumes currently available are:
• Signature Book 10, 17 May 1854 – 9 Jun 1858
• Waste Book 1D, 1 Mar 1821 – 5 Jun 1822
For more an excellent presentation on how to take advantage of bank records, register for a webinar today, October 15th, by Eileen Pironti on Using Bank Records in Family History Research. A recording of the webinar will be available later on American Ancestors if you cannot join.
The Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston was the first savings bank to be incorporated in the United States. In 1817 the bank was founded by James Savage, and other prominent Bostonians including William Elery Channing, Josiah Quincy, Elisha Ticknor, Thomas Dawes, Samuel Elliot, and Thomas Handasyd Perkins among others.
The institution was predicated on the idea that savings banks would encourage thrift and self-improvement of the poor of Boston without subjecting them to the so-called moral corruption associated with outright charity. By offering their customers dividends on savings, the Provident would encourage them to keep their money in the bank for longer periods of time, rather than spend as they earned it.
Over the course of the 19th century, the Provident expanded, investing in industries such as textiles, as well as real estate. The Provident became a subsidiary of Hartford National Corporation in 1986 and continued to operate as the Provident Institution until it was merged with Shawmut Bank in 1992, which subsequently donated the Provident’s records to the Boston Athenaeum.
About 80% of the records are for immigrants to Boston. This is particularly valuable for Irish immigrants as the native county is provided which is critical information for additional research in Ireland. All records will be of type residence and will be for the location of Boston, Massachusetts.
This database is the result of partnership with the Boston Athenaeum. The Boston Athenaeum has the original books for Provident and performed the digitization of all the images. The full collection at the Boston Athenaeum is Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston Records. They have partnered with NEHGS to index these books and make them available online.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our interns; Amanda Opalenik, Kate Pozgay, Kennedy Smith, and Annie Tucker. If you would like to become part of the team working on this or other rewarding genealogical projects, 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.