Author Archive
Today we introduced an enhancement to the Browse Databases A-Z page, recategorized some databases to improve searchability.
The Browse Databases A to Z page has been enhanced to dynamically adjust the list of databases as you type. This can speed up the search process for finding a specific database. The user interface has been changed slightly, so that the field for entering your search terms is now above the list of databases, rather than on the left. You can see this in the image above. We hope that you will enjoy this update.
Database Category changes have been made ensure that all the databases in the Journals and Periodicals category have the same approach to indexing and search. Specifically, the records contain first and last name, and the year contains the year of publication. The following eleven databases primarily contain birth, marriage, death records, so they have been moved to the Vital Records category:
- Albany Argus: Records of Deaths and Marriages, 1826-1828
- Boston Recorder and Telegraph: Death reports, 1827-1828
- Boston Recorder and Telegraph: Marriages, 1827-1828
- Christian Intelligencer: Death reports of Reformed Dutch Church, 1830-1871
- Christian Intelligencer: Marriages (Reformed Dutch Ch.), 1830-1871
- New Canaan [CT] Era: Marriages and Deaths in New York State, 1868-1871
- New Hampshire Gazette: Vital Records, 1756-1800
- New Hampshire: Marriage and Death Notices Published in Newspapers, 1848-1856
- Otsego County, NY: Newspaper Records, 1808-1831
- Portsmouth, NH: Abstracts from Newspapers, 1776-1800
- Springfield [MA] Republican: Marriages and Deaths, 1847
As a reminder, the category specific search pages search all databases in that category at once. The blue button on the top right side of the page provides a link to the current list of databases in the category. The search tips provide information on what the best fields are for searching them. For reference, the full list of categories can be found on American Ancestors under the Search menu, They can also be found on the Advanced Search page on the right side of the page.
If you have any additional questions, please email us at webmaster@nehgs.org.
Just in time for 2020 and the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing, we are very excited to announce the new database based on the first fifty years of the The Mayflower Quarterly. There are approximately 5,000 pages and 92,000 searchable names in this database.
The Mayflower Quarterly is a publication of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD). The Quarterly contains news, pictures and articles on activities and events surrounding GSMD and its Member Societies throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. Articles often include names of GSMD and Member Society leadership.
This new database is the second major deliverable from our partnership with GSMD, which previously resulted in the publication of the database Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880.
This database index includes all names and article titles for the first fifty years of publication, from 1935 through 1984. The database is organized into volumes that correspond to the issues of the Quarterly, and the volume name includes the year it was issued (in parenthesis).
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers: Nell Nies, Elizabeth Handler, Lois Houghton, Tom Clements, Renda Smith, Jan Lundquist, Gale Stevenson, Wendy Sheppard, Ron Wilson, Meg Mills, Karen Ristic, Ray Ristic, Carol Botteron, Diane Arbuckle, Marie Wells. 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 Mayflower Quarterly is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F72.E7 E62.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to have expanded the content in the Rhode Island: Historical Cemeteries, 1647-2000 database. In this update we have added gravestone images for over 8,000 people that did not have them before. In addition, we have added over 10,500 new records and searchable names to the database.
This update was made possible by support from John Sterling and the transcriptions and images produced by the volunteers of Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project who work in cemeteries across Rhode Island.
This database is organized into 42 volumes based on the city or town of the cemetery and provides information for 460,000 people and over 932,000 searchable names. The efforts to capture images of the gravestones is not complete; approximately 25% of the records have an image to go with them. For the remainder, there is a placeholder noting that the image is not available and that you can see the birth and death details on the transcript page.
For most of the cemeteries, there GPS coordinates displayed on the transcript. This can be copied and pasted into a web site such as Google Maps to see where the cemetery is located.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to add volume 36 for the year 2014 to The Maine Genealogist database. This update adds over 230 pages and 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.
The entire run of The Maine Genealogist is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F16 .M345.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.
We are very happy to have added Volume 34, covering the year 2014, to the genealogical journal The Essex Genealogist database. This update contains over 250 pages and 2,100 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 F72.E7 E62.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to have posted a new volume to The American Genealogist database. This update adds volume 86, which was released in the years 2012 through 2013, adds 380 pages and 6,500 searchable names. The image selected for this update was inspired by the oath of Richard More taken in 1660 accusing John Baylies wife of being a witch. See page 10 of this volume for the full quote.
The indexing for these records includes full names, Publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.
Founded in 1922 by Donald Lines Jacobus, The American Genealogist (TAG) has been published quarterly and represents an important body of scholarly research covering the breadth of the United States. TAG is edited by a quartet of NEHGS members: Editor and publisher, Nathaniel Lane Taylor, FASG; coeditors Roger D. Joslyn, FASG and Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, who is also editor of The Maine Genealogist; and consulting editor, David L. Greene, FASG. These distinguished genealogists, along with dozens of highly-regarded contributors, uphold and advance the standards for genealogical scholarship so carefully articulated by Jacobus and the Jacobus “School.”
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteer David Anderson. If you are interested in getting 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 American Genealogist is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F104.N6 A6.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we are releasing volumes 7, 8 and 9 (1853-1855) of the in-depth re-indexing of all the genealogical records in the database Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. This update includes 41,000 records and 83,000 searchable names, and is about eight times the number of records previously indexed for these volumes.
This ongoing project will unlock the value of all the information captured in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register since the first publication in 1847. We are reviewing every published article add extracting a broad set of records for those articles that are genealogical in nature. So, in addition to birth, marriage, and death records there are now records of type; residence, immigration, military records, church dismissals, and more. The indexing we create is at the same level we have used for the Archdiocese of Boston and the Mayflower Silver Books. It includes spouses, parents, and locations.
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. If you would like to become part of the team working on this rewarding project to revamp the index to the NEHGS Register, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org. This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers: Diane Arbuckle, Nancy Borman, Carol Botteron, Tom Clements, Pat Dalpiaz, Fran Danico, Elizabeth Handler, Pat Harney, Jan Lundquist, Julie Nathanson, Liz Odell, Margaret Parker, Linda Peterson, Karen Ristics, Ray Ristics, Kay Sencabaugh, Renda Smith, Gale Stevenson, Rich Turnblom, Susan Van Allen, Charlie Watson, Jaimie Williams-Peterson, Rich Wood, Erica Yee.
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.
Today we’ve added seven new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 for St. Vincent de Paul of South Boston. This update adds over 32,000 records and 120,000 names to search.
Saint Vincent de Paul of South Boston is at the corner of E and Third Street, and was just one block from the water when it was built. The church was dedicated on the Festival of St. Vincent de Paul on July 19, 1874 in a ceremony performed by Bishop Williams.
The new volumes are:
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Baptisms, 1862-1871
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Baptisms, 1872-1882
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Baptisms, 1898-1909
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Baptisms and Marriages, 1862-1897
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Baptisms and Marriages, 1872-1885
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Confirmations, 1870-1920
- St. Vincent de Paul (South Boston) Marriages, 1880-1909
We would be delighted to have new volunteers to help us with the Catholic Records project. If you have a few available hours a week and are interested in learning more about this exciting project, 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 the first installment of a new database today; Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970. The database contains the first one thousand applications to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts (SCWMA) and contains over 4,100 pages and 97,000 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 applications up through 1970 as well as Supplemental Applications during that time period. We would be delighted to have new volunteers to help us with the indexing effort. If you have a few hours available hours a week and are interested in learning more about this exciting project, 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.
Today’s release was made possible by the volunteer efforts of: Matthew Murphy, Carol Farrington, Jeanne Brown, Sandy Caldwell, and Sara Calautti.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to announce a new database today; Lowell, MA: High School Students, 1837-1878. The database contains over 170 pages and 25,000 indexed names.
Lowell High School was founded in 1831 and was the nation’s first integrated and co-educational high school. In 1837 it was housed in its permanent location between Kirk and Ann Streets. Broadsides were published listing the students and other information including class rank. This provides valuable information for family researchers regarding children of workers and immigrants who settled in Lowell.
All the records in this database are of type Residence and have a location of Lowell, Massachusetts, reflecting the assumption that the students and staff were residents of Lowell at time of the event published in the Broadside. The index includes names and dates for the students, principal and faculty as recorded in the broadsides. The printed Broadside often includes information such as attendance and class rank.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers: David Anderson and Linda Weaver. 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.
Keith Arbour, author of The Lowell High School Broadsides 1837 – 1878, provided the initial index of names used to create this database. The subtitle of the book; “A Unique Collection of Printed Sources documenting The Early History and Student Body of the Lowell, Massachusetts, Public High School, Fully Co-Educational and Racially Integrated from its Inception in 1831” provides an excellent summary of his book. It was privately printed in June, 2018
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Membership options.