Author Archive
Today we’ve added three new volumes and updated two volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Anthony of Padua in Allston. This update adds over 11,100 records and over 42,300 names to search.
St. Anthony’s grew from St. Columbkille in Brighton. The cornerstone was laid in 1894. James S. Sullivan’s One Hundred Years of Progress, describes in detail the construction of the church which was still in progress in 1895, explaining the future location of the altar (to be made of stone and marble) and the choir loft.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis, Eileen McCarthy, Liz Barnett, Sandy Murphy Mauer, Paul McCool, Angela Napolitano, Mary Coyne, Carolyn Jack, Jim Alcauskas and Maureen Keillor for their help with this update.
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Anthony of Padua (Allston) Baptisms, 1909-1920
St. Anthony of Padua (Allston) Baptisms, 1920
St. Anthony of Padua (Allston) Confirmations, 1901-1920
Updated volumes (records added for 1901 +) :
St. Anthony of Padua (Allston) Baptisms, 1896-1909
St. Anthony of Padua (Allston) Marriages, 1896-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added twelve new volumes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Catherine of Siena and St. Mary, both in Charlestown. We’ve also updated five volumes from these two parishes. This update adds over 4,000 new pages to browse.
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 happened in the building. Scroll about three quarters of the way down the page to view these images.
St. Catherine of Siena grew out of St. Mary’s. The first Mass at St. Catherine’s was celebrated on Christmas 1887.
We’d like to thank volunteers Bill Wolfendale, Kim Bonner, Angela Napolitano and Katie McNally for their help making this update possible.
If you need help navigating this collection, please consult our most recent webinar, Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Records Project: We’re Expanding!
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1902-1907
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1907-1910
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1910-1920
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Marriages, 1911-1920
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
The following volumes have been updated. Previously they were truncated to only display records from before January 1, 1901. Now they are presented on our site either in their complete form or with the records up to December 31, 1920:
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1898-1902
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Confirmations, 1894-1920
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Marriages, 1888-1910
St. Mary (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1897-1904
St. Mary (Charlestown) Marriages, 1869-1907
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).
Today we’re announcing one new sketch in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790. The new sketch focuses on Nathaniel Abell of Goshen.
This study project focuses on individual enumerated in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, also including modern Franklin and Hampden counties. Sketches for this project are submitted to editor Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG by NEHGS members and other interested researchers. If you are interested in submitting a sketch for Volume 5, please review our project home page.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this update possible.
We’ve also updated Timothy Bush of Norwich‘s sketch in Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784.
Scott Andrew Bartley’s study project tracks heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’re announcing two new sketches for two of our New England study projects: Western Massachusetts Families in 1790 and Early New England Families, 1641-1700.
One new sketch was added to our database Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, highlighting Benjamin Burgess of Williamsburg.
Helen Ullmann’s lastest book is Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, Volume 4 . Learn more about the included sketches!
This study project focuses on individuals enumerated in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, also including modern Franklin and Hampden counties. Sketches for this project are submitted to editor Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG by NEHGS members and other interested researchers. If you are interested in submitting a sketch for Volume 5, please review our project home page.
We’ve also updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding one new sketch featuring Richard Hide of Salem, m. 1641.
Early New England Families, 1641-1700 is written by Alicia Crane Williams. This study project highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. Alicia often publishes helpful Vita Brevis posts related to her research. Recently she has discussed Essex County probates and “Lucky Essex County” about early record keeping in this area.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making these updates possible.
Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added seven new volumes and updated two volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Our Lady of the Presentation in Brighton, St. Gabriel in Brighton, and St. James the Greater in Boston. This update adds over 11,500 records and over 50,200 names to search.
Our Lady of the Presentation was established in 1909 in the Oak Square neighborhood of Brighton. Construction on a church building began in 1913 and the church was dedicated in 1921.
In 1908, the Passionist Fathers established a monastery in Brighton. The monastery evolved to include a parish church called St. Gabriel’s which became an independent parish in 1934.
St. James the Greater was established in 1854, located in what is now Boston’s Chinatown. In 1854, the neighborhood was largely of Irish descent. The original church on the corner of Albany and Harvard streets was demolished when the land was sold to a railroad company. The new church was built on Harrison Street and still serves the Catholics of Boston today.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help with this update.
The new volumes are listed below:
Our Lady of the Presentation (Brighton) Baptisms, 1909-1920
Our Lady of the Presentation (Brighton) Confirmations, 1915-1920
Our Lady of the Presentation (Brighton) Marriages, 1910-1920
St. Gabriel (Brighton) Baptisms, 1912-1920
St. James the Greater (Boston) Baptisms, 1904-1908
St. James the Greater (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1920
St. James the Greater (Boston) Marriages, 1908-1920
Updated volumes (records added for 1901 +) :
St. James the Greater (Boston) Baptisms, 1888-1903
St. James the Greater (Boston) Marriages, 1895-1908
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added 22 new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Holy Trinity (Boston) and St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell). This update adds over 105,700 records and over 376,600 names to search.
This addition completes Phase 1 of the Historic Catholic Records Online project. Since 2016, we’ve been working to digitize and index the sacramental records of the Archdiocese of Boston from 1789-1900. Holy Trinity and St. Jean Baptiste were the last two incomplete pre-1901 parishes! Last August we announced Phase 2 of the project which covers the years 1901-1920. We will continue to add new Phase 2 parishes to this database!
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. Jean Baptiste grew out of St. Joseph, the original parish serving French Catholics in Lowell. Both churches were founded under the leadership of Father André-Marie Garin, an Oblate from France who served as a missionary in Canada before coming to Lowell. In 1888, the cornerstone was laid for St. Jean Baptiste, and its dedication Mass was held in 1890. There was a large fire in the church in the 1912, but the church was reopened by 1916. Author Jack Kerouac’s funeral was held at this church in 1969.
We always thank our volunteers, but in this case I would like to offer very special thanks to our volunteers who are proficient in German and French. Thanks to their hard work, we are able to offer informed transcriptions that are as accurate as possible (messy handwriting aside!).
We’d like to thank the following volunteers for their help indexing Holy Trinity in Boston: Alexander Crouch, Amelia Devin Freedman, Barbara Desouza, Bob Rainville, Christine Conlon, Christine Schumann, Diana Beltrão de Macedo, Doreen MacDonald, Hartmut Lustig, Helen Herzer, Jan Lundquist, Jane Papa, Jeananne Piper Grady, Jeanne Brown, Jon Gebhardt, Julie Nathanson, Kathy Oberley, Linda Reinfeld, Margaret Parker, Marie Wells, Michael Hager, Nancy Borman, Nancy Johnson, Pat Dalpiaz, Rich Wood, Stacey-Rae McCue, Susan Dickinson, and Tamara Gribble.
We’d like to thank the following volunteers for their help indexing St. Jean Baptiste in Lowell: Alice Fristrom, Angela Napolitano, Bob Rainville, Carolyn Jack, Christophe Semamz, Debbie Lansing, Diane Kimball, Doreen MacDonald, Edna Curtin, Eileen McCarthy, Erin Lichtenstein, Francois Lemaistre, Frédérique Van Moortel, Gig Moineau, Janet Essency, Jim Alcaulskas, Kathy Oberley, Kathy Sheehan, Kathy Terkelsen, Kayla Hinrichsen, Laura Versmee, Linda Shumate, Lisa Elvin-Staltari, Loretta Brown-Aldrich, Mary Coyne, Maryanne LeGrow, Maureen Keillor, Meredith Madyda, Michelle Kearns, Mouna Blila, Paul McCool, Pauline Cusson, Sandy Caldwell, Stacey-Rae McCue, and Suise Souza.
The new volumes are listed below:
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1836-1853
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1853-1880, and Confirmations, 1853-1891
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1881-1886
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1886-1894
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1894-1900
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Census and Deaths, 1856-1877
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Deaths, 1878-1907
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1836-1892
- Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1893-1900
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms and Marriages, 1868-1879
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms and Marriages, 1879-1886
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms and Marriages, 1886-1890
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms and Marriages, 1891-1894
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms, 1895-1897
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms, 1897-1899
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms, 1899-1900
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Baptisms, 1900-1902
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Confirmations, 1870-1894
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Confirmations, 1870-1900
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Confirmations, 1895-1917
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Deaths, 1896-1901
- St. Jean Baptiste (Lowell) Marriages, 1895-1902
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve rolled out a new feature on AmericanAncestors.org to help organize your research!
We now offer a list of Saved Records. Here are a few tips on how to use this new feature.
Do a search for one of your ancestors. When you’ve found someone you’d like to save, click on their name in the search results list. This will take you to the Record Display page (see image below). Click on the new blue Save Record button in the upper right corner. This will add this record to your Saved Records list!
There are now stars next to the “Also on this page” names. You can click on a star to add other people who appear this same page to your Saved Records list. Below you can see that I’ve added my great-grandparents Egbert and Elizabeth as well as my great-great grandmother Abbie, and an aunt Mary to my list of Saved Records.
To view your Saved Records list, go to Advanced Search in our Search drop-down menu (available on the homepage). There is now a Saved Records button in the upper right corner, near the Saved Searches drop-down.
Click this blue button, and you’ll get to your list of Saved Records. This list will display the name of the person in the record, the database from which it comes, the record type, year, and location information. In the Created Date column, you can see the date that you saved that record. You can always remove a record from this list using the “Remove from My Saved Records” button.
We’ve also made it easier to move between the Transcript page and the Record Display page. Say you’re on the Search Results page, and instead of clicking on a name (which leads to the Record Display page), you click directly on “View Image.” This will take you to the image for this record. If you click “Transcript”, you’ll see the index for this page.
Once you’re on the Transcript page, click on a name to get to the Record Display page, where you can view the details we’ve transcribed for that record and save the record to your Saved Records list! If there is an annotation for the record, you will also see it on the Record Display page. It’s always good to check for annotations–if a user has reported a problem with that record, you will be directed to an alternate source that may have more correct information.
Today we’re announcing three new sketches for two of our New England study projects: Western Massachusetts Families in 1790 and Early New England Families, 1641-1700.
Two new sketches were added to our database Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, highlighting Oliver Root of Pittsfield and Enoch Haskins of Pittsfield.
Helen Ullmann’s lastest book is Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, Volume 4 . Learn more about the included sketches!
This study project focuses on individuals enumerated in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, also including modern Franklin and Hampden counties. Sketches for this project are submitted to editor Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG by NEHGS members and other interested researchers. If you are interested in submitting a sketch for Volume 5, please review our project home page.
We’ve also updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding one new sketch featuring Edward Bishop of Salem and Beverly, m. 1645.
Early New England Families, 1641-1700 is written by Alicia Crane Williams. This study project highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. Alicia often publishes helpful Vita Brevis posts related to her research. Recently she has discussed Essex County probates and “Lucky Essex County” about early record keeping in this area.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making these updates possible.
Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added fifteen new volumes and updated three volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston and Our Lady of Good Voyage in Gloucester. This update adds over 46,600 records and over 199, 271 names to search.
The Church of the Holy Cross was the first Catholic church established in Boston in 1788. As the Catholic population grew in the city, it become the Cathedral. In 1800, the first Cathedral was built on Franklin Street in the South End. By 1866, a new, larger building was needed, so construction began on the current church on Washington Street. Since, the Cathedral has continued to be a center of Catholicism in New England.
In 1888, the Portuguese Catholics of Gloucester organized to form their own parish. In 1893, the first Mass was sung in the Our Lady of Good Voyage church building.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help with this update.
The new volumes are listed below:
Holy Cross (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1910
Holy Cross (Boston) Baptisms, 1910-1920
Holy Cross (Boston) Baptisms, 1920
Holy Cross (Boston) Confirmations, 1907-1916
Holy Cross (Boston) Confirmations, 1917-1920
Holy Cross (Boston) Convert Confirmations, 1916-1920
Holy Cross (Boston) Convert Confirmations, 1920
Holy Cross (Boston) Marriages, 1906-1908
Holy Cross (Boston) Marriages, 1908-1911
Holy Cross (Boston) Marriages, 1911-1917
Holy Cross (Boston) Marriages, 1918-1920
Our Lady of Good Voyage (Gloucester) Baptisms, 1891-1913
Our Lady of Good Voyage (Gloucester) Baptisms, 1913-1920
Our Lady of Good Voyage (Gloucester) Confirmations, 1898-1908
Our Lady of Good Voyage (Gloucester) Marriages, 1890-1920
Updated volumes (records added for 1901 +):
Holy Cross (Boston) Baptisms V.15, 1900-1908
Holy Cross (Boston) Confirmations, 1895-1906
Holy Cross (Boston) Marriages V.11, 1897-1905
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added six new volumes and updated one volume in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Bridget in Framingham and St. Anthony of Padua in Cohasset. This update adds over 3,600 records and over 15,100 names to search.
St. George in Saxonville was the first Catholic church in Framingham, established in 1848. In 1878, St. Bridget’s was formed to serve the Catholics of Ashland and South Framingham. At the time, it was a mission of St. George. When St. Stephen’s began in 1883, St. Bridget’s became a part of that parish. In 1911, St. Bridget became an independent parish.
In 1886, St. Anthony of Padua was established in Cohasset, with the Church of the Nativity in Scituate as a mission. Prior to this date, Catholics in Cohasset were ministered to by priests from Hingham or Weymouth. Many of the early Catholics of Cohasset who helped build this parish were Portuguese.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help with this update.
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Bridget (Framingham) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. Bridget (Framingham) Marriages, 1911-1920
St. Anthony of Padua (Cohasset) Baptisms 1886-1909 (updated volume–records added for 1901-1909)
St. Anthony of Padua (Cohasset) Baptisms, 1909-1920
St. Anthony of Padua (Cohasset) Confirmations, 1918
St. Anthony of Padua (Cohasset) First Communions 1919
St. Anthony of Padua (Cohasset) Marriages, 1886-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.