Author Archive
Today we’re announcing new vital records from 13 towns in Berkshire and Hampden counties added to Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850.
This update includes over 82,900 records and 182,300 names.
Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 presents the vital records of many (but not all) towns in Massachusetts. The volumes that comprise this database come from a variety of different sources including vital records published by NEHGS, vital records published by other individuals or organizations (such as Franklin P. Rice, the Essex Institute, or the General Society of Mayflower Descendants), and manuscripts from the NEHGS collection.
The new records added in this update come from the Corbin Collection, specifically the 2003 CD that transcribes the contents of the original manuscript collection located in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections here at NEHGS.
Walter and Lottie Corbin, the genealogists who created the Corbin Collection lived in Florence, MA. According to the introduction to the CD, Walter and Lottie “traveled throughout western Massachusetts transcribing and compiling records until they had assembled perhaps the largest and most valuable collection of materials ever created for this area. The Corbins traversed the countryside transcribing church records, vital records, cemeteries, probate records, and many private records. They visited individuals in their homes, traipsed through overgrown cemeteries, and carefully examined dusty, centuries-old volumes in clerk’s offices, libraries, and churches.” The Corbins’ collection of records, most of which pertain to the 1650-1850 time period was purchased by NEHGS in 1964.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help in making these towns available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Cheshire – V1
Hancock – V1
Lanesborough – V1
Monterey – V1
New Marlborough – V1
Pittsfield – V1
Chicopee – V1
Hampden – V1
Holland – V1
Holyoke – V1
Ludlow – V1
Russell – V1
Wales – V1
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’re announcing new vital records from 12 towns in Franklin County added to Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850.
This update includes over 55,900 records and 117,200 names.
Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 presents the vital records of many (but not all) towns in Massachusetts. The volumes that comprise this database come from a variety of different sources including vital records published by NEHGS, vital records published by other individuals or organizations (such as Franklin P. Rice, the Essex Institute, or the General Society of Mayflower Descendants), and manuscripts from the NEHGS collection.
The new records added in this update come from the Corbin Collection, specifically the 2003 CD that transcribes the contents of the original manuscript collection located in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections here at NEHGS.
Walter and Lottie Corbin, the genealogists who created the Corbin Collection lived in Florence, MA. According to the introduction to the CD, Walter and Lottie “traveled throughout western Massachusetts transcribing and compiling records until they had assembled perhaps the largest and most valuable collection of materials ever created for this area. The Corbins traversed the countryside transcribing church records, vital records, cemeteries, probate records, and many private records. They visited individuals in their homes, traipsed through overgrown cemeteries, and carefully examined dusty, centuries-old volumes in clerk’s offices, libraries, and churches.” The Corbins’ collection of records, most of which pertain to the 1650-1850 time period was purchased by NEHGS in 1964.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help in making these towns available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Bernardston – V1
Hawley – V1
Leverett – V1
Leyden – V1
Northfield – V1
Rowe – V1
Shutesbury – V1
South Deerfield – V1
Sunderland – V1
Warwick – V1
Wendell – V1
Whatley – V1
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’re announcing a major update to Suffolk County, MA Probate File Papers. This addition includes case numbers 35452-43717, years 1848-1861 (partial), a total of 198,000 new file papers.
This database was created from digital images and index contributed to NEHGS by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. The probate cases include wills, guardianships, administrations, and various other types of probate records. We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his work on this update.
The complete Suffolk County File Papers collection will eventually cover cases 1-94,757, which includes years up to 1893. The cases are indexed chronologically, which allows us to present them in sections while digital photography is taking place. We will continue to add additional cases as they become available.
If you have questions on how to search this database, or about our collaboration with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, please watch our video, How to Search Massachusetts Probate File Papers. The Massachusetts Archives also have a very helpful website that serves as a directory as to where you can find which pieces of probate information.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.
Today we’ve added Volume 22 (2021) to our American Ancestors Magazine database. This update includes over 280 pages and 2,300 searchable names.
The themes for each of the new issues are listed below:
22.1: DNA Today: Sampling from the Tree of Knowledge
22.2: Health and Our Ancestors
22.3: New England Probate and Pilgrim Lore
22.4: Our Guide to Researching German Ancestors
The these records are indexed by full names, publication year (not the year of the record), article titles and authors.
American Ancestors features a wide range of article topics and styles including coverage of a particular region or group of people; case studies; descriptions of particular record sets; “how-to” articles; historic accounts that illuminate the past; research strategies and methodology; and accounts of migration and immigrant groups.
We update this database once a year, when the entire volume of the magazine is complete. If you would like to view online issues of current Volume 23, be sure to visit our publications page where you can view the newest issue.
Interested researchers may also want to consult New England Ancestors, the publication that preceded American Ancestors magazine.
The entire run of American Ancestors is available in our research library, call number F1.N49.
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 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.
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Today we’ve added Volume 69 to our Mayflower Descendant database. This update adds approximately 200 new pages and 3,200 searchable names.
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.
Today we’ve added Volume 88 (2016) to The American Genealogist database. This update adds over 300 pages and 6,500 searchable names.
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.”
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 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.
Volume 36 (2016) of The Essex Genealogist is now available! This update adds over 20 pages and 1,400 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. Within the pages of this journal are selections of cemetery transcriptions, bible records, vital and church records relating to families from Essex County. The Essex Genealogist has had published numerous Ahnentafels (Ancestor Tables) for the ancestry of their members, as well as verbatim transcriptions of lectures over the years.
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.
Today we’ve added Volume 38 from 2016 to The Maine Genealogist database. This update adds over 200 pages and over 4,100 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 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.
Today we’ve updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding one new sketch. This new sketch features John Fuller and his wife Elizabeth Cole. The Fullers lived in the area of Cambridge, MA which eventually became the town of Newton. The couple had eight children.
The Early New England Families, 1641-1700 study project is led by Alicia Crane Williams. This project highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700, focusing on individuals who immigrated from 1641 through 1700, grouped by year of marriage.
Interested researchers should also read Alicia’s recent Vita Brevis post “Problems of Age” discussing her research process for this sketch.
The town of Newton presents a very helpful map, the Town Plan from 1700 that clearly shows property owned by John Fuller. I’ve used the image to illustrate this post, but I wanted to link to the higher quality version to make it easier to read and use.
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center has a Plan of the ancient burial place Newton which also includes the Fuller family name.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help adding this sketch to our database.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We have just added a new volume to our New England Historical and Genealogical Register database. This update adds Volume 175; which contains the 2021 Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall issues, and it adds 430 pages and over 8,000 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 New England Historical and Genealogical Register is available in our research library, call number F1.N56.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.