Author Archive

Today we’ve added seven new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900.  The new volumes come from St. James in Haverhill.  St. James was established in 1850, originally called St. Gregory.  The name of the church was changed when the parish expanded to a larger building in 1884.  In its early years, Catholics from Bradford, Groveland, and Georgetown also worshiped at St. James.  This update adds 21,538 new records and 67,652 new names to our database.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. James (Haverhill) Baptisms, 1851-1859
St. James (Haverhill) Baptisms, 1868-1897
St. James (Haverhill) Baptisms, 1898-1900
St. James (Haverhill) First Communions and Confirmations, 1884-1900
St. James (Haverhill) Marriages, 1850-1859
St. James (Haverhill) Marriages, 1868-1900
St. James (Haverhill) Deaths, 1885-1900

Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’ve added seven new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 from Our Lady of Victories in Boston.  Also known as Notre Dame des Victoires, this church served Boston’s French Catholic population.  The church was located on Isabella Street, in the Bay Village Historic District.  The parish was closed in 2016.  This addition includes over 9,000 new records and over 39,000 new names to search.  The new volumes are listed below:

Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Baptisms, 1880-1882, 1890-1898
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Baptisms, 1883-1890
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Baptisms, 1898-1900
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Deaths, 1889-1900
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Marriages, 1884-1899
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Marriages, 1899-1900
Our Lady of Victories (Boston) Various, 1880-1890

Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’re announcing an addition to Early New England Families, 1641-1700, a sketch for Robert Williams (m.1641).  Robert Williams was a ferryman who lived from about 1615-1677.  He had four children.  More research is needed to determine who his wife was.  Alicia Crane Williams’ Early New England Families, 1641-1700 highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700.  To learn more about this study project, be sure to check out our information page.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’ve added three new sketches to Helen Schatvet Ullmann’s Western Massachusetts Families in 1790.  This study project focuses on heads of families enumerated in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, also including modern Franklin and Hampden counties.  If you would like to learn more about this project, be sure to visit our information page. The three new sketches are listed below:

Eleazer Brown (Adams)
George Hall (Hancock)
David Wells (Shelburne)

Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’ve added 6 new parishes to Massachusetts: (Image Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900.  This update adds 23 new volumes and 3,937 images to browse from Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Lawrence), Blessed Sacrament (Jamaica Plain), St. Augustine (Lawrence), St. John the Evangelist (Cambridge), St. Joseph (Roxbury), and St. Mary (Ayer).  We’d like to thank the following scanners for their help with these parishes: Eileen McCarthy, Jeff Erickson, Francis Alix, Ross & Linda Weaver, Angela Napolitano, Tom Dreyer, John Phlo, Genevieve Niessen, and Tim Belgrad.  If you need help understanding how to browse this collection, be sure to watch our how-to video.  The new volumes are listed below:

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Lawrence) Baptisms, Marriages, and Confirmations, 1887-1900

Blessed Sacrament (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1892-1900
Blessed Sacrament (Jamaica Plain) Confirmations, 1892-1900
Blessed Sacrament (Jamaica Plain) Marriages, 1892-1900

St. Augustine (Lawrence) Baptisms, 1879-1886

St. John the Evangelist (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1893-1900
St. John the Evangelist (Cambridge) Confirmations, 1894
St. John the Evangelist (Cambridge) Marriages, 1893-1900

St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1845-1856
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1857-1862
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms and Confirmations, 1862-1871
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1872-1881
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms and Confirmations, 1882-1889
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1890-1900
St. Joseph (Roxbury) New England Hospital Baptisms, 1885-1900
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1845-1857
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1857-1873
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1873-1889
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1890-1900

St. Mary (Ayer) Baptisms, 1856-1866
St. Mary (Ayer) Baptisms, 1867-1900
St. Mary (Ayer) Marriages, 1857-1866
St. Mary (Ayer) Marriages, 1867-1900

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Today we’ve added records from two new towns in Berkshire County to Massachusetts Vital Records, 1620-1850.  We’ve added 284 records and 879 names from Clarksburg, MA and 1,389 records and 3,190 names from Savoy, MA.  This update is possible through the efforts of Susan Jacobs and Sam Sturgis to whom we are very grateful.  The Savoy records span 1736-1870.  Clarksburg was established in 1798.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’re announcing 11 new sketches in Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784.  We’ve also updated three older sketches.  This study project by Scott Andrew Bartley is a work in progress, focusing on head of families in pre-Revolutionary War Vermont.  So far he has focused on Windsor and Windham counties.  This addition (including the updates) adds 1,088 new records and 4,352 new names.  The new sketches are listed below:

Baldwin, Daniel (Norwich)
Burton, Jacob (Norwich)
Burton, Josiah (Norwich)
Carpenter, Simeon (Norwich)
Hatch, John (Norwich)
Hatch, Joseph (Norwich)
Hopson, John (Norwich)
Huntington, James (Norwich)
Murdock, Thomas (Norwich)
Sargent, John (Norwich)
Smith, Phillip (Norwich)

Three updated sketches:

Burton, Elisha (Norwich)
Neff, Thomas (Randolph)
Wright, Benjamin (Hartford)

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’re announcing six new volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900.  This update adds 16,649 new records and 59,984 new searchable names. St. Columbkille is named after St. Columba, an Irish saint who helped bring Catholicism to Scotland.  His name can take a few forms also including Colmcille. St. Columbkille (Brighton) became its own parish after splitting off from St. Mary of the Assumption in Brookline.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1857-1881
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1881-1894
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1985-1900
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Confirmations, 1855-1895
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Confirmations, 1897-1900
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Marriages, 1857-1900

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’ve added six new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 from St. Patrick in Lowell.  St. Patrick was Lowell’s earliest parish, and contains many records of the town’s Catholic inhabitants.  Many of the records found in these volumes were not recorded in Massachusetts’ civil records, making them an important source of information for researchers; be sure to read Sam Sturgis’s Vita Brevis post on the topic, The only existing record.  This update adds 50,405 new records and 200,389 new names.  We want to extensively thank the following volunteers who puzzled over the messy handwriting to make this parish searchable: Paula Hines, Marion Vermazen, Mary Coyne, Paul McCool, Jeananne Piper Grady, Angela Napolitano, Eileen McCarthy, Alison Fulmer, Maureen McCarthy, Mary Alice Yost, Diane Rogers, Sally MacGowan, Sandy Murphy Mauer, Marnie Goodbody, Jim Alcauskas, Maureen Keillor, Meredith Madyda, Rhonda Wilson, Margo Blank, Carolyn Jack, and Patty Ryburn.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms 1836-1861
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms 1847-1861
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms 1861-1878
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms 1878-1900
St. Patrick (Lowell) Marriages 1836-1872
St. Patrick (Lowell) Marriages 1872-1900

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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Today we’ve added 29 new volumes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900.  These new volumes come from six parishes: Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cambridge), St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn), St. James (Salem), St. John the Baptist (East Boston), St. Mary (Quincy), and St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater).  These parishes span the ethnic groups of early Catholics in Massachusetts–of course there are many people of Irish descent, but St. James (Salem) served Salem’s French Canadian population and St. John the Baptist in East Boston ministered to Boston’s Portuguese Catholics.  The two added Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cambridge) volumes complete this parish up to 1900.  This update adds over 6,200 new images to browse.  If you have questions about how to navigate this database, be sure to watch our how-to video.  We’d like to thank the following scanners for their help producing these images: Ross and Linda Weaver, Francis Alix, Eileen McCarthy, Jeff Erickson, Meghan McDonagh, Tim Belgrad, Angela Napolitano, Genevieve Niessen, Tom Dreyer, John Phlo, Alice Fristrom, and Kiera Breitenbach.  The new volumes are listed below:

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1899-1900
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cambridge) Marriages, 1897-1900

St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Baptisms, 1857-1878
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Baptisms, 1878-1888
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Baptisms, 1888-1895
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Baptisms, 1895-1899
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Baptisms, 1899-1900
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Confirmations, 1898-1900
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Marriages, 1857-1895
St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn) Marriages, 1895-1900

St. James (Salem) Baptisms, 1851-1864
St. James (Salem) Baptisms, 1857-1861
St. James (Salem) Baptisms, 1865-1891
St. James (Salem) Baptisms, 1891-1900
St. James (Salem) Marriages, 1851-1900

St. John the Baptist (East Boston) Baptisms, 1873-1888
St. John the Baptist (East Boston) Baptisms, 1888-1893
St. John the Baptist (East Boston) Baptisms, 1893-1900
St. John the Baptist (East Boston) Marriages, 1873-1900

St. Mary (Quincy) Baptisms and Marriages, 1844-1848
St. Mary (Quincy) Baptisms, 1849-1850 and Financial Records, 1864-1866
St. Mary (Quincy) Baptisms, 1900
St. Mary (Quincy) Marriages, 1853-1854

St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Baptisms and Marriages, 1853-1856
St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Baptisms, 1865-1881
St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Baptisms, 1882-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Confirmations, 1885-1900 (Vol. 1)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Confirmations, 1885-1900 (Vol. 2)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Bridgewater) Marriages, 1863-1900

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