Author Archive

We have 6 new sketches for Early Vermont Settlers to 1784.  This database focuses on families that lived in Vermont prior to the end of the Revolutionary War, as identified in Donald Alan Smith’s thesis “Legacy of Dissent: Religion and Politics in Revolutionary Vermont 1749 to 1784” (Clark U., Ph.D., 1980).

As NEHGS prepares to publish Scott Andrew Bartley’s first volume of these sketches, we welcome any corrections, especially regarding the children of the principal subjects of the sketches.  Send any potential revisions to webmaster@nehgs.org for review.

In this update, the heads of families are all from Pomfret, VT.  Bartholomew Durkee, whose sketch is included in this update was the first permanent settler of Pomfret, VT, who moved there with his family from Pomfret, Connecticut.

The latest new sketches are listed below:

John Chedel (Pomfret)

Oliver Cheney (Pomfret, Weathersfield)

John W. Dana (Pomfret)

Penuel Deming (Pomfret)

Bartholomew Durkee (Pomfret, Sheldon)

Daniel Waldo (Pomfret)

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

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Today we’re announcing three new sketches in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, one of our study projects by Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG.

This database focuses on families listed in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, an area which also includes parts of modern Franklin and Hampden counties.

If you are particularly interested in this area of research, you may want to consult one of our newest publications–the 3rd volume of Western Massachusetts Families in 1790!  

The following sketches are new to this update:

James Kendall (Ludlow)
Oliver Knox (Blandford)
Gad Wait (Ashfield)

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

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We’ve added 12 new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900, from the parish of Immaculate Conception in Salem.  This update consists of 2,860 pages, 23,972 records and roughly 90,300 names.  St. Mary’s was originally the name of Immaculate Conception; as the parish grew and built a new church, the name changed.  St. Mary’s was established in 1821, the 3rd Catholic church in Massachusetts.  The new Immaculate Conception church was dedicated in 1858.  The volumes below are named according to the name written in the actual record book.  We want to thank all of our marvelous volunteers who contributed work towards making this parish available; their time and effort is so appreciated.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. Mary (Salem) Baptisms, 1840-1854

St. Mary (Salem) Marriages, 1842-1870

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms and Marriages, 1824-1828

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, 1831-1841

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1855-1864

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1865-1873

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1874-1883

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1883-1888

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1889-1900

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Baptisms, 1900

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Marriages, 1871-1900

Immaculate Conception (Salem) Confirmations, 1888-1900

If you have found any interesting stories or important information about your ancestors within the Archdiocese of Boston records, we would love to hear from you!  Please email me (Molly Rogers) at webmaster@nehgs.org.

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

Note added November 29, 2017:

Our policy is to name volumes as they are named in the Archdiocesan archives.  They have decided to name the two St. Mary’s volumes as Immaculate Conception, so we have changed the volume names accordingly.  This change is based upon the following research, “Saint Mary’s, Salem, was the second parish in the diocese founded in 1826.  The parish was split in two with the establishment of Saint James in 1850, this to help serve the immediate area but also the large number of missions Saint Mary’s had become responsible for in the surrounding area. By 1857, a new church was completed to replace the old wooden church of Saint Mary’s, but because few priests were available they decided to merge the two parishes into one again, and rename this large parish the Immaculate Conception.”

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Alicia Crane William’s study project, Early New England Families, 1641-1700 focuses on immigrants to New England , using Torrey’s New England Marriages as a guide.

The newest sketch in this collection highlights Roger Goodspeed who was married in 1641 in Barnstable, Massachusetts to Alice Layton.  Roger came from Wingrave, England and died in Barnstable in 1685.  He and Alice had 7 children.

Click here to download a complete pdf list of all Early New England Families sketches with links to each sketch.

Click here to visit our bookstore to purchase a print compilation of the first 50 sketches in the series.

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We have a new transcription challenge for this week! Visit our Transcription Challenge page to offer a suggestion.  These new challenges come from Sacred Heart of Jesus in Cambridge.

We really appreciated all of your help and suggestions from last week!  Over 80 participants offered suggestions.  Here are the final answers we have settled on:

1. Garvey
2. Mulski
3. Mulski
4. Cedagan, Cadigan
5. Uart

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We have added over 1,200 new pages to Massachusetts: (Image Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900!  These new records come from the parishes of St. Ann in Dorchester and St. Catherine of Siena in Charlestown.  The history of both these churches demonstrates the expansion of Catholicism in Boston–both parishes broke off from previously established parishes as the numbers of worshipers grew.  The parish of St. Ann celebrated its first Mass on Christmas in 1880 after breaking off from St. Gregory’s (records coming soon!).  St. Catherine of Siena, located at the bottom of Bunker Hill, celebrated its first mass on Christmas in 1887, after branching from St. Francis de Sales.  Above is a stained glass window featuring St. Catherine of Siena (not located in the church in Charlestown), below is an image of the interior of St. Ann’s, taken from One Hundred Years of Progress by James S. Sullivan.  The new volumes consist of the following:

St. Ann (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1889-1900

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1888-1893

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1893-1898

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1898-1900

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Confirmations, 1894-1900

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Marriages, 1888-1900

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We have a new transcription challenge for this week! Visit our Transcription Challenge page to offer a suggestion.  These new challenges come from Immaculate Conception (Salem) and St. Mary (Charlestown).

Last week had some tricky names.  We really appreciated all of your help and suggestions!  Here are the final answers we have settled on:

1. Seragh, Sarah
2. Genoveffam, Genevieve
3. Annie Downey
4. Janie Heeney
5. Gideon, Gidoen
6. Nunan, Newman, Mussau, Musau
7. Colter, Cotter, Collet
8. Comboy

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We have added seven new sketches to Western Massachusetts Families in 1790. This database focuses on families listed in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, an area which includes parts of modern Franklin and Hampden counties as well.  Sketches are submitted by NEHGS researchers and members and edited by Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG.  To learn more about the sketch creation process, please consult this introduction to the project.  The following sketches comprise this update:

Caleb Barton (Lanesborough)

Joseph Blodgett (Greenwich)

Elijah Hollis (Lanesborough)

Gideon Hull (Granville)

Josiah Hunt (Williamsburg)

Jabez Spaulding (Windsor)

Jesse Spaulding (Windsor)

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

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We really appreciate the help with last week’s Transcription Challenge.  Week 6 was particularly hard–not just the special challenge, but also some of the other names.  Here are the chosen interpretations below.  These choices are based upon research done by our wonderful Transcription Challenge participants, research here at NEHGS, and the physical appearance of the letters on the page.

This week we have a new set of challenges from St. Joseph (Boston) and Sacred Heart 0f Jesus (Cambridge).  The third image is from a uniquely messy book of sick calls.  Addresses are given next to the names, which may be of help in deciphering them!  Visit our Transcription Challenge page to offer a suggestion.  As always, thanks to everyone who is participating in this challenge!

1. Latoraca, Laturraca
2. Cristina Lacorcia
3. Moneypenny
4. Clow, Clou, Chloe, Olon
5. Deforce, Defource, Defonce
6. de Glorie, de Gloria
7. Paulus de Santis and Rose Adelaide de Gonsallo, Gonsallos

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Today we have a small new addition to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900.  Sacramental records from Sacred Heart in Roslindale are now searchable.  This update consists of two volumes,  Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Baptisms, 1893-1900 and Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Marriages, 1893-1900.

The Sacred Heart parish was established in 1893 as the Catholic population in Roslindale grew.  Initially, Catholics in Roslindale attended St. Thomas in Jamaica Plain.  However, they became so passionate about creating their own parish, that as their own church was being constructed, the faithful of Roslindale chose to worship in a tent, even in winter time, rather than wait for construction to finish on their church!  You can read more about the history of this parish in One Hundred Years of Progress, the history published by the Archdiocese upon their centennial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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