Author Archive
Today we’ve updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding five new sketches. All five sketches pertain to the Phelps family who originally settled in Salem. The new sketches are listed below:
Eleanor (Batter) (Phelps) Trusler (m. ?-1639)
Hannah (Baskel) (Phelps) (Phelps) Hill (m. 1645-1695)
Edward Phelps (m. 1646)
Nicholas Phelps (m. 1645)
Henry Phelps (m. 1664)
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, focusing on individuals who immigrated from 1641 through 1700, grouped by year of marriage. Read more about “Those Frustrating Phelpses”, via one of Alicia Crane Williams’ most recent Vita Brevis posts.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help adding these sketches to our database.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’re announcing two new sketches in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790. The new sketches focus on Josiah Whiting of New Marlborough, wife Sarah Loomis and Benjamin Griggs of Sheffield, wife Sarah Johnson and their families.
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.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added three new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Gate of Heaven in South Boston. This update adds over 7,600 records and over 11,400 names to search.
Gate of Heaven Church is located on the corner of E. 4th and I Streets in South Boston. It grew out of Sts. Peter and Paul parish in 1862. In 1865 it became an independent parish. This parish continued to grow into the 20th century.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1913-1919
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1919-1920
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Marriages, 1916-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added four new sketches to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784, highlighting families who lived in Brattleboro. The new sketches are listed below:
Field, Bennett (Brattleboro)
Field, Israel (Brattleboro)
Field, Reuben (Brattleboro)
Field, Silas (Brattleboro)
With this study project, Scott Andrew Bartley researches heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War. These sketches illustrate major players on political and religious fronts, uncover the migration patterns for this period in the region, and identify all those just looking to better their lives on the new frontier. This project is proceeding in two series, settlers to 1771 and 1772-1784. The work so far has been geographical, focusing on Windsor and Windham Counties.
Six sketches have been updated recently including: Bourne, Nathaniel (Manchester); Smith, Steel (Windsor); Church, Timothy (Brattleboro); Church, Jonathan (Brattleboro); Church, Malachi (Brattleboro) and Curtis, Israel (Windsor).
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added four new volumes and updated three volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Joseph in Roxbury. This update adds over 14,700 records and over 52,600 names to search.
The parish of St. Joseph’s in Roxbury was created in 1846 from area that had previously been part of St. Patrick’s in South Boston. In the beginning, this church served the Catholics of many neighboring towns and neighborhoods. By 1860, the parish had already grown enough to need a larger church building. While many parishes split off from the initial area of this parish, the Catholic community here continued to grow into the 20th century.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new and updated volumes are listed below. Volumes with an asterisk have been updated. Previously they were truncated to only display records from before January 1, 1901. Now they are presented on our site in their complete form:
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms. 1890-1901*
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1901-1911
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms. 1911-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Confirmations, 1903-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1890-1901*
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1901-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) New England Hospital Baptisms. 1885-1901**
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added 26 new volumes and updated 7 volumes in Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Sacred Heart (Amesbury), St. Alphonsus (Beverly), St. Andrew (Billerica), St. Colman of Cloyne (Brockton), St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury), St. James the Apostle (Arlington), St. Joseph (Belmont), St. Joseph (Roxbury), and St. Margaret of Scotland (Beverly). This update adds over 3,600 new pages to browse.
We’ve also added three new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Francis de Sales in Roxbury. This update adds over 9,000 records and 39,100 new searchable names. We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online. The new volumes include St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Baptisms and Baptisms of Converts, 1904-1928, St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1911-1920 and St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Marriages, 1914-1920.
If you need help navigating the image-only collection, please consult our most recent webinar, Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Records Project: We’re Expanding!
The new volumes in Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, 1789-1920 are listed below. Volumes with an asterisk 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:
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) Baptisms, 1903-1917
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) Baptisms, 1918-1920
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) Confirmations, 1908-1920
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) Deaths, 1907-1920
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) First Communions, 1905-1920
Sacred Heart (Amesbury) Marriages, 1908-1920
St. Alphonsus (Beverly) Baptisms, 1917-1920
St. Alphonsus (Beverly) Confirmations, 1919-1920
St. Alphonsus (Beverly) Marriages, 1917-1920
St. Andrew (Billerica) Baptisms and Marriages, 1904-1914
St. Colman of Cloyne (Brockton) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1897-1904*
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Baptisms and Baptisms of Converts, 1904-1920
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Index to Baptisms, 1861-19044*
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Confirmations, 1876-1920*
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Marriages, 1861-1913*
St. Francis de Sales (Roxbury) Marriages, 1914-1920
St. James the Apostle (Arlington) Baptisms, 1914-1920
St. Joseph (Belmont) Baptisms, 1900-1920
St. Joseph (Belmont) Confirmations, 1911-1920
St. Joseph (Belmont) Marriages, 1900-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1890-1901*
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1901-1911
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Confirmations, 1903-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1890-1901*
St. Joseph (Roxbury) Marriages, 1901-1920
St. Joseph (Roxbury) New England Hospital Baptisms, 1885-1901*
St. Margaret of Scotland (Beverly) Baptisms, 1905-1920
St. Margaret of Scotland (Beverly) Confirmations, 1908-1920
St. Margaret of Scotland (Beverly) Marriages, 1905-1920
Please note: Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, 1789-1920 is available to all NEHGS members. Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).
Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, 1789-1920 is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added three new volumes and updated two volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Sacred Heart in Roslindale. This update adds over 6,000 records and over 25,300 names to search.
The parish of Sacred Heart in Roslindale was created in 1893. The church building was completed and blessed in 1910.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new and updated volumes are listed below:
Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Baptisms, 1893-1908 (updated)
Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Marriages, 1893-1908 (updated)
Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Baptisms, 1908-1917
Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Baptisms, 1917-1920
Sacred Heart (Roslindale) Marriages, 1908-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
The Archive Department of the Archdiocese of Boston is announcing a new tool to help researchers determine which parish their ancestors attended. This new map will be incredibly useful when used in conjunction with the Historic Catholic Records Online project hosted here at AmericanAncestors.org.
The Boston Catholic Parish Map depicts the Archdiocese of Boston ca. 1955 when a concerted effort was made to document the boundaries of each parish, and reflects the height of the Archdiocese in terms of number of parishes.
At this time, the map features territorial parishes whose boundaries are shaded in various colors, and within the boundary the parish church plotted in the same color. National or other non-geographic churches are plotted in black.
An exciting feature is the box in the top right corner of the map, allowing users to enter an address which will then be plotted on the map. The parish in which the address is located will be the parish their families most likely attended. Researchers can then search the free-to-browse database Massachusetts: (Image only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920, or the fully searchable database Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. It will also show nearby neighboring parishes which may have encompassed the address depending on the time period; if the parish in which the address falls did not yet exist.
Clicking within a parish boundary will provide the name of the parish and address of the parish church. Clicking on a church marker will provide the name of the church, address, date the parish was created and, where applicable, the date the parish was suppressed or merged. In the future, we hope to add additional content such as depictions of the churches, details about the location of parish records and links to the online records.
Links to access the map are available on the Archdiocese of Boston Archive Department’s Online Resources page and within the database descriptions for Massachusetts: (Image only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 and Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. For guidance on how to use the map, consult the how-to video.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge Violet Hurst, archivist at the Archdiocese of Boston, for her extraordinary efforts to compile and input the data to make this tool a reality.
Please submit any suggestions or feedback related to this announcement to the Archive Department of the Archdiocese of Boston by emailing archive@rcab.org or to us here at NEHGS at webmaster@nehgs.org.
Today we’ve added nine new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Paul and St. William in Dorchester. This update adds over 11,900 records and over 48,600 names to search.
Both St. Paul and St. William branched off from St. Peter’s parish in Dorchester. In 1896 St. Paul’s was established as a mission of St. Peter’s. In 1908 it became its own parish. You can read more about the history and location of the parish in this post from the Dorchester Athenaeum.
St. William became its own parish in 1909. The church was dedicated in 1910. You can read more about the history and location of the parish in this post from the Dorchester Athenaeum.
For more on the history of the Catholic Church in Dorchester in general, see Dorchester Old and New: 1630-1930 in the Old Bay Colony.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Paul (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1908-1910
St. Paul (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1908-1918
St. Paul (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1918-1920
St. Paul (Dorchester) Marriages, 1908-1910
St. Paul (Dorchester) Marriages, 1908-1920
St. William (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1909-1919
St. William (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. William (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1911-1920
St. William (Dorchester) Marriages, 1909-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added five new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Mark in Dorchester. This update adds over 5,572 records and over 23,056 names to search.
St. Mark’s church was dedicated in 1915, in the Ashmont neighborhood of Dorchester. It grew out of St. Gregory (Dorchester) as the Catholic population in this area increased.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1905-1916
St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1916-1920
St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Mark (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1906-1920
St. Mark (Dorchester) Marriages, 1906-1920
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.