Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category
We are excited to announce that volumes 31-34 (2017-2020) have been added to The Genealogist, in partnership with the American Society of Genealogists. This update adds 22,443 names, 22,719 records, and 1,308 pages to the database.
The American Society of Genealogists, founded in 1940, is an independent honorary society of the leading published scholars in the field of American genealogy. Since its inception, the ASG has served the discipline of genealogy by embodying and promoting the highest standards of genealogical scholarship. Foremost among the ASG’s ongoing activities is the publication of The Genealogist, one of the leading American journals of scholarly genealogy. For more information about the American Society of Genealogists, please visit their website.
We want to thank our volunteer, Sam Sturgis, for all of his work on this database! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please reach out to our Database Volunteer Coordinator, Zobeida, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
This database is available to all American Ancestors members. Consider Membership.
We are happy to announce that volumes 46 and 47 (2020-2021) have been added to Rhode Island Roots. This update adds 4,389 names, 4,517 records, and 518 pages to the database.
The Rhode Island Genealogical Society publishes Rhode Island Roots quarterly. It features many Rhode Island records, such as cemetery and tax lists, General Assembly petitions, civil and military records, and genealogical articles — all focusing on Rhode Island families. Other features include articles about Rhode Islanders in other state census records, queries and a list of RI research volunteers. The authors include well-known genealogists as well as RIGS members with stories of their own families to tell.
The indexing for these records includes full names, publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.
The entire run of Rhode Island Roots is available at the NEHGS Boston research library, call number F78 .R2.
We want to thank our volunteer, Sam Sturgis, for all of his work on this database! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please reach out to our Database Volunteer Coordinator, Zobeida, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
This database is available to all American Ancestors members, including Guest members, at no cost. Consider membership.
We are happy to announce that volumes 31-33.3 (2019-2021) have been added to The New Hampshire Genealogical Record. This updates adds 4,691 names, 4,756 records, and 410 pages. This database has been made available through partnership with the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.
The New Hampshire Genealogical Record was published by the New Hampshire Genealogical Society from Vol. 1, No. 1 (July 1903) to Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 1910). After a lengthy hiatus, it was resumed in 1990 by the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists with Vol. 7, No. 3. Volumes 1-7 are known as the “Old Series” and volumes 7 and up are the “New Series.”
The Journal captures a wealth of information for genealogists: vital records, probate records, bible records, headstone records, and memorials. It also includes well-documented family histories and genealogical articles covering hundreds of families with New Hampshire ties. Published articles include compiled genealogy, source records, and book reviews.
The name index portion of this database is based on the Journal Index listed at the end of each whole number volume that was published with such an index, along with a new index prepared by volunteers for volumes not originally indexed. Volumes will be added as their indexes become available.
We want to thank our volunteer, Sam Sturgis, for all of his work on this database! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please reach out to our Database Volunteer Coordinator, Zobeida, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
This database is available to all American Ancestors members.
We are excited to announce that we have added volumes 42 and 43 (2020-2021) to The Maine Genealogist database. This update adds 453 pages, 9,300 records, and 9,173 searchable names.
Published since 1977, The Maine Genealogist is the quarterly journal of the Maine Genealogical Society, founded in 1976. Originally launched as a society newsletter, the publication became The Maine Seine, which continued through 1990. In 1991, its title was changed to The Maine Genealogist, and each 48 page issue contains scholarly articles on Maine families, with emphasis on solving 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 long-time volunteer, Sam Sturgis. If you would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process, please contact Zobeida Chaffee-Valdes, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
Please note: This database is available to all American Ancestors members.
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We have added a significant update to Daughters of the American Revolution: Patriots of Color, 1712–1888. This update includes 593 new names, pension numbers, ancestor numbers, and links to AncestTREES, bringing the total number of names in this database to 7,707 for the 10 Million Names initiative.
This database was made possible through a collaboration with Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and comes from decades of DAR research that culminated in the creation of their Patriots of Color Database in 2021. The database is part of the DAR E Pluribus Unum Educational Initiative, which seeks to highlight the stories of underrepresented Patriots and increase access to historical and genealogical resources surrounding the lives of people of color and women in the American Revolution. The DAR Patriots of Color Database can be found here.
This database encompasses a less-examined aspect of the American Revolution: the Black, Native American, and mixed-descent participants. For the patriots that can be found here, the information available is extremely varied and comes from many diverse sources. There were both free Black and enslaved Patriots, and these entries sometimes only include a first name, or a first name and their enslaver’s last name as parenthetical information. Native American participants may be listed under their indigenous names and their tribal affiliation will be provided when known. These entries cover the original thirteen colonies as well as some of the frontier areas, such as the “Old Northwest,” which encompasses most of the Great Lakes region.
This database is part of the 10 Million Names Project, which aims to recover and restore the names of the estimated 10 million women, men, and children of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S. prior to 1865.
This database is available to all American Ancestors members, including Guest members, at no cost. Consider membership.
We have added volumes 177 (2023), 178 (2024), 179 (2025) to our New England Historical and Genealogical Register database. This update contains adds 1,374 pages, 24,348 records, and 24,348 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.
The entire run of New England Historical and Genealogical Register is available in our research library, call number F1.N56.
We want to thank our long-time volunteer, Sam Sturgis, for his work on this project! If you would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process, please contact Zobeida Chaffee-Valdes, our Database Services Volunteer Coordinator, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
This database is available to all American Ancestors members, including Guest members, at no cost. Consider membership.
We are happy to announce that we have added Volume 73 (2025) to the Mayflower Descendant database. This update adds 268 pages, 4,748 records, and 4,742 searchable names. The indexing for these records includes full names, publication year (not the year of the record), article titles, and authors.
The Mayflower Descendant was originally published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants starting in 1899. In 2015, American Ancestors 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.
We want to thank our long-time volunteer, Sam Sturgis, for his work on this project! If you would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process, please contact Zobeida Chaffee-Valdes, our Database Services Volunteer Coordinator, at zobeida.chaffee-valdes@americanancestors.org.
This database is available to Individual-level and above American Ancestors members only. Consider membership.
New Database—Boston, Massachusetts: Biographical Entries of People of African Descent in Beacon Hill
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We are excited to announce a new database, Boston, Massachusetts: Biographical Entries of People of African Descent in Beacon Hill, which adds 7,239 names and 4,479 records to the 10 Million Names Project. This database currently consists of one volume (Surnames A-L); the second volume will be published in the coming months.
Prior to the Civil War, the Beacon Hill neighborhood was considered a hub for Boston’s abolitionist movement and a significant stop on the Underground Railroad. It was also home to one of the largest free Black communities in the country, which included freedom seekers who escaped enslavement from the South. This database is comprised of biographical entries of Black Beacon Hill residents up to 1860. The entries were compiled by Kathryn Grover and Janine V. da Silva as they completed research for their study, “Historic Resource Study: Boston African American National Historic Site” (2002).
This database is presented as part of the 10 Million Names Project, which aims to recover the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children who were enslaved in the United States prior to 1865. To learn more about 10 Million Names, please visit the project website.
We would also like to thank our dedicated volunteers who indexed the entries and helped make this database possible. If you are interested in volunteering with 10 Million Names, please contact 10 Million Names Volunteer Manager, Danielle Rose, at danielle.rose@americanancestors.org.
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are please to announce a new database: New York: Fort Ticonderoga. This database contains 11,094 names across 10,400 records and was made possible through our collaboration with Fort Ticonderoga, the site of America’s first offensive victory during the American Revolution.
Founded in 1909, Fort Ticonderoga has for over a century been a leader in preserving objects related to military culture from North America in the “long 18th century” (1609-1815). Fort Ticonderoga’s collections are a singular resource in the study of the evolving role of subject, citizen, and soldier in the 18th century—a debate that links past to present and can inform the future. Fort Ticonderoga explores these relationships through the physical remains of the events that occurred on the site and the expansive collections that document the broader military experience and heritage of our founding era. The collections are distinct in that they comprehensively speak to the changing role of subject, citizen and soldier in society. Fort Ticonderoga’s collections encompass British, European, Native Nations, and African stories that show the complexities of a shared Atlantic history.
This database was created in partnership with Fort Ticonderoga as a research tool to help genealogists find their ancestors in the museum’s online collections as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. We thank Fort Ticonderoga for their partnership and support.
This database is available to Individual-level and above American Ancestors members only. Consider membership.
Bird’s eye view of the city of Charleston, South Carolina 1872, Drie, C. N., Wikimedia Commons
We are excited to announce a new database: South Carolina: Slave Mortgage Records, 1734-1864. This database adds 137,170 names and 137,195 records to the 10 Million Names Project.
A slave mortgage was a financial tool that allowed lenders to extend credit based on the value of enslaved people. It adapted conventional finance to meet the needs of the slave economy. Two forms of slave mortgages were identified by Robyn N. Smith: one where a slaveholder made a down payment for a slave and paid the balance over time, and one in which a slaveholder used existing enslaved people as collateral for loans. The grantor of the mortgage could be a commercial bank, individual, or trust; the grantee was usually the slaveholder.
The collection includes volume-by-volume indexes to the mortgage documents by the grantor’s and grantee’s first and last names. These are typically the first set of records in each volume and are all of record type “Record.” The actual mortgage records are all of record type “Mortgage.” The location of all records is “South Carolina, United States.” No town or city information is available. These records are documented and held by South Carolina’s Secretary of State.
The location of all records is “South Carolina, United States.” No town or city information is available.
Additional information on the subject is available here:
Wikipedia: Slave Mortgage.
Robyn N. Smith, Reclaimingkin.com: Slave Mortgages.
GW Today – How Banks Played a Role in Upholding Slavery During the 19th Century.
This database is presented in partnership with FamilySearch as part of the 10 Million Names Project and is also searchable at FamilySearch.org: South Carolina Secretary of State, Slave Mortgage Records, 1734-1859.
This database was made possible with the help of our long-time volunteer, Sam Sturgis. We greatly appreciate all of his hard work on this project! If you are interested in volunteering for the 10 Million Names Project, please contact our 10 Million Names Volunteer Manager, Danielle Rose, at Danielle.Rose@americanancestors.org.
Please note: This database is available to all American Ancestors members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership.