Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category

Updated Database: Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970

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Application documenting the lineage of William Klapp Williams who was descended from William Plumstead.

We are very happy to announce an addition to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970 database today. This update completes the applications, with 470 new applications to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts (CSWMA) for years up through 1970, and contains over 2,000 pages and 65,000 indexed names.

Since its founding in 1893, the SCWMA has combined fraternal good fellowship with a dedication to promoting patriotic values and a knowledge of colonial American history, particularly its military dimension. For more information about this society you can see the SCWMA web page.

In the future this database will include Supplemental Applications up through 1970.

We are grateful for the efforts of our volunteer who made this update possible: Jeanne Brown, Sandy Caldwell, Carol Farrington, and Amelia Devin Freedman. If you have a few hours available hours a week, and are interested in learning more about this or other exciting projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.

This database provides an index to the applications to the SCWMA that includes, the applicant, their colonial ancestor, and the indexed birth, marriage and death information for each generation of descendants on the application. In addition, the membership numbers for the state and the general society are displayed. For the lineage section of the application the generation numbers are included; where generation 1 is the applicant.

The page number for the applications are in the format [member number]:[page]. So, for member 23, the first page is 23:1. The value of the Note field, which is presented on the Record and Transcript pages, indicates how many pages there are for that specific application. Most applications have 4 pages.

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Membership options.

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Archdiocese of Boston: New searchable records for St. Stephen in Boston

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engraving of a wooden church building with steeple
New North Church from Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some few places in its vicinity by Isaac Smith Homas

Today we have added 3 new volumes, and 3 extended volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions are for the parish of St. Stephen in Boston. This update includes 600 pages, and over 25,000 searchable names.

At its inception, this church was known as St. John the Baptist. As the parish grew, it became St. Stephen’s after taking over the former New North Church building.

The three new volumes are:
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1918
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) Marriage Supplement, 1908-1913

The three expanded volumes have records added beyond 1900 and are:
• St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1875-1920
• St. Stephen (Boston) Marriages, 1872-1920

We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work on this, especially Sam Sturgis. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, 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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Archdiocese of Boston: New searchable records for Boston, Cambridge, and West Roxbury

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sepia photograph of large stone church
Holy Trinity, from One Hundred Years of Progress, page 137

Today we have added 11 new volumes, and 6 extended volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions include the parishes of Holy Trinity in Boston, St. Anthony of Padua in Cambridge, and St. Theresa of Avila in West Roxbury. This update includes over 3,000 pages, and over 100,000 searchable names.

Holy Trinity was the heart of the German Catholic community in Boston. The parish was established in 1836; the first Mass in their church building was said in 1844. Read more about the history of the parish in our late volunteer Michael Hager’s American Ancestors magazine article. You can learn more about the Monatsbote, their parish newsletter in Thomas Lester’s article in the Pilot..

St. Anthony of Padua was established in 1902, serving the Portuguese immigrants of East Cambridge. The history of the church specifies the congregants came from mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. Boston College’s Global Boston project provides a helpful overview of Portuguese immigration to the Boston area including East Cambridge.

St. Theresa of Avila was opened as early in about 1869, and the first building was a small wooden church dedicated October 28, 1871. This church burned down in 1874 and school-chapel building was constructed on Spring Street and opened in 1875. The then small parish was attached to Dedham, and then Roslindale before it became an independent parish again on January 1, 1896.

The eleven new volumes are:
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1902-1908
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1920
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Burials, 1907-1920
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1914-1920
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1902-1913
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1913-1918
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1918-1920
• St. Anthony of Padua (Cambridge) Marriages, 1902-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Confirmations, 1902-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1910-1920

The five expanded volumes have records added beyond 1900 and are:
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Baptisms, 1894-1902
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Deaths, 1878-1907
• Holy Trinity (Boston) Marriages, 1893-1914
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1896-1920
• St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1896-1910

We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work on this project, especially Bob Rainville and Sam Sturgis. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, 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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Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784: 4 new sketches

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Brattleboro (Ken Gallager, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

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:

Burt, Joseph (Brattleboro)
Church, Nathaniel (Brattleboro)
Church, Nathaniel, Jr. (Brattleboro)
Kendrick, Lemuel (Brattleboro)

Scott Andrew Bartley’s study project tracks heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.  His sketches so far have focused on Windham and Windsor counties.

The latest cluster of sketches focus on families who lived in Brattleboro, Vermont. Fort Dummer was the precursor to Brattleboro. The fort was established during Dummer’s War, a series of conflicts between settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Native Americans. The main conflict of Dummer’s War centered around boundaries–what belonged to the American colonists? What land belonged to the Native Americans? What land belonged to the British? These conflicts took place from 1722-1725 along the Kennebec River in Maine, in Nova Scotia, and in western Massachusetts. Brattleboro was established in 1753 as part of the New Hampshire land grants (when both New Hampshire and New York laid claim to the present state of Vermont).

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

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Archdiocese of Boston: Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) now searchable

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1894 Map of Newton (http://maps.bpl.org, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Today we’ve added five new volumes and updated three volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton. This update adds over 17,000 records and over 52,000 names to search.

Construction for Our Lady Help of Christians began in 1873. The church was dedicated in 1881. It became the third parish in the Newton area. Prior to its establishment, Catholics in this neighborhood of Newton would either worship at St. Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, St. Bernard (both in Newton), or St. Patrick in Watertown.

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 or presenting records up to December 31, 1920:

Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Baptisms, 1898-1904*
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Baptisms, 1905-1908
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Baptisms, 1908-1913
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Baptisms, 1914-1920
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Baptisms, 1920
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) First Communions and Confirmations, 1888-1920*
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Marriages, 1885-1908*
Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton) Marriages, 1908-1920

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

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Archdiocese of Boston: New browsable records from Boston neighborhoods

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Our Lady of the Assumption in East Boston, from a pamphlet called Facts Concerning East Boston held by Historic New England.

Today we’ve added 45 new volumes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from 11 parishes: Our Lady of the Assumption (East Boston), St. Adalbert (Dorchester), St. Ambrose (Dorchester), St. Andrew the Apostle (Forest Hills), St. Angela Merici (Mattapan), St. Joseph (East Boston), St. Lazarus (East Boston), St. Leo (Dorchester), St. Mark (Dorchester), St. Paul (Dorchester), and St. William (Dorchester). This update adds over 7,000 new pages to browse.

If you need help navigating this collection, please consult our most recent webinar, Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Records Project: We’re Expanding! 

The new volumes are listed below:

Our Lady of Assumption (East Boston) Baptisms, 1901-1906
Our Lady of Assumption (East Boston) Baptisms, 1906-1912
Our Lady of Assumption (East Boston) Baptisms, 1913-1920
Our Lady of Assumption (East Boston) Marriages and Confirmations, 1896-1920

St. Adalbert (Hyde Park) Baptisms, 1912-1919
St. Adalbert (Hyde Park) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Adalbert (Hyde Park) First Communions, 1918-1920
St. Adalbert (Hyde Park) Interments, 1913-1920
St. Adalbert (Hyde Park) Marriages, 1912-1920

St. Ambrose (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1914-1920
St. Ambrose (Dorchester) Marriages, 1914-1920

St. Andrew the Apostle (Forest Hills) Baptisms, 1918-1920
St. Andrew the Apostle (Forest Hills) Confirmations, 1920
St. Andrew the Apostle (Forest Hills) Marriages, 1918-1920

St. Angela Merici (Mattapan) Baptisms, 1908-1918
St. Angela Merici (Mattapan) Baptisms, 1918-1920
St. Angela Merici (Mattapan) Confirmations, 1910-1920
St. Angela Merici (Mattapan) First Communions, 1909-1920
St. Angela Merici (Mattapan) Marriages, 1908-1920

St. Joseph (East Boston) Baptisms, 1914-1920
St. Joseph (East Boston) Confirmations, 1917-1920
St. Joseph (East Boston) Marriages, 1914-1920

St. Lazarus (East Boston) Baptisms, 1904-1917
St. Lazarus (East Boston) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Lazarus (East Boston) Confirmations, 1907-1920
St. Lazarus (East Boston) Interments, 1904-1920
St. Lazarus (East Boston) Marriages, 1904-1920

St. Leo (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1902-1909
St. Leo (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1910-1920
St. Leo (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1905-1920
St. Leo (Dorchester) Marriages, 1902-1920

St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1906-1916
St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1916-1919
St. Mark (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Mark (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1906-1920
St. Mark (Dorchester) Marriages, 1906-1920

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 all NEHGS members.  Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).

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New Database: General Society of Mayflower Descendants Membership Applications, 1620-1920

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Picture of a GSMD Application
GSMD Application on the John Howland family from 1900

We are very excited to announce a new database in time for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower: General Society of Mayflower Descendants Membership Applications, 1620-1920.

In 1620, a brave group of 102 men, women and children sailed across the Atlantic on the Mayflower, searching for a life of religious and civic freedom. To honor Pilgrim ancestors and keep their story alive, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants was created in 1897. Membership requires proof of lineage from one of the passengers who traveled to America on this historic voyage in 1620.

Through the years, the Mayflower Society has established a network of more than 150,000 descendants all over the world who form lifelong bonds, cherish the sacred memory of our ancestors and continue on their legacy through purpose, preservation, and education. For more information about this society you can visit the General Society of Mayflower Descendants website.

This database includes all applications and supplemental applications to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) starting from their founding in 1897 and including only applicants who were born before January 1, 1920. The database index includes; the applicant, their ancestral Mayflower passenger, and the indexed birth, marriage and death information for each generation of descendants on the application. In addition, the membership number for the general society is provided. The dates of 93% the genealogical records indexed from these applications fall between 1620 and 1920. You may find marriage and death records for dates well after 1920.

The database is organized into 14 volumes, one for each family of passengers, and contains over 165,000 pages of applications with 4.5 million searchable names. Please note that all names are indexed to the first page of the application, and you can page forward to see the lineage details.

This database was created through a partnership of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, AmericanAncestors, and FamilySearch, and has taken more than a year to assemble. We thank the employees and volunteers of all three organizations for amazing work to make this information available online.

In addition to the searchable database of membership applications, there is a family tree constructed for each Mayflower Passenger that can be viewed in AmericanAncesTREES. The trees contain individuals from any application where the person was born before January 1, 1920.You must be signed into AmericanAncestors to view the trees. The links for each available tree appear in the database description at the bottom of the search page. A sample for Richard More appears below.

Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership. GSMD members may access this database free of charge through the GSMD website.

Diagram of a family tree

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Archdiocese of Boston: New searchable records for St. Joseph of Wakefield

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Picture of church with high steeple
St. Joseph’s in Wakefield, from James S. Sullivan’s One Hundred Years of Progress page 598.

Today we have added 8 new volumes, to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. Today’s additions are for the parish of St. Joseph in Wakefield, and the update includes over 900 pages, and over 66,000 searchable names.

As early as 1854, Catholics were worshipping in Wakefield. In the 1870s, the congregation was expanding and a new church was built on Albion Street. During this time period, St. Agnes in Reading was also a mission of this parish.

We’d like to thank our dedicated team of volunteers for their work, particularly Sam Sturgis. If you would like to become part of the team working on rewarding genealogical projects, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.


The new volumes are:
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1873-1902
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1903-1917
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Baptisms, 1917-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Confirmations, 1879-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) First Communions, 1881-1920
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1873-1902
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1903-1908
• St. Joseph (Wakefield) Marriages, 1908-1920

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

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Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784: 10 new sketches

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View of Brattleboro, VT, 1854 by John Cheney (Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Today we’ve added ten new sketches to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784, highlighting families who lived in Brattleboro. The new sketches are listed below:

Alexander, John (Brattleboro, Marlboro)
Baldwin, Daniel (Brattleboro)
Baldwin, John (Brattleboro)
Baldwin, Levi (Brattleboro)
Brace, William (Brattleboro)
Brown, Samuel (Brattleboro)
Church, David (Brattleboro)
Church, Eber (Brattleboro)
Church, Jonathan (Brattleboro)
Church, Malachi (Brattleboro)

Scott Andrew Bartley’s study project tracks heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.  His sketches so far have focused on Windham and Windsor counties.

The latest cluster of sketches focus on families who lived in Brattleboro, Vermont. Fort Dummer was the precursor to Brattleboro. The fort was established during Dummer’s War, a series of conflicts between settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Native Americans. The main conflict of Dummer’s War centered around boundaries–what belonged to the American colonists? What land belonged to the Native Americans? What land belonged to the British? These conflicts took place from 1722-1725 along the Kennebec River in Maine, in Nova Scotia, and in western Massachusetts. Brattleboro was established in 1753 as part of the New Hampshire land grants (when both New Hampshire and New York laid claim to the present state of Vermont).

Jonathan White‘s sketch (from Rockingham) was also updated.

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

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Western Massachusetts Families in 1790: 2 new sketches

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Berry Hill Lookout in Hancock, MA (Image by Flipfox22, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Today we’re announcing two new sketches in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790.  The new sketches focus on Cary Briggs of Hancock  who married Elizabeth Jones and Reuben Cooley of Greenwich who married first Sarah Train, then Elizabeth Needham.

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.

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