Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category

Archdiocese of Boston: new searchable records from St. Joseph in Boston’s West End

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St. Joseph’s Church from The Catholic churches of Boston and its vicinity… by William Augustine Leahy, 1892

Today we’ve added three new volumes and updated three volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Joseph in Boston. This update adds over 15,800 records and over 59,400 names to search.

St. Joseph is located in Boston’s West End. An old Congregational church was purchased in 1862, and the parish was formed to serve the growing Catholic population of this neighborhood. According to the parish history, by 1900, St. Joseph’s was serving 12,000 parishioners.

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:

St. Joseph (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1910*
St. Joseph (Boston) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. Joseph (Boston) Confirmations, 1895-1920*
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1899-1907*
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1907-1912
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1912-1920

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

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American Ancestors Magazine Volume 20 (2019) Added

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Cover of Vol. 20.4 featuring the Mayflower American Ancestors website

We have updated our American Ancestors Magazine database to include volume 20 covering the year 2019. This update contains over 280 pages and 2,800 searchable names.

The indexing for these records includes full names, Publication year (not the year of the record), and article titles and authors.

A 64-page magazine published by NEHGS beginning in 2010, American Ancestors contains a wealth of information for family historians. American Ancestors features a wide range of article topics and styles, and is designed to appeal to family historians of all levels. Topics include coverage of a particular region or group of people; case studies; descriptions of particular record sets; “how-to” articles; compelling historic accounts that illuminate the past; research strategies and methodology; and accounts of migration and immigrant groups.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 volunteer David Anderson. If you have some time and would like to get involved in the database digitization and indexing process please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator via email at rachel.adams@nehgs.org.
The entire run of New England Ancestors is available at our NEHGS Boston research library, call number F1.N49.
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 from Boston & Brighton

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St. Mary’s Church from The Catholic churches of Boston and its vicinity… by William Augustine Leahy, 1892

Today we’ve added seven new volumes and updated six volumes in Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Columbkille in Brighton and St. Mary in Boston. This update adds over 19,800 records and over 58,600 names to search.

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.

Saint Mary’s in Boston’s North End was one of two churches built in Boston less than ten years after the original cathedral was enlarged. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day of 1835, and the congregation continued to grow.

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:

St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1901-1914
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1914-1919
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1919-1920
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Confirmations, 1897-1920*
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Marriages, 1857-1907*
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Marriages, 1907-1920

St. Mary (Boston) Baptisms, 1893-1908*
St. Mary (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1920
St. Mary (Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1866-1901*
St. Mary (Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1884-1915*
St. Mary (Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1902-1920
St. Mary (Boston) Confirmations, 1911-1919
St. Mary (Boston) Marriages, 1894-1920*

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


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Expanded Database Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882

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Drawing of old Court House
Stone Court-House, also called Johnson Hall; Court-Square, Boston MA, where the Provident first kept offices in 1817. Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Today we are announcing an update to a database that comes through a partnership with the Boston Athenaeum; Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882. We have added one new Waste Book volume which adds nearly 260 pages and 2,500 searchable names.
When complete, the database will contain 6 signature books and 6 “Waste” (Transaction) books. The volumes currently available are:


• Signature Book 10, 17 May 1854 – 9 Jun 1858
• Waste Book 1D, 1 Mar 1821 – 5 Jun 1822


For more an excellent presentation on how to take advantage of bank records, register for a webinar today, October 15th, by Eileen Pironti on Using Bank Records in Family History Research. A recording of the webinar will be available later on American Ancestors if you cannot join.

picture of page describing webinar
Webinar on using bank records in family history.


The Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston was the first savings bank to be incorporated in the United States. In 1817 the bank was founded by James Savage, and other prominent Bostonians including William Elery Channing, Josiah Quincy, Elisha Ticknor, Thomas Dawes, Samuel Elliot, and Thomas Handasyd Perkins among others.
The institution was predicated on the idea that savings banks would encourage thrift and self-improvement of the poor of Boston without subjecting them to the so-called moral corruption associated with outright charity. By offering their customers dividends on savings, the Provident would encourage them to keep their money in the bank for longer periods of time, rather than spend as they earned it.

Over the course of the 19th century, the Provident expanded, investing in industries such as textiles, as well as real estate. The Provident became a subsidiary of Hartford National Corporation in 1986 and continued to operate as the Provident Institution until it was merged with Shawmut Bank in 1992, which subsequently donated the Provident’s records to the Boston Athenaeum.

About 80% of the records are for immigrants to Boston. This is particularly valuable for Irish immigrants as the native county is provided which is critical information for additional research in Ireland. All records will be of type residence and will be for the location of Boston, Massachusetts.
This database is the result of partnership with the Boston Athenaeum. The Boston Athenaeum has the original books for Provident and performed the digitization of all the images. The full collection at the Boston Athenaeum is Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston Records. They have partnered with NEHGS to index these books and make them available online.

This update is made possible by the efforts of our interns; Amanda Opalenik, Kate Pozgay, Kennedy Smith, and Annie Tucker. If you would like to become part of the team working on this or other 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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2 new sketches: Western MA Families in 1790

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Tyringham Valley, East to Hale Farm (image by Wanawalt / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0))

Today we’re announcing two new sketches in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790.  The new sketches focus on Ebenezer Bacon of Peru who married Rebecca Blackman and Esther [Bacon] Doud of Tyringham, who married Giles Doud.

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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New Database Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882

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Picture of a three-story brick building.
Former house of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, Temple Place, Boston, occupied by Provident Savings beginning in 1856. Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

We are very happy to announce a new database today that comes through a partnership with the Boston Athenaeum; Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882 .

This database currently contains a single volume; Signature Book 10, 1854-1858. When complete, the database will contain 6 Signature books and 6 “Waste” books. This volume contains 380 pages and over 54,000 new searchable names. The additional books are actively being indexed, and new volunteers are welcome. Email Rachel.Adams@nehgs.org for more information.

The Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston was the first savings bank to be incorporated in the United States. In 1817 the bank was founded by James Savage, and other prominent Bostonians including William Elery Channing, Josiah Quincy, Elisha Ticknor, Thomas Dawes, Samuel Elliot, and Thomas Handasyd Perkins among others.

The institution was predicated on the idea that savings banks would encourage thrift and self-improvement of the poor of Boston without subjecting them to the so-called moral corruption associated with outright charity. By offering their customers dividends on savings, the Provident would encourage them to keep their money in the bank for longer periods of time, rather than spend as they earned it.

Over the course of the 19th century, the Provident expanded, investing in industries such as textiles, as well as real estate. The Provident became a subsidiary of Hartford National Corporation in 1986 and continued to operate as the Provident Institution until it was merged with Shawmut Bank in 1992, which subsequently donated the Provident’s records to the Boston Athenaeum.

About 80% of the records are for immigrants to Boston. This is particularly valuable for Irish immigrants as the native county is provided which is critical information for additional research in Ireland. All records will be of type residence and will be for the location of Boston, Massachusetts.
This database is the result of partnership with the Boston Athenaeum. The Boston Athenaeum has the original books for Provident and performed the digitization of all the images. The full collection at the Boston Athenaeum is Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston Records(https://catalog.bostonathenaeum.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=365780). They have partnered with NEHGS to index these books and make them available online.

This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers; Dan Breen, Loretta Brown-Aldrich, George Carter, Susan Dickinson, Barbara Macken, Katie McCarver, Liz Odell, Blaine Parker, Julie Roffo, Wendy Sheppard, Gayle Smalley, Chris Soohoo, Gale Stevenson, Sam Sturgis, and Judy Welna. If you would like to become part of the team working on this or other 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: 8 new browsable parishes from Lynn, Newton, and Boston

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St. Mary’s in Lynn from One Hundred Years of Progress by James S. Sullivan

Today we’ve added 52 new volumes and updated thirteen volumes in Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton), Sacred Heart (Lynn), St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn), St. John the Evangelist (Newton), St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston), St. Mary (Lynn), St. Patrick (Lynn), and St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury). This update adds over 12,700 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. 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:

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

Sacred Heart (Lynn) Baptisms, 1900-1917*
Sacred Heart (Lynn) Baptisms, 1917-1920
Sacred Heart (Lynn) First Communions, 1909-1920
Sacred Heart (Lynn) Marriages, 1894-1918*
Sacred Heart (Lynn) Marriages, 1918-1920

St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Baptisms, 1893-1903*
St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Baptisms, 1903-1909
St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Baptisms, 1910-1915
St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Baptisms, 1915-1920
St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Marriages, 1886-1907*
St. Jean Baptiste (Lynn) Marriages, 1907-1920

St. John the Evangelist (Newton) Baptisms, 1911-1920
St. John the Evangelist (Newton) Confirmations, 1914-1920
St. John the Evangelist (Newton) Deaths, 1914-1920
St. John the Evangelist (Newton) Marriages, 1911-1920

St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1903*
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1903-1905
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1905-1906
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1906-1907
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1907-1908
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1908-1909
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1909-1910
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1910-1911
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1911-1912
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1912
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1912-1913
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1913-1914
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1914-1915
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1915
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1915-1916
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1916-1917
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1917-1918
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Baptisms, 1918-1920
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Confirmations, 1876-1920*
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1900-1906*
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1906-1908
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1908-1912
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1912-1916
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Boston) Marriages, 1916-1920

St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1897-1903*
St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1904-1905
St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1906-1908
St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1908-1913
St. Mary (Lynn) Baptisms, 1914-1920
St. Mary (Lynn) First Communions and Confirmations, 1881-1903*
St. Mary (Lynn) Marriages, 1907-1908
St. Mary (Lynn) Marriages, 1908-1920
St. Mary (Lynn) Sick Calls, 1906-1920

St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1906-1910
St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1911-1917
St. Patrick (Lynn) Baptisms, 1917-1920
St. Patrick (Lynn) Marriages, 1911-1920

St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1896-1920*
St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Baptisms, 1920
St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Confirmations, 1902-1920
St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1896-1910*
St. Theresa of Avila (West Roxbury) Marriages, 1910-1920

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.  Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).

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Boston, MA: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Immigration Records, 1904-1929: 6 new volumes

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Page 99, Immigrants Detained and Deported, 1906-1907 (Folder 4)

 Boston, MA: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Immigration Records, 1904-1929 presents the earliest records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in Boston, thanks to our partnership with the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society (JHC).  This database now contains 12 folders from the HIAS collection held by the JHC. Six new folders were added today. These folders are from Box 211; for a complete listing of boxes within the collection, see the finding aid.

This update to the database added over 15,700 records and 16,600 names, more than doubling the information that was previously available. Records include passenger lists, ship arrivals, correspondence, and lists of immigrants who were detained and deported.  The contents of each volume vary greatly.

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) was founded in New York City in the 1880s by the Russian Jewish community of New York in response to the influx of Russian Jewish immigrants fleeing the pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. The Boston office of HIAS was chartered in 1904. HIAS in Boston operated autonomously from the national office in New York, even after their merger in 1916. HIAS ensured that Jewish immigrants had access to holiday and religious services and kosher food; provided shelter and social services; and assisted immigrants with finding employment and schools, often on short notice.

Starting in 1930, HIAS began to keep case files on the individuals whom they helped.  The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center is digitizing these files and making them available in Digital Collections in the Harris Poorvu Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (Boston) Digital Archives.

Immigrants in this database simply traveled through Boston.  While Boston or another town in Massachusetts were the final destinations of many, immigrants to locations throughout the United States and Canada are represented in this database.  Far-flung or popular locations include New York (city and state); St. Louis, Missouri; Wisconsin; Winnipeg, Ontario; North Carolina; Maryland; California and more.

The creation of this database was funded by the family of Harris Poorvu, former president and treasurer of HIAS Boston. We’d like to thank the following their help scanning and indexing these folders: Eileen McCarthy, Max Agigian, Bill Wolfendale, Kristen Van Uden, Olga Tugarina, Emily Douglas, Goldie Davoudgoleh, Megan Szostak, David Anderson, and Richard Wood.

The new volumes are listed below:

Ship Passenger Lists, 1905 (Folder 3)
Immigrants Detained and Deported, 1906-1907 (Folder 4)
Lists of Arrivals, 1913 (Folder 6)
Lists of Arrivals and Correspondence re Arrivals, 1928-1929 (Folder 8)
Correspondence re Arrivals, 1916-1923 (Folder 11)
Passenger Lists and Correspondence, 1929 (Folder 12)

Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members.  Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).

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Boscawen, NH: Records of the First Congregational Church, 1790-1970

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Wedding at the First Congregational Church in Boscawen, NH (photo from Ron Reed)

Today we’re announcing a new database, Boscawen, NH: Records of the First Congregational Church, 1790-1970. This database provides over 24,300 records and 24,500 names to search.

When the town of Boscawen was first settled in 1733, one of the first orders of business by the proprietors was to call a suitable person to preach. After a couple of years of interim preaching, the Rev Phineas Stevens settled in town and in 1740 the First Congregational Church in Boscawen was formed. Rev. Dr. Samuel Wood served as minister for over 50 years, and prepared many young adults for college, including the famed statesmen Daniel Webster and his brother Ezekiel Webster who were members of the church.

These church records provide useful vital record information for this area, and potentially some lifestyle information, such as involvement in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and Sunday School attendance.

This database contains the general record books for the church from 1781-1982 which contain births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, church admissions, church dismissals, and other information.

Baptisms are only presented on our site up to 1920. Other church records are only presented on our site up to 1970.

This database also presents Sunday School record books and Women’s Christian Temperance Union record books, offering further information about the lives of the congregants.

This database is made possible thanks to our collaboration with the First Congregational Church and Ron Reed, the Church Historian.

Many thanks to our volunteers who helped create this database including: Maureen McCarthy, Erin Canzano, Katherine Marshall-Mayer, Judy Welna, Jane Himmel, Loretta Brown-Aldrich, Rick Lageux, Patty Ryburn, Toni Lattimer, Sandy Caldwell, Matt Murphy, Marie Wells, Mary Alice Yost, Carolyn Jack, Alicia Svenson, Arlys LaFehr, Eldon Gay, Max Agigian, Eileen McCarthy, Ross Weaver, Angela Napolitano, and Francis Alix.

The Boscawen First Congregational Church congregation (photo from Ron Reed)

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

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New England study projects: new & updated sketches

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Today we’re announcing two new sketches in Western Massachusetts Families in 1790.  The new sketches focus on Isaac Buck of Chesterfield and Noah Drake, also of Chesterfield.

This study project highlights individuals 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.

We’ve also updated four sketches in Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784: Richards, Jonas (Norwich), Marsh, Joel (Sharon), Church, Timothy (Brattleboro), and Child, Abijah (Pomfret).

Scott Andrew Bartley’s study project tracks heads of families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.

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

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