Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.