Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category
We’re excited to announce 12 new sketches to our Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies database, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. We have also updated all sketch titles to reflect participation status in the Tea Party, as either a participant, an eyewitness, or an individual whose participation has been disproved.
The goal of this project is to create comprehensive biographical sketches for all individuals associated with or known to have participated in the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor. This project is launched in conjunction with the announcement of the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program, a new lineage society for those whose ancestors participated in the historic revolutionary event. This project, as well as the Descendants Program, are both in collaboration with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. You can learn more about the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program here.
Below is the list of new biographies for the following individuals:
- Edward Compton Howe (1742-1821) [Participant]
- Edward Proctor (1733-1811) [Participant]
- Gilbert Colesworthy (1744-1784) [Participant]
- Henry Bass (1740-1813) [Participant]
- James Foster Condy (1746-1809) [Participant]
- James Mills (1749-1790) [Eyewitness]
- John Prince (1751-1836) [Eyewitness]
- John Spurr (1749-1822) [Participant]
- Joseph Payson (1741-1801) [Participant]
- Lendall Pitts (1747-1787) [Participant]
- Nathaniel Wills (1755-1831) [Participant]
- Samuel Pitts (1745-1805) [Participant]
New sketches will be released regularly, so stay tuned for more!
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership.
We are very excited to announce a new database: On the Battlefield: Records of Soldiers, Veterans and Refugees.
This database provides lists of soldiers of color and accompanying genealogical information. This database is presented as a part of the 10 Million Names project. For more information about the 10 Million Names project see the full website here.
This database is organized into volumes, with each volume currently representing a list of names for regiments that served in the Civil War. Each record includes regimental information, noted service records (including enlistment date, company, rank at enlistment, separation date and reason, as well as any casualty information). Residence, occupation, age and physical descriptions at the time of enlistment are also included. Pension information may be available as well, including soldier, widow, and minor/child pension application and certificate numbers.
In the future, new volumes will be released to reflect individuals who served in colonial wars (1609-1720), the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), and the War of 1812 (1812–1815). Later, free Black soldiers—most of whom were descended from enslaved people—participated in the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899–1902). This project will rely not just on the rich records created for soldiers, but also for veterans and wartime refugees. This project is planned to expand well beyond Massachusetts and New England.
This database currently contains the following volumes:
- Massachusetts 5th Calvary Regimental Information (Index-Only)
- Massachusetts 54h Regimental Information (Index-Only)
- Massachusetts 55th Regimental Information (Index-Only)
The data for this database was compiled by NEHGS researcher Jonathan Hill, using Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served with the United States Colored Troops (available through the National Archives), and Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War, volumes 1-9.
Currently, the Black Loyalist Directory, 1783-1788 is it’s own database. This includes lists of formerly enslaved soldiers and refugees who served with the British during the American Revolution. This database can be accessed here.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost, as part of 10 Million Names.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the last Transcription Challenge! Everyone provided helpful feedback and suggestions! Please check out our new set of challenges by going to the “Transcription Challenge” tab at the top of the page and submitting your suggestions in the comments.
It is always really interesting and helpful to see how everyone transcribes this tricky handwriting! After going through every response, the names we have settled on are:
1. Brander
2. MacGloclin
3. Winterson
4a. Trainor
4b. Loofy
5. McGun
We appreciate everyone’s help and are excited to see the suggestions for the next set of challenges!
Captain William Booth, 1788, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
We are very excited to announce a new database: Black Loyalist Directory, 1783-1788.
This database was created from The Book of Negroes: African Americans in Exile After the American Revolution, edited by Graham Russell, Gao Hodges, and Alan Edward Brown, which contains transcriptions of Brigadier General Samuel Birch’s inspection roll of black and mixed-race Loyalists who emigrated to Canada, the UK, the West Indies, and Germany at the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783.
In 1775, the British issued a formal proclamation promising freedom to any enslaved blacks who chose to bear arms with the king’s military forces. Four years later, a second proclamation was issued to include any male or female enslaved person who could support the British military in other roles, such as servants, cooks, nurses, laborers, and laundresses. As a result, tens of thousands of enslaved people fled from their owners to join the British.
General Birch’s ledger of about 3,000 Black Loyalists was originally created to tally the cost of the United States’ lost property for future compensation; therefore, it includes details such as first and last names, ages, physical descriptions, former owners, former residences, freedom status, military certificates (recorded as GBC or GMC), birth records, ship destinations, and ship captains. There are also the names of those who departed with their British enslavers because the proclamations did not include the enslaved people of Loyalists.
Most of the information that we captured for this database are emigration records, but we were also able to include military records for anyone with General Birch’s certificate, as well as some birth and manumission records, and records of others who were present.
This database is presented as part of 10 Million Names, a project which aims to recover names and restore information to families of the estimated 10 million women, men, and children of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S. until emancipation through a collaborative network of expert genealogists, historians, cultural institutions, and descendant communities. This project seeks to amplify the voices of people who have been telling their family stories for centuries, connect researchers and data partners with people seeking answers to their family history questions, and expand access to data, resources, and information about enslaved African Americans.
To learn more about the 10 Million Names project, please visit the full website, To learn more about the 10 Million Names project, please visit the full website, here.
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 .
Note: This database is available to all members, including Guest Members, as part of 10 Million Names.
We’re excited to announce 1 new sketch and 1 updated sketch to our Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
The goal of this project is to create comprehensive biographical sketches for all individuals associated with or known to have participated in the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor. This project is launched in conjunction with the announcement of the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program, a new lineage society for those whose ancestors participated in the historic revolutionary event. This project, as well as the Descendants Program, are both in collaboration with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. You can learn more about the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program here.
Below is the list of new sketches of participant biographies for the following individuals:
The following sketch has been updated in our database:
New sketches will be released regularly, so stay tuned for more!
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership
Today we’ve added 3 new sketches to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784. The people profiled in the new sketches all lived settled in Brattleboro.
With this study project, Scott Andrew Bartley researches the 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.
The new sketches are listed below:
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the last Transcription Challenge! Everyone provided helpful feedback and suggestions! Please check out our new set of challenges by going to the “Transcription Challenge” tab at the top of the page and submitting your suggestions in the comments.
It is always really interesting and helpful to see how everyone transcribes this tricky handwriting! After going through every response, the names we have settled on are:
- Touhey
- Hurlburt
- Solivowo, Solivoda
We appreciate everyone’s help and are excited to see the suggestions for the next set of challenges!
Today we’ve added 10 new sketches and 1 updated sketch to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784. The people profiled in the new and updated sketches lived in Brattleboro, Fort Dummer and Rockingham.
With this study project, Scott Andrew Bartley researches the 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.
The new sketches are listed below:
Gorton, Benjamin (Brattleboro)
Hadley, Ebenezer (Brattleboro)
Moore, Fairbanks Jr. (Rockingham)
Nichols, William (Brattleboro)
Paddleford, Phillip (Brattleboro)
The updated sketch is listed below:
Willard, Josiah, Col. (Ft. Dummer)
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding one new sketch. This new sketch features Edward Jackson and his family. Edward lived in Whitechapel Parish, London, England, before relocating to New England with his wife and young children about 1642. He settled in what is present-day Newton, Massachusetts.
The Early New England Families, 1641-1700 study project is led by Alicia Crane Williams. This 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.
Interested researchers should also read Alicia’s recent Vita Brevis post, “Genealogical Clusters”, which discusses her research process and interesting discoveries while preparing this specific sketch.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’re excited to announce an update to Canadian Headstones: Cemetery Heritage Records of Canada. This update includes data from 69 cemeteries in Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan, adding more than 11,500 records to search.
Canadian Headstones is a volunteer-operated Canadian non-profit dedicated to the digital preservation of Canada’s cemetery heritage. We are working together to create an index-only database that links back to the Canadian Headstones website for each record, which include headstone images, transcriptions, and full citations. To learn more about Canadian Headstones and their mission, please visit their website.
The following cemeteries have been released in this update:
Alberta
- Flat Lake Lutheran Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Flat Lake Rutherian Greek Catholic Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Glendon Pentecostal Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Rife & District Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Rife Memorial United Church Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
- Ukrainian Orthodox of St. Nicholas Cemetery, Bonnyville, Alberta
Manitoba
- Boissevian & Morton Cemeteries, Boissevian-Morton, Manitoba
- Brandon Municipal Cemetery, Brandon City, Manitoba
Newfoundland & Labrador
- Caplin Cove United Church Cemetery, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- Church of England Middle Brook Gambo Cemetery, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- Memorial United Church Cemetery, Lethbridge, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- St. Aidan’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Port Blanford, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- St. Alban’s Anglican Cemetery, Trinity, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- St. Stephen’s Anglican Cemetery, Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- Stroud’s Point Cemetery, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- Terra Nova Cemetery, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- United Church Cemetery (New), Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- United Church Cemetery (Old), Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
- United Church Central Memorial Gardens, Glovertown, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador
Ontario
- 2nd Onondaga Baptist Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- All Saints Anglican Church Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Brant, Ontario
- Biggar Family Plot Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Brant & St. Mary’s Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Burford Pioneer Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Clump Family Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Fairchild Family Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Farringdon Church Burying Ground, Brant, Ontario
- Fonger Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Glen Morris Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Governors Road Baptist Church Cemetery, Paris, Brant, Ontario
- Grand River Mission United Church Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Brant, Ontario
- Harley Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Harrisburg United Church Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Hill Cemetery (Free Methodist), Brant, Ontario
- Holy Cross Cemetery, Paris, Brant, Ontario
- Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Burford, Brant, Ontario
- Hunter-Hoodless Cemetery (Old Pioneer Presbyterian), Brant, Ontario
- Jamieson Cemetery (Tuscarora Mission of St. John), Brant, Ontario
- Lymburner Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Mohawk Chapel Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Mount Hope Cemetery, Brantford, Brant, Ontario
- Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Brant, Ontario
- New Credit Cemetery (Old Band), Townline, Brant, Ontario
- New Credit Reserve Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Oakhill Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Oakland Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Paris Municipal Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery, Paris, Brant, Ontario
- Salt Springs Church Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Scotland Cemetery, Oakland Township, Brant, Ontario
- Six Nations Pentecostal Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- St. Abner’s/Landon, Brant, Ontario
- St. George United Church Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- St. George’s Baptist Church Cemetery, St. George, Brant, Ontario
- St. James Cemetery (Old Anglican), Paris, Brant, Ontario
- St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Brantford, Brant, Ontario
- St. Luke’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- St. Paul’s Anglican Cemetery (Kanyengeh), Brant, Ontario
- Tapely Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Veterans Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
- Westbrook Cemetery, Brant, Ontario
Saskatchewan
- Christ Church Cemetery, Bulcher No. 345, Saskatchewan
- Bradwell Cemetery, Bulcher No. 346, Saskatchewan
- Elstow Cemetery, Bulcher No. 344, Saskatchewan
- St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Cemetery, No. 346, Saskatchewan
- St. Helen’s Cemetery, Bulcher No. 345, Saskatchewan
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Learn more about becoming a NEHGS guest member (free).