Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category
Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 is one of our most popular databases. In the past three months it has consistently been one of our top 10 most-accessed databases; in July it was 5th on the list, in August it was 9th, and in September it was 8th. I’m sure it will stay on the list for October!
This database builds on the work of transcribers from the early 1900s– at that time original town records that were often in varying states of disrepair due to problems such as age. In 1902, NEHGS used the bequest of a benefactor, Robert Henry Eddy, to set up the Eddy Town-Record Fund. Read Sam Sturgis’ Vita Brevis post, “Who was Robert Henry Eddy and Why Should You Care?” to learn more about this project. In summary, the Eddy fund and the Massachusetts “Vital Records Act” provided resources to transcribe and preserve many of the early vital records of Massachusetts that are now presented in this database.
This database offers the vital records of many (but not all) towns in Massachusetts. The volumes that comprise this database come from a variety of different sources including vital records published by NEHGS (thanks to the Eddy Fund), vital records published by other individuals or organizations (such as Franklin P. Rice, the Essex Institute, or the General Society of Mayflower Descendants), and manuscripts from the NEHGS collection.
Since each volume in this database comes from a different source, we have created a new resource to help researchers understand exactly what they are looking at and trying to cite. We’re offering a new “Source Citation PDF” that lists the volumes in this database with a citation in Chicago style to the physical source from which they come. Each of these physical sources is available in the NEHGS Research Library.
This PDF is now available in the Database Description, which you can find on the Database-specific search page (scroll down), and on any image, record display, or transcript page (again, scroll down underneath the image).
We’re always trying to use the Database Description to provide context for researchers, so that they understand the links between digital words on a screen and the physical source that they come from. This is another tool towards this goal!
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis and Linda Weaver for their work on this project.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Membership options.
Today we’re featuring a recent online webinar that occurred–What’s New at AmericanAncestors.org. This webinar is the first in a new series that will highlight new resources for researchers on our site. Each webinar will focus on additions from the past three months.
Last week, I presented this webinar live. We record each of our webinars so that anyone can listen to them at their convenience after the fact. “What’s New at AmericanAncestors.org” is meant to help you stay up to date with all of our new digital resources. You will hear about new databases, search features, and resources only available at AmericanAncestors.org, from both our databases and our digital collections. The database section of this presentation summarizes and expands upon information presented in this blog, Database News. The digital collections portion may be new to Database News subscribers. If you’d like to learn more about the distinction between Databases and our Digital Collections, be sure to watch the webinar!
To access this webinar, choose “Webinars, Lectures, and How-to Videos” under the “Learn” menu on our homepage. You will need to log in as a Guest Member; access to our archived webinars is free. Webinars are listed in chronological order, starting with the most recent, so “What’s New at AmericanAncestors.org” should be near the top–it aired on October 10, 2019.
This webinar’s purpose is really to showcase new resources for researchers; it’s not a full explanation of how to use our site. In 2017, my colleague Don LeClair presented a webinar that dives into how to search our databases. It was called “Searching Databases on AmericanAncestors.org”. You can find it by scrolling down in the list of webinars to December 2017.
To register for the next installment of “What’s New at AmericanAncestors.org”, (happening in January 2020) visit Online Events (under the Events tab). All webinars are free and open to anyone.
Today we’ve updated Early New England Families, 1641-1700, adding three new sketches.
The new sketches include:
Alexander Adams (m. 1644)
Joan (Kember) Coffin (m. 1609)
Tristram Coffin (m. 1627)
Joan (Kember) Coffin was Tristram Coffin’s mother. Alexander Adams was one of her sons-in-law, married to her daughter Mary. Alexander’s life in New England was focused around Boston. The Coffins came from Brixton in Devon County, England, and lived in Salisbury, Haverhill, Newbury, and Nantucket upon arrival in New England.
Early New England Families, 1641-1700 is written by Alicia Crane Williams. This study project highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. To learn more about this project, you may be interested one of Alicia Crane Williams’ recent Vita Brevis posts on the subject.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help adding these sketches to our database.
Please note: These databases are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added four new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Immaculate Conception in Revere. This update adds over 10,200 records and over 22,100 names to search.
Revere was initially part of the parish of St. Rose of Lima in Chelsea, and then became a mission of Immaculate Conception in Everett. In 1888, work began on a church of their own for Revere’s Catholics.
The new volumes are listed below:
Immaculate Conception (Revere) Baptisms, 1889-1908
Immaculate Conception (Revere) Confirmations, 1889-1920
Immaculate Conception (Revere) First Communions, 1889-1913
Immaculate Conception (Revere) Marriages, First Communions, and Confirmations, 1889-1909
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
We are very happy to announce the first installment of a new database today; Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970. The database contains the first one thousand applications to the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts (SCWMA) and contains over 4,100 pages and 97,000 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 applications up through 1970 as well as Supplemental Applications during that time period. We would be delighted to have new volunteers to help us with the indexing effort. If you have a few hours available hours a week and are interested in learning more about this exciting project, 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.
Today’s release was made possible by the volunteer efforts of: Matthew Murphy, Carol Farrington, Jeanne Brown, Sandy Caldwell, and Sara Calautti.
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added five new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Sacred Heart in Lowell and St. Joachim in Rockport. This update adds over 9,000 records and over 34,300 names to search.
In 1884, the Catholics of Lowell determined they needed another parish to minister to the faithful in that city. They began building Sacred Heart (Lowell), although in 1895 at the publishing of James S. Sullivan’s One Hundred Years of Progress, only the basement of the church was complete. Page 331 of that volume contains an extensive description of the parish boundaries as they stood at that time.
As early as 1856, Catholics were worshiping in Rockport. Prior to the establishment of St. Joachim’s, Catholics would travel to Salem or Gloucester for church. Our records below begin in 1870.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making these parishes available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Sacred Heart (Lowell) Baptisms, 1884-1900
Sacred Heart (Lowell) Deaths, 1890-1898
Sacred Heart (Lowell) Marriages, 1884-1905
St. Joachim (Rockport) Baptisms, 1870-1905
St. Joachim (Rockport) Marriages, 1870-1904
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added six new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Gate of Heaven in South Boston. This update adds over 51,200 records and over 169,000 names to search.
Gate of Heaven is located on the corner of E. 4th and I Streets in South Boston. It grew out of Sts. Peter and Paul parish in 1862. In 1865 it became an independent parish.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1866-1883
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1884-1898
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1898-1900
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Baptisms, 1900-1913
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) First Communions and Confirmations, 1873-1908
Gate of Heaven (South Boston) Marriages, 1885-1902
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.
Today we’ve added seven new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from St. Peter in Plymouth. This update adds over 7,852 records and over 31,132 names to search.
In James S. Sullivan’s One Hundred Years of Progress, the Plymouth entry begins with a lengthy comparison of the Pilgrims with the first Catholics of Plymouth, both groups looking for religious freedom. However, the Catholic church in Plymouth began much later than the arrival of the Pilgrims–in 1873 the cornerstone for this church was laid. It began as a mission of St. Bridget’s in Abington and became its own parish in 1876.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
St. Peter (Plymouth) Baptisms, 1872-1899
St. Peter (Plymouth) Baptisms, 1899-1906
St. Peter (Plymouth) Convert Baptisms, 1881-1914
St. Peter (Plymouth) Baptisms and Marriages, 1873-1875
St. Peter (Plymouth) Baptisms and Marriages, 1873-1879
St. Peter (Plymouth) First Communions and Confirmations
St. Peter (Plymouth) Marriages, 1879-1912
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; Lowell, MA: High School Students, 1837-1878. The database contains over 170 pages and 25,000 indexed names.
Lowell High School was founded in 1831 and was the nation’s first integrated and co-educational high school. In 1837 it was housed in its permanent location between Kirk and Ann Streets. Broadsides were published listing the students and other information including class rank. This provides valuable information for family researchers regarding children of workers and immigrants who settled in Lowell.
All the records in this database are of type Residence and have a location of Lowell, Massachusetts, reflecting the assumption that the students and staff were residents of Lowell at time of the event published in the Broadside. The index includes names and dates for the students, principal and faculty as recorded in the broadsides. The printed Broadside often includes information such as attendance and class rank.
This update is made possible by the efforts of our volunteers: David Anderson and Linda Weaver. 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.
Keith Arbour, author of The Lowell High School Broadsides 1837 – 1878, provided the initial index of names used to create this database. The subtitle of the book; “A Unique Collection of Printed Sources documenting The Early History and Student Body of the Lowell, Massachusetts, Public High School, Fully Co-Educational and Racially Integrated from its Inception in 1831” provides an excellent summary of his book. It was privately printed in June, 2018
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members. Membership options.
Today we’ve added eight new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (South Boston). This update adds over 16,700 records and over 69,400 names to search.
Before Newton had a church, Catholics in this area attended St. Patrick’s in Watertown. In the 1860s, St. Mary’s (which would become Mary Immaculate of Lourdes) began to coalesce as a mission. In 1870 it became its own parish.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was created in 1884 in South Boston out of land that had formerly been part of Sts. Peter and Paul parish.
We’d like to thank Sam Sturgis for his help making this parish available online.
The new volumes are listed below:
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) Baptisms, 1871-1893
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) Baptisms, 1883-1907
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) Baptisms, 1908-1920
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) Baptisms, 1920
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (Newton) Marriages, 1871-1920
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (South Boston) Baptisms, 1884-1896
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (South Boston) Baptisms, 1897-1911
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (South Boston) Marriages, 1884-1907
Please note: This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.