Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category

Three new New England study project sketches

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Quabbin Reservoir (which submerged the town of Greenwich, MA) By John Phelan [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Today we’ve added three new sketches to two of our study projects.  To Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, edited by Helen Schatvet Ullmann, CG, FASG, we’ve added Noah Bardwell (Whately), and Prince Williams (Greenwich). This study project focuses on heads of families enumerated in the 1790 census in historic Berkshire and Hampshire counties, an area which also includes modern Franklin and Hampden counties.  Thomas Cornish (m. 1641) is new to Alicia Crane Williams’ Early New England Families, 1641-1700.  This project focuses on immigrants to New England, using Torrey’s New England Marriages as a guide.

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

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St. Columbkille (Brighton) records now browsable

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St. Columbkille Church via Wikimedia Commons

Today we’ve added 6 new volumes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 from St. Columbkille in Brighton.  This update adds over 1,200 new images to this browsable collection.  If you have questions about how to navigate this database, be sure to watch our how-to video.  We’d like to gratefully thank the following volunteers who worked on this parish: Ross and Linda Weaver, Eileen McCarthy, Will Whearty, Angela Napolitano, and Nell Nies.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1857-1881
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1881-1894
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Baptisms, 1985-1900
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Confirmations, 1855-1895
St. Columbkille (Brighton) Confirmations, 1897-1900

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New browsable Archdiocese of Boston records from Cambridge, Dorchester, and Medford

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Map of Cambridge in the 1800s. St. Peter’s Church is marked on Concord Ave (the dark spot labelled with a 5). (via Wikimedia Commons)

Today we’ve added three new parishes to Massachusetts: (Image Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900: St. Peter (Cambridge), St. Gregory (Dorchester), and St. Joseph (Medford).  This update adds 19 volumes and over 3,600 images.  We would like to thank the following scanners for their help making this parish available: Tom Dreyer, Ross and Linda Weaver, Angela Napolitano, Jeff Erickson, Frederique Van Moortel, Francis Alix, Andrea Whalen, Alice Fristrom, and John Phlo.  The new volumes are listed below:

St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1859-1871
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1872-1875
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1876-1895
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Baptisms, 1896-1900
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Confirmations, 1866-1900
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Marriages, 1863-1875
St. Gregory (Dorchester) Marriages, 1876-1900

St. Joseph (Medford) Baptisms, 1883-1900
St. Joseph (Medford) Marriages, 1883-1900

St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1842-1862
St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1862-1869
St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1869-1871
St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1872-1877
St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1877-1890
St. Peter (Cambridge) Baptisms, 1890-1900
St. Peter (Cambridge) Marriages, 1850-1866
St. Peter (Cambridge) Marriages, 1866-1871
St. Peter (Cambridge) Marriages, 1872-1892
St. Peter (Cambridge) Marriages, 1893-1900

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New Catholic records from Charlestown and Lowell

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St. Patrick’s Church in Lowell by Emw from Wikimedia Commons

Today we’ve updated both of our Archdiocese of Boston databases!  To the searchable database, Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900, we’ve added five new volumes from St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown).  This update includes over 7,000 new records and 26,000 new names. The first Mass at St. Catherine’s was celebrated on Christmas 1887.  To our free, image-only database, Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900, we’ve added the records of St. Patrick (Lowell).  This update consists of six new volumes and over 1,900 new images.  Irish immigrants came to Lowell for industrial jobs, and worshiped together as early as 1822, although a church was not built until 1831.  We’d like to thank the following volunteers for their work on this project: Tom Dreyer, Margo Blank, Ross and Linda Weaver, Angela Napolitano, Jeff Erickson, Bob Rainville, Nancy Johnson, Stacey-Rae McCue, Loretta Brown-Aldrich, Kathleen Oberly, Judy Welna, Patricia Harney, Sue Hurlbut, Lauren Jefferson, Arlys LaFehr, Margaret Parker, and Kathy Terkelsen.  The new volumes are listed below.

St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1888-1893
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1893-1898
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1898-1900
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Marriages, 1888-1900
St. Catherine of Siena (Charlestown) Confirmations, 1894-1900

St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms, 1836-1861
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms, 1847-1878, Part 1
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms, 1847-1878, Part 2
St. Patrick (Lowell) Baptisms, 1878-1900
St. Patrick (Lowell) Marriages, 1836-1872
St. Patrick (Lowell) Marriages, 1872-1900

 

Please note: Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1780-1900 is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only. Consider membership.

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5 new New England study project sketches

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By Scan by NYPL [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today we’ve updated two of our study projects! Alicia Crane Williams’ Early New England Families, 1641-1700 has a new sketch on John Ward, Rev. (m. 1636), a minister in northeastern Massachusetts and Maine.  We’ve added four new sketches to Scott Andrew Bartley’s Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784 including Burton, Elisha (Norwich), Fenton, Jacob (Norwich), Gates, Elijah (Norwich), and Hatch, Benjamin (Norwich).

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

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American Ancestors Magazine 2017 Now Available

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We’ve updated our American Ancestors Magazine database to now include the 2017 issues of the magazine.  These four issues belong to Volume 18.  Cover stories include “Our Expert Guide to Early Cape Cod” by Alicia Crane Williams, Maureen Taylor’s “Pets in the Family: An Historic Overview”, “NEHGS Study Projects: Examining Ancestors in Context” by Alicia Crane Williams, and Jean Maguire’s “Breaking New Ground: Our Historic Catholic Records Project.”

We update this database once a year, once the entire volume of the magazine is complete.  If you would like to view online issues of current Volume 19, be sure to visit our publications page where you can view the newest issue.

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

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New Browsable Archdiocese of Boston Records from Jamaica Plain, Newburyport, and Rockland

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By Lane & Scott [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today we’ve added three new parishes to Massachusetts: (Image-Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900: St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain), Immaculate Conception (Newburyport), and Holy Family (Rockland).  This update adds 17 volumes and over 3,000 new pages.  If you need help understanding how to navigate this database, be sure to watch our how-to video.  We’d like to thank the following volunteers and scanners who generously contributed their time: Tom Dreyer, Ross and Linda Weaver, Genevieve Niessen, Francis Alix, Eileen McCarthy, John Phlo, Alice Fristrom, Jeff Erickson, and Frederique Van Moortel.  The new volumes are listed below.

Holy Family (Rockland) Baptisms, 1883-1900
Holy Family (Rockland) Marriages, 1883-1900

Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1854-1871
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1872-1882
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1883-1890
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1891-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Confirmations, 1882-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) First Communions, 1871-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Marriages, 1852-1871
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Marriages, 1872-1900

St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Index to Baptisms, 1869-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms and Confirmations, 1869-1884 (Vol. 1)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1885-1893 (Vol. 2)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1893-1900 (Vol. 3)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Confirmations, 1869-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) First Communions, 1899-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Marriages, 1869-1900

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New Database – Vermont: Windham and Windsor County Census, 1771

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A wintery Vermont view

Today we’re announcing a new database, Vermont: Windham and Windsor County Census, 1771.  This census enumerated heads of households in 1771 for present-day Windham and Windsor counties in Vermont which was then part of Cumberland County, New York. This census varies widely in form and content. It includes instructions to the constables for how to conduct the census and several tally sheets, so browsing the images is encouraged. The census data was transcribed and published by Scott Andrew Bartley in, “Cumberland Co., N.Y., Census for 1771,” Vermont Genealogy, 17 [2012]: 60-96. The images for this database are courtesy of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, and are taken from: Cumberland County, New York (1771). Census and heads of families lists for towns in Cumberland County. Henry Stevens, Sr. Collection (SE-117, Microfilm F-01471). Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Middlesex, VT.  This new database is possible through the work of Scott Andrew Bartley.

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St. Augustine (South Boston) Records Now Searchable

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St. Augustine from Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some few places in its vicinity by Isaac Smith Homans

Today we’ve added eight new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 from St. Augustine (South Boston).  St. Augustine’s Chapel in South Boston dates to 1819, built to accompany the purchase of a Catholic cemetery in South Boston.  It is the oldest Catholic structure in Massachusetts. Catholics worshiped there until the congregation grew big enough to build another church (Saints Peter and Paul).  The old chapel fell out of regular use.  By 1868 the Catholic population continued to grow, so that they were again in need of another church.  The pastor suggested that the old chapel be used until a new church could be built.  The first Mass in the new church was offered in 1871, and they named the new parish in honor of the old chapel.

The Archdiocese of Boston will be celebrating the bicentennial of St. Augustine’s Chapel and Cemetery starting in September 2018.

For more information on the chapel and cemetery, see History of Saint Augustine’s Chapel and Cemeterypublished in 1980.

The new volumes are listed below:

St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1868-1883
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1883-1894
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1894-1899
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1899-1900
St. Augustine (South Boston) Confirmations, 1896-1900
St. Augustine (South Boston) First Communions, 1895
St. Augustine (South Boston) Marriages, 1868-1899
St. Augustine (South Boston) Marriages, 1900-1900

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

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New Database – Norway: Mormon Missionaries and Emigrants to America, 1886-1900

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Leaving old home and friends – waving goodbyes to emigrants starting for America, Christiania, Norway circa 1905, by Elmer Underwood (1859-1947). Author Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

We are very happy to announce a new database today; Norway: Mormon Missionaries and Emigrants to America, 1886-1900.

This database contains the complete manuscript of Passport to Paradise from Christiania, Norway and Legacy of Sacrifice of Norwegian Missionaries (1886-1900) by Shauna C. Anderson Young, Susan Easton Black, and Ruth Ellen Maness. It provides a listing of approximately 650 Mormon emigrants, who boarded ships docked in Christiania (now Oslo) from 1886-1897 and journeyed to the British Isles and from there to America. This resource work gives names, gender, ages, marital status, occupations, place of residence, destinations of specific ships, European departure dates, and arrivals at US ports. In addition, the work presents biographical sketches of approximately 160 Latter-day Saints who served as missionaries in Scandinavia and some served as leaders aboard the ships carrying Norwegian emigrants. The records in this database are indexed to allow search by: the person’s name, year of the record, record type (Birth, Marriage, and Death), location, and spouse, mother and father names (where available).

This database is organized into 3 volumes, with over 400 pages, 2,000 records and 4,000 searchable names. Page 27 of the Introduction volume contains a very helpful description of the Norwegian alphabet and naming customs.

This new database is made possible by the invaluable efforts of our growing team of volunteers, including David Anderson. We genuinely appreciate their dedication. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact Rachel Adams, Database Services Volunteer Coordinator rachel.adams@nehgs.org.

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

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