American Ancestors offers Free Week of Access to All Databases

In an unprecedented move, AmericanAncestors.org, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, is providing free access to all of it's online records. This is over one billion free records. Free access will be available April 6-13, 2016. See full press release below for further details.

American Ancestors by NEHGS Announces an Unprecedented, Historic Event for Genealogists: A BILLION Records FREE! AmericanAncestors.org/Free-Billion

April 6, 2016—Boston, Massachusetts— America’s oldest and largest genealogical society announces a historic event for family historians around the world. From April 6 to April 13, American Ancestors by New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is offering FREE access to all of its online records on AmericanAncestors.org. More than one billion records covering 18 countries— including the most important family history research materials for early America created by the experts and scholars at NEHGS—and all are open to anyone who registers for a free account.  Start searching now at AmericanAncestors.org/Free-Billion.

To assist family historians of all levels in locating more pieces of the family tree puzzle, NEHGS is granting this unprecedented free access to its entire collection of genealogical databases from Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at 12:00 a.m. (EDT) through Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). Free accounts on AmericanAncestors.org ordinarily allow visitors only a sample of the vast offerings that NEHGS provides family historians of all levels. This unprecedented free access promotion by NEHGS from April 6 through April 13 offers the Society’s entire collection of online content for eight full days to anyone who registers for a free account.

About American Ancestors and NEHGS

Holding the largest collection of original family history materials in the country, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, is the nation’s oldest and largest genealogical society. Our website, AmericanAncestors.org, offers access to more than 1 billion searchable records and leading scholarly resources to help you advance your family history research. Our expert staff helps researchers of all levels explore their past and their families’ unique place in history. Located in Boston, our research center houses millions of manuscripts, books, and original items to preserve the stories of families in America and beyond.

FREE Access to Great Migration Databases for 4th of July Week!

Hopefully everyone will be getting at least one day off during the 4th of July holiday weekend. If you get the full week, all the better for doing more genealogy! You can celebrate by researching your very early ancestors thanks to the New England Historic Genealogical Society which will be offering one week of free access to the Great Migration databases. Full information and details are below.

NEHGS Salutes the Nation’s Anniversary with FREE Access to the Great Migration Databases on AmericanAncestors.org

Family Historians May Commemorate Independence Day by Searching FREE on AmericanAncestors.org for America’s Earliest Settlers, July 1 through July 8

June 29, 2015—Boston, Massachusetts—In a salute to the anniversary of our nation’s independence, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is granting FREE access to all online searchable databases related to the Great Migration. A unique foundation of governance and religion was created by the 20,000 men, women, and    children who crossed the Atlantic between 1620 and 1640, seeking opportunity and relief in New England, in the period known as the Great Migration. These are the Mayflower names, the Pilgrims, the Puritans, and the families that delight and provide rich insights for genealogists and family historians.  Since 1988 NEHGS has  undertaken the Great Migration Study Project, directed by Robert Charles Anderson and scheduled for completion in 2016. The results are open to the public to research FREE during the first week of July 2015 on its data-rich website AmericanAncestors.org.

A total of nine searchable databases comprise the Great Migration project on AmericanAncestors.org, consisting of thousands of records.  Some content highlights include:

1: The Great Migration Begins

The first phase of the Great Migration Study Project attempts to identify and describe all those Europeans who settled in New England prior to the end of 1633. The date was chosen because of the steep increase in migration beginning in 1634 and continuing for the rest of that decade (see Robert Charles Anderson, "A Note on the Pace of the Great Migration," The New England Quarterly 59 [1986]:406-07). As a rough estimate, about 15 percent of the immigrants to New England arrived in the fourteen years from 1620 to 1633, with the remaining 85 percent coming over in half as many years, from 1634 to 1640.

2: The Great Migration Newsletter

This database comprises Volumes 1 through 20 of the Great Migration Newsletter, published between 1990 and 2011. Each 32-page issue contains one or two feature articles, a column with editor's comments, and a review of recent literature on the Great Migration. Each issue also contains a section with detailed coverage of one of the towns settled during the Great Migration, or of a specific critical record, or group of records.

3: The Great Migration:  Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes I—VII, A-Y
(7 separate databases)

From 1620 to 1633, only a few hundred people stepped on the shores of New England in any given year. But all of a sudden in 1634 the trend surged upward and as many as 2,500 people immigrated in 1634 and again in 1635. In May 1634, the population of Massachusetts doubled in just one month, and when comparing immigration in 1634 and 1635 to immigration in 1633 and earlier, there was a tenfold jump in annual immigration.

These volumes covering surnames beginning with A through Y, complete a series documenting the watershed years of 1634 and 1635. They trace families and individuals immigrating to New England during those two years – a time of rapid migration and settlement.

Each alphabetical entry for a family or individual includes:

• Place of origin, if known

• Date and ship on which they arrived in New England, if known

• Earliest known record of the individual or family

• First residence and subsequent residences, when known

• Return trips to their country of origin, whether temporary or permanent

• Bibliographical information such as birth, death, marriage(s), children, and other important family relationships, church memberships, and civil and military offices held

The full introduction to these seven volumes is available for download as a pdf file. The introduction includes a description of the methodology used to create the sketches as well as thorough descriptions of the sources used.

The database provides an index to the sketches of 219 Great Migration individuals, and the 7,192 name, 2,040 place, and 249 ship name references contained within those sketches. The images of the original book pages are available from the search results pages.

These Great Migration databases from NEHGS will be open with FREE access to the public beginning Wednesday, July 1, through Wednesday, July 8. Registration at AmericanAncestors.org is required as a FREE Guest Member to gain access to these valuable resources. Guest User accounts allow web visitors to use a limited suite of AmericanAncestors.org databases and access web content such as making purchases from the online store. Unlimited access to all 450+ million records and other benefits is through membership at NEHGS.

Family historians may start their search for ancestors who came to the country as part of the Great Migration at this site: AmericanAncestors.org/specials/fourth-of-july.  

NEHGS Announces FREE Access to AmericanAncestors.org Databases to Commemorate Memorial Day

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has announced free access to military databases in this announcement:

NEHGS Commemorates Memorial Day with FREE Access to Important Military Databases on AmericanAncestors.org

Family Historians May “Honor the Fallen” by Searching FREE on AmericanAncestors.org for Patriots on the Family Tree Who Served in Colonial Times

May 20, 2015—Boston, Massachusetts—In the spirit of Memorial Day and to make ancestral research even more productive this holiday weekend, AmericanAncestors.org and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) have made several online military databases accessible FREE to all who wish to search for patriots in early American colonial wars.

Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775 is accessible FREE this week through next Wednesday, May 27. Prior to the American Revolution, many men served in the militia and fought against Native Americans, the French, and other opponents. Many of these battles were extensions of European wars. This database contains more than 35,000 records of service for individuals in Massachusetts and other New England states who served from the seventeenth century to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. These records, originally published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society with support from the Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, were compiled from many different sources to create as comprehensive a list as possible.

Massachusetts Revolutionary War Pensioners’ Receipts 1799-1807 and Massachusetts Revolutionary War Pensioners’ Receipts 1829-1837 are also accessible through Wednesday, May 27. Many of the soldiers who served during the Revolutionary War were given pensions from the federal government for their service. These manuscript collections at NEHGS contain a number of original receipts with the soldiers’ signatures, acknowledging the receipt of their pension funds. These two searchable databases contain images of these receipts, including the original signatures or marks of the pensioners.

Registration at AmericanAncestors.org is required as a FREE Guest Member to gain access to these valuable resources. Guest User accounts allow web visitors to use a limited suite of AmericanAncestors.org databases and access web content such as making purchases from the online store. Unlimited access to all 450+ million records and other benefits is through membership at NEHGS.

Family historians may start their search for their ancestors who bravely served in our country’s colonial times at this site:  AmericanAncestors.org/memorialday.

Make Time for Local Seminars

I have yet to attend a national conference. I would love to but with young children and a busy schedule it just hasn't worked out for me. Instead I have focused on participating in one regional society and attending one large regional conference (the New England Regional Genealogical Conference - NERGC) which happens every two years.

As RootsTech was approaching this year, I was watching all the excitement of the lucky attendees. In a moment of clarity (when I was able to put aside the envy) I realized that there are many wonderful opportunities closer to home that I haven't taken advantage of. I decided that I would remedy that by attending local seminars and talks.  There are a lot of great opportunities right in my own back yard.

This past Wednesday I took my first step toward seeking local genealogical opportunities. I attended the African American History & Genealogy Day put on by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) in Boston. What was even better was that this event was free. NEHGS held an open research day for all attendees and provided three top quality lectures. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend two.

The first was a talk by David Allen Lambert. I admit to having a special affinity for David because many of his research interests overlap mine such as cemetery research and African Americans. Having done a lot of research on these topics I wasn't sure how much I would get out of his talk. Silly me. David is a master with an endless well of information on his core knowledge areas. And like me he combines his multiple interests into one talk, so not only did I learn about African American genealogy but he also included some cemetery research as well. If you ever get to the point of thinking you know enough on a topic go to a talk by someone who has been researching longer than you. You will be humbled and inspired.

The second talk was by Alex Goldfeld the author of North End: A Brief History of Boston's Oldest Neighborhood. While the North End is today known as an ethnic Italian neighborhood, in colonial times it was home to the earliest African American community. Alex is a historian rather than a genealogist but he gave a superb presentation on a very early time frame that I am not expert in. He opened my eyes to many sources for 17th and 18th century research.

Many people, especially professionals, go to conferences for the networking rather than simply the learning. Ironically, I learned more at this one day seminar than I have at some conferences. I'm so glad that I forced myself to take advantage of a local opportunity.

Don't worry if you can't make it to far away conferences. There may be some terrific learning experiences right in your back yard. Be on the lookout for state and regional genealogical societies. Many societies provide talks once a month and can be a good source of learning. But don't limit your thinking to genealogy societies. Local historical societies and libraries frequently put on excellent history and genealogy programs.

Don't wait until next year or the next big conference. Hop onto a search engine and find local seminars and talks in your area that can broaden your knowledge. I'm so glad I took that step.

The Nitty Gritty of Genealogy

In 1816 Josiah Witter wrote to the government to inquire about the status of his pension application.  He had applied in 1792 and been approved but still hadn't received any pension funds.  Witter was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and had been injured in battle.  He believed he deserved a pension and so did the United States government.  So why was it taking so long for him to get it?

The answer to that question is found in an interesting article by Diane Rapaport called "A Matter of Extreme Regret": Josiah Witter's Pension Plight" which can be found in her Tales from the Courthouse column in the current issue American Ancestors (Vol. 12, no. 4, Fall 2011, page 51).  If you are a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) [members receive the publication automatically] or have access to a genealogy library please be sure to read this article.

Not only is Josiah Witter the backdrop to a fascinating story but his example provides a lesson in the true nitty gritty of genealogical research.  If Witter was approved for a pension why didn't he get it?  Therein lies the lesson of going beyond a basic genealogical search.  The answer to this story lies in understanding contemporary politics and law.  Without understanding those two factors it would be impossible to understand the full story of Josiah Witter.

Unfortunately, I can't give away the story plot or the details of how the mystery was unraveled.  It will be much more fun for you to read it yourself.  But I strongly encourage everyone to read this article as an example of the kind of approach you should be taking with all your genealogical challenges and brick walls.

It's Time to Think Out of the Box

I became passionate about genealogy through personal experience.  After I started seriously researching my own family history I experienced a sense of connectedness that was profound.  It wasn't important that my ancestors were mostly farmers and peasants.  What was important important is that they belonged to me and I belonged to them.  I haven't been able to let go of my passion for genealogy ever since.

My passion is a bit overflowing and ever since I've wanted other people to experience the same satisfaction that comes from family history and genealogical research as I've experienced.  I wouldn't mind if the whole country became as obsessed with genealogy as they are with football and baseball.

For this reason, I really try to keep close tabs on the pulse of genealogy.  Over the years we've seen a gradual increase in general interest in genealogy with the PBS programs African American Lives and Ancestors.

Last year things started to really heat up with PBS' Faces of America and NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? (WDYTYA)  Dare I be so bold as to say that WDYTYA was the tipping point?

WDYTYA represents the first serious attempt to bring genealogy to the people.  And it seems to be working.  Not only is WDYTYA coming back for a second season but now the Disney Channel is getting on board as well.  They will be broadcasting a genealogy program geared toward kids.

So why do I care about all this?

I love the genealogical community - both non-profits and the for profits.  I want to see them thrive.

I started tooting the horn a numbers of years ago (on the APG list) saying that the big genealogy wave is coming.  It's here NOW.

What are you doing about it?

In a previous post (The Holy Grail: New Genealogists) I wrote about the importance of connecting with these new potential genealogists and gave suggestions for how different sectors of the genealogical community could engage them.

Thinking Out of the Box

Now I am tracking examples of groups and organizations that are putting ideas into action.  Those groups that are thinking out of the box to attract new genealogists who are not coming from traditional channels.  I'm pleased to say that I am starting to see it happen.

NEHGS

In yesterday's "The Weekly Genealogist" eNews the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced that they are teaming up with the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE) to provide genealogy classes in September.   This was a brilliant move of thinking out of the box to attract a new audience.  If you want the attention of the 20- and 30-something crowd in Boston then BCAE is the place to do it.  They regularly hold classes on all sorts of topics including the ever popular wine tasting.  The timing is perfect for adding a genealogy class. Now if NEHGS were really clever they would cross the river and do the same thing with the perhaps even more hip, Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

The Providence, Rhode Island Public Library

In October the Providence Public Library will be holding its first ever First Annual Genealogy Symposium.  For a first time event, they are going all out.  They will be hosting three speakers with the headliner being none other than Megan Smolenyak followed right on her heels by The Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor.  I will disclose that I am the third speaker but honestly that was just luck on my part. They picked me from the Boston Public Library posted schedule.  They didn't know my name beforehand.  While technically holding a genealogy symposium is not "Out of the Box" it does show a non-genealogical organization that is very much in tune with what their audience wants and they are ready to provide it.

Note to genealogical organizations:  Keep your eye on public libraries - they have a great sense of what their patrons want.  Why not be proactive and approach them about a program?

The Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG)

The MSOG Middlesex Chapter is responding to current trends by providing a new "Family Research Day" in addition to their regular Annual Meeting Seminar.  The Family Research Day will be held this Saturday, September 11, 2010.   What is unusual about this program is that beginning genealogy classes are being offered throughout the entire day not just during one track.  That shows a recognition of current trends and initiative to provide a place for new genealogists to gather and learn.

Are you thinking Out of the Box?

Do you have more examples of groups or businesses that are thinking out of the box to engage the latest wave of new genealogists?  If so, send them to me. I'd love to write about them as well.

Have you visited your local library lately?

I think one of the toughest things about being a blogger is that there are so many great ideas and discussions happening everywhere.  Too many ideas and not enough time to write and ponder further.  For instance, this morning I received The Weekly Genealogist eNews newsletter from NEHGS.  In it there were two items that really got me thinking and I haven't even made it through the whole newsletter yet. 

Today's newsletter posted the results to last week's survey which asked readers how often they visit their local public library for genealogy research.  The results showed that 33% never go to their library for genealogy research and 50% never use the library website.

NEHGS makes a great point that those people likely believe that if a library doesn't have a genealogy section/room then it has nothing to offer.  I would suggest you read the article (not online at this moment but likely will be soon) to learn about the great resources that every library offers genealogists.

This got me thinking.  Have you done an analysis of all that your local public library has to offer?

I have to ask myself first - how much do I know about my library?

My library does have a little local history room.  For being such a small room, it is jammed packed with helpful items.  Every time I visit I find new discoveries.  For instance, this room contains many of the "tan books" for Massachusetts - the vital records up to 1850.  It also has a number of other genealogical standard books, most particular to Massachusetts.  However, I can also find special items such as oral history tapes, old maps (some of which have copies that are for sale), old newspapers, old local yearbooks, town reports and residents lists.  One of my favorite groups of items are the binders put together by local residents full of newspaper clippings and information about the town. I am quite happy to spend hours in this room when I get the chance.  That happens far too rarely.

There is much more available in my library than what is found in the history room.  Sometimes I forget that.  My library offers access to Ancestry.com on its in-house computers.  I don't use this feature much because I have my own US-only subscription.  However, if I were to do international research I would definitely take advantage of that.

My library also has a genealogy section in the regular stacks.  This is the section I tend to forget about most.  I have to admit that my library's genealogy skill book section is woefully small compared to other local libraries.  After you check out the genealogy books in your own library there is one more section of the stacks you need to visit.  Search the catalog to find the local history books.  This is where you will find those huge county histories (affectionately referred to as mug books by genealogists) that may contain the names of your ancestors.  You will likely also find the Images of America series of books by Arcadia Publishing that provides historical photos of local places.  Also, don't forget, if you don't find the books you are looking for  you can ask your library to order them.  It doesn't guarantee that they will buy the books but it will definitely put the books on their radar and let the library know that their patrons are interested in genealogy.  My library has pre-made slips that can be filled out for requesting new books.

But wait - there's more.

Don't forget to check out the video and audio book sections.  The video section will have many PBS programs including Faces of America.  In the audio book section I regularly take out the Great Courses Series CDs on American history which are wonderful to listen to on long driving trips.

My local library also puts a lot of local history resources up on its website.  There you can find vital records, a cemetery transcription and genealogical information on the early settlers.  I use it regularly because it's so easy to access.

In addition to all that you still have more options in the form of your knowledgeable  library staff and library network/interlibrary loan.

I challenge you to survey your local public library and see what you can find.  You can post your results here in the comment field or you can write a post on your own blog and leave me with a link to follow.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you discover!

A New Genre for Genealogy Books?

Not long ago I finished reading "The Journey Takers" by Leslie Albrecht. This book is unlike anything I've read before - part genealogy, part narrative non-fiction, part memoir. It was a fascinating look into Albrecht's ancestry as well as her present life. And well documented to boot.

The latest issue (Summer 2010) of American Ancestors by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) features a book (p. 38) called "The Obermeyers: A History of a Jewish Family in Germany and America, 1618-2009" by Kenneth Libo and Michael Feldberg. I haven't read the book yet but Lynn Betlock describes it like this: "Information on early generations reflects a range of historical and genealogical sources, while twentieth-century family members are brought to life through first-person accounts and reminiscences." Part one of the book focuses on the family's life in Germany. Part two describes their more recent life in the United States.

Betlock puts into print exactly what I've been thinking about when she says "Genealogists often want their books to distill and document their research for posterity - and at the same time provide an engaging read for close family members."

More and more we are seeing this combination of the past and the present with books that are written for a wide audience but are definitely more personal in nature.

Is there a word for this new genre? If so, I'd like to know what it is.

Also, if you have read any other books that fit into this category please let me know. I think this could be the wave of the future for genealogy books.