What is happening all over America is the digitizing of printed books. Original manuscripts from state and county archives are also being put on the internet at unprecedented speed. Much of this material is sharp and clear; some projects are not easy to read, to navigate, or to search.
The addition of online databases at major genealogy websites is exciting for the many genealogists who are not close to a large library–public, university, or private.And I would like to describe three new projects for New England ancestry announced by the New England Historic Genealogical society:
The Mayflower Silver Books–Mayflower Families Through five Generations which document the first five generations of descendants of Pilgrims on the Mayflower. The original idea of the project was to thoroughly study and document each of the Mayflower passengers. This definitive work would make it possible for those of you who descend from these ancestors to plug your work in more quickly and with greater accuracy.
The size of this project is estimated at some 7,750 descendants and about 150,000 births, marriages, deaths and deed extracts. Entries will be available by subscription. The convenience of having the whole series available online cannot be fully understood until you realize that many libraries do not have the complete series of books. You have to go library hopping to access them all. Progress can be followed on Database News at http://dbnews.American Ancestors.org.
Massachusetts Revolutionary War Pensioners’ Receipts, 1827-1836. A database of original receipts with soldiers’ signatures/marks acknowledging that they received their pension funds. This database includes images.
Roman Catholic Records for Boston Archdiocese, 1789-1900. Original images in a browse-able collection of Catholic Sacraments–baptism, Holy Communion, confirmation, marriage, Holy Orders, and anointing of the sick. Volunteers to index this massive collection are being sought. http://CatholicRecords.AmericanAncestors.org.
Exciting news for ancestors that still remain illusive! Genealogists have envied their friends who had ancestors from New England assuming that their genealogy was already known and compiled. Not so…so enjoy these newly available records as they come online.
Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com
PS And stay tuned to more fully understand the nature of genealogical evidence and how to pull that evidence from the records your search.