Tracing Acadian ancestry presents unique challenges for family historians. This three-week online course will provide you with the historical context, records, and research strategies to take your Acadian ancestry back to Canada and beyond. Live broadcasts start July 7.
Vital Records from the Register Volumes 14-22 Updated
As part of an ongoing effort to reindex Vital Records from the New England Historic Genealogical Register in more detail, we have re-released Volumes 14-22 (1860-1868) with an additional 85,000 records and 175,000 searchable names. These numbers represent four times the number of records previously indexed for these volumes. Thank you to all our volunteers who are working hard to improve our index for the Register!
Summer Institute for Advanced Researchers: Managing an Oral History Project
Oral history projects require a methodical approach. This semester will help you organize your oral history project and share your results with generations to come. Open to current American Ancestors members only.
Next week: don't miss Stephen Bown with The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire, an exploration of how the Hudson's Bay Company shaped North America, on June 28. Then on July 8, Peter S. Canellos tells the story of a supreme court justice who argued for civil rights with The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero.
Spotlight: Santa Clara Historical and Genealogical Society, California
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Santa Clara is located in Santa Clara County, CA, near the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The society has made several resources available under the Online Indexes tab on its website. Among these is the Early Settler File, an every name index to files on individuals living in Santa Clara County before 1925. The files comprise “fact sheets from patrons, news clippings, obituaries and funeral notices, books, photos, and other materials.” They are currently being scanned. The online resources also include indexes to the 1852 special state census, early vital records, records from two funeral homes and two cemeteries, and Los Altos obituaries, plus links to local histories.
For Memorial Day, David Allen Lambert uncovered a physical description of his War of 1812 ancestor Henry Poor, while Christopher C. Child recorded the sad life of his Civil War great-great-great-uncle John Merrick Paine. Sharon Inglis shared Beautiful Jim Key, a prodigy horse who performed for President William McKinley; Philip Grover began a series on half-forgotten family stories; Rhonda McClure explored an 1810 census for Salem, Massachusetts; Jennifer Shakshober remembered her great-great-great-aunt Barbara (Shakshober) Gaul; Joe Smaldone concluded his series on nineteenth-century Irish research with a primer on available resources; Maureen Carey looked into her Irish origins via American records and a DNA test; and Chris Child continued the "Clue" metaphor with "Christopher Christophers in the library."
The Human Genome Is—Finally!—Complete “The Human Genome Project left 8 percent of our DNA unexplored. Now, for the first time, those enigmatic regions have been revealed.”
Last week's survey asked if you have been inspired by your ancestors. We received 2,967 responses. The results are:
12%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to get an education.
1%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to pursue an athletic or artistic goal.
9%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to travel.
5%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to pursue a particular job, profession, or career path.
3%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to serve in the military.
1%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to pursue a religious vocation or other religious role.
23%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to persist during times of adversity.
24%, My ancestor(s) inspired me in a more general sense.
2%, My ancestor(s) inspired me to pursue a different path by setting a negative example.
6%, My ancestor(s) inspired me in a way not mentioned above.
7%, I have not been inspired by any of my ancestors.
7%, I’m not sure.
This week's question asks whether your female ancestors belonged to a club or organization for women. Take the survey now
Want to share your thoughts on the survey with us? We are always happy to hear from our readers. Email us at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Readers Respond: Inspiring Ancestors
By Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked about whether your ancestors have inspired you. Thank you to everyone who responded. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Brendan J. O'Donnell of Fairfax, Virginia: My grandfather was a first-generation Irish-American orphaned in New York City at age 13. The nuns of his parish arranged for him to be taken in by another family and, even though he didn't finish high school, he somehow managed to enter college when he was 23. He graduated at age 27 with a degree in civil engineering and later founded a company that specialized in renovating and building New York City Catholic churches.
Robin Comfort of Chesapeake, Virginia: I come from a long line of family members who have served in the military. The tradition began with Myles Standish on the Mayflower and continued with ancestors in the Revolutionary War and on both the Union and Confederate sides in the Civil War. My granddad served in World War II, my dad in Vietnam, and I was in the Cold War. My son is a Marine combat veteran who served in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.
Jill Murray of La Jolla, California: My Gaskill ancestors who lived at the time of the Salem witchcraft trials inspired me with their willingness to risk a public defense of the falsely accused John Proctor.
Neysa Carpenter Garrett of Orinda, California: Several of my ancestors were members of NEHGS. Edmund Janes Carpenter (1845-1924), my great-grandfather, was one of them. Like many of the people in our family, he liked writing and history, wrote many books, and worked on newspapers in Providence, New Haven, and Boston. He was my inspiration to study family history and genealogy, and I often think about him while I am writing. I wish I could go back in time and walk through Boston with him.
Maureen Q. Dwyer of Haverford, Pennsylvania: My paternal great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were blacksmiths in Buffalo, New York, and Ireland. I recently participated in a blacksmithing workshop and found that blacksmithing is hot, hard, dirty, and exhausting! My goal was to make a simple hook. That requires lighting coals in the forge and keeping them hot, hammering the metal ends into points, and curling one end. Next, the piece has to be twisted to make the bend, then the hook is brushed, heated, and coated with beeswax. After about two and a half hours of work, I had a crude simple hook! I came away with a newfound admiration of the hard labor of my ancestors.
Article: Middle-Class Feminism in the Early 1900s
The spring issue of American Ancestors magazine features an engaging article by Violet Snow: “A Clubwoman’s Letters: Middle-Class Feminism in the Early 1900s.” Ms. Snow’s research was inspired by letters her great-grandmother wrote in the early twentieth century about her activities in a women’s club in the Bronx. You can read this article online with an American Ancestors membership.
Don't miss Ms. Snow's new historical novel To March or to Marry, set in New York City in the early 1900s. The novel addresses the fight for women’s suffrage and the quieter but profound influence of the women’s clubs that gave women tools for changing society.
