Since its founding in 1630, the City of Boston has kept records pertaining to its citizens, including several unique resources. Join us to learn what records exist for Boston, tips for using them in your research, and where to find them. Special attention will be given to records from the 17th through 19th centuries.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of court cases and accusations of witchcraft across colonial America, yet the most famous series of prosecutions from this period are the Salem witch trials between 1692 and 1693. In that short period, more than two hundred were accused, thirty found guilty, and 20 executed. In this online lecture, we will discuss how to verify your lineage from someone accused of witchcraft in Salem during the Hysteria. We will point you to key records, resources, and references for proving your line of descent.
Land, Court, and Probate records contain key information that can connect generations, confirm family groups, provide vital data, and build the stories of your ancestors. This online seminar demonstrates how to get the most out of these important resources. This three-session seminar focuses on New England resources from the 17th century to present day, but many of the strategies and methods discussed can be applied to other regions of the country.
Was your ancestor a Freemason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Columbus, or a member of another fraternal organization? In this webinar, we will teach you how to identify different fraternal organizations, provide valuable tools for locating a lodge and its records, and discuss how these records can enrich your family history research.
Learn about the various colonial wars that 17th and 18th New Englanders participated in. We will discuss published and manuscript resources, and how to "Adopt the Regiment" to learn more about your ancestor through associated records.
For many living in New England during the 17th through 19th centuries, their livelihood and even survival was inextricably linked to the sea. In this webinar we will provide a brief history of mariners in New England, discuss major ports and sources of industry, highlight key records, and demonstrate how to reconstruct your ancestor’s life on the sea and along the shore.
This class will include the different types of record sets that enslavers may name enslaved persons (including probate records, land deeds, court records, and more). A brief case study will be discussed.
Learn about the go-to records, resources, and research techniques for researching your Connecticut ancestors. This presentation will cover 17th to 20th century resources available at the state, county, and town level.
In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), New Hampshire, and Vermont were considered frontier lands for the early New England colonists. Whether you are researching these states during the colonial period or present day, there are certain record sets and go-to resources that you should be aware of. This lecture will review various study projects, databases, manuscript items, and other resources available through American Ancestors and other online web sites that can assist you in researching northern New England.
This lecture researches the primary and secondary sources associated with those involved in the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692.
