Skip to main content

The History and Antiquities of Boston, From Its Settlement in 1630 to the Year 1770

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

Originally published in 1856, Drake's history of pre-revolutionary Boston has long been a key resource for historians. From the city's founding to its first churches; natural disasters to outbreaks; witchcraft to Freemasonry, this volume provides detailed historical context for anyone with early Boston ancestors.

By Samuel G. Drake

Foreword by D. Brenton Simons

Published: February 2013

The Founders: Portraits of Persons Born Abroad Who Came to the Colonies in North America Before the Year 1701

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

The Boston Athenaeum originally published these volumes in 1919 as a catalogue of a 1917 exhibition of engravings and photographs which included portraits by Rembrandt and Van Dyck. Each portrait is accompanied by a detailed biographical outline and additional commentary. The compilation is organized by region (Carolina; Virginia and Maryland; New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; New England; and the West) with an alphabetical list of subjects and an index.

By Charles Knowles Bolton

Foreword by Elizabeth E. Barker, Ph.D.

The Fairbanks House: A History of the Oldest Timber-Frame Building in New England 2nd ed.

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

The Fairbanks House is the oldest surviving timber frame house in New England - the best example of seventeenth century architecture still standing. Located in Dedham, Massachusetts, the house was built for Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks and their family in 1636 and remains in the family today. This book is a fascinating detailed architectural history written by a highly respected authority in the field.

By Abbott Lowell Cummings
Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in December 2002

The Crooked and Narrow Streets of the Town of Boston 1630-1822

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

Annie Haven Thwing turned her massive collection of nearly 125,000 index cards into this beloved and highly informative 1920 publication. Thwing used colony records and the Suffolk deeds to paint a picture of Boston’s neighborhoods—the North End, Government and Business Centre, South End, West End, and “The Neck”—and their inhabitants. The story is also told visually in seven charming maps.

By Annie Haven Thwing

Foreword by D. Brenton Simons

6 x 9 paperback, 320 pages, illustrated

Soldiers in King Philip's War

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

Thanks to the efforts of the Civil War veteran, genealogist, historian, and Unitarian clergyman George Madison Bodge (1841–1914), historians and genealogists have a better understanding of the conflict known as King Philip’s War (1675–1676). Based on his detailed analysis and transcriptions of countless pages of seventeenth-century records, Bodge’s Soldiers in King Philip’s War includes the official listing of Massachusetts soldiers and officers, sketches of the principal officers, and official lists of land granted to veterans and their heirs.

Soldier, Engraver, Forger: Richard Brunton's Life on the Fringe in America's New Republic

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

In this richly illustrated biography, the author follows in the footsteps of Richard Brunton, a British grenadier who fought in the American Revolution before deserting in 1779. A trained engraver and diesinker, his primitive but charming works include some of the earliest pre-printed family registers in America. Despite his many talents and efforts, he was never able to make an honest living from his craft. Instead, he spent years living on the fringes of society, forging and counterfeiting currency, until his death in a New England almshouse in 1832.

Reminiscences & Traditions of Boston, by Hannah Mather Crocker

Submitted by nehgsadmin on

Hannah Mather Crocker's early 19th-century work presents a unique history of Boston and its environs from the 1620s to the 1820s. A leading female writer and women's rights advocate, Crocker pays special attention to women's work and culture, providing a significant resource for women's historians, scholars of feminist political thought, and early-American historians alike. This book contains a masterfully transcribed and annotated version of the text and appendix from the original manuscript, which has been housed at the NEHGS archives for over 130 years.