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Digging
Deep into New England
Genealogical
Records: Early New England Settlers, 1600s–1800s
(CD 504)
Reviewed by Marthe Arends
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There's no way of getting around it — many U.S. researchers
have to look at New England resources at some point or other in
their family history research. Luckily there are a lot of resources
to consult, such as the twenty-two volumes contained on this fabulous
CD. Originally published by the Genealogical Publishing Company,
the books found within this resource include information for approximately
190,000 individuals for the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.
Since so many New England families can trace their ancestry back
to "the old country" (whether that is England, Ireland, Germany,
or other homeland), this Family Archive is especially useful as
much of the information contained in the volumes deals with immigrant
ancestors.
The books contained within this CD are:
- Chronicles of the First Planters of the Colony of Massachusetts
Bay, from 1623 to 1636 by Alexander Young
- The Colonial Clergy and the Colonial Churches of New England
by Frederick Lewis Weis
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September
21, 2000
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Related Data on CD-ROM |
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- Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families,
1620-1700 by Frank R. Holmes
- The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers
by Charles Edward Banks
- Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America
by Henry Whittemore
- Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families
by Sebastian V. Talcott
- Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England by
Ernest Flagg
- Genealogical Notes, or Contributions to the Family History
of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut And Massachusetts
by Nathaniel Goodwin
- A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England,
1620-1675 by John Farmer
- The History of New England, Volumes I and II by James
Savage
- Immigrants to New England, 1700-1775 by Ethel Stanwood
Bolton
- Marriage Notices, 1785-1794 by Charles Knowles Bolton
- One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families by John Osborne
Austin
- Peirce's Colonial Lists Civil, Military And Professional
Lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies, 1621-1700 by
Ebenezer Weaver Peirce
- The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623-1660
by Charles Henry Pope
- The Planters of the Commonwealth in Massachusetts, 1620-1640
by Charles
- Edward Banks
- The Real Founders of New England Stories of Their Life
Along the Coast, 1602-1628 by Charles Knowles Bolton
- Result of Some Researches Among the British Archives for
Information Relative to the Founders of New England by Samuel
G. Drake
- Soldiers in King Philip's War, Official Lists of the Soldiers
of Massachusetts Colony Serving in Philip's War, and Sketches
of the Principal Officers, Copies of Ancient Documents and Records
Relating to the War by George Madison Bodge
- Topographical Dictionary of 2,885 English Emigrants to
New England, 1620-1650 by Charles Edward Banks
- The Winthrop Fleet of 1630 by Charles Edward Banks
The type of information found in the volumes varies greatly.
For instance, searching for one of my ancestors, Mary Allerton,
I found the following reference to her son and father-in-law in
The Colonial Clergy and Churches of New England:
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ISAAC
CUSHMAN, b. Plymouth, Feb. 8, 1647/8, son of Elder Thomas
and Mary (Allerton) Cushman; Ord. Plympton, Oct. 27, 1698,
as the first minister; sett. Plympton, 1698-1732; d. Plympton,
Oct. 21, 1732, a 84.
ROBERT
CUSHMAN, b. (perhaps at Canterbury) England, 1580; a leader
and financial agent of the Mayflower Pilgrims; came to N.E.
in the "Fortune," 1621, but returned to England one month
later; he preached at Plymouth, Dec. 9, 1621; d. England,
1625/6.
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In another example (English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim
Fathers), I found information about Mary's father, Isaac:
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He was
called a tailor of London in the Leyden records, and was
born in 1586, according to his deposition. There is nothing
in his later career to show that he followed the occupation
declared in the Ledyen archives, although he may have been
a tailor's apprentice. He became a merchange engaged in
extensive trading in New England. As early as 1611 he was
a resident of Leyden where he married Mary Norris of Newbury,
co. Berks, for his first wife...
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A third volume on the Family Archive, The First Settlers of
New England, tells more about the Cushman family that Mary
married into:
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CUSHMAN...THOMAS,
Plymouth 1623, son of the preceding [Robert], m. Mary, daughter
of Isaac Allerton, and d. in 1691, aged 84. His widow d.
in 1699, aged about 90. His son, Rev. Isaac Cushman, was
the first minister of Plympton, Mass., and was ordained
1698, and d. 1732, aged 84.
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As you can see, there are a variety of resources on the
CD. The introduction states that you'll find:
- Biographical sketches of early settlers
- Connections between immigrants to New England and their
homeland
- Historical essays on early New England life
- Journal entries detailing the daily struggles of early
New Englanders (including entries composed by John Winthrop
and compiled by James Savage)
Browsing through the CD, I found all of the items listed
above. I particularly enjoyed having Savage's two-volume
set, The History of New England, available in an
electronically searchable format. As with other CDs, there
is an electronic index so you can quickly and easily search
all twenty-two volumes for names, or you can browse through
each volume's index. Each entire book is contained within
this title, allowing you to own an electronic copy of the
volumes — a great boon to New England researchers!
I highly recommend this CD to anyone who has tracking down
New England ancestors.
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Marthe Arends has
been involved in genealogy for 18 years. She has lectured on computers and genealogy
to many groups, has been the SysOp of a Fidonet genealogy BBS, has written articles
for a variety of genealogy publications, and currently writes fiction. Marthe has also written Genealogy
Software Guide and Genealogy
on CD-ROM, both published by the Genealogical
Publishing Company.
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