It’s week 14 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. The topic this week is Check It Out, so I’d like to share one of my favorite resources for genealogy, Internet Archive. Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library that offers thousands of digitized resources such as books, pictures, audio recordings, and sometimes annual reports for various towns.
My mom’s side of the family is entirely of French-Canadian ancestry, but my dad’s side is a mixture. One of my dad’s grandparents was of French-Canadian descent, one was of German descent, but the other two were largely English, and as I trace my tree, the roots run back to some of the earliest settlers in America, including passengers on the Mayflower, Scottish POWs forced into indentured servitude, and people who fought in the Revolutionary War. As our American culture developed, an interest in genealogy ensued. It became a point of pride to be able to trace your ancestors back to some of our founding fathers, and genealogical researchers began to publish books of their family trees. Many of these books are available on Internet Archive and they contain a wealth of information.
Keep in mind that these family trees aren’t guaranteed to be accurate. You should still find primary sources to prove your tree, but books like these are great resources and have the potential to save you considerable time and even break down brick walls. I have used Internet Archive to trace my grandmother Helen’s Ladd family using The Ladd Family: A Genealogical and Biographical Memoir. I was able to trace my Witherell line, which starts with my 4th great-grandmother, Cynthia Witherell who married William Benson Shaw, using History and Genealogy of the Witherell/Wetherell/Witherill Family of New England. I was also able to trace my 5th great-grandmother, Mary Gordon, the wife of Deacon Abraham Bean, back to Alexander Gordon through Alexander Gordon and his Descendants: A Genealogy of the Gordon Family. Alexander Gordon has a fascinating story. He was a Scottish POW, captured during the Battle of Worcester in 1651, shipped to America, and forced into indentured servitude. He served Nicholas Lissen/Lyston who owned a sawmill in Exeter, New Hampshire, and married one of his daughters. In fact, my Bean line and likely my Magoon can both be traced back to Nicolas Lissen as well. In addition to Alexander Gordon, he purchased two other Scottish POWs as indentured servants, John MacBean (shortened to Bean) and Henry Magoon, who also married his daughters. The Gordons, Beans, and Magoons intermarried a fair bit, and these surnames crop up often if you can trace your roots back to New Hampshire.
I have also used Internet Archive to learn more about certain towns and areas my family came from. If you find a town history book, you can use the search function to look for surnames. I have found references to my Turner relatives in books about Mount Vernon, Maine. I have also (so far, unsuccessfully) used books about towns to attempt to break down a brick wall. I’m stuck on my 3rd great-grandmother, Jane Felker, the wife of Greenlief Owen Shaw, and mother of my 2nd great-grandma, Annie M. Shaw who married Eugene H. Turner. Jane will get her own post when we cover brick walls, because she is my biggest and most frustrating brick wall of all. I don’t know the names of her parents, but I’ve looked at many Felker records (which isn’t a common name) and found many in Embden, Maine. I used Internet Archive and found Embden Town of Yore: Olden Times and Families There and in Adjacent Towns. When I searched “Felker” in the book, many references and even some brief family trees popped up. While I couldn’t connect Jane to any of those trees, I may eventually uncover the identity of her parents, and possibly find the connection between her and the Emden Felkers.
While I haven’t had luck with finding pictures, some people have found portraits of family members on Internet Archive. There are also images of maps and artifacts you may find relevant. New resources are added frequently, so keep checking back. You never know what treasures you might find!
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