Week 32 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is At the Library. I recently took a trip to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, which has a phenomenal library of genealogical resources. I’ve been a member for a couple of years and taken advantage of many of their online resources, but this was my first opportunity to visit the physical building. It was simultaneously overwhelming and awesome! I could visit every day for a month, and it still wouldn’t be adequate time to see everything I wanted to see.
In preparation for my trip, I searched their library catalog online and created a spreadsheet of resources I wanted to view, as well as their locations. Most of my research was conducted on the 5th and 7th floors. Some manuscripts had to be requested ahead of time (a members-only perk) so I made sure to do that a couple days in advance. Armed with my laptop and my notebook, I was on my way!
The building itself is beautiful! This is the first floor.
In addition to books, maps, and microfiche, NEHGS houses numerous portraits. I was most excited about seeing the portrait of my 7th great-grandfather, Ephraim Turner, a prominent Bostonian who ran a school of dancing, fencing, and politeness. It was painted by John Greenwood in 1749. David Lambert, Chief Genealogist, was kind enough to accompany me to the portrait and take my picture. I’ve seen pictures of this portrait online but being close enough to see the brush strokes was profoundly moving. If you’re not a complete genealogy geek, you’re unlikely to understand that sentiment, or be able to fully appreciate what a surreal experience it was. Think about it. This was painted nearly 275 years ago – years before the American Revolution. How many hours did John Greenwood chat with Ephraim as he worked on his portrait? What did they discuss? I find it fascinating to ponder these types of questions.
My spreadsheet dictated where I spent my time. Most of the first day on the 7th floor. I spent hours pouring over The Great Migration Directory and New Englanders in the 1600s. I also found a pedigree of the Dumaresq branch of my family and did some research on my Salem witch ancestor, George Jacobs. Then I spent a couple of hours on the 5th floor looking at Rhode Island records for my Laberge relatives. Some Pawtucket church records books listed a missing marriage date that provided the key to unlocking the mystery of which one of Rose’s many husbands she was pictured with in this wedding portrait. I’ve been trying to identify the husband for more than a year.
On my second day, I started out on the 5th floor where I looked through the manuscripts I had requested. Most of them, unfortunately, weren’t as helpful as I had hoped, but you never know how useful a document will be until you look at it. One manuscript request was for pictures of portraits of Ann Dumaresq Turner and William Turner. William was my 6th great-grandfather, the son of Ephraim, and father of my horrible 5th great-grandfather, Stephen Dumaresque Turner. I was so hoping the picture of William’s portrait would be in color because I’d already seen a copy of it in black & white. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I also looked through a manuscript about the Bartlett family – a branch in my tree I’m not 100% sure is accurate. I copied all the information from the manuscript at NEHGS, but haven’t sorted through it yet.
When I was done, I grabbed a couple more books about the Salem witches, and accidentally discovered an entire French-Canadian section of the 5th floor stacks. They had the entire Our French-Canadian Ancestors series! I didn’t even consider looking for French-Canadian resources there, and their collection was so large it would have made my Grampy Phil weep with joy. While I didn’t have as much time to explore it as I would have liked, I now know the focus of my next trip to NEHGS!
I spent a few hours on another floor looking at the Fall River, MA vital records on microfiche until my eyes nearly bled. I was trying to solve a Turner family mystery about my 3rd great-grandfather, Charles Turner’s first family. I found some, but not all of the information I was hoping to find.
I finished up my day back on the 7th floor, looking through historic newspaper articles on the computers.
On both days, I left NEHGS utterly exhausted, but elated by all the treasures I found. If you ever have the opportunity to go to NEHGS, I highly recommend it. The staff was exceptionally helpful and kind. The resources were vast and overwhelming. Probably the best part was spending two days surrounded by others who enjoy genealogy as much as I do. I found my tribe. I can’t wait to visit again, hopefully sooner rather than later. If you’d like to plan your own trip to NEHGS or see what they have to offer online, please visit https://www.americanancestors.org/
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