Massachusetts genealogy and history blogs part 2

History of Massachusetts blog

Below are more blogs to bookmark, covering historic Massachusetts in stories and photos as well as its graveyards, Redcoats, and folklore.

• And This Is Good Old Boston. "Boston history - sort of." Mark B. tells stories and shares photos of Boston, enhanced with maps to pinpoint the landmarks.
• Retro Boston Remembered. "Charles Boston’s scrumptious scrapbook of events and places from good old Retro Boston." A blog by the cultural historian who created Shopping Days in Retro Boston blog.
• History of Massachusetts by Rebecca Brooks. Articles, animated timelines, photos, scanned books, and puzzles covering 17th to 20th century Massachusetts history, with an emphasis on 1692 witch trials and the American Revolution.
• The Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit. "A blog devoted mainly to the cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts with occasional forays elsewhere in New England. A member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits."
• New England Folklore. Peter Muise is an "avid folklore fan and New England native" who likes "exploring and writing about New England legends, folklore, and traditions." Sites like these can help you understand some of your ancestral quirks and odd beliefs.
• Muddy River Musings. Join Ken Liss on his "meanderings through the thickets of Brookline's past." A "researcher and amateur historian," he offers "an idiosyncratic assortment: people, places, and events, big and small, ... interesting, amusing, poignant, or peculiar, or that otherwise caught [his] eye."
• British Soldiers, American Revolution. "A place for information about British soldiers who served during the American Revolution, 1775-1783. Thousands of soldiers wore red coats, but little is known about them as individuals. This site will change that, soldier by soldier."

You can find more than 3,000 genealogy blogs listed on the Geneabloggers site and on the blogfinder at Genealogue. New England GeneaBloggers have a Facebook page. (To see a list of members and links to their blogs, click on the "about" tab.) And when you find a blog you like, check its blog roll for other interesting sites the blogger follows.

In case you want to delve into blogging yourself, Geneabloggers includes blog resources and daily blogging prompts.

See also:

• Massachusetts genealogy and history blogs part 1
• Massachusetts society and library blogs

Massachusetts genealogy and history blogs

Boston 1775 blog

With so many blogs being written every day, it's sometimes difficult to know which ones to follow to enhance your genealogical research. Some blogs are forays into the research process, with records and resources. Some are personal histories with plenty of "cousin bait" included. Some are photo histories and curiosities, covering buildings and people and events. Some delve into cultural, religious, immigrant experiences, and more.

Blogs can inspire or direct your own research, leading you to new discoveries. They can help put your ancestors in context or explain the world around them. 

Here are some of my recommendations:

• In the process of researching a yet unfinished novel, J.L. Bell began his Boston 1775 blog featuring “history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts.”
• Ryan W. Owen's Forgotten New England explores the area's history from the 1850s onward, with a special focus on Lowell.
• Professional genealogist and house historian Marian Pierre-Louis has several projects of interest, including Marian's Roots and Rambles. 
• If you have Mayflower families and/or other settlers from Plymouth and Barnstable county, check out Chris’ Massachusetts and More Genealogy Blog. 
• Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings is jam-packed with “genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories.” Although Randy lives in Chula Vista, California, he has New England roots. You'll often find record transcriptions (census records, vital records, wills, etc.), lineages, stories, and photos about his Massachusetts folks.
• Although Heather Rojo's family is not from Nutfield (an area now known as Londonderry, Derry, and Windham, New Hampshire), she used the name for her blog, Nutfield Genealogy, to designate where she lived. She often writes about her Massachusetts roots. Pay particular attention to Tombstone Tuesday and Surname Saturday posts.

Thomas MacEntee’s Geneabloggers web site lists almost 3,000 genealogy blogs, from personal musings to professional insights, and everything in between. For more blogs, check out the Genealogy Blog Finder.

In case you want to delve into blogging yourself, Geneabloggers includes blog resources and daily blogging prompts.

See also:

• Massachusetts genealogy and history blogs part 2
• Massachusetts society and library blogs

Ancestors weathering the storm

Blizzard of 1978: House on the North Shore, Massachusetts.
Credit: Mass.gov

If you read old journals or account books, it sounds like the people of yesteryear were obsessed with recording the weather. But if you think about it, the weather still is a big conversation topic and its effects can have a huge impact on our lives today.

If you lived through the Blizzard of 1978, you remember how cars were abandoned on the snowy streets, how jobs and schools and services were shut down, how the electricity was off, stores were closed. To our forebears, there were no local forecasters, a national Weather Channel, or weather apps on smartphones. They had to rely on atmospheric pressures, cloud formations, sea change, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and maybe an arthritic knee to predict the weather.

Here in New England, our weather is different from say, England, so imagine coming to this wild, untamed land only to experience the Great Storm of 1635, the earthquakes of 1638 and 1663, the Great Snow of 1717, the Dark Day of 1780, the Snow Hurricane of 1804, the Year Without a Summer (1816), the Great Blizzard of 1888, the September Surprise hurricane of 1938, or the Blizzard of 1978.

To find out what our ancestors experienced, read Sidney Perley’s Historic Storms of New England (1891). Like many books of this era, the subtitle encapsulates the plot quite nicely: “Its gales, hurricanes, tornadoes, showers with thunder and lightning, great snow storms, rains freshets, floods, droughts, cold winters, hot summers, avalanches, earthquakes, dark days, comets, Aurora-Borealis, phonomena in the heavens, wrecks along the coast—with incidents and anecdotes, amusing and pathetic.”

Imagine what it must have been like to experience the Great Snow of 1717, when Rev. Cotton Mather (1663-1728) talked about not being able to hold religious services for a few weeks. These folks were barricaded in their houses by snowdrifts. Without knowing the storm was coming—or that it would last 10 days—people ran out of food, water, firewood for heating homes, and everyday supplies. Some starved to death, others froze to death. Farm animals perished and orchards were destroyed.

Did your ancestors experience any of these catastrophic weather events? Put together a timeline to find out.

Predicting the Weather

In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant established the Weather Bureau, now the National Weather Service. It wasn’t until 1885, however, when the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory was privately founded by Abbott Lawrence Rotch (1861-1912), that we had “the oldest continuous weather record in North America.” Located at the summit of Great Blue Hill, the observatory is 10 miles south-southwest of Boston in Milton, Massachusetts, with an elevation 635 feet above sea level (which made it an ideal vantage point during the Revolutionary War). Using “traditional methods and instruments,” the center also pioneered the use of kites and balloons for weather observation.

It wasn’t until the media got involved in weather forecasting that everyday people could prepare for heat waves, blizzards, floods, hurricanes, and the like. And for that, we should be grateful.

Links of Interest

Memorable Weather Events of the Past 200 Years

New England Hurricanes of Note

Notable Snowstorms and Blizzards

Historic Blizzards

The Hurricane of 1938

Daily Weather History Since 1945 by ZIP Code

Mass Moments

GenDisasters: Events that Touched Our Ancestors’ Lives

Lineage societies

Lexington (MA) Minute Man statue

As genealogists, we’re all about finding connections to people and places. If you have ancestors fit certain criteria, it’s worth it to investigate these lineage societies, either to join them yourself or to look up your ancestor’s membership papers or lineage.

These groups may offer its members access to unique library collections, digital and manuscript archives, publications, events, educational opportunities, research help, and/or museums. Some hold membership applications for past and present members and/or research notes for their ancestors. The collections depend upon the goals of that individual society.

Below, you’ll find links to some lineage/hereditary societies:

General Society of Mayflower Descendants: Founded in 1897, GSMD’s mission is “committed to education and lineage research on the journey of the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and their lineal descent. The Society provides education and understanding of why the Pilgrims were important, how they shaped western civilization, and what their 1620 voyage means today.”

Winthrop Society, Descendants of the Great Migration: Membership is open to “all men and women of good character and proven descent from one or more passengers of the Winthrop fleet, or of others who settled in the Bay Colony and down east before 1636. We also welcome the efforts of any others who bring with them the fruits of any research that furthers the appreciation and understanding of seventeenth-century Massachusetts Bay and New England.” The society covers the Massachusetts Bay Colony, not Plymouth Colony.

Order of the Founders and Patriots of America: Membership is open to “any man of the age of 18 years, of good moral character and reputation, and a citizen of the United States, who is lineally descended, in the male line of either parent, from an ancestor who settled in any of the colonies now included in the United States of America prior to May 13, 1657; and one or all of whose intermediate ancestors in the same line, who lived in the period of the American Revolution, from 1775 to 1783, adhered as patriots to the cause of the colonies, shall be eligible for membership in the Order.” Founded 1896.

National Society, Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America: “Eligibility in the Society requires an unbroken paternal line of either the applicant's father or mother, going back to a founder who arrived in one of the Colonies between May 13, 1607 and May 13, 1687, and in this unbroken line, an intermediate patriot ancestor who, by personal service in a civil or military capacity or by other acts proving his unfailing loyalty, assisted in establishing American independence during the Revolutionary Period, 1775 to 1784.” Founded 1898.

National Society, Daughters of the American Colonists: Founded in 1920, DAC has a threefold mission: “Patriotic, Historical and Educational; to make research as to the history and deeds of the American colonist and to record and publish the same; to commemorate deeds of colonial interest; to inculcate and foster love of America and its institutions by all its residents; to obey its laws and venerate its flag—the emblem of its power and civic righteousness.”

National Society New England Women: Founded in 1895, membership is “open to women who can prove lineal descent from a man or woman born in New England prior to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, or in Nassau or Suffolk County, Long Island, prior to 1700.”

National Society Sons of Colonial New England: Founded in 1985, SCNE is open to any male “18 years of age or more, who can prove lineal descent from a person born prior to July 4, 1776, in any of the New England colonies.”

National Society, Sons of the American Revolution: Founded in 1889, SAR is “a fraternal and civic society composed of lineal descendants of the men who wintered at Valley Forge, signed the Declaration of Independence, fought in the battles of the American Revolution, served in the Continental Congress, or otherwise supported the cause of American Independence.” 

National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution: Founded in 1890, DAR is open to any woman “who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.”

General Society War of 1812: Started by veterans of the war, the national society was formed in 1894. Membership is open to “any male person above the age of twenty-one (21) years, who participated in, or who is a lineal descendant of one who served during the War of 1812, in the army, navy, revenue-marine, or privateer service of the United States.”

Descendants of Whaling Masters: Founded in 1974, membership is open to descendants and relatives of whaling masters and crew.

For other hereditary societies, visit the Hereditary Society of the United States. 

Best heritage and ethnic genealogical societies in New England

As genealogists, you may find that heritage groups and ethnic societies will open windows to your past. Besides avenues of research, connecting to these groups may help you understand more about your family customs, costumes, holidays, foods, traditions, and shared history.  

These societies offer its members access to unique library collections, digital and manuscript archives, publications, events, educational opportunities, research help, and/or museums. Some only offer informal meetings, while others have libraries, heritage tours, online databases—and much more. It all depends upon the goals of that individual society.

Below, you’ll find links to heritage and ethnic genealogical and historical societies in Massachusetts (and a few other places in New England). Most of the societies’ mission statements and founding dates are included.

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, New England Chapter, Saxonville, MA: Founded in 1997, AAHGS-NE's mission is “to promote genealogical research of African-American heritage at all levels, beginner to professional.” The chapter is affiliated with the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society headquartered in Washington, DC.

American-Canadian Genealogical Society, Manchester, NH: Founded in 1973, ACGS’s purpose is to: “foster the study of ancestral origins; encourage research into the history of families; foster high standards of ethics for genealogical research; [and] provide a common access by and for individuals of Acadian, French-Canadian and Franco American origin.”

American-French Genealogical Society, Woonsocket, RI: Founded in 1978, AFGS is “devoted to people of French-Canadian extraction. Its purpose is to study and preserve our rich heritage by assisting members in discovering their ancestors and the daily events that shaped their, and our, lives.”

American Jewish Historical Society, Boston: “Founded in 1892, AJHS is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the nation. AJHS is one of five partner organizations at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan and has a branch in Boston.”

American-Portuguese Genealogical and Historical Society, Taunton, MA: Founded in 1977, APGHS “resolved ‘to have their work located in such manner that future Portuguese[-Americans] interested in genealogy could have ... information readily available so research would not have to be duplicated.’ This information was the start of the Special Collection in the Taunton Public Library that now has more than 80,000 entries.”

Chinese Historical Society of New England, Boston: Founded in 1992, CHSNE is an educational organization “dedicated solely to documenting, preserving, and promoting the history and legacy of Chinese immigration in New England.”

Finnish-American Heritage Society, Canterbury, CT: Founded in 1987, the FAHS owns the Finnish Hall, which was first dedicated in 1925 by an earlier group of Finnish-Americans. “In addition to a vast collection of artifacts and historical information in the archives and library, we offer Finnish language classes, translation services, and genealogy materials.”

French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut, Tolland, CT: FCGSC is “dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating genealogical and historical information about our ancestors who settled in Quebec and Acadia and their descendants. Our focus is on the genealogy of people of French-Canadian and Acadian heritage who settled in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and throughout New England.”

The Irish Ancestral Research Association, Auburndale, MA: TIARA organized “to develop and promote the growth, study, and exchange of ideas among people and organizations interested in Irish genealogical and historical research and education. Our monthly meetings educate and entertain our members, as well as foster interaction with other Irish researchers.”

Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston, Newton, MA. Founded in 1982, JGSGB started as “a study group for people looking into their Jewish family history.” It is a chapter of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and affiliated with more than 70 Jewish genealogical societies worldwide.

Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore, Swampscott, MA: Founded in 1976, JHSNS organized “to promote increased public awareness of Jewish history and accomplishments around the North Shore; to encourage scholarly study and collect and preserve primary evidence of this history; [and] to sponsor meetings, publications and other forms of information about Jewish life along the North Shore.”

Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts, Northampton, MA: Founded in 1989, PGSMA was “founded to promote interest in preparing a family tree; unite people interested in Polish research; assist in research efforts; sponsor educational programs and publications; [and] preserve historical material which could aid research.” The society includes historic Poland to its outer limits, i.e. all three partitions: Austrian, German and Russian.

Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, New Britain, CT: Founded in 1984, PGSCTNE’s goal is “to actively promote the research of Polish-American families…and to unite all persons interested in genealogy.”  
  
Swedish Ancestry Research Association, Worcester, MA: Founded in 1994, SARA’s purpose “is to provide individuals researching their Swedish ancestry the opportunity to meet and share ideas with others who have similar interests. We are devoted to helping our members attain their goals through an agenda of informative speakers, workshops and publications.”


Western Massachusetts Jewish Genealogical Society, Northampton, MA: WMJGS “exists to help its members research their family history.” WMJGS is a chapter of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).

Best Massachusetts genealogical and historical societies

New England Historic Genealogical Society

As genealogists, it really pays to become members of local genealogical and historical societies. It often doesn’t matter if you live in Massachusetts or not. If you have ancestors or relatives who lived in the Commonwealth, it’s worth it to connect with like-minded individuals and societies to further your research.

As genealogists, we know access is everything. These societies offer its members access to unique library collections, digital and manuscript archives, publications, events, educational opportunities, research help, and/or museums. Some only offer informal meetings, while others, like New England Historic Genealogical Society, have a world-class library, heritage tours, a large collection of online databases—and much more. It all depends upon the goals of that individual society.

For example, Essex Society of Genealogists is “based at the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Lynnfield Public Library.” It’s a public library, so anyone can use the research materials and equipment available. If you visit on certain Wednesdays, you’ll see ESOG volunteers digging into the materials to answer queries or cleaning up the stacks. The group holds monthly meetings, all open to the public, except for the potluck special, open to members and their spouses only. But if you don’t become a member, you won’t receive the society’s quarterly publication, The Essex Genealogist.

Below, you’ll find links to local and regional genealogical and historical societies in Massachusetts. To give you a taste for what each one stands for, most of their mission statements and founding dates are included. Check them out and see which ones intrigue you. And remember, as American Express so aptly put it, “membership has its privileges.” By joining, you help these societies fulfill their missions and you have access to their resources to make ancestral connections.

American Antiquarian Society, Worcester: Founded in 1812, AAS is “a national research library of American history, literature, and culture.”

Berkshire Historical Society, Pittsfield: BHS is “dedicated to collecting, preserving, and disseminating the history of Berkshire County in western Massachusetts. In addition, the Berkshire Historical Society is committed to the preservation and interpretation of Arrowhead, home of author Herman Melville, the first National Historic Landmark to be so designated in Berkshire County.”

Boston Athenaeum, Boston: Founded in 1807, this membership library’s mission is “to serve its members, the broader community, and scholars throughout the world by preserving and augmenting its collections of books and art, by providing library services and cultural programs, and by preserving and enhancing the unique atmosphere of its landmark building.”

Bostonian Society, Boston: Founded in 1881, this historical society is “dedicated to studying, and preserving Boston’s uniquely important history, embodied in materials, records, and structures such as the Old State House, and in sharing an understanding of the revolutionary ideas born here.”

Cape Cod Genealogical Society, Dennis Port: Founded in 1971, the society “acquires, catalogs, and preserves genealogical and historical information, emphasizing but not limited to Cape Cod.”

Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Gardner: Founded in 1993, CMGS has monthly meetings and publications.

Essex Society of Genealogists, Lynnfield: Founded in 1975 and an independent society as of 1981, ESOG is based at the Lynnfield Public Library.

Massachusetts Genealogical Council: Founded in 1980, MGC is “the umbrella organization representing Massachusetts genealogists, historical societies, and individuals who are concerned about records preservation and free and unfettered access to civil records.”

Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston: Founded in 1791, MHS’s mission is “to collect, preserve, make accessible, and communicate manuscripts that promote the study of Massachusetts and the nation.”

Massachusetts Society of Genealogists: Founded in 1975, MSOG’s purpose is “of promoting and encouraging Massachusetts genealogical research at all levels, beginner, amateur, and professional.” Chapters are in Bristol, Martha's Vineyard, Merrimack Valley, Middlesex, and Worcester.

New England Association of Professional Genealogists: “NEAPG is designed to be a place where professionals from a wide variety of specialties can come together with the common ground of genealogy to: to promote international awareness of, and interest in, professional genealogical services; to promote professional standards in genealogical research, writing, and speaking; to engage in activities which improve access, facilitate research, and preserve records used in the fields of genealogy and local history; to promote awareness of activities and/or laws which may affect genealogical and historical research; to educate the membership and public through publications and lectures, and provide support for those engaged in genealogical pursuits as a business.”

New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston: Founded in 1845, NEHGS was the first genealogical society in the United States. “NEHGS collects, preserves, and interprets materials to document and make accessible the histories of families in America.”

Plymouth County Genealogists, East Bridgewater: Founded in 1976, PCG’s mission is “the advancement of genealogy as a hobby and a profession, the encouragement of sharing accurate documentation, and the exploration of  new avenues of research.”

South Shore Genealogical Society, Hanover: Founded in 1983, SSGS brings together people who share “a common interest in searching for and learning their family history. Today, [the] society is made up of beginners, amateurs, and professionals who work within the highest ethical standards to learn, educate, assist, and disseminate to our members sources, techniques, and methods required to learn the history of their family.”

Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Springfield: Founded in 1972, the society “is devoted to the research and documentation of our family ancestry and history. We also assist others in the pursuit of discovering their ancestry.”


To find town or city historical and genealogical societies and museums, use the search engine at Preservation Directory.

Volunteers create access to many genealogy records

When Clarence Almon Torrey (1869-1962) first set out to compile what became known as New England Marriages Prior to 1700, he didn’t expect fame or monetary rewards beyond his imagination. He just quietly and methodically researched many, many records to uncover nearly 37,000 couples married in the 17th century. You could say he was obsessed, like many of us are, with genealogy. And that's a good thing for millions of people who descend from his original list. Imagine what New England research would be without Torrey—or any of the other great genealogists we rely on day in, day out.

In fact, we rely on the contributions of many people to build our family trees. Some are paid, but many are volunteers. To me, it has been inspiring to see so many people volunteering their time and efforts to index the recently released 1940 census. It says a lot about the genealogy community as a whole. As English writer John Heywood (1497–1580) said, “Many handis make light warke.”

So what can you contribute to the genealogy world?

In a recent post, I mentioned how the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG) had partnered with FamilySearch to create an index to the Boston Passenger Lists 1820-1891. The group then took on the challenge—like many other groups and individuals—to index the 1940 census. In fact, I decided to try it myself. I signed up with FamilySearch Worldwide Indexing. I found myself transcribing Texas death records, not because I had any relatives in Texas (I don’t), but because the job was marked with high priority. I was so excited to see the Texas index go online at FamilySearch, free for anyone to view, knowing I was a part of making it happen. FamilySearch has a huge vault of records from all over the globe, and volunteers are scouring the far reaches of the world to add more, so there’s a huge need for volunteers to index these records.

Projects Big and Small

I have been a county coordinator for the USGenWeb since 1998. With the goal of providing “free genealogy for everyone,” the USGenWeb volunteers host web sites for every county in the country. Not only is the group looking for more people to “adopt” a county, but each state is looking for people to transcribe materials for the web sites, special projects, and archives. A similar premise is behind GENUKI, a site that covers England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.

Every time I look at Find a Grave, it seems like volunteers have added yet another million more grave listings to the site. Founded by Jim Tipton in 1995, the web site grows daily due to the thousands of contributors who submit new listings and upload photographs of our dearly departed. You can add your ancestors’ final resting places to the site, transcribe cemetery records, or fulfill other people’s requests to photograph their relatives’ graves. Another site, BillionGraves, has volunteers with GPS-enabled smartphones snapping photos at graveyards and uploading them to the site.

Go Local

Besides these big national and international online projects, there are genealogy societies big and small that need your help.

For instance, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) offers opportunities for volunteers to “work in the library, manuscripts, research, conservation, website, or membership areas at NEHGS headquarters or on special projects from home.” 

Founded in 1980, the Massachusetts Genealogical Council “is the umbrella organization representing Massachusetts genealogists, historical societies and individuals who are concerned about records preservation and free and unfettered access to civil records.” The council holds an annual seminar every summer, which requires many volunteers to make it a successful event.

As already mentioned, the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG) is involved in indexing the Boston Passenger Lists and the 1940 census.

There are many genealogy and historical groups and libraries looking for volunteers. Find one that matches your interests and abilities—and volunteer. 

Runaways, indentured servants, and apprentices in your family tree?

Boston Post-Boy, 1768

Have you been watching Who Do You Think You Are? Reba McEntire's episode dealt with indentured servitude. Her ancestor probably didn't have the means to support his family after his wife died or the money to buy an apprenticeship for his son to learn a trade. At age 10, the boy left England to become an indentured servant in America. Yes, at age 10! It sounds quite horrible, especially when the show revealed that 50% of indentured servants didn't survive their indenture because of bad conditions, hard work, little food, shabby shelter, poor health, etc. Luckily for Reba, her ancestor survived and even thrived. That indenture changed his life.

What surprised me was that it wasn't always older kids and young adults being indentured, sometimes it was young kids.

On a genealogy email list, a researcher found a 1799 newspaper ad for a runaway “indented boy” with the same name and age as his ancestor, living less than 10 miles from where he was born. It sounded like his ancestor, but unlike Reba's forebear, he was not paying for a ship passage in exchange for an indenture. The researcher had a birth date and place in the States to rule that out. So, it would seem he wasn't an indentured servant. Perhaps he was a bound apprentice instead? That means he was native-born and working under a similar situation, work without pay.

Bonded and indentured servitude in early New England was much more common than slavery. Colonial America needed the workforce that indentures provided, while the indentured servants wanted the opportunities offered in the New World after their contracts were completed.

An indenture was a legal contract, so you may find court records for the start and end of the indenture. Bound apprentices sometimes were orphans or from impoverished families, so they may be recorded in town and/or court records as well. Newspapers posted ads for indentured servants whose contracts were for sale as well as runaways.

If you think an indentured servant or bound apprentice could be part of your family tree, ask yourself these questions:

• Was your ancestor an immigrant or native-born? 
• Did the family have money and/or own land? 
• Did they live on a farm (where work is plentiful!)? 
• Were there too many kids to support? 
• Were both parents living? 
• Did the father have a trade (blacksmith, carpenter, tailor, etc.) to pass on to his sons? 
• Was your ancestor’s occupation similar to work that indentured servants or apprentices might do?

Knowing the answers may help you pinpoint if that runaway is yours!

The Devil is in the details: a timeline of the 1692 witch hunt

Witch statue at Salem Witch Village,
Salem, Mass.

1620: Plymouth Colony settled by Pilgrims.
1626: Roger Conant founded Salem, Massachusetts.
1641: Massachusetts passed a statute making witchcraft a felony, punishable by death. According to surviving court records, more than 120 people were accused of witchcraft by 1691 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire—and at least 10 were executed.
1672: Salem Village allowed to organize own parish church.
1675-1678: Indian wars in Massachusetts and what is now Maine.
1680-1683: Rev. George Burroughs minister at Salem Village.
1684: King Charles II revoked the Massachusetts Charter, putting the existing government of the colony in question.
1686: Sir Edmund Andros named governor of New England.
1688: Four Goodwin children are “afflicted” in Boston and accuse “Goody” Glover of being a witch; Glover is hanged. Wars began again with Wabanaki Indians in Maine.
1689: Governor Andros deposed and imprisoned by Colonists. Rev. Samuel Parris became minister in Salem Village. 
1691: Sir William Phips named governor of Massachusetts by the new English monarchs, William & Mary (who ousted King James II).
1692 January: Betty Parris, age 9, Abigail Williams, about age 11, and Ann Putnam Jr., 12, exhibit strange behavior in Salem.
1692 February: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne are arrested as witches.
1692 May: The Court of Oyer and Terminer is established by Governor Phips to hear witchcraft cases. The court consisted of nine judges: Lt. Governor William Stoughton, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Wait-Still Winthrop, Peter Sergeant, John Richard, Samuel Sewall, Bartholomew Gedney, John Hathorne, and Jonathan Corwin. In June, Saltonstall resigned over the issue of spectral evidence; he was later accused of being a witch.
1692 June: Bridget Bishop tried, convicted, hanged. Rev. Cotton Mather and other ministers question the use of spectral evidence.
1692 July: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Sarah Good, and Elizabeth How hanged.
1692 August: George Jacobs, Martha Carrier, Rev. George Burroughs, John Proctor, and John Willard hanged.
1692 September: Giles Corey pressed to death for refusing to answer in court to charges of witchcraft. It took two days of piling stones on his prone body for the old man to die. Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker hanged.
1692 October: Rev. Increase Mather speaks against spectral evidence. Governor Phips dissolved Court of Oyer and Terminer. Some prisoners were released on bail, if they paid for their confinement, food, and the shackles they wore.
1693 January: Witch trials began again. Some guilty verdicts were reached but Governor Phips did not allow judges to hang convicted witches.
1697 January: By order of the General Court of Massachusetts, there was a day of fasting and prayer for all the calamities that had befallen the colony. Judge Stoughton signed the proclamation, but would not allow references to the witch trials as part of its wording. Judge Samuel Sewall publicly admitted his “guilt” for his part in the witchcraft trials by having a statement read at the South Church in Boston. Twelve men who had been jurors during the witch trials asked pardon of God, of “the living sufferers,” and of “all whom we have justly offended” in Salem.
1697: Rev. Joseph Green became minister at the church in Salem Village, which starts the healing process in this fractured community.
1699: War with Wabanaki Indians ended.
1703: Salem Village church rescinded excommunication of Martha Corey. Massachusetts legislature acquitted Abigail Faulkner and “sundry persons” of their convictions during the witch trials.
1706: Ann Putnam Jr. was received into full communion at the Salem Village Church after she confessed to being deluded by Satan in accusing innocent people of the crime of witchcraft.
1711: Reversal of Attainder nullified all witch trial judgments against George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs, John Willard, Giles and Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth How, Mary Easty, Sarah Wildes, Abigail Hobbs, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Martha Carrier, Abigail Faulkner, Ann Foster, Rebecca Eames, Mary Post, Mary Lacy, Mary Bradbury, and Dorcas Hoar. The government also paid reparations totaling 578 pounds to the victims or their families. Money was only given to those who asked to be reimbursed for expenses related to the trials and confinement.
1712: The Salem church reversed the excommunication of Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey.
1757: Salem Village incorporated as the town of Danvers.
1957: The Massachusetts General Court declared the innocence of Ann Pudeator “and certain other persons” for witchcraft.
1992: On the 300th anniversary of the witch trials, Salem and Danvers built memorials to the victims.
2001: Massachusetts resolution cleared the names of Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmott Redd, and Margaret Scott, all of whom had not been specifically named in previous reversals of attainders. 

Witch-hunting facts through the ages

There are only eight occurrences of the word “witch” in the King James Bible. However, its words are very explicit: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:17-19).

After the Bible, one of the most popular books in 16th- and 17th-century Europe was the Malleus Maleficarum (also known in English as The Hammer of Witches), written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, priest of the Dominican Order who was authorized as Inquisitor of the Catholic Church to persecute witches. The book was written as a manual to help identify, prosecute, and convict witches.

Maleficium is a Latin term to describe malicious acts of magic or evildoing, such as harming another person's health, family, animals, or property.

In Europe, 12,000 people are known to have been tried and executed as witches, though estimates of deaths are as high as 100,000 during the period from 1480 to 1700.

New England Witches

In 1642, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a statute making witchcraft a felony, punishable by death. More than 40 people were accused of witchcraft before 1692 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire—and at least 10 are executed.

During the 1692 Salem witch trials, more than 150 people were arrested and imprisoned for witchcraft; 29 were convicted by the courts and of those, 14 women and 5 men were hanged; and one man who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death.

In total, more than 200 people were accused and jailed for witchcraft in 17th-century New England; at least 30 were executed.

R.I.P.

Before the 1692 witch hunt in Essex county, Massachusetts, other people were hanged as witches. These people include:

Margaret Jones (d. 1648)
Alice Lake (d. 1650)
Joan Carrington (d. 1651)
John Carrington (d. 1651)
Lydia Gilbert (d. 1652)
Anne Hibbens (d. 1655)
Mary Barnes (d. 1662)
Nathaniel Greensmith (d. 1662)
Rebecca Greensmith (d. 1662)
Goody Glover (d. 1688)

For victims of the 1692 witch hunt, see Genealogies of the victims of the 1692 witch hunt.

Keeping the witch trials in perspective

Last year on a trolley tour of Salem, Massachusetts, the conductor plied us with stories as we traveled the old streets, from Roger Conant founding the city in 1626 to the great age of ships. It’s a fascinating place with great houses, literary figures, and maritime history. But flocks of tourists really visit Salem for its connection with the 1692 witch trials. That’s why they’re on the trolley in the first place, to go from the Salem Witch Museum and the Witch Dungeon Museum to the Witch Trials Memorial and everything in between.

Yet our conductor, who claimed descent from several hanged witches, wanted to downplay the prevalent theme of the Witch City. He wanted to put history in perspective and so he reminded us tourists that, after all, the witch hysteria only lasted for six months. Six months? Sure, if you’re counting first arrest to last hanging—but not including final trials and prisoner releases. It took years for the witch hysteria to build to a crescendo and the after-effects had long-lasting results.

In the last 300 years, we still haven’t figured out why 20 innocent people were killed. Whatever it was—the devil, oppression of women, fermented rye seed, Indian war fears, interpersonal relationships, struggles over land acquisition, political stress, bad weather, poor crops, or God’s punishment—that brought Salem and the other villages to that bubbling pot of toil and trouble, did not end abruptly after Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

Even after the trials were over, accused witches rotted in jail cells, waiting for their families to pay their bills. Lydia Dustin, in fact, died in the spring of 1693 while awaiting money for her release. The effects of confinement, meager food, poor sanitation, and infection, drove some, such as Mary English, to an early death. Others—such as the youngest victim, Dorothy Good—were never capable of taking care of themselves again.

Some, such as Anne Putnam Jr. and Judge Samuel Sewall, were weighted down with guilt for their part in sending innocent people to their deaths. Others who were accused abandoned their homes, their livelihoods, their friends and relatives, to start again someplace else. Some people continued to live next to neighbors still suspicious of them.

That doesn’t even begin to touch on the grief of those who mourned their mother, father, husband, wife, daughter, son, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend who was ignobly hanged as a witch.

The reverberations of 1692 spread far and wide. If your ancestors lived in 17^th century New England, no doubt in some way large or small they were affected by the Salem witch hunt.

Pirates in your past?

The lure of the sea and the treasure troves of pirates spark the imaginations of people of all ages. So it’s no surprise that when I discovered my great-grandmother was a Kidd, I wondered if we were related, however remotely, to the infamous Captain Kidd (1654?-1701). Online, I saw other people named Kidd claiming descent from William Kidd, even though he had no sons to carry on the family name.

If you’re interested in 17th century seafaring, I recommend reading The Pirate Hunter : The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks. This nonfiction book reads like a thrilling action-adventure novel. In it, you’ll learn that Captain Kidd was commissioned by Royal Governor Bellomont as a pirate hunter to capture the infamous Blackbeard who terrorized the New England coast. In 1699, Kidd traveled to Boston to meet with Lord Bellomont to discuss his high seas exploits and trumped up charges of piracy, only to be arrested and later hanged for piracy himself.

Flying the Jolly Roger

Piracy in the New World existed almost from the time of the first settlements. New England’s first pirate, a former fur trader named Dixie Bull, turned to piracy after French pirates plundered his provisions. After a decade of piracy, Bull eluded his would-be captors and disappeared in 1633.

You’ll hear his story and other seadog tales at the New England Pirate Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. As you take the 25-minute walking tour through a dimly lit colonial seaport, board a “ship,” and meander through a dark cave at the museum, you’ll see vignettes of life at sea, bloody battles, and pirates dividing the booty, from the high-spirited life of treasure seekers to their grim endings. Led by a swashbuckling tour guide, you’ll learn facts about local pirates and legendary scourges of the sea such as Blackbeard (a.k.a. Edward Teach), Thomas Tew, Ned Low, Thomas Veal, Joe Brodish, and Jack Quelch. You’ll also hear secrets about treasure buried in the Lynn woods and along the New England shoreline, still waiting to be found. (Note: This is more of an attraction—on par with other Salem attractions—and not exactly a museum.)

Treasures Found

One successful pirate, “Black Sam” Bellamy, sailed the Whyah galley to Massachusetts to show his ladylove his fully laden prize ship only to have it sink during a storm in 1717, along with himself and most of his crew. In 1984, underwater explorer Barry Clifford discovered the shipwreck off Cape Cod. The treasures recovered from the wreck are found at the Expedition Whydah Sea Lab in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Besides coins, jewels, and treasures Bellamy looted from more than 50 ships and transported on the Whydah’s final voyage, you’ll see clothing, pistols, cannons, and utensils that the pirates used. Ongoing excavation of the site, located deep in the sand less than half a mile from the shore, continues, which means that during the summer months you may see treasures being hauled from the salvage boats.

The Skull and Crossbones

Although captured in Boston, Kidd was hanged in London. It wasn’t until 1704 that the first pirate, Jack Quelch, was hanged in Boston. But he wasn’t the last. In the Boston Harbor, you’ll see a black-and-white beacon on Nix’s Mate, once a 12-acre island that has since washed away and turned into a shoal. It was here that the corpse of executed pirate William Fly and two other pirates were chained to the island as a warning to other pirates. Not everyone got the hint. Barmaid-turned-pirate Rachel Wall used her feminine wiles to lure unsuspecting ships to “rescue” her, while her husband George and his crew killed the would-be rescuers and stole their valuables. At her hanging in 1789, Rachel confessed to being a pirate, the only known female pirate in New England.

Skeletons in Your Closet?

Although my Kidd line does not descend from the Captain, it’s quite possible that my numerous sea-going ancestors encountered pirates along their shipping routes. And it’s quite possible to have a pirate in your past. After all, Blackbeard and his 14 wives did have 40 children!