Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Exploring AmericanAncestors.org - Post 4: External Databases

I've been exploring the new www.AmericanAncestors.org website (from the New England Historic Genealogical Society) - here are the earlier posts in the series:

* Post 1 - the Home Page
* Post 2 -Mass. VRs to 1850
* Post 3 - Exploring the Databases

In this post, I wanted to find out what external databases are available on www.AmericanAncestors.org for NEHGS members (of which I am one).

From the Explore menu item on any page, the dropdown menu includes "External Databases" so I clicked on it. The External Databases page notes that:

"Please note that these databases are third party operated sites and NEHGS is not responsible for the functionality, accuracy, quality or timeliness of any content contained on third party web sites linked from this page. Correspondence pertaining to the functionality, accuracy, quality or timeliness of content contained on third party web sites should be directed to the operators of the third party sites."

The page looks like this (two screens):




There are three External Databases available for NEHGS members, including:

* 19th Century U.S. Newspapers -- "The 19th Century U.S. Newspapers database provides access to approximately 1.7 million pages of primary-source newspaper content from throughout the 1800s. It features full text and images from hundreds of papers from every region in the U.S., and it contains a wealth of genealogical content, including birth, death, and marriage notices. A few of the New England and New York papers are: Boston Daily Advertiser, New Haven Palladium, Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, New Hampshire Statesman, Providence Patriot, Vermont Chronicle, and New York Herald."

* Early American Newspapers, Series I 1690-1876 -- "Explore your early American ancestors and the America of yesterday! The New England Historic Genealogical Society is excited to offer to its members an invaluable resource,Early American Newspapers, Series I 1690-1876.Based largely on Clarence Brigham's "History and Bibliography of American Newspapers,1690-1820," this collection offers a fully text-searchable database of over one million pages, including cover-to-cover reproductions of historic newspapers! It contains a comprehensive listing of marriage, death, and court records found in early American periodicals such as the Boston Gazette, Gazette of the United States, New-York Evening Post, and many more. For genealogists and scholars alike, Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876, offers an unprecedented look back into the extraordinary past of the United States!"

* Marquis Who's Who -- "Marquis Who’s Who features comprehensive profiles on over 1.4 million individuals from all fields of endeavor. It includes biographies from Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who in the Midwest, and many other Who’s Who titles.
PLEASE NOTE: This database limits access to five simultaneous users. If you are unable to access it when the limit has been reached, please try again later."

I've had wonderful success researching in the two newspaper databases above, especially for my Seaver family one-name study. I even found many articles about Benjamin Franklin Seaver that formed the basis of a chapter in Gardner Russell's book, Timely Heroes, Under the Southern Cross . My series is listed in I Read about Benjamin Franklin Seaver in the newspapers.

These external databases are one of the benefits of NEHGS membership - if you are a member and haven't used them before, you might see if there are articles or information about your ancestors in them. You never know what goodies you're going to find!

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