Tuesday, November 8, 2016

American Ancestors Adds Boston Transcript Genealogy Column (1911-1941) Page Images

I read the Vita Brevis blog yesterday titled Boston Transcript Column Now Online yesterday and was happy to see this:


The blogp ost says:

"The genealogy column in the Boston Evening Transcript newspaper has been one of the more heavily used resources at the NEHGS Library for the past century or more. The paper was published, under a few different titles, from 1830 to 1941. From 1906 through 1941, it featured a genealogy column in which readers would submit and respond to queries. During most of its run, the column appeared twice a week. According to an editors’ note which appeared in many issues, the newspaper was almost overwhelmed with submissions and had a backlog waiting to be published. The editors also claimed that they had “correspondents in every corner of the country.” By the time it ceased publication, the column had covered an estimated two million names."

I went to the American Ancestors website (www.AmericanAncestors.org) and found the specific database in the "Journals and Periodicals" category and selected "Boston Evening Transcript..."


I started to enter a name, but then I saw at the bottom of the screen above that "This collection is not searchable, it is browsable only."

Well, the blog post mentioned that the American Genealogical and biographical Index (AGBI) is a database available on Ancestry.com, so I went there and found a reference for Josiah Sartell on 21 April 1932.

On the search screen above, I could enter the year and the page (which I didn't know).  I selected the year "1932" and clicked on "Search."  That took me to a list of links for 1932:


I scrolled down until I found one for April and clicked on that.  I had to note the date at the top of the newspaper masthead in order to find the right date.  I clicked the "Next" arrow until I found April 21, 1932:


Then I scrolled down to find the article I wanted about the Sartell family:


I can Download or Print the page with the tools just above the image on the left side.

This database may be very useful for New England researchers, but it is a bit cumbersome to use since you need to search the AGBI and then find the right year and month, and then browse the pages to find the right date.

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Disclosure:  I am a paid member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and have never received any money or services from them for writing about their website.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/11/american-ancestors-adds-boston.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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