Research in New England

This course is designed for experienced genealogists tracing New England ancestors who want to strengthen their skills in using the region’s records. Building on a solid foundation, the course focuses on practical approaches to town records, land and probate records, compiled and published sources, and lesser-known or overlooked New England materials.

Through lectures, examples, and guided exercises, the course emphasizes strategies for identifying and interpreting both compiled and original records. Attention is also given to the historical and regional factors that shaped New England record-keeping from the colonial period through the nineteenth century, along with tips for locating less-obvious sources and making the most of available records. This course is best suited for genealogists ready to move beyond basic searches and work more deeply within New England records to resolve long-standing research questions.

January 25, Monday

8:00am, Welcome

8:30am-9:45am, Effective Use of New England’s Compiled Sources—Regional Resources 

New England researchers have access to a rich body of compiled sources that can transform colonial and early American research. This session introduces participants to the landscape of scholarly journals, regional and local histories, and essential guidebooks for New England genealogy. Attendees will explore key peer-reviewed publications, understand the historical context behind settlement patterns and Puritan culture, and learn critical analytical techniques for evaluating compiled materials. Emphasis is placed on how modern digital representations of these resources offer new research perspectives and how methodology shapes effective use of these foundational tools.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

10:15am-11:30am, Effective Use of New England’s Compiled Sources—State Resources

Building on the foundational session, this session takes a deep dive into compiled sources organized by state across all six New England states. From Connecticut’s Barbour and Hale Collections to Vermont’s vital records and the Nye Index, participants will survey the essential state-specific resources available to genealogists. Coverage includes vital records compilations, cemetery collections, town record indexes, and genealogical dictionaries for Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and more. Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for locating and effectively using compiled state resources in their New England research.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

1:00pm-2:15pm, Location, location, location!–Understanding the Importance of Jurisdictions in New England

This lecture covers all six New England states discussing their border changes. This is important for any research in colonial New England as it informs the researcher where to look for records.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

2:45pm-4:00pm, Better Techniques for Using New England Vital Records in the Digital Age

The vital records practice and current laws are discussed for the six New England states. We mention all the resources of the past that have been digitized and how to use them to get to the original records. Substitute records are covered, giving the pros and cons to them.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

26 January, Tuesday

8:30am-9:45am, Beliefs and their Records: Congregationalists

Congregationalism shaped New England’s religious and social fabric from the earliest colonial settlements. This session traces the history of Congregational churches from their founding in the 1620s through the Great Awakening, the American Revolution, and eventual disestablishment in the early 1800s. Participants will learn what records Congregational churches typically generated — including baptisms, marriages, membership lists, and meeting minutes — and where to find them. Key repositories covered include the Congregational Library and Archives and state-level resources in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Essential finding aids, digital collections, and research strategies will help genealogists effectively mine these rich records.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

10:15am-11:30am, Beliefs and Their Records: Methodists, Society of Friends, Baptists, and others

New England’s religious landscape extended well beyond Congregationalism. This session surveys the beliefs, histories, and genealogical records of multiple faith traditions — including Anglican/Episcopal, Baptist, Jewish, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, and Society of Friends (Quaker) — that shaped New England communities from colonial times through the 1900s. State-by-state resource guides round out this practical overview of New England’s diverse religious heritage.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

1:00pm-2:15pm, Researching New England’s First Settlers, the Great Migration and Beyond

The is a guide to the best sources for helping you research the earliest settlers in all six New England states. We cover general references and then proceed state by state for sources specific to them. The pros and cons are mentioned for each source.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

2:45pm-4:00pm, Blacks in Colonial New England—Free and Enslaved

In colonial New England, enslaved and free Black people worked in diverse jobs — artisans, shopkeepers, domestics, general laborers, coopers, sailors and port workers as well as farm laborers. Large farms in Rhode Island and Connecticut raised food and livestock for Caribbean plantations. New Englanders were leaders in shipping people and goods. This presentation will review slavery and its records in the northern colonies as well as the lives of free Blacks. What records can researchers find?

Instructor: Janice Lovelace, PhD

27 January, Wednesday

8:30am-9:45am, Understanding and Using NEHGS Study Projects

Explore past and present NEHGS Study Projects. Each project is explained so you know what is included, its progress, and how to access the data created from each.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

10:15am-11:30am, Advanced Techniques When Using New England Town Records

Explore the abundance of available town records, including: first settlers, land transactions, governing boards, taxes, warnings out, town meetings, schools, churches, manumissions, indentures, military, licenses, estrays/earmarks, published town reports, and WPA records. Bring your stories of unusual discoveries in town records to share with the group!

Instructor: Diane Florence Gravel, CG

1:00pm-2:15pm, War in New England, Its Affect and Records Left Behind

The presentation discusses the various colonial wars fought in New England from the Pequot War (1636-1638) to the last French and Indian War (1754-1763), gives their history, and details what records of those who served was left behind.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

2:45pm-4:00pm, Conflicts within New England: The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812

This time period produced a wealth of federal, state, and local records documenting military service. This is only the beginning of the journey. Dig deeper as we search for loyalists and examine the roles of women and people of color in the fight against the Crown. Explore diaries, manuscript collections, and significant published sources in the search for your ancestors.

Instructor: Diane Florence Gravel, CG

28 January, Thursday

8:30am-9:45am, Land Ownership and Transfer in New England, 1600s to 1850

Tracing land ownership is often the key to solving challenging genealogical problems. The laws and practices governing land distribution and transfer changed dramatically over the years and should be understood for an effective search. Explore the proprietors of the earliest settlements to the evolution of dower rights, navigating the abundance of available records in the New England states.

Instructor: Diane Florence Gravel, CG

10:15am-11:30am, Crossing Borders: Tracing Families Between Canada and New England, during the Federal Period

Families living near the borders of New England and Canada during the late 1700s and early 1800s moved frequently — and left records in multiple jurisdictions. This session uses a detailed chronological framework, from the 1749 New Hampshire grants onward, to guide researchers through the complex historical and political context of the region. Participants will explore key record types including land petitions, loyalist claims, military records, notarial records, and Canadian vital records. Specific databases and finding aids for Vermont, New York, and both Upper and Lower Canada help untangle families who crossed these dynamic borders.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

1:00pm-2:15pm, Government by the People: Manuscript Vermont State Papers

What stories might you uncover about your New England ancestors interacting with Vermont’s early government? Certainly far fewer, if archivist Mary Greene Nye hadn’t typed every one of their names onto an index card. We’ll learn about the richness of these indexed documents, mostly from the 1760s to 1860s, and how to access them. They may place your ancestors in a specific Vermont location, document patriotic or military service, name the poor not taxed or enumerated by name in censuses, and reveal otherwise undocumented details of their lives.

Instructor: Catherine B. W. Desmarais, CG

2:45pm-4:00pm, Conflated and Confused: Tracing the Samuel Pierce Family of Bristol County, Massachusetts (A Case Study)

When a long-established line of descent is reexamined, the results can surprise even experienced genealogists. Working through compiled genealogies, lineage society applications, land records, and onsite resources, participants will observe how faulty assumptions get challenged and corrected. Topics include questioning compiled genealogies, untangling similarly named individuals, analyzing land records, and navigating the Pierce/Peirce name variation — offering practical lessons applicable to any New England family research project.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

29 January, Friday

8:30am-9:45am, Onsite Treasures: The American Antiquarian Society and More

Some of New England’s most valuable genealogical collections aren’t found in typical archives — they’re waiting in specialized research institutions. This session explores the riches of the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) in Worcester, Massachusetts, including its vast holdings of Early American Imprints, newspapers, family histories, diaries, and manuscript materials. Attendees will also discover the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Bostonian Society/Revolutionary Spaces, Mystic Seaport Museum, and Historic Deerfield. Practical guidance on navigating each institution’s catalogs, digital collections, and onsite resources will equip researchers to make the most of these often-overlooked but treasure-filled repositories.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

10:15am-11:30am, Important Resources Found in the NEHGS Manuscripts Collection

There are four study projects at NEHGS: Great Migration, Western Massachusetts Families in 1790, Early New England Families, and the Early Vermont Settlers projects. Each is explained so you know what is included, its progress, and how to access the data created from each.

Instructor: Scott Andrew Bartley

1:00pm-2:15pm, New Englanders Elsewhere: Repositories and Resources Outside of New England

New England ancestors didn’t always stay put — and neither did their records. This session guides researchers beyond regional archives to uncover sources held in repositories far from New England. Topics include British colonial records at the National Archives (UK), including Board of Trade correspondence, Treasury papers, and State Papers essential for tracing colonial-era families. The session also explores the overlooked connections between New England colonists and the West Indies, covering key islands like Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Additionally, the phenomenon of reverse migration — colonists who returned to England — is examined with specific case studies and essential scholarly resources.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

2:45pm-4:00pm, Case Study: The Kingsley Family in Connecticut

Tracing a family from colonial Connecticut to California — with stops in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Utah, and even Australia and India — requires creative, multi-layered research. This case study follows three generations of the Kingsley family, whose roots lay in Windham, Connecticut, in the early 1700s. Working through probate records, census records, newspapers, vital records, wills, and DNA evidence, participants will see how scattered branches of a family can be methodically reassembled. Key lessons include resolving multiple individuals sharing the same name, leveraging collateral lines, and using DNA to expand the family picture — skills applicable to any complex New England research problem.

Instructor: D. Josh Taylor

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