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This work is a collection of primary source material published in The New EnglandHistorical and Genealogical Register between 1847 and 1983 concerning the area of Plymouth,Bristol and Barnstable (Cape Cod) Counties, and the islands of Nantucket and Martha'sVineyard, where the majority of the descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims settled by the end ofthe 18th century. Altogether the collection is about sixty articles from more than 150 issues ofthe Register and identified are some 25,000 persons of Mayflower descent. The data providedconsists of church records, vital records, cemetery inscriptions and probate records--all bearingreference to the numerous offspring of the original Pilgrim fathers. ... Read more

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This work is a compilation of birth and death records from the Bowman files, thelargest manuscript resource on Mayflower genealogy in existence. With its companion volumeMayflower Marriages, it encompasses all the vital records of the descendants of the Mayflowerpassengers as found in the research files of the renowned genealogist and editor of TheMayflower Descendant, George Ernest Bowman (1860-1941), "the largest documentedmanuscript resource on Mayflower genealogy."With references to 50,000 Mayflower relations, this two-volume work contains, besides recordsof births, baptisms, deaths and burials, references to burial location, cause of death, and addressat death gleaned from land and will records, court and church records, transcripts of personalletters, and more.In keeping with the format established in Mayflower Marriages, lines of descent are shownwhich enable the reader to trace back to the first generation any name that is accompanied by ageneration number. Most lines are carried to the seventh and eighth generations, and some to thetenth. Each volume is separately indexed. ... Read more

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In 1659, a group of Puritan dissenters made their way north from Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut, to a crook in the Connecticut River that cut through some of the most fertile land in New England. Three hundred and fifty years later, a group of distinguished scholars mark the founding of that town Hadley, Massachusetts with a book that explores a history as rich as that soil.
Edited with an introduction by Marla R. Miller, Cultivating a Past brings together fifteen essays, some previously published and others new, that tell the story of Hadley from a variety of disciplinary vantage points. Archaeologists Elizabeth Chilton, Siobhan Hart, Christopher Donta, Edward Hood, and Rita Reinke investigate relations between Native and European communities, while historians Gregory Nobles, Alice Nash, and Pulitzer Prize winner Laurel Thatcher Ulrich explore the social, cultural, and political past of this New England town. Musicologist Andrea Olmstead surveys the career of composer Roger Sessions, costume specialist Lynne Bassett interprets the wardrobes of the town s seventeenth-century residents, and Smith College rare books curator Martin Antonetti charts the course of a 1599 Bible alleged to have been used by the regicide William Goffe in his Hadley refuge.
Taken together, the essays capture how men and women in this small community responded to the same challenges that have faced other New Englanders from the seventeenth century to the present. They also reveal how the town s historical sense of itself evolved along the way, as stories of the alleged Angel of Hadley, of favorite sons Joseph Hooker and Clarence Hawkes, and of daughters Mary Webster and Elizabeth Porter Phelps contributed to a civic identity that celebrates strength of character. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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While it lasted only sixteen months, King Philip's War (1675-1676) was arguably one of the most significant of the colonial wars that wracked early America. As the first major military crisis to directly strike one of the Empire's most important possessions: the Massachusetts Bay Colony, King Philip's War marked the first time that Massachusetts had to mobilize mass numbers of ordinary, local men to fight. In this exhaustive social history and community study of Essex County, Massachusetts's militia, Kyle F. Zelner boldly challenges traditional interpretations of who was called to serve during this period.

Drawing on muster and pay lists as well as countless historical records, Zelner demonstrates that Essex County's more upstanding citizens were often spared from impressments, while the “rabble” — criminals, drunkards, the poor— were forced to join active fighting units, with town militia committees selecting soldiers who would be least missed should they die in action. Enhanced by illustrations and maps, A Rabble in Arms shows that, despite heroic illusions of a universal military obligation, town fathers, to damaging effects, often placed local and personal interests above colonial military concerns.

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A RABBLE IN ARMS: MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS AND MILITIAMEN DURING KING PHILIP'S WAR
A RABBLE IN ARMS: MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS AND MILITIAMEN DURING KING PHILIP'S WAR
Kyle F. Zelner
New York University Press, 2009
Hardcover, $50.00, 325 Pages, Illustrations, Maps, Appendices, Tables, Bibliography, Notes


The militia in the English colonies evolved from the ancient Anglo-Saxon fyrd, which was based on the obligation of every member of society to participate in the common defense. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the military responsibilities of the militia, as the Latinized fyrd was called, gradually dwindled as medieval monarchs relied more and more on mercenaries and a hereditary warrior class to fight their wars. By 1600, the English militia was essentially moribund. Only a fraction of the middle and upper classes were enrolled; training was infrequent and ineffective; and weapons were scarce and often obsolete. The peculiar nature of the English colonial experience in North America led to a revival of the militia in the New World. Because the early English colonies were under-capitalized commercial enterprises rather than government projects, the colonists couldn't rely on royal military forces or expensive mercenaries for protection. As no one else would defend them, they had to defend themselves. The initial landing parties in Chesapeake Bay and New England usually included veterans of the wars in Ireland or the Netherlands, such as John Smith and Miles Standish. Their responsibility was to train the rest of the colonists in the military arts and provide military leadership in times of crisis. As the years passed and the early colonies became established, these ad hoc military arrangements were formalized by law and custom into English-style militias. The early settlements at Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay weren't products of cross-Atlantic military assaults on hostile New World beachheads, but colonizing efforts by civilians for whom a professional military was anathema. Thus, as civilian-colonists whose only thoughts were of self-protection, their fundamental military organization was simple, defensive in nature, and based on the long-held English tradition of a citizen-soldiery, or militia. Militia represented a classical (and biblical) tradition of free people dropping scythes and shouldering weapons to defend hearth and home against invaders; then, the battle won, of returning to resume cutting hay. For a people with neither resources nor inclination-based on both religious and secular philosophical convictions-to maintain full-time defenders, a community-based militia wholly made up of citizen-soldiers dovetailed prefectly with their basic credos. Initially, militia service was universal. Varying slightly from colony to colony, every able-bodied male from 16 to 60 (which sometimes included slaves and indentured servants) was expected to keep and maintain a firearm and sufficient ammunition, and to willingly appear for regularly schedule drill. In a new book, A RABBLE IN ARMS: MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS AND MILITIAMEN DURING KING PHILIP'S WAR, author Kyle F. Zelner provides an insightful portrayal of Massachusetts soldiery in one of the most important but overlooked wars in this nation's history-King Philip's War. Drawing on muster and pay lists as well as numerous historical records, Zelner demonstrates that Essex County's more upstanding citizens, such as yeoman farmers, church members, and family heads, were often spared from impressments, while the "rabble"-criminals, drunkards, the poor-were forced to join active fighting u8nits, with town militia committees selecting soldiers who would be least missed should they die in action. He carefully peels away myths that have been reinforced so strongly through the mediums of popular culture (literature, movies, and television) that fact and fiction have blurred, but the reality was quite different. Zelner's book is a welcome addition to the literature of pre-Revolutionary War America.


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

Massachusetts history
Names, Places, in our history. If you have family from Massachusettsor delight in learning about this countries early history in a personal way, this is the book for you!

Important Addition to Colonial, Social, & Military History
Zelner's text proves that the old values of social history, combined with new perspectives on war and society, can produce important new additions to the historical landscape. The impressive leg-work that must have gone into the production of this book certainly pay off in its results. The assumption of the democratic status of the early American militia, and society more generally, is proven false. The society Zelner portrays is far more complex; at times petty, at times genuinely conflicted, the tragedy of war and the choices it forces communities to make are vividly described. This book would be a welcome addition to any historian of war and society, early America, or social history. Zelner should be particularly applauded for his contextualization of the American experience in its English (and colonial) context. An impressive display of scholarship in a genuinely readable format. ... Read more

Product Description
Twelve generations of the descendants of Hugh Wheelock of Shropshire, England, are presented here in NGHS format, wherein each descendant is numbered consecutively, in addition to being labeled with the number of his or her generation. Typical entries include name, place and date of birth, and date of death. Marriage information is supplied when known. Mini-biographical sketches of principal family members often provide further information, especially regarding second and third spouses and their parents. Place of burial is noted when known.Ralph Wheelock (Generation No. 3), son of John/Joseph, was born in 1600 in Dorrington, Shropshire, England, and died in 1683/84 in Medfield, Mass. He married Rebecca Clarke of Norfolk, England, who died in 1679/80 in Medfield, Mass. They had nine children, two of whom were born in England while the rest were born in Massachusetts. A quick glance through the index reveals these other frequently mentioned surnames: Albee, Aldrich, Bates, Bingham, Bullard, Chapin, Cheney, Daniels, Darling, Grimes, Guernsey, Holbrook, Partridge, Pratt, Salisbury, Smith, Taft, Thayer, Turner, and White. ... Read more

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Review of "The Wheelocks of Mendon, MA"
This book is a genealogy of the Wheelocks in Mendon, MA. There is no source material or any references to sources. ... Read more

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This census index, in common with others prepared by Mrs. Bentley, is the standardreference tool on its subject--a work as thorough and as accurate as painstaking labor could makeit. Where questions of interpretation occurred, for example, Mrs. Bentley compared hermicrofilm copy with a photostatic copy of the census, thus obtaining the best possible reading.The index itself consists of an alphabetical list of the heads of households in the 1800 federalcensus of Massachusetts. First the family name of the head of household is given, followed bythe Christian name, then the county of residence, and finally the page number of the censusschedule. The 305 pages of text contain data on some 70,000 persons, most of whom were of ageduring the Revolutionary War, many participating in it. (Researchers should note that theenumerations for Boston and Chelsea in Suffolk County are missing from the extant censusreturns, an omission which should be anticipated in the index.) ... Read more

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The Nason surname came to America early in the settlement of New England, and has since spread throughout the continent.Never numerous, the Nason clan has been overlooked by genealogists, and Descendants of Willoughby Nason is the first comprehensive, multi-generational, analysis of the Nason family rooted in New England.The book is the culmination of over fifteen years of research, and likely will provide new insights and answers to anyone who finds kin in the book.Descendants of Willoughby Nason provides genealogical detail on 430 family groups spanning eight generations.Nason daughters are given full treatment, identifying spouses, children, and children's spouses if found.The book contains over 4,000 source citations, to assist readers in locating additional material relating to these families. An every-name index includes approximately 4,000 entries, including nearly 900 Nason individuals.In addition to the requisite begetting, family treatments include biographical sketches addressing occupation, residence, military service, deeds, wills and probate.As with any extended family genealogy, characters run the gamut, statesman and scalawag, reverends and rogues; for the most part, this family having but a few shady characters.Early generations of the Nason family included a number of skilled tradesmen, such as stone mason, brick layer, housewright, blacksmith and tailor.After the Revolutionary War, the family adapted to the beginnings of the industrial revolution. Seth Nason obtained one of the first permits for cloth manufacturing in New Hampshire. Elias Nason was a pioneer in factory operation in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, and Leonard Nason established a successful edge tool factory at Nasonville, Rhode Island, in the 1820s.In addition to the early industrial entrepreneurs, Nason creativity has benefitted society.Joseph Nason introduced steam heating to America in the 1840's, and is credited with inventing the word radiator.James H. Nason was issued a patent for a coffee percolator in 1865, and was an early practitioner of photography.Preston C. Nason, working with Alexander Bell, was the inventor of several devices that helped make the telephone successful.Henry Bradford Nason, for many years a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York, was a pioneer in the study of geology and chemistry, and was a founder and president of the American Chemical Society.Dr. W. Albert Nason was founder of Nason Hospital at Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania. Frank Lewis Nason was a noted geologist, the mineral Nasonite named in his honor; he also was an author of fiction novels.The Nason surname came to America early in the settlement of New England, and has since spread throughout the continent.Never numerous, the Nason clan has been overlooked by genealogists, and Descendants of Willoughby Nason is the first comprehensive, multi-generational, analysis of the Nason family rooted in New England.The book is the culmination of over fifteen years of research, and likely will provide new insights and answers to anyone who finds kin in the book. ... Read more

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This book contains male-line genealogies of John Hoyt of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and Simon Hoyt of Windsor and Stamford, Connecticut. The former had been treated in an earlier (1857) work which is here reproduced with extensive additions and corrections ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1912. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Denice (Dennis) Darling, son of George, was born 1640 in England and came to Mendon, Massachusetts around 1677. He and his wife, Hannah Frances, had ten children.

This work covers seven generations and contains more than 1300 names. It is presented in the easy to understand NGHS style, wherein each descendant is numbered consecutively, in addition to being labeled with the number of his or her generation. Typical entries include name, place and date of birth, and date of death. Marriage information is supplied when known. Mini-biographical sketches of principal family members often provide further information,especially regarding second and third spouses and their parents. Place of burial is noted when known. 2003, 5.25 x 8.25, index, paper, 154 pp.

S2351 - A4058HB
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Customer Reviews (1)

Publisher's Note for the 2003 edition by Genealogical Publishing:
From thousands of court cases in Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk Counties, Massachusetts, dating from 1636 to 1700, Melinde Sanborn has extracted the names of all deponents and witnesses whose ages are given in the court records of those counties. Depositions provided in early court records are among the richest sources of personal information surviving from New England's first century, and Ms. Sanborn argues that "so many people in early New England were deponents for one reason or another that no biography or genealogy can be complete without a search through court records to see if a pertinent deposition exists."

For this early period, the single most useful bit of evidence included in the depositions is the age of the deponent. While most depositions vary in quality from being virtually useless to providing corroboration of marriages, wills, and deeds, ages alone provide incontrovertible value to the genealogist. Sometimes the age of a deponent was very important to a particular case. Men over sixty, for example, were often brought into court to support the claims of the ancient boundaries of litigants' property. Likewise, many older women who were experienced midwives were called upon to offer opinions on the timeliness of a birth in a fornication case.

Also, one of the most common errors in genealogical work is confusing two or more individuals of the same name. If senior or junior or tertius is not used, it is very difficult to assign events to the correct individual. Frequently, fathers and sons with the same given name came to court together, but with stated ages they are easily differentiated. Men with the same name and of the same generation can be another problem, but again a deposition with a specific age given can make all the difference.

With this index--which lists the names and ages of 11,000 deponents, and the year and source of the court records--researchers can quickly determine whether it is worthwhile to track down the original court record. ... Read more

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This work was originally published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1894 asBulletin No. 116. It consists of some 5,500 designations of places and topographical features,each identified in relation to a town or county or other prominent location. Originally designedas a finding-aid to the atlas sheets published by the U.S. Geological Survey, it stands by itself asa gazetteer, assisting the genealogist in locating some of the obscure places mentioned inwarrants, deeds, wills, and other records. The entries are arranged in strict alphabetical order, asthe title of the work might suggest, and, for those interested in pinpointing the featuresdesignated, are keyed to the name of the U.S. Geological Survey atlas sheets. ... Read more