NEHGS listed the following in this week's newsletter. You might find something here to help in your searches. Bette National Archives, Northeast Region 100 Dan Fox Drive Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 445-6885 Among the many holdings of this facility are passenger arrival records for the ports of New York (1820-1957); Boston (1820-1943); New Bedford, Massachusetts (1902-1942); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1880-1882); Portland, Maine (1893-1943); miscellaneous Atlantic, Gulf and Great Lakes ports (1820-1873); and St. Albans, Vermont (Canadian border crossings, 1895-1954). Use the general website for the National Archives for information on using the materials in their collection. New Bedford Public Library 613 Pleasant St. New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 991-6275, ext. 15 www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/SERVICES/LIBRARY/library2.htm This public library has microfilm of newspapers, passenger lists for the port of New Bedford, city directories, periodicals, and many volumes of local history. New Bedford was an important whaling town in nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the library acknowledges this history by featuring a searchable online database containing a comprehensive index to the men that went on the whaling voyages and the ships that they sailed on from 1810 to 1860. The information in the database is a direct word for word transcription of crew lists, shipping papers, and contracts for the voyages. You may search by crewman name, ship name, remarks, departure date, port of registry, and whaling ground. You can also find information on individual crewmen, when searching by residence, rank, even hair and skin color! The staff at the library is very helpful and has created guides to many of their collections to make your research easier. Newburyport Free Library Newburyport Archival Center 94 State St. Newburyport, MA 01950 (978) 465-4428 www.newburyportpl.org/Default.htm This research facility focuses on Newbury and Newburyport families. They have a good collection of local history publications and indexes. Old Colony Historical Society 66 Church Green Taunton, MA 02780 (508) 822-1622 www.oldcolonyhistoricalsociety.org/ If you are looking for an ancestor in southeastern Massachusetts before 1850 then this is one place you must visit! Local city directories, newspapers, manuscripts, and maps are just some of the strengths of this library. Peabody Institute Library Danvers Archival Center 15 Sylvan Street Danvers, MA 01923 (978) 774-0554 www.noblenet.org/danvers/ According to its website, the Danvers Archival Center "was the first of its kind to bring together such a large collection of public and private records of a single community for purposes of preservation and accessibility to researchers." The center also claims to house "the most extensive collection of materials relating to a single municipality in New England." Their collections include the local history holdings of the Danvers Historical Society, the library, churches and town organizations, and town records. They also keep printed and manuscript collections on the history of Danvers, Salem Village, and the witchcraft trials. Phillips Library Peabody Essex Museum East India Square Salem, MA 01970 (979) 745-1876 www.pem.org/phillips.html This library has a goldmine of information for researchers with ancestors in Essex County. Their website lists some of their holdings such as "…all the Essex County court records from 1636 to 1820, including the court records from the 1692 witchcraft trials. More than a linear mile of manuscript materials include journals, diaries, account books, farm business records, and correspondence, a vast collection of old newspapers printed in Essex County, as well as business and personal records of many historic figures in Essex County." They even accept general email queries at reference@pem.org. Worcester Public Library 3 Salem Square Worcester, MA 01608 (508) 799-1655 www.worcpublib.org/ This library contains a large collection of local history material on the Worcester area including yearbooks, histories of churches and businesses, city directories, and newspapers. It also has extensive general genealogical resources such as census documents and passenger lists. Their website includes links to online resources that family historians will find useful. Nearly all public libraries in Massachusetts have local history collections. You might be missing an opportunity to conduct research in your ancestors' hometown if you don't contact those facilities first. Not only do they usually have clipping files and even archives, public libraries are great resources for reference materials and Internet resources that you might overlook. Private libraries and local historical societies also collect useful material. Before you rush to large institutions to research those Massachusetts family members, examine the resources where they originally settled. You might be surprised at what you discover. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----