Enrollment options
Optional Print Course Material: Research: U.S. Colonial New England Ancestors
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
This seven module course will give the student a basic foundation to research using colonial records in New England. It focuses primarily on the most common records used for research. The student will learn about strategies for finding colonial New England records while incorporating colonial town records, colonial census records, colonial land records and maps, the colonial wars, religious records, and court documents.
Note: The student who undertakes this course should have familiarity with United States vital, religious, census, land and military records, as well as have a good knowledge of genealogical methodologies.
Course Length: 8 weeks
MODULE 1
COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND
State Resources
INTRODUCTION
Strategies for Finding Colonial New England Records
Deciphering Colonial Handwriting
Calendar Considerations
Building a Colonial New England Research Library
A Brief History of Colonial New England
Research Facilities - Archives and Libraries
Newspapers
Genealogies - Printed and Manuscript
MODULE 2
COLONIAL TOWN RECORDS
Town Records
Different Types of Colonial Town Records
Vital Records
Cemetery Records
MODULE 3
COLONIAL CENSUS
Published Census, Reconstructed Census Lists, and Census Substitutes
Seventeenth Century
Eighteenth Century
Strategies
Immigration
Court Records
MODULE 4
LAND RECORDS AND MAPS
Colonial New England Land Records
Common Terminology
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
Maps
Gazetteers
MODULE 5
MILITARY RECORDS
Colonial Wars
Military
Colony Involvement
MODULE 6
RELIGIOUS RECORDS
Types of Religious Records
Locating Church Records
Religious Groups in Specific Colonies
Religious Groups
Major Repositories
MODULE 7
COURT DOCUMENTS
Divorce Petitions, Probate Records, and Civil and Criminal Cases
Terminology
Searching Colonial Court Records