Free Archives

Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches

Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches aims to capture the essence of the people who shaped the Laramie Plains. It portrays their courage and cowardice, faith and skepticism, vision and blindness, responsibility and recklessness, humility and pride, kindness and cruelty, fortune and misfortune, competence and ineptitude. If this narrative manages to convey these diverse human experiences, then it will have successfully used the authors’ inherent talents to chronicle the history of one of Wyoming’s and the West’s significant natural landscapes. The saying “Grass Makes Wyoming and Wyoming is the West” captures the essence of this unique region.

Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches Read More »

Wistar Family: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Caspar Wistar, Emigrant in 1717

The book “Wistar Family: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Caspar Wistar, Emigrant in 1717” delves into the fascinating history of the Wistar family, tracing its roots back to Caspar Wistar, who was born on February 3, 1696, to Hans Caspar and Anna Catharina Wüster in Hilspach, near Heidelberg in the Electorate of the Rhenish Palatinate. Caspar’s father served as a huntsman or forester for the Prince Palatine, a position that was hereditary in their family.

Wistar Family: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Caspar Wistar, Emigrant in 1717 Read More »

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

This survey of Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi, was completed in 1956 by Mr. Gordon M. Wells and published by Joyce Bridges the same year. It contains the cemetery readings Mr. Wells was able to obtain at that date. It is highly likely that not all of the gravestones had survived up to that point, and it is even more likely that a large portion of interred individuals never had a gravestone.

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi Read More »

Weymouth ways and Weymouth people

Edward Hunt’s “Weymouth ways and Weymouth people: Reminiscences” takes the reader back in Weymouth Massachusetts past to the 1830s through the 1880s as he provides glimpses into the people of the community. These reminiscences were mostly printed in the Weymouth Gazette and provide a fair example of early New England village life as it occurred in the mid 1800s. Of specific interest to the genealogist will be the Hunt material scattered throughout, but most specifically 286-295, and of course, those lucky enough to have had somebody “remembered” by Edward.

Weymouth ways and Weymouth people Read More »

Wendell, Massachusetts: Its Settlers and Citizenry, 1752-1900

Nothing is greater than to see a relatively new genealogical manuscript make it’s way online for free. Pamela A. Richardson has graciously allowed her “Wendell, Massachusetts: Its Settlers and Citizenry, 1752-1900” to be digitized by Internet Archive and made available to the general public. The reach and expansion of this manuscript has greatly been increased by this action, and researchers of their roots in Wendell Massachusetts are greatly appreciative! Surnames featured: Baker, Ballard, Ballou, Brewer, Bufford, Burgess, Clark, Cooke, Crosby, Drury, Fiske, Glazier, Goodale, Green, Hager, Howe, Kilburn, King, Locke, Metcalf, Oakes, Orcutt, Osgood, Phelps, Sawyer, Sibley, Stebbins, Stiles, Stone, Sweetser, Tyrer, Wetherbee, and Wilder.

Wendell, Massachusetts: Its Settlers and Citizenry, 1752-1900 Read More »

Walter Merryman of Harpswell, Maine, and his descendants

Walter Merryman was kidnapped in an Irish port in 1700 and brought to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was indentured to a shipbuilder in Portland, Maine. He married Elizabeth Potter and settled in Harpswell, Maine. Descendants and relatives lived in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Idaho and elsewhere. Includes Alexander, Curtiss, Hamilton, McManus, Stover, Webber and related families.

Walter Merryman of Harpswell, Maine, and his descendants Read More »

Wakefield Kindred of America

Wakefield Kindred of America provides the genealogy of John Wakefield, the immigrant ancestor of the Boston Family, who was born in England in 1614-15. He was according to the best information at hand, a native of Gravesend, county Kent, England, as Thomas Wakefield, probably his brother, came from that town which was an ancient seat of this family.

Wakefield Kindred of America Read More »

Wainwright and related families

These sketches were written primarily to trace the paternal ancestry of Mary Wainwright who was born in Somerset County, Maryland, May 11, 1818. She married, November 15, 1837, William Underwood Roberts. They became the parents of a family of six sons and five daughters, all of whom were born at Jesterville and lived to mature years. Mary Wainwright Roberts had, at the time of her death, October 11, 1904, at the age of eighty-six years, more than eighty living descendants. Her ancestry involves, besides her Wainwright forebears, the Cannons, the Bloyces, the Evanses, the Streets, the Rices, and others about whom something is said in this sketch, as well as several other ancient Somerset families.

Wainwright and related families Read More »

Vanderburgh County Indiana Will Abstracts, 1821-1873

Abstracts of over 600 wills for Vanderburgh County, Indiana, extracted by Mrs. Arthur C. Bitterman. Book A was typed by Mrs. James A. Gentry, book B typed by Mrs. Marvin J. Huff, and published as one by the Vanderburgh Chapter of the DAR. Book A primarily covers wills written or filed within the time period of 1823-1849 and book B includes the years of 1849-1873. In both cases there are wills that fall outside those dates.

Vanderburgh County Indiana Will Abstracts, 1821-1873 Read More »

Tombstone records of eighteen cemeteries in Poundridge, New York

In 1940 and 1941 Mrs. Sterling B. Jordan and Mrs. Frank W. Seth walked the 18 cemeteries in Poundridge, New York compiling the names and dates for all gravestones. Added to some of those gravestone listings were familial relationships if known. In addition, they referenced an even earlier listing of a few of the cemeteries by William Eardley taken in 1901.

Tombstone records of eighteen cemeteries in Poundridge, New York Read More »

Tombstone Inscriptions from Relocated Cemeteries in Wise County Virginia

The dam that impounds the North Fork of Pound Reservoir is situated on the North Fork of the Pound River, approximately 184 miles upstream from the mouth of the Big Sandy River and 1.1 miles upstream from the mouth of the North Fork in Wise County, Virginia. Construction of the dam commenced in 1962. Cemeteries located above the dam and within the impoundment areas were relocated to higher ground, respecting the preferences of the closest living relatives. Detailed records of these relocations are provided here, including the names of the nearest kin at the time of each grave removal.

Tombstone Inscriptions from Relocated Cemeteries in Wise County Virginia Read More »

This was Hudson, Wisconsin

“This Was Hudson” by Willis H. Miller is a compact yet rich compilation of historical narratives focusing on Hudson, Wisconsin, originally published in 1955 by the Star-Observer Publishing Co. This book emerged from a special centennial edition of the Hudson Star-Observer, the town’s weekly newspaper, which marked its 100th anniversary in 1954. The edition featured a collection of articles that captured the essence and history of Hudson and its surrounding areas.

This was Hudson, Wisconsin Read More »

The Young family of Bristol Virginia

“The Young Family of Bristol” by Walter Jorgensen Young is a comprehensive genealogical study tracing the lineage and history of the Young family, primarily focusing on their roots in Bristol and their subsequent spread to various regions in the United States, including Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Published in 1937, this 55-page manuscript has garnered significant recognition in the field of genealogy and history, evidenced by Young’s accolades from various esteemed societies. Michael Cadet Young (b.1684/1685) emigrated in 1716 from England to what is now Columbia, South Carolina, moving shortly to Brunswick County, Virginia. Descendants and relatives lived in Virginia, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Washington and elsewhere. Additional family names researched include: Head, Hieatt, Jacoby, Mitchell, Morton, and Price families. This PDF is free to read or download.

The Young family of Bristol Virginia Read More »

The Wilson Family, Somerset and Barter Hill Branch

In the preparation of “The Wilson family, Somerset and Barter Hill branch” I have discovered two lists of the names of the sons and daughters of Col. Ben and Ann Seay Wilson of “Somerset” in Cumberland County, Virginia, in addition to the list found in my father’s notes. None of these was arranged in the same chronological order. It was my good fortune in 1915 to find the Bible, claimed to be the Bible of Col. Ben and Ann Seay Wilson of “Somerset” in Cumberland County, Virginia. At that time this was in the hands of Miss Clementine Reid Wilson, Col. Ben’s great-granddaughter, and it was my privilege to copy, with the aid of a reading glass, for the ink was badly faded, the names of their children from that Bible in the same chronological order in which they were recorded. This chronological order, and military records found, support each other. I therefore believe that this sketch contains the most accurate chronological list of Col. Ben’s and Ann Seay Wilson’s children to be found outside of his Bible.

The Wilson Family, Somerset and Barter Hill Branch Read More »

The Wilson Family of West Virginia

This brief history has been gleaned from old family records, correspondence with other members, and histories of Ritchie, Barbour, Harrison and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. The first known ancestor was David Wilson, who was born in Scotland about 1650; he had a son David, born about 1685, who was forced to flee from Scotland to Ireland owing to his being on the losing side in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715. His son William (b. Nov. 19, 1722; d. June 12, 1801) came to America about 1736; married Elizabeth Blackburn, also of Scotch-Irish descent, about 1746, and settled on Trout Run near Moorefield, Hardy County, W. Va. The Land Office at Richmond shows that he and his sons patented many tracts of land in what is now Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties. Nothing further is known of him as to where he lived and died.

The Wilson Family of West Virginia Read More »

The William Wade Hinshaw index to Pennsylvania Quaker meeting records

Last Updated on August 23, 2021 by Dennis These monthly meeting records were abstracted from the original Pennsylvania Quaker Monthly Meeting records in the 1930’s by William Wade Hinshaw of Washington, D. C. They are a transcription of the microfilmed records containing birth, death, burial, and marriage records, as well as meeting minutes, removals and

The William Wade Hinshaw index to Pennsylvania Quaker meeting records Read More »

The Wildbores in America

Last Updated on November 12, 2020 by Dennis Title: The Wildbores in America Author: Wilbor, John Reid Publication date: 1933 Publisher: Baltimore, Md., G.W. King printing Co. Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive Contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Repository: Internet Archive This volume is supplementary to the book printed in 1907 under the same title,

The Wildbores in America Read More »

The Waitley family in the United States

John S. Waitley is the earliest known ancestor of the Waitley name in the United States. According to this sketch, John S. Waitley was a native of Scotland. His parents came to America and settled in Massachusetts. Later his mother was lost at sea when on a return visit to Scotland. John S. Waitley married Lydia Bartlett, a daughter of Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He became a minister of the Free-will Baptist Church. He moved to Ashtabula County, Ohio, lived there several years and later moved to Canton, Ohio. He died in Knox County, Ohio, in 1868 at the age of 96. His wife died in 1858 in Knox County, Ohio. They had lived in Mt. Vernon most of the time.

The Waitley family in the United States Read More »

The Vestry Book and Register of Bristol Parish, Virginia, 1720-1789

The Vestry Book and Register of Bristol Parish, Virginia, 1720-1789 includes a register of births, baptisms and deaths, the earliest and latest recorded dates of which are April 12, 1685, and March 9, 1798. The compiler has wisely reproduced the original manuscript with “all eccentricities of abbreviation and punctuation, as well as all mistakes.” A carefully prepared index greatly adds to the usefulness of the work.

The Vestry Book and Register of Bristol Parish, Virginia, 1720-1789 Read More »

The Turner Family Magazine

In 1916 and 1917, William Montgomery Clemens edited a series of pamphlets called the Turner Family Magazine. It was meant to be a genealogical, historical and biographical magazine about the Turner family across the United States. That series of magazines was later published in 1920 as a complete bound volume. This is what this book is.

The Turner Family Magazine Read More »

Scroll to Top