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16th Century French Exploration of North America

An AccessGenealogy Exclusive: Richard Thornton’s study of the Sixteenth Century French Exploration of North America – replete with maps and images – Much of the research in this report was drawn from two books by former Congressman Charles Bennett of Florida, which were interpolated with the author’s personal knowledge of Georgia coast – while fishing, canoeing, sailing and camping in the region between Darien, GA and Jacksonville, FL. The author was born in Waycross, GA, is a Creek Indian and is an expert on Muskogean culture. The first book by Bennett, Three Voyages, translated the memoirs of Captain René Goulaine de Laudonniére. The second book by Bennett, De Laudonniére and Fort Caroline, translated the memoirs and letters by other members of the French colonizing expeditions. These books are supplemented by the English translation of Jacques Le Moyne’s illustrated book, Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americai provincia Gallis acciderunt,” Le Moyne was the official artist of the Fort Caroline Colony, and one of the few who survived its massacre by the Spanish.

The Cherokee Land Lottery

1830 Map of Cherokee Territory in Georgia

The Land Lottery dataset contains the names and residence of all the fortunate drawers in the Land Lottery of the Cherokee country, arranged by districts in numerical order, all carefully copied from the originals in the Executive Department and the office of the Surveyor General, designating also the lots which have been granted. We have given the quality of the lots in some instances, but not generally, deeming it altogether unimportant, from the well known inaccuracy of the surveyors in classing their value, and from the additional fact that very few individuals engage in contracts for real estate until they are enabled by personal observation to place a proper estimate upon the premises. By reference to the numerical list, the drawer’s name and residence can be readily ascertained.

Historic and Quaint Forts of North America

Historic and Quaint Forts of North America. An account of the most famous fortifications of North America is, in realty, a cross section of the military history of the continent; and whatever ingenuity there may be in this method of presenting the conspicuous deeds of valor of the American people will, it may be hoped, add interest to the following pages.

Wisconsin Gold Star List

Wisconsin’s Gold Star List Soldiers, sailors, marines and nurses casualties for WWI. This extensive list of casualties from Wisconsin provides details of the hometown, age, unit, location of death, and cause of death, for those soldiers, sailors, marines, and nurses who all gave their life in World War 1.

Northeastern Oklahoma Biographies

The following biographies were written in 1922 and pertain to “important” men who resided in the Muskogee and northeastern areas of Oklahoma. By important, it should be emphasized that each biography was submitted along with a payment for inclusion in the biographical manuscript. Therefore, anyone who chose not to pay for such a service was often left out of the manuscript. The counties covered by this manuscript include Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah, Wagoner, and Washington.

Standard History of Champaign County Illinois

These 475 biographies were collected from the manuscript “A Standard History of Champaign County, Illinois,” written in 1918 by J. R. Stewart. A citizen’s inclusion in this manuscript indicates only that they or someone on their behalf chose to “subscribe” to its publication.

Despite this, the presence of a biography in such works can provide family researchers with a vivid look into the lives of their ancestors. For historians, these works offer a glimpse into the events that helped shape a community. However, it’s important to remember that this type of work is not definitive proof, as the information was collected at the time and can often be misleading or even false. Stories handed down may not be true, and details of someone’s life may be altered to make them appear greater than they actually were. Therefore, researchers should verify the facts provided here with additional sources. With that in mind, please enjoy!

Boston Intentions of Marriage 1752-1808

From it’s early history, Massachusetts has required couples to formerly file a marriage intention whenever they planned to marry. This specific data set contains all marriage intentions filed within the city of Boston Massachusetts during the years of 1752-1808. While most records within this data set contain references to white people, there are instances where “negro servants” “blacks” and “colored” marriage intentions were recorded. Each listing is an abstraction of the actual record, and usually contains the names of the couple and the date of filing the intention… in some instances a town is also included, when an individual did not reside in Boston.

Carlisle MA Vital Records to 1850

Carlisle Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 includes records of births, marriages and deaths, basically all entries to be found in the books of record kept by the town clerks; in the church records; in the cemetery inscriptions; and in private records found in family Bibles, etc. These records are printed in a condensed form in which every essential particular has been preserved. All duplication of the town clerk’s record has been eliminated, but differences in entry and other explanatory matter appear in brackets. Parentheses are used when they occur in the original record; also to indicate the maiden name of a married woman.
When places other than Carlisle and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy. Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties. In all records the original spelling of names is followed, and in the alphabetical arrangement the various forms should be examined, as items about the same family may be found under different spellings.

Frontier and Colonial Forts of the United States

This document holds a comprehensive list of United States colonial and frontier forts, trading posts, and other military sites established up to 1902. Early settlers constructed many forts, now disappeared, referenced in historical texts but without certain locations. The list includes facilities currently used by or overseen by the military, displayed in bold. The compilation aids in identification and reference, presenting full names of forts and categorizing them alphabetically as well as by state. It ends with a mention of outlier forts, comprising Hawaii (2) and Mexico (1).

American Prisoners Of The Revolution

This manuscript provides a look into the types of British prisons and the stories of the American men who were confined within during the Revolutionary War. Most notable are the stories among the men who were sentenced to stay aboard the ship “The Old Jersey.” Included within the book are names of over 8,000 confirmed prisoners of HMS Jersey. There is little that is original in the compilation. The accounts could have been given in the compiler’s own words, but they would only, thereby, have lost in strength. The original narratives are all out of print, very scarce and hard to obtain, and the writer feels justified in reprinting them in this collection, for the sake of the general reader interested in the subject, and not able to search for himself through the mass of original material, some of which she has only discovered after months of research. Her work has mainly consisted in abridging these records, collected from so many different sources.

WPA Slave Narratives

Slave narratives are stories of surviving slaves told in their own words and ways. Unique, colorful, and authentic, these slave narratives provide a look at the culture of the South during slavery which heretofore had not been told.

Battle of the Big Hole

A History of General Gibbon’s Engagement with Nez Perce Indians in the Big Hole Valley, Montana, August 1877… referred to as the Battle of the Big Hole. Includes a list of the American Soldier casualties.

Traditions of the Caddo

The Caddo tales presented were collected during the years 1903-1905, under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and form part of a systematic investigation of the religious system and ceremonial organization of the tribes of the Caddoan stock.

Sign Language Among North American Indians

Sign language among North American Indian tribes served as a surprisingly uniform and effective means of communication, transcending linguistic barriers across various tribes, especially during trade interactions. This book delves into the development, use, and structure of sign language among these tribes, offering insights into its history and the wide range of gestures employed. It also explores the connections between sign language and other communication methods like smoke and fire signals, while providing a detailed compilation of signs for common words and phrases. The research presented is based on extensive fieldwork and collaboration with experts, contributing to a broader understanding of sign language both within Native American culture and in comparison, to other sign systems globally.

Old Marblehead Sea Captains

This volume is intended to be a fairly accurate list of the Old Sea Captains of Marblehead, and the vessels in which they sailed, going to and from foreign ports. The information contained in this volume has been obtained by careful and persistent research from widely distributed sources viz: the Marblehead and Salem and Beverly Custom House Records, original books of the Marblehead Marine Insurance Company, covering five thousand policies running from 1800 to 1840, list of Marblehead Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (compiled in 1912-13 by the author), old log books, old letter books, old newspapers, list of Privateersmen of 1812 made up by Capt. Glover Broughton in a memorial to the 34th, 35th and 36th Congresses asking for grants of land for services rendered, and from the descendants of the men mentioned.

Tobacco in Colonial Virginia

The history of tobacco is the history of Jamestown and of Virginia. No one staple or resource ever played a more significant role in the history of any state or nation. The growth of the Virginia Colony, as it extended beyond the limits of Jamestown, was governed and hastened by the quest for additional virgin soil in which to grow this “golden weed.” For years the extension into the interior meant the expansion of tobacco production. Without tobacco the development of Virginia might have been retarded 200 years.

Gazetteer of Lamoille County Vermont for 1883-84

Smith and Worthen Livery and Stable Morrisville VT

This collection stems from a manuscript published by Hamilton Child in 1887 which provided a gazetteer for Lamoille and Orleans County. Within that manuscript was a brief history of each community, a directory of each community, and short biographical sketches of some of the leading citizens for each town.

Cleveland Ohio Biography – The Book of Clevelanders

A Biographical Dictionary of Living Men of the City of Cleveland, Ohio. This manuscript depicts the lives of younger men of Cleveland, Ohio – men who were making the greater Cleveland to come – not the Cleveland of the past. Written by each man’s own hand, with minimal editorial input, this unique approach to compiling such a volume may provide researchers with the only written text their ancestor has on record.

History of Ontario County New York

The second volume of the work, The History of Ontario County New York, and Its People, is a volume of genealogical and family history. In it are chronicles of the people who have made Ontario County what it is. These records are presented in a series of independent narratives relating to lineal family heads, and the most conspicuous representatives down to the 20th century, giving it a distinct personal interest. The first installment of this series includes over 900+ biographies.

Vital Records of Bergen New Jersey

The records provided in this collection come from two annual editions of the “Year Book of the Holland Society of New York.” They represent the baptisms from 1666-1692 and marriages from 1665-1788. For the most part the names are Dutch in heredity.