Tuesday's Tip - Genealogy Resources in Newtown, Connecticut

“The libraries of the world also constitute a vast resource of information that is totally ignored by genealogists.”  James Tanner, Genealogy’s Star blog.

James Tanner’s recent blog, “Non-Traditional Genealogy Data Sources” reminded me of the wealth of resources that reside in the genealogy room of the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown, Connecticut.  Listed below are just some of the items in the collection. There is also a large number of “How-to” books, as well as availability to Ancestry.com, help with Newtown research through the Genealogy Club of Newtown website's Random Acts link, our local professional genealogist, and our town historian.

Specific to Newtown ancestor research there is:

·      1890 Census Substitute for Newtown

·      1890-1899 Newtown Death Database

·      Cemetery Inscriptions: St. Paul’s Church, Huntington, CT

·      Genealogy Room Historic Papers

·      Hale Collection of Headstone Inscriptions for Newtown

·      Irish Tombstone Transcriptions for St. Rose Cemetery

·      Irish Tombstone Transcriptions for Old St. Peter’s Cemetery, Danbury, CT

·      Julia Brush Collection – Family Files

·      Newtown Bee Vital Records Index 1889-1953, 1960, 1980, and Newtown Bee Obits Index 2004-2011.

·      Newtown Congregational Church Records 1715-1946

·      Newtown Supplementary Vital Records

·      Newtown: Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1711-1852

·      Stratford: Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1639-1840

For those searching New England and beyond is:

·      New England Historical and Genealogical Register Mayflower Families

·      Great Migration books

·      Family Histories

·      Rhode Island Vital Records

·      Rhode Island Colonial Records

·      Revolutionary War materials

·      Military Service books

·      Genealogies of Connecticut Families

·      Census books (1850)

·      Heads of Families

·      New England states, towns, localities. Starting with Maine, ending with Connecticut.

·      Settlers of the Beekman Patent (NY)

·      DAR Lineage Books with Index

·      Connecticut Nutmegger with Index

·      Connecticut Ancestry Magazine

·      New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

·      American Genealogy

·      Long Island church books

·      Great Migration books

·      Reference books on individual states

·      Index: George Budke Tombstone inscriptions, Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY

·      Ethnic group how-to books (Scottish roots, German-American ancestry, Jewish roots, Irish, English, Swedish and Polish roots)

After a trip to the state library in Hartford for some research I thought was only there, I then discovered what I needed was only four miles away at the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown!  As James Tanner suggests, take advantage of the materials in your own local library, historical society, and state library.