We are pleased to announce that the summer issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, America's premier genealogical journal, has been published.
Nonmembers can sample the Register by reading the editorial as well as an article from the issue, "Mary¹ (Browne) (Oakley) Bouchier Alias Garret of Saffron Walden, Essex, and Massachusetts, and Her Family," on our website.

The summer 2015 issue, now available online for NEHGS members, features the following articles:

• The English Origins of Thomas¹ Millard of Boston and His Cousin, John¹ Millard of Rehoboth, by Trudy Millard Krause
• The Parents of Elizabeth Robbins, Wife of Stephen⁴ Shattuck of Littleton, Massachusetts, by Travis Dodge Miscia
• The Rhode Island Barker Family: Suffolk Background and Connections to Other New England Immigrants, by Jane Fletcher Fiske and William Wyman Fiske
• Mary¹ (Browne) (Oakley) Bouchier Alias Garret of Saffron Walden, Essex, and Massachusetts, and Her Family, by Patricia Law Hatcher
• The Mother of Mary (Saxby) Clarke, Grandmother of Jeremy¹ Clarke of Rhode Island, by Scott G. Swanson
• Some South Kingstown, Rhode Island, Warnings Out and Removals, 1740-1800, by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg
• Francis Lewis Fairbank of Oneida County, New York, Son of Ebenezer and Abigail (Cobb) Fairbank, by Patricia Sezna Haggerty
• Joseph and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Whitcomb of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Some of Their Descendants, by Austin W. Spencer
• New England Articles in Genealogical Journals in 2013, by Henry B. Hoff

In addition to these articles--which reflect the Register's new, wider editorial focus--you will find reviews of books and NEHGS quarterly news.

Interested in writing for the Register? We welcome articles, especially from new authors! See our submission guidelines and email proposed article ideas to register@nehgs.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 56-59

Volumes 56 to 59 of the Mayflower Descendant (publication years 2007-2010) are now available to search. With the addition of these volumes, the Mayflower Descendant database now contains more than 340,000 records.

The Mayflower Descendant was published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants from 1899 to 2014. (NEHGS will begin publishing the journal with the Winter 2016 issue.) An essential source of information on many New England families, its focus is not limited to those with Mayflower lineage. The journal includes transcriptions and abstracts of deeds, wills, vital records, and other original documents. In addition, it features compiled genealogies and analytical studies of genealogical problems. This collection will be available to guest users for one month following its release.

Vital Records of Clinton, Farmingdale, and West Gardiner, Maine, to 1892

These collections provide name indexes and page images of published compilations of vital records for the towns of Clinton, Farmingdale, and West Gardiner, all located in Kennebec County, Maine. Clinton was incorporated  in 1795 from the area known as Hancock Plantation. Farmingdale was incorporated in 1852, created from parts of neighboring towns Hallowell, Gardiner, and West Gardiner. West Gardiner itself was incorporated in 1850, separating from the city of Gardiner. Together, these collections contain more than 14,000 records. These records may be searched by first and last name, year of record, and record type. Names of parents and spouses may be searched using the Keywords field as well. This collection will be available to guest users for one month following its release.

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Archived Webinars
From applying to lineage societies to getting the most out of our website to New York resources and more, our monthly webinars deliver tips, tricks, and tools for family history researchers at all levels. If you can't join the live broadcast, you can always review our freely available recordings. Watch one of our archived webinars today!

Additional Resources
Visit the Online Learning Center for subject guides on a variety of genealogical topics, informative videos, webinars, online courses, and more. If you have questions or feedback, contact Ginevra Morse, Director of Education and Online Programs.

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The Irish Genealogy Study Group will meet on Saturday, August 29, between 9:30 a.m. and noon in the NEHGS Education Center (on the 2nd floor). The study group gathers to talk about research problems and share solutions. Everyone is welcome to come and join in, and people can attend part or all of the session. (The NEHGS Library is open for research from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Contact Mary Ellen Grogan at megrogan@ix.netcom.com for more information.

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Local Newspaper Transcriptions, Arlington Public Library
The city of Arlington is in Tarrant County, which is located in north central Texas. The Arlington Public Library has made transcriptions of articles from local newspapers available on its website. Selected items were transcribed from The Arlington Journal, first published in 1897, and The Arlington Citizen, which began publication in the 1930s. You will find death notices and miscellaneous news items in this collection.

Burnet County Obituary Index
Burnet County is located in central Texas. Its county seat is Burnet. The Burnet County Genealogical Society has provided an obituary index for the period from 1876 through 1910. The indexes are organized by year. Click the date link to view the alphabetical by surname list. The data fields in the database are name/age, city of residence, newspaper title, and date of the issue (year/month/day). A checkmark in the date of the issue column indicates that a printed copy of the obituary is available.

Gazetteer of Deceased Texas Physicians (19th and 20th century)
Through its Digital Commons the Texas Medical Center Library has made the following resource available through its website. The Gazetteer of Deceased Texas Physicians database provides biographical information for more than 12,000 Texas physicians. The individual PDFs are organized alphabetically by the first letter of the last name. Click the PDF icon to open the file. Each record includes last name, first name, sex, race, birth date, death date, nativity/state/country, medical school/state/country, degree, graduation date, photo, four reference fields, and medical specialty.

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Last week's survey asked about your connections to the Mayflower. Below is a selection of comments sent to us. Interestingly, all three of these contributors have vivid memories of the Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation in the 1950s.  

Medora Van Denburgh of Medford, Maine: The survey option regarding whether one visited Plimoth Plantation or the Mayflower II in Plymouth didn't account for the possibility of having visited the ship elsewhere. In 1957 my mother, maternal grandmother, and I went aboard the Mayflower II shortly after it docked in New York City, following its voyage from England. I was only nine at the time, but it made a great impression on me; I recall being permitted to place my hands on her wheel. None of us knew then that we had an ancestor--Francis Cooke--who had arrived on these shores in the original Mayflower. I still have the souvenir my grandmother purchased on that occasion, a cornflower-blue creamer bearing an image of the ship; it is one of my most treasured possessions.

Frederick Dittmar of Norman, Oklahoma: In answering your survey this week I had to smile. I selected the option that I have visited and toured Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II. That I have, and then some! During the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, my mother, Edwina Dittmar (along with Rose Briggs and Joann Doll), made a great percentage of the costumes for the Mayflower II, area historic homes, and Pilgrim Progress participants at our house in Plymouth. In the 1950s my father, F. Willard Dittmar, repaired the front spindles on one of the first three chairs pictured here--I think it was the Brewster Chair. He also assisted in encasing broken or damaged stones on Burial Hill in granite support stones with cement. He and another man, Jimmy White, who was in the cemetery memorial stone business, would obtain headstones that had spelling errors or were rejected, then cut out the centers to fit the old cemetery stones within them.     

Alan MacIlroy of Princeton, New Jersey: My mother's family had the name Cole strongly embedded in it, and a worn family tree showing links to Constance Hopkins, a passenger on the Mayflower. This connection was on my list of family stories to prove or disprove, and I started my serious genealogy journey fifteen years ago with this challenge. Working on this puzzle was a great way to learn about research, citations, and the credibility of different sources. I eventually discovered that someone in my family, years ago, had conveniently "morphed" one John Cole into another John Cole. There was no family connection to Constance Hopkins and the Mayflower. But doing the research had me hooked on genealogy. (This question also reminded me that as a member of the Duxbury High School chorus I was part of the celebration of the Mayflower II's arrival in Plymouth in 1957.)

For more reader comments on this topic, visit our Facebook page.

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Last week's survey asked about your Mayflower connections. 4,441 people answered the survey. More than one answer could be selected. The results are:

• 45%, I descend from one or more Mayflower passengers
• 16%, I have proved my lineage(s) through the Mayflower Society.
• 12%, I think I have a Mayflower ancestor but haven't yet documented my lineage.
• 14%, I am not sure whether I have Mayflower ancestors.
• 23%, I am not a Mayflower descendant.
• 5%, I do not descend from a Mayflower passenger but my spouse does.
• 3%, I do not descend from a Mayflower passenger but my children do.
• 41%, I descend from Plymouth Colony settlers that arrived after the Mayflower.
• 48%, I have visited Plimoth Plantation and/or the Mayflower II in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
   

Today's survey asks about your relationship to New Hampshire. Take the survey now!

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World's Oldest Message in a Bottle Washes up in Germany after 108 Years at Sea
A message in a bottle found earlier this year on the German island of Amrum was one of 1,020 released into the North Sea between 1904 and 1906 as part of a project on deep sea currents.

Rhode Island Church Taking Unusual Step to Illuminate Its Slavery Role
The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is taking steps to acknowledge its role in perpetuating slavery and is establishing "a museum focused on the trans-Atlantic slave trade, slavery and the North's complicity, as part of a new center for racial reconciliation and healing." 

Bethlehem Man Says Destiny Made Him Buy a Cemetery
In 2007 Roy Schreffler of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, made an unusual purchase: a seven-acre cemetery, the final resting place of over 4,000 individuals. "He had no experience in the business of the dead. He was not connected to a funeral home, a grave-digging outfit or a church-related group overseeing the final resting spots."

Serendipity: Discovering Wall Drawings of a Turn-of-the-century Lancaster Prize Fighter
In the 1910s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, two adoring kid brothers chronicled their older brother's boxing career with pencil drawings that covered the walls of their room in a rented apartment. One hundred years later, descendants of the older brother got to take a look for the first time.

Lost Piece of Family History Returned after 4 Decades
This CBC News feature tells how a 140-year-old Bible traveled from British Columbia "back home" to Oxfordshire, England. (A link to a six-minute audio clip can be found at the end of the article.)

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Final days! The Bookstore at NEHGS is offering a 10% discount on all items in the Charts & Gifts Collection, including a Mayflower puzzle, NEHGS ties, numerous sizes and styles of charts, our always-popular jute bag, and many other gift items for the genealogist in your life--even if that genealogist is you! Some quantities are limited, so shop now while items are still available. Order online or call us at 1-888-296-3447.

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Book Event: A History of Stepfamilies in Early America, with author Lisa Wilson
Where: NEHGS, 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass.
When: September 2, 6 p.m.-7:30 pm
Cost: FREE*
Though stepfamilies are not a modern phenomenon, the history of stepfamilies in America had not been fully explored before Lisa Wilson's important book on the topic. Wilson examines the stereotypes and actualities of colonial stepfamilies, shares stories of real stepfamilies in early New England, and discusses their impact on early United States history. Book sales and signing to follow. Register today! 

*To register for this free event you must "Add to Cart" and go through the checkout process--your total will be $0.00.

One-Name Studies and Early New England & Atlantic Canada Research

Where: NEHGS, 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass.
When: September 24-25, 9:30 a.m.−5:00 p.m.
Cost: $80
While most family historians focus their efforts on researching their own ancestry, others undertake surname studies, which compile all occurrences of a single surname. Have you started collecting surnames? You may be interested in building a one-name study! NEHGS, together with the Guild of One-Name Studies, is pleased to offer a two-day seminar that aims to teach you how to create, organize, and share a one-name project while deepening your knowledge of early New England and Atlantic Canadian research. The program includes lectures, research, consultations, and informal workshops. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. View the agenda and register today!

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