New Hampshire Societies and Archives

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

New Hampshire Genealogical Archives

 

It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.

• State of New Hampshire Division of Archives and Records Management - 71 South Fruit Street , Concord, NH 03301; (603) 271-2236
• New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Registration/Certification, 6 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; (800) 852-3345 Ext 4651 or in NH - (603) 271-4651, Fax: (603) 271-3447 vitalrecords@dhhs.state.nh.us

Historical & Genealogical Societies

 

Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.

For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.

• New Hampshire Society of Genealogist, P.O. Box 2316 , Concord, NH 3302-2316 (603) 225-3381
• New Hampshire Historical Society , The Tuck Library, 30 Park Street, Concord, NH 03301-6384
  Telephone: 603/228-6688 - Fax: 603/224-0463
• New Hampshire State Library, 20 Park Street , Concord, NH 03301; (603)271-2144 FAX: (603)271-6826
• Museum of New Hampshire History, The Hamel Center, 6 Eagle Square, Concord, NH 03301-4923
  Telephone: 603/228-6688 - Fax: 603/228-6308
• American Canadian Genealogical Society Library, Mailing Address: P.O. Box 668, South Manchester, NH 03103; Library: 378 Notre Dame Avenue, Manchester, NH 03102

New Hampshire Genealogical Publications

See specific county page for Individual County List

Statewide or regional publications include the following:

• New Hampshire Genealogical Record - Dover, N.H., 1903-10, originally short-lived (only seven volumes were published), has been revived under the auspices of the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists. Publication resumed in July 1990. It is devoted to compiled genealogies, source records, book reviews, and the like
• New Hampshire Society of Genealogists Newsletter - The Newsletter provides the latest information on genealogy and resources -- find out more about what's going on in New Hampshire genealogy with up-to-date information in our Newsletter
• The Granite Monthly - a sixty-two volume magazine published between 1877-1930, does not concentrate on family history but is a rich source of local and state history and includes some marriage records and other genealogical data.
• The Genealogist - is the quarterly publication distributed to members of the American-Canadian Genealogical Society in Manchester, publishing materials and articles concentrating on Canadian-American (Quebec and New England, principally) research.
• Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.
• Directories & Member Lists - Directories and member lists are typically compilations of information about people who belonged to various associations and groups or lived within city boundaries. They can be thought of as the predecessors to the modern-day phone book and usually list names, addresses, and sometimes the occupations of your ancestors.

Rhode Island Newspapers

 

No newspapers were published in New Hampshire before the 1750s, although items referring to residents before that date may be found in Massachusetts newspapers.

The New Hampshire Historical Society is the principal repository for pre-1900 newspapers in the state, holding what remains extant of the Granite State's newspapers beginning with the New-Hampshire Gazette in 1758 until 1900. The society has a grant to microfilm the most fragile pre-1900 newspapers in their collection. Post-1900 newspapers are often on microfilm at the New Hampshire State Library along with some pre-1900 microfilms. Original newspapers between 1900-45 may not be used

While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.

Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.

Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.

The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).

• Find your family history In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive! Find News, Births and Deaths - Find tens of millions of historical newspaper articles, dating back to 1759. Search for newspaper articles about a deadly earthquake or one that mentions a past relative. Newspaper articles are easily accessible with online research tools.
• Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers throughout the world.
• Search Historical Newspapers (1690 - 1980) - Quickly find names and keywords in over 125 million articles, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements and other items published in more than 500,000 issues of over 2,500 historical U.S. newspapers. New content added monthly!