After graduating from MIT in 1983, I spent several years training to become an
actuary in the local insurance industry. That career required me to take a lengthy
series of detailed examinations, somewhat similar in spirit to a bar examination,
though the complete series can take five to ten years to pass. Attention to detail was
a must, as was a great deal of patience with the thousands of pages of necessary
reading. As it turned out, this was excellent training for genealogical research as
well.
While my interest in genealogy goes back twenty years or more, it is only in the last
decade that I have devoted significant amounts of time to the subject. That time has
been split between researching my wife's ancestry in New England and my own in
Portugal.
For my own ancestry, I entered into an arrangement with the Family History Library to
abstract 35,000 microfilmed parish records (containing 150,000 names). That
experience, while not directly relevant to New England research, exposed me to a
wide variety of handwriting styles from the 1600s to the 1800s, and it has been
invaluable in helping me decipher, for example, New England probate records over
the same period.
actuary in the local insurance industry. That career required me to take a lengthy
series of detailed examinations, somewhat similar in spirit to a bar examination,
though the complete series can take five to ten years to pass. Attention to detail was
a must, as was a great deal of patience with the thousands of pages of necessary
reading. As it turned out, this was excellent training for genealogical research as
well.
While my interest in genealogy goes back twenty years or more, it is only in the last
decade that I have devoted significant amounts of time to the subject. That time has
been split between researching my wife's ancestry in New England and my own in
Portugal.
For my own ancestry, I entered into an arrangement with the Family History Library to
abstract 35,000 microfilmed parish records (containing 150,000 names). That
experience, while not directly relevant to New England research, exposed me to a
wide variety of handwriting styles from the 1600s to the 1800s, and it has been
invaluable in helping me decipher, for example, New England probate records over
the same period.
Detail from 1850 federal census population schedule for the family of John and Ann (Hodgkins)
Foster in the town of Gray, Maine (Cumberland County), Series M-432, Roll 249, page 225
(stamped).
Foster in the town of Gray, Maine (Cumberland County), Series M-432, Roll 249, page 225
(stamped).
Researching my wife's ancestry has given me extensive experience with the wide
variety of records necessary and available for New England genealogy from the
1600s to the 1900s: vital and town records, census records, probate records, land
records, New England genealogical periodicals, Revolutionary War pension files
and service records, town histories, church records, newspaper accounts, and
others. Like all genealogists, I have more experience with some of these record
categories than with others -- I've only recently started learning more about the wide
variety of court records, for example.
As mentioned on the Introduction tab, most of those records have been in the area
encompassed by northeastern Massachusetts (primarily the Essex County towns of
Newbury, Amesbury, Salisbury, Salem, and Gloucester), southern New Hampshire
(largely in Rockingham County, particularly Hampton), and southern Maine (the York
County towns of Waterborough and Shapleigh and the Cumberland County towns of
North Yarmouth and Gray). A few ancestral lines have touched on places a little
further removed from this broad area, such as Orange County in Vermont, New
London County in Connecticut, Plymouth County in Massachusetts, and the town of
Guysborough in Nova Scotia.
But while this geographical area is relatively small, the experience I have gained
within it is more broadly applicable, at least to the northern New England states. The
basic contents and wording of probate records, for example, does not vary much
from Essex County to Rockingham County to Orange County to York County. The
same is largely true of town records, land records, and vital records, and naturally the
format of the federal census and its additional schedules is the same throughout
New England.
variety of records necessary and available for New England genealogy from the
1600s to the 1900s: vital and town records, census records, probate records, land
records, New England genealogical periodicals, Revolutionary War pension files
and service records, town histories, church records, newspaper accounts, and
others. Like all genealogists, I have more experience with some of these record
categories than with others -- I've only recently started learning more about the wide
variety of court records, for example.
As mentioned on the Introduction tab, most of those records have been in the area
encompassed by northeastern Massachusetts (primarily the Essex County towns of
Newbury, Amesbury, Salisbury, Salem, and Gloucester), southern New Hampshire
(largely in Rockingham County, particularly Hampton), and southern Maine (the York
County towns of Waterborough and Shapleigh and the Cumberland County towns of
North Yarmouth and Gray). A few ancestral lines have touched on places a little
further removed from this broad area, such as Orange County in Vermont, New
London County in Connecticut, Plymouth County in Massachusetts, and the town of
Guysborough in Nova Scotia.
But while this geographical area is relatively small, the experience I have gained
within it is more broadly applicable, at least to the northern New England states. The
basic contents and wording of probate records, for example, does not vary much
from Essex County to Rockingham County to Orange County to York County. The
same is largely true of town records, land records, and vital records, and naturally the
format of the federal census and its additional schedules is the same throughout
New England.
New England Cousins
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Genealogical research with a focus on northeastern New England
| "A qualified genealogist will obtain all of the facts possible, analyze and judge them carefully, and then and only then, weigh all of the evidence before deciding the crucial problem and accept or reject the facts." -- Noel C. Stevenson, Genealogical Evidence (Revised Edition), p. 12, copyright 1989 by Noel C. Stevenson. |
| My Background |
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Copyright 2010 Ruy A. Cardoso. All rights reserved.
Detail from Revolutionary War pension file W12017, NARA series M-805, roll 490, showing
marriage information for Timothy Kelly and Joanna Newcomb of Newbury. The information was
provided in an affidavit of Stuart Chase, Newbury town clerk. The same file in NARA series M-804
(not available online) includes a complete listing of this couple's children.
marriage information for Timothy Kelly and Joanna Newcomb of Newbury. The information was
provided in an affidavit of Stuart Chase, Newbury town clerk. The same file in NARA series M-804
(not available online) includes a complete listing of this couple's children.
Now of course, there ARE variations in the quality and availability of records in the
different jurisdictions. Vital records in the smaller towns of New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Maine can be sorely lacking. Census schedules for certain years and
locations are missing. Cumberland County in Maine has NO surviving probate
records from prior to 1900 (as is so often the case, a fire was the culprit). But these
are details that are learned only with more time and experience (and a good set of
reference sources).
In short, I believe that my overall experience will help me perform thorough research
for you. I hope you will agree.
different jurisdictions. Vital records in the smaller towns of New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Maine can be sorely lacking. Census schedules for certain years and
locations are missing. Cumberland County in Maine has NO surviving probate
records from prior to 1900 (as is so often the case, a fire was the culprit). But these
are details that are learned only with more time and experience (and a good set of
reference sources).
In short, I believe that my overall experience will help me perform thorough research
for you. I hope you will agree.
