Books in the Heritage Classic series

This informative and extremely helpful guide explains the relatively simple evolution of names such as Neill to O'Neill, as well as the baffling transfiguration of Johnson to McShane. It also describes the interchangeable use of different surnames, a practice which resulted from the translation of names between the English and Irish languages. The name Smith, for example, could have been used interchangeably with Gowan, Goan, Gow, McGowan, or O'Gowan; each of these representing the Anglicized form of the Irish word gobha-a smith. The text clarifies the meaning of prefixes and affixes, initial letters, second and third letters, contractions, spelling according to pronunciation, older forms of names, local variations in spelling and form, irregular use of maiden surnames, Christian names applied to both sexes, and other problems associated with names. The key to many genealogical puzzles lies in finding the district of origin of a surname variation. This book provides an alphabetical list of surnames and their variations plus a list of districts numerically keyed to the surnames. A third list keys each name to the principal name under which it may be found in the first alphabetical list. Don't let its small size fool you-this practical little research aid is indispensable to anyone searching Irish roots!

In the 1930s, Paul Ben Baginsky, a member of the German Department faculty of Brooklyn College, was working on a book then called "The Development of the Notion of America in Germany" when it was stopped by the lack of bibliographic data to work from. It became clear that no more progress could be made without more adequate bibliographical foundations, and that's exactly what Baginsky set out to do. Based on, but not limited to, the extensive holdings of the New York Public Library, this book aims at being a comprehensive bibliography of the German publications dealing with any aspect of America which were published before 1800. This includes not only books, but articles, essays, and book reviews. Each entry is arranged chronologically according to the publication date. These listings are made highly accessible by the addition of extensive and detailed subject, author, and title indexes. A new introduction and a selective bibliography have been added by Dr. Don H. Tolzmann, one of the foremost German-American scholars today. Anyone seeking information on Germans in American history before 1800 should examine this work, not only for topics pertaining to German immigration and settlement, but any possible historical topic, including esoteric subjects, such as forestry, science and medicine. This book is an essential reference for colonial German-American history.

There are some indications (see Massachusetts: A Bibliography of Its History, 1976) that this early history of the ancient town of Haverhill was drafted by John Greenleaf Whittier, a native son, who turned it over to Mirick. In any event, it is a detailed history of its early times with about half the volume devoted to the seventeenth century. This town was first settled in 1640, and for seventy years was on the frontier, and subject to repeated Indian depredations which are discussed extensively. Many early settlers are named, and can be readily found with the new full-name index added to this reprint. An appendix provides a list of ministers, college graduates, and representatives to the legislature. There is also a directory listing the "Professional Gentlemen," merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, etc., which makes interesting reading. Not many women are listed, but we find Nancy Williams was a "mantuamaker" on Water Street. There is also a list of local societies with their officers. What was the purpose of the "Fragment Society"? It was organized in 1825, and the officers were women. Curious? Look inside!

The early history of Manchester, New Hampshire, is complicated by the fact that it lies on the Merrimack River in a region early claimed by both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which made it the subject of numerous conflicting grants. It was known at various times as Harrytown, Tyng's-town, Amoskeag, and Derryfield before receiving its present name. The Manchester Historic Association was formed in December 1895 to collect and preserve documents and artifacts pertaining to the history of the Manchester area, and to publish historical studies. Early in its history it published a series of volumes of "collections" which contain a great deal of valuable, but relatively unknown, historical and genealogical material. Those collections were a mixture of short articles, papers read before the meetings of the society, and extensive transcripts of original documents. They were only published in small numbers, primarily as a quarterly membership periodical, and hence are difficult to find today. New name indexes have been added where needed, which will make the reprints more useful for researchers than the original volumes.

This interesting work provides a detailed history of the southern colonies during their formative stages, prior to 1700. Some chapter headings: American Discovery During the Sixteenth Century; Spanish and French Settlements in America During the Sixteenth Century; The Virginia Company; Virginia Under Royal Government; Virginia Under the Commonwealth; Virginia After the Restoration; The Foundation of Maryland; The Revolution in Maryland; The Two Carolinas; The Social and Economical Life of the Southern Colonies. This work is extensively documented, has several appendices, a detailed index, and a map showing the settlements along the coast from St. Augustine. The author was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and wrote several historical works, including a companion volume on New England.

This 1889 reprint covers a great deal of Scottish and English family history. Starting with the Norman settlers in Dumfriesshire, the work quickly moves into the activities of genealogical significance within the ruling classes. Some of the family names covered include: Bruce, Carlile, Corry, Kirkpatrick, Johnstone, Baliol, Douglas, Kerr, Crichton, Carruther, Maxwell, Gordon, Jardine, Cummings, Fleming, Carlyle, Murray, Irving, Charteris, Stewart, Fergusson, Grierson, Herries, Maitland, Boswell, Sharpe, Kennedy, Dunwiddie, Bell, Rome, Gladstone, and Graham. The Johnstone family receives attention in seven of the twelve chapters. This is a well-rounded history and an asset to anyone trying to find a connection in this part of Great Britain.

This volume transcribes the earliest records of Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia, predating by several years the establishment of the parish in 1666. Some of the entries in this vestry book relate as well to Lancaster Parish and Middlesex

This work is the third in a series of books about Maryland families. The author, already known for his works on the Fry, Hines, Hurley, Lowder, Maddox, Niekirk, Pratt and Walker families, now turns his attention to the Fulks families, whose name has been variously spelled Fowke, Foulks, Foulk, Fulks, Fout, Fouck, Fouts, Foltz and Fought, among other versions. Beginning with Fowke records from the 1400s, the book is designed to be an introductory look at the descendants of the Fulks families, being primarily an account of the descendants of Baltus Fulks of Maryland (1735-1806) and Gerard Fowke of Virginia (1606-1669). Chapter subjects include a second Gerard Fowke (1662-1734), Foulke family members of Delaware, Fulks families of Maryland, the Gloyd families (who intermarried with the Fulks family), William Fulks, Ignatius Fulks (1800-1881), William Robert Fulks, Fulks families of Virginia, and Fulks of Kentucky and Tennessee. The bibliography lists about a hundred sources used in the preparation of this volume, and the every-name index lists 2,000 or more names included in the book.