California Genealogical Society blog: Tour You Missed: 2012 Research Trip to Boston and NEHGS

A week's vacation spent in libraries is not everyone's "cup of tea" but for a genealogist it is a dream come true. This year's California Genealogical Society Tour to Boston – home to the Boston Public Library and the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library – was a successful adventure for ten members.

Bates Hall Reading Room, Boston Central Library at Copley Square

Tour leader Jane Lindsey has provided several photographs of the week and several of the attendees have provided feedback.

Jane Wolf Hufft at the Boston Public Library.

Jane Hufft spent the week pursuing her Cook genealogy.

This was Lynne Dory's first research tour. She found a branch of her mother's Canadian family she had never seen before. "Sarah Kast was a Palatine and British Loyalist who sacrificed a great deal for her loyalties, then ended up in Western Canada where she now has a present-day following of descendants who erected a stone in her memory."

Lynne had nothing but good things to report. "Jane Lindsey was so patient, so knowledgeable, and she even seemed as interested in my tree as I am. I was thrilled with the trip to Boston and all that I learned and gained in my family tree! I'm now looking forward to making a trip to Salt Lake City, if Jane plans to lead one in the spring."

Researching at the Boston Public Library.

Diana Morris Wild resolved several stubborn problems on two lines, confirmed many facts, and discovered she has a Mayflower ancestor.

Sisters Carolyn Lachenmayr and Judy Jones with Gary Boyd Roberts at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library.

Judy Zelver was really pleased with the help she received from Irish Specialist Marie Daly at NEHGS. Marie was able to help Judy pinpoint the exact location where her family resided in the mid-1800s, and using an overlay with a current map in Google, Judy could virtually travel down the road where her family lived. Judy also extended her Feake family lines by several generations – back into the early 1500s in England.

Kathleen Merlino received assistance from Gary Boyd Roberts at the NEHGS Library.

Kath Frail Merilo traveled to Salem the weekend before the Boston tour. During her research week she was surprised to discover one of her ancestors was a witch:

"Gary Boyd Roberts causally mentioned that there was information about the Pease family in Massachusetts. Upon researching the name I learned that an ancestor was accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch trails in 1692. A warrant was issued for her arrest and she was arrested and jailed for a period of time. Fortunately she was not hung. I have known that I had an ancestor, Samuel Frail, who had signed a petition in defense of Jonathan Proctor, who was hung as witch, so I wanted to visit Salem and the memorial. After the trail, both the Pease and Frail families left Salem and headed West. The grandchildren of Mary Pease and Samuel Frail married around 1730."

Sandy Jones Fryer at the NEHGS Library.

Sandy Fryer reports: "Gary Boyd Roberts gave me some tremendous leads when I was at NEHGS two years ago. I thought that meant that there was not much more for this visit. I could not have been more mistaken! Gary was very generous with is time. His knowledge of early New England families is amazing. He helped me extend Peck, Kimball and Parke lines in my husband's family, and my Mainwaring, Tallman and Fuller lines, with good secondary sources. It will take me months to organize all the information I gathered and verify the data with primary sources."

Favorite signs: rest rooms at the NEHGS Library.

Be sure to read Alison Kern Shedd's account of her success at the Boston Catholic Archives, "Researching the McKinley Family in Boston," in the upcoming issue of The California Nugget.

Around the table starting left: Jane Lindsey, Diana Wild, Kathy Merilo, Carolyn Lachenmayr, Judy Jones, Lynne Dory, Pat Smith, Sandy Fryer, Alison Shedd and Judy Zelver. (Not shown: Jane Hufft.)