I like using my background in history to trace the journey of my mother’s family in southern New England.
If you’re wondering how to get a little deeper into your Rhode Island research, check out my “8 Weeks to Better Rhode Island Genealogy Research” series; it may help you add something to your genealogy toolbox.
See my listing on the Association of Professional Genealogists:
Books
Research in Rhode Island, a volume in the National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States states series, was published in 2018 by Maureen Taylor and me. It is available for sale at the NGS bookstore.
Presentations
I offer virtual Zoom presentations, live, to your library or genealogy society group. Also booking engagements in person to begin August, 2021.
Please message me at rhodeisland202@gmail.com if you are interested in arranging a talk. The topics for Sept 2021- August 2022 are:
- Chart Your Own Course: Education Plans for Genealogists
Conferences, webinars, books, institutes, online courses, certification and guided groups … sharpening skills and learning new areas of genealogy never looked so confusing. Explore the wide range of today’s new learning opportunities to meet your time and budget constraints. If you are newer to genealogy, this is a great time to plan the best education for you.
- The Real Life of Vital Records
Understanding when, where and why vital records were created, and the changes in those practices over the years, can help us find them today. Learn how to use copies, abstracts, indexes and “substitutes” on the path to the best record. Improve your family history research today by maximizing your ability to locate the records that tie generations together.
- Tips for Navigating Rhode Island Records
Many Americans have roots in Rhode Island, and there are some unique sources available to trace Rhode Island’s colonial families. The post-Revolutionary War period was a time of industrialization and enormous change. The immigrants to Rhode Island in the later 1800’s left completely different clues. Let’s review the best tips for breaking through to your ancestor’s Rhode Island story.
Email me at rhodeisland202@gmail.com .
Follow me at LEGACY FAMILY TREE WEBINARS
I have some presentations available on Legacy Family Tree Webinars (visit the set at the link below). That is a subscription site, and any purchase made there will benefit me in a small way. Personally, I have learned a lot from Legacy Family Tree Webinars. It’s a wonderful way to explore a new location, tool or method.
My Legacy Family Tree Webinar Tech Tips (under 10 minutes):
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The “Rhode Island History, vol.26, July 1967, no. 3,” published by The Rhode Island Historical Society includes an article of vital records of Glocester inhabitants. Found many of my ancestors and wanted to share this source: GLOCESTER, RHODE ISLAND VITAL RECORDS, p. 90 ( https://www.rihs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/1967_July.pdf ).
Thank you for all your research efforts … your website is a wonderful source of information.
Thank you for this! I’ll add it to the Glocester town section.
Hi Diane – I’m searching for the Providence City Directory for years 1925-1928 – one which would show the street name/apartment #’s (if any) with its occupants. Appreciate your help. Thank you.
Have a great day.
Hi. The reason you are not finding them online is that they are not yet within the copyright-free time period (1924=latest), so most sites will not create copies of the books and post them. The Rhode Island Historical Society has a good collection of city directories but they are closed at present. Definitely try GenealogyBank.com and Ancestry.com, and this site:
https://www.theancestorhunt.com/blog/free-online-rhode-island-city-directories
Thanks for your help.
good coverage of the 1920s, here. not sure if they will provide what you need. But take a look. My great-grandfather, his address, occupation, and employer is there. Some family members at same address listed separately. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/15754010
Thanks for the info, Todd.
You’re welcome. here’s another set of Rhode Island directories. I think the 1925 through 1928 Providence books are the same as in the other database, but with slightly different browsing options. Oh, also see 1929 as there can sometimes be information leftover from or pertaining to the previous year. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8778/
It might also be worth checking the 1925 Rhode Island census, here https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1532195
HI, found this while remembering my Lanphere family . I am descendant from Oliver Lanphere/his son Harry Lanphere, who had my grandmother Winifred Lanphere, and her siblings, Merle, Gladys, Grace, There were many others pre.. including the 6 Lanphere Brothers who escaped from a church slaughtering of their congregation. Apparently it was a sec that was very unpopular in England. I have more history and it is in the Genealogy.. You may be interested to know that Gladys Gale Lanphere was a movie star back in the 30’s and 40’s .. Her stage name was Gladys Gale . you can look her up in Google.. I have Caruso’s cuff-link in a ring made for her as she was married to Caruso’s wife’s brother, Park Benjamin. Also Don Lanphere famed sax player who played with Woody Herman back in the big band days. Was my second cousin , mom’s first and son of Merle/Beanie Lanphere from Seattle , Washington ..My name is ADDIE, I also had a career in the music business. I see that all the Lanphere names are mixed with different spellings.. not sure if all those are really related?? Very confusing for sure.. anyway.. thought I’d touch base as I too am trying to piece it all together.. Best wishes
Hi. Diane, I landed on your site from a general Google search with key words Rhode Island, Bennett, Comstock, and Burroughs. I can see I’ll have to spend time searching your site. I know most of the available history of my part of the Comstock family in Rhode Island since 1652 based on the many fine published sources for Rhode Island. I do have a couple of brick walls — don’t we all? My main one is Catharine Bennett Burroughs (1827? to 1907). I’ve beat my head on that wall for twenty years. I know a lot about her husband and her kids. She just appears to have miraculously appeared in North Providence at some time before she married. Oh well, more work to do. If I can help with Comstock inquiries your readers may have, let me know. My family was quite prominent in the Blackstone Valley in both RI and MA and then more so in the city of Providence from about 1856 onward. We owned property, farms, homes, and industrial concerns all over northern RI. The land the family’s meat packing business was on is part of Roger Williams park today. We provided the initial funding and helped establish Buttonwoods in Warwick and my great-grandfather (same name as mine) owned Corotoman Farm in Phenix (apparently part of West Warwick today). I’ve recently written articles on two prominent Cranstonians, Jonathan Farnum Comstock and Dutee Wilcox Flint. The Flint article has been published and both of them will go to the Cranston Historical Society free of charge. I’ve also provided services to the Mendon Historical Society. I believe in giving back when I can.
Thanks for all your work! I’m looking forward to searching what you have compiled.
Regards,
Frank Paine Comstock
Thanks for your note Frank. Make sure you are using my 8 Weeks guide – the Census section – to find Catherine’s date and place of birth in the 1905 state census. Also, the 1865 will give a place of birth.
Hello….I binge watched all of your webinars on Family Tree yesterday and they were probably the best, most helpful, well presented, articulate, full of obscure hard to find information….I could go on and on. Just the BEST. Thank you so much for sharing. I spent some time going to sites and one collection the RI Military Census of 1777 indicated that the towns of Middletown and Portsmouth were lost at the time the census was published. Do you know if they ever found those documents? My Barker Family lived in these 2 towns at that time. Again many thanks for the wonderful webinars. Want to see more! Anytime soon? Thank you, Sheryl
What a kind note, thank you so much. I am quite sure those local sections have not materialized. I will be on the lookout, however, and post here if something comes up. If anyone is looking for the webinars on Rhode Island genealogy, they are on Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
Thank you!
The History of Townsend, NH, on page 400 states that Benjamin Spaulding married Sybil Wallis on 19 March 1789. Can anyone confirm if this is the elder Benjamin Spaulding or his son who was b. in 1767?
Early last year I found a City of Pawtucket Death Register on this sight. I cannot find it now.
There are no vital records on this site. From time to time I link to sites that have such things. The pre-1850 vital records would be in the Arnold set. Post-1850 would be available as microfilm in several different places. My suggestion is to contact the city clerks office in Pawtucket seeking the record.
Looking for information on a book my sister found written by Emily Louise Spaulding it has her travels and pressed flowers. It has dates around these dates.
I moved to Ri in ’87 and just found out I had family that moved here in the mid 1700’s.I’d guess. Because he was born in MA. Only found the book because I landed on you blog. Jonathan Read – Pass away on the 28 Apr 1779 • Smithfield, Providence, Rhode Island. Trying to see if he did anything that was in the history of RI.
Wonderful website and has provided some great new leads for my research related to R.I. ancestors. I do have a question. I’m looking at an 1875 R.I. Census and one ancestral family. For one column, the heading says, “If in Rhode Island, name the town; if elsewhere, name the State or Country.” My family reads “Ireland”, “Ireland”, “B.A”, “Massachusetts”, “Johnson” (I assume Providence County), “Smithfield” (again I assume Providence County), and “Massachusetts.” No problems here except for the “B.A.” I’m clueless. The only thing that comes to mind would be British America but this is way too late for that. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Very kind of you. And that’s a great question. For whatever reason, during the second half of the 1800s they used “B.A.” to refer to the Canadian provinces. For the life of me I don’t know why they didn’t say Canada.
Thank you for this! You’ve given me some great ideas about how to capture what I do on my own site. I love that you highlight your presentations and book contributions.
Hi Diane, Thank you for your informative article about Howes Tavern/Red Horse/Wayside Inn. I am a descendent of Sarah Leavitt, wife of Samuel Howe who built the Inn.
Thanks for the note David!
Hi Diane, I was wondering if you knew if Captain James Anderson had any naval service with the British before the Revolutionary War.?
You would have to go through my blog posts carefully to see there is no evidence of that. But can’t say for sure.
Hi Diane,
Very excited to have found your web site. Always trying to learn about resources available to search my RI ancestors. Will you be doing any book signings again? Or, is there a place I can pick up a copy in RI? Thanks for your direction. Beth
Hi Beth. I should have books at the Sept 29, 2018 RI Genealogical Society meeting at the Barrington Public Library as well as the October 20, 2018 Genealogy Marketplace, 10:00 a.m. – noon, Aldrich House, 110 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI. But I believe when you follow the link to the National Genealogical bookstore site, they don’t charge shipping so it’s not hard to order from them if you can’t make either of these events. Thank you for asking!
Thanks, Diane! BTW, my gggranddad’s Petition for Naturalization mentions Declaration of Intention filed previously in the Court of Common Pleas in Kent County in September of 1883. Unfortunately, the Judicial Records Center cannot find the copy. Would any other place have a copy? TIA
Hi Beth. Unfortunately, if they can’t find it and had no suggestions there’s nothing you can do. Rhode Island judicial records were scattered and neglected for years, so even though it’s a bit better now, some stuff is just gone. I wish I had a better idea for you. If we meet this fall, let’s chat again.
Loved finding your page. I am a direct descendant of George Lampheres son Theodosius (7x gg). Your pages on Westerly RI, and the Lamphere locations are very interesting, and personally meaningful to me as they are all proven direct relatives on my tree. I’m currently researching the Hopkins RI Revolutionary War Miltia that my great grandfather Joshua served in. Would love to see any other info you find on my early family.
Loved finding your page, in particular your research of the Westerly RI Lampheres, and their locations. I am a direct descendant of George Lamphere through his son Theodosis. I’m currently studying the military career of his descendent Joshua Lanpher with the Hopkin RI Revolutionary War Militia. Would love to see any other research you do on our ancestors in the future. – Heather “Lanphear”
Stumbling across your Website was a Godsend! I’m doing a Family Tree for my husband, who’s ancestors are from the Newport/Middletown/Fall River area’s. Although I have his 3X Great Grandparent’s names, I was having a hard time connecting them to their families, so I started to doubt that I had their actual first names correct. Then I read your blog on searching war pension records. Sure enough, there was copy of their Marriage Certificate in the Pension file in order for his Grandmother to prove she was entitled to apply for the pension! Thank you so much for that hint!!
I’m from Texas, so I’ve learned more about Rhode Island and Massachusetts than I could ever imagine! 1. The boundary dispute over the Fall River area; 2 The 1752 Calendar discrepancy…which I never knew about. Being down south, I have done a lot of my research online. Your website is a great addition to my reference list. Any suggestions for the Newport/Middletown/Fall River area research references would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again!
Thank you LeAnn. Fall River is a tricky area and it would depend on how early the family extends back in that area. Or perhaps that’s what you’re still trying to ascertain. At any rate, deeds and probate should be online for that area, if that helps. For the Rhode Island side, it’s only probate online. Check out the long spreadsheet of manuscript titles available at the Newport Historical Society – they will usually accept one well- posed question and try to help, if you find a specific manuscript where you want a lookup. They will not take general questions about your ancestors.
Hi Diane, The more I learn about the Phillips families of colonial RI the more confused I get. I am trying to identify the John Phillips of Jamestown (Newport) mentioned in the 1721 marriage record of John Johnson and Sarah Phillips, “of John of Jamestown.” Could this be the same John Phillips mentioned as son-in-law in Robert Burdick’s will in 1692? Do you know of any work that may have already been done on this Phillips family?
Mark, the one thing I think you can know for sure about the Rhode Island Phillips is that they are not properly sorted out anywhere. Research on them would have to start from the ground up, with early deeds and probate. I have not yet attempted any of this with my Phillips ancestor.
Thanks to an OLLI genealogy class at our local university, I’ve started to unravel the family history quagmire. I am directly related to Hope and James Phillips and John Angell and Ruth Field. My great grandmother, Georgia Phillips (born in New Berlin, NY) married Charles Phillips who was born in Brothertown, Wis; although, his father Edgar was born in New York, possibly Chenago County. Both Phillips’ lines have multiple James in their lines…possibly cousins (?). My grandfathers may have descended from the oldest son, who was named after his father. Both of these Phillips lines go back to early colonial times, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It makes me crazy, at times, trying to connect all the dots and fill in the missing pieces. I’ve had DNA collected through Ancestry, but I haven’t gotten any Phillips’ connections. Any ideas…right now I’m stuck researching James Phillips (born 1815 in Rhode Island) and his wife, Lydia Livingstone. Thank you, thank you, thank you for hosting this wonderful site! I can’t wait to investigate all you have to offer.
Debi, I think there is plenty of room for progress here. The Phillips are really, really tough and there is more than one early Phillips family in Rhode Island. Lots of vitals were never recorded in the 1815 era so probably you won’t find that. Your best bet may be the Livingstones if they were Rhode islanders – that would be a more rare name here. Unless he married her in New York state, then she could be from anywhere. New York state was the usual first or second stop as the generations headed west from Rhode Island starting about 1790. Very good luck to you, keep checking out the 8 WEEKS series to tackle various types of records. Just about everything might be a possibility!
Hi Diane just wanted to say how interesting your blogs are. I was searching for my Emery line and came across John Emery 1754 – 1828. my 3rd cousin 7 times removed. Got into this line thru my Smith line in Maine, Samuel Smith married Margaret Emery. Looking forward to reading more of your stories.
Marge Armstrong
I recently discovered I am a direct descendant of Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer. I am sure I will find much useful information on this blog 🙂
I really don’t know how i got here but the name NewBettsTefftfamily by Jerry Betts came up on my My Herritage page.
Thank you! This is very helpful, I missed that there was a state census in 1905! Perfect timing.
Thank you for your wonderful, robust, R.I. site! I’m helping a non-blood cousin research her lines and have a bit of a brick wall in relation to her immigrant great-grandmother. I know that great-grandmother married in Rhode Island but before we go to the time/expense of ordering a marriage certificate, could you tell me what I’m likely to find on one from 1905? We’re keen to learn where (in Italy) this lady was from and I’m hoping the marriage certificate might help.
Amber check out my Providence vital records page, I have several index volumes linked there. If found, you could send the citation to the Providence City Archives for a scan of the page. They will not charge you much. If not found, contact the Rhode Island State Archives. They will find the entry and send you a copy of the state record from microfilm; the price will be reasonable. If actual certificates were needed you would then have to pursue that directly with the town or city clerk from the correct town, and that will cost plenty.
I also suggest you go to the Census portion of my 8 Weeks series to make sure you are accessing the 1905 census correctly. The census taker might have written an exact location in Italy, you never know. Good luck!
Love the book links. I’ve been downloading old books through Google and Family Search for several years now and probably have somewhere around 600 on my computer that are relevant to my genealogy research. Arnold’s Vital Records is one of my favorite sets!
Thanks Carolyn! I agree, it is incredibly helpful for genealogists to build their own collections of those books.
Hello Great Blog Would love to add you to my list on my blog and to an article I am working on connecting Hawthorne and Ipswich families and are you on Facebook? Thanks
Hi Diane – my friend forwarded me the link to your page. On my mother’s side, my grandparents are Weston MacLeod (granddad) and Agnes MacLean (grandmother) and I have a ton of extended family in Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. So we are probably related somewhere! I never meet Scottish people in Rhode Island – this is very cool!
That’s neat, Heather! And let me tell you, those names are surprisingly hard to trace (very common up there). If you ever take a DNA test, let me know. all the best – Diane
Dear Diane, I stumbled across your blog whilst trying to find out more about my ancestor Daniel McHarron who was a loyalist granted land in Chester and was a Freemason in lodge 9. I believe at one time he was the lodge master. How wonderful it was to see the document you have about your ancestor James Anderson. It not only confirmed Daniel’s membership of lodge 9 but to see his actual signature was just incredible. Daniel and his descendants were also seafarers and at one time captained their own boats. Thank you for sharing your stories and finds.
Geraldine, that’s simply amazing. And good for you for having the persistence to find it! I’m wondering how you knew what lodge your ancestor was in – what scraps of information were handed down to you, or did you find? We haven’t been able to make much of this Masonic connection. I’m really thrilled to “meet” you! Where was Daniel from originally (before he fled to Nova Scotia?) Many thanks for your note!
I’ve just started tracing my family history and my paternal grandmother – my paternal grandmother was a Ballou. I stumbled across your site and found it to be fascinating and very helpful. I’m in the process of verifying my facts and just started to work on my paternal grandfather’s side. Unfortunately my grandmother married a Smith so it not so easy. Just too many Smiths!
Just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and the valuable info you provide. I’m a novice at this so it is really appreciated!
Thanks for leaving a comment, Herta. Good luck with your research!
Dear Diane, I’m the genealogy librarian at the Newton Free Library and I have to say that what you do with your blog is amazing. It’s a great example of the way a blog can be used for publishing a particular family’s history. At the same time you do a magnificent job of teaching people how to do their own research correctly. And that includes me! I created The Curious Genealogist as a library blog and am therefore very careful what other blogs I link to it. Yours is one of four. In September our genealogy club will be discussing the different ways a family history can be published. I’ll be using yours as a key example of a blog. Many, many thanks for all your good work. Ginny (always the librarian)
Thank you so much for the kind words. In fact, your link has brought numerous readers to the blog over the years; it’s much appreciated. I think the blog encourages me to write one story at a time, so I always have some things written and ready if I want to put some info together in an informal book on a certain line – I do this from time to time using lulu.com. Our genealogy is never complete, is it??! and the blog helps me make incremental progress.
Many thanks for yet more useful tips. Have a great fourth of July. Ginny
Hi, I stumbled upon this. Very interesting. Please note my name!
I wonder if there is a connection???
Hello Diane,
Two times in my family line a Sheffield married an Arnold; one marriage in particular occurred between William E. Sheffield of Stonington, CT and Mary Arnold of Norwich, CT. They are my 4th Great Grand parents. Mary Arnold has been difficult to research. So far I have her birth c1769, CT, marriage 18 Sept 1785, Stonington, CT (yes, she was 16 years old) and death p1860, NY (she was 91). The Sheffield family were in shipping, commerce and trade. During the American Revolution the Sheffields were privateers in Stonington, New London, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Thank you for your website. I now have a few leads to follow in establishing Mary’s lineage.
Alison Hyland
I was going to write a blog piece about the Boston Evening Transcript 1890’s column but decided to see if there was a posting about it already. Lucky for me you had already covered the subject with a very good posting, so I wrote a little piece about one of the questions in the Jan 1895 column.
I cite your posting in it. Link to my piece for your reference: http://newspaperproject2012.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/break-the-popes-neck/
Thank you for an excellent piece.
Jose from Clarkston, Michigan
Ref. your link: http://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2012/07/04/access-the-boston-transcript/
I enjoy your blog. I am just getting into researching my Rhode Island family roots – my grandfather (Howard Briggs) was from there and I am trying to figure out who his grandparents were. Also I have an ancestor, Stephen Murphy from Westerly (born about 1828) who married my maternal ancestor from Groton CT and stayed there, and I have hit a brick wall with him.
Hi Diane-found you by accident still haven’t figured out how I landed on your site.Been poking around doing some of my own family research. I’m the great granddaughter of Robert Murdoch PLP (Pictou Local Poet)I’ve bookmarked your site and will be back to read it thoroughly. Bev (Murdoch)Thompson
Nice to hear from you, Bev. I think I have a “Murdock” tag along the side column, you can find any other material related to the Murdocks that way. My relationship to them is pretty murky, but I’m hoping to learn more, eventually.
Thanks Randy. No end in sight for my Arnold mysteries so I will keep adding what I can find. I wish us both luck!
Thank you for the article and the site & blog. If I ever get my wife’s Inmans and Pages out of the 1720’s in Gloucester they will probably connect to the Arnolds somehow.
I’ve seen the house and been to the cemetery (one of my first stops when we moved to NS.)
Ed H
I enjoyed your site, where I found the date of an important family wedding from the 1930s. I’m working on a fictional account loosely based on a local family history. Since its fictional, I’m not bound to exact times or places, but knowing these facts helps to place events in chronological order, thus giving my work greater authenticity. I have bookmarked this site and will definitely return. I am a music historian, but fiction writing is new to me. I’m co-editor of the book, Rhode Island’s Musical Heritage: An Exploration (Harmonie Park Press), 2008. No website yet. Robinmaya is right. This is a great model for a blog as well as a very well organized and attractive website. Thank you!
Very nice blog. I found it very informative regarding my family tree, I descend from many of the same families that you mentioned; ie Whipples, Arnolds, Angell’s. I also descend from the Inmans and Olneys. Sounds like my family was deeply embedded in the Providence area. I also have connections to the Jenks family and the very well known iron smith Joseph Jenks of the Saugus iron Works. Thanks for all your hard work 🙂
Thanks! I am also descended from the Inmans, and as you say, those are all early Providence names. Thanks for reading! I hope to post more in the future as i discover more about all those folks.
Hi Diane- Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog! It is very well done . I just wish we had some ancestors in common! I am watching your threads relating to the Tefft and Darling line to see if there is any connection. I hope some day to begin a blog of my own and I know when that day comes I will use you as a role model. Thanks for thinking out loud.
Robin Maya