Atlas for the Blind, 1837

Map of New York

 

In 1837, the New England Institution for the Education of the Blind, now the Perkins School, published its Atlas of the United States: printed for the use of the blind.  The first institute of its kind in the U.S., Perkins was soon publishing books under the leadership of its director, Samuel Gridley Howe, using a method of embossing text and lines on the page.  Louis Braille’s method, an improvement upon the technique known as sonography, was first seen in a published work in 1829 but would not become widely used until after his death in 1852.  British author Charles Dickens would be impressed enough to have the Perkins printing department publish an edition of his book, The Old Curiosity Shop, and, after visiting the institution, he would write about it in another work, American Notes.  It would be this book that gave hope to Kate Adams Keller that her blind and deaf daughter could be educated, and by 1887 Perkins would send graduate Anne Sullivan to begin the process of teaching the young Helen Keller.

 

Detail of Lake Erie

 The B&ECPL’s copy of the Atlas resides in the Rare Book Room after an unknown amount of years spent at the Lancaster Public Library.  Shown are images of the maps depicting New York State and Lake Erie.

 

New Materials in the Grosvenor Room

Savage, James. Female index to genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England.   GRO Ref F3 .F46 2008

Bracy, Isabel. Records of Revolutionary War Veterans who lived in Madison County, New York.  GRO Ref F127 .M2 R43 1988 

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 2011 Supplement, part 2. GRO Ref CS68 .P363 2011 Suppl. Pt.2 

Smolenyak, Megan.   Who do you think you are?  The essential guide to tracing your family history.  GRO Ref CS16 .S646 2009

Jacobson, Judy.   History for genealogists: using chronological time lines to find and understand your ancestors.  GRO Ref CS49 .J35 2009 

Cooper, Jean L.   Index to Records of ante-bellum Southern plantations: locations, plantations, surnames and collections, 2^nd ed.  GRO Ref F213 .C66 2009

Hawkins, David T.  Criminal Ancestors: a guide to historical records in England and Wales.  GRO Ref CS434 .H39 2009

Darrow, Carol Cooke.  The Genealogist’s guide to researching tax records.   GRO Ref HJ2362 .G46 2007

Watson, Penn R.  Cobblers and printers: twelve generations: descendants of Thomas and Rebecca (Marke) Watson: Strawberryhowe, Cockermouth, England to Buffalo, New York, 1650-2000.  GRO Ref CS71 .W3247 W38 2009

Maps Maps Maps!

The Grosvenor Room houses maps and atlases that are used by local history researchers and genealogists, but these are just a small portion of the Central Library’s incredible collection of over 70,000  local, regional, state, national, and international maps.  For more information on the collection, see our new map web page.

“Map of the County of Erie” featured above published in: An atlas of the State of New York, containing a map of the State and of the several counties . Burr, David H., cartographer. It was only the second atlas published of an individual state!

Finding Family Histories

Have you wondered if a history of your family has already been written?  If you have, the following resources may lead you in the right direction.  Keep in mind that family histories are only as good as the researcher and the information which was available at the time they published their work.  Use other genealogists’ research as clues, but be sure to find the evidence yourself to prove or disprove the information they provide.

If you find a resource of interest, you can check our online catalog to see if B&ECPL owns the title.  If we do not carry the title you are interested in, we may be able to borrow the item for you through Interlibrary Loan.

• Books

Gro Ref CS47 .D38 1982 – Shelby, Mrs. Richard Denny.  DAR Library Catalog, Volume I, Family Histories and Genealogies.  Washington, D.C.: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1982.

Gro CS47 .I64 1979 – Index to American Genealogies; and to Genealogical Material Contained in all Works such as Town Histories, County Histories, Local Histories, Historical Society Publications, Biographies, Historical Periodicals, and Kindred Works….  Baltimore, MD:  Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979.  [Companion Volume: Z5313 .U5 W61 – The American Genealogist being a Catalogue of Family Histories.   Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s Sons, 1897].

Gro CS69 .K3 – Kaminkow, Marion J.  A Complement to Genealogies in the Library of Congress.  Baltimore, MD: Magna Carta Book Co., 1981.

Gro Ref CS47 .N39 1998 – New England Historic Genealogical Society.  Circulating Library Catalog, Volume I, Genealogies.  Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1998.

Gro Ref CS47 .U56 1990, 3 volumes – UMI Guide to Family and Local Histories.  Ann Arbor, Michigan:  UMI, 1990.

Gro CS47 .U6, 2 vols, 1 sup.  – Kaminkow, Marion J., ed.  Genealogies in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography.  Baltimore, MD: Magna Carta Book Company, 1972.

Gro CS47 .Y3 1996 – Hoffman, Marian.  Genealogical & Local History Books in Print: Family History Volume.  Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996.

•  Databases

HeritageQuest Online – HeritageQuest includes a collection of over 28,000 full-text family and local history books.  The date range covered is 1583-2000s.  It also includes PERSI, a selective index to genealogy and local history articles.  To learn more about HeritageQuest, see our tutorials.

Ancestry Library Edition – There are thousands of databases available in Ancestry, some of which are family histories.  Narrow your search to the Stories, Memories, and Histories Collection in order to find these materials more quickly.

• Miscellaneous Resources

Grosvenor File – The Grosvenor File is a card index which will help you find family history books and articles.  To find listings for your family, look alphabetically by last name.

Grosvenor Genealogy Collection – Published family histories are available in the Grosvenor Collection.  They are arranged roughly in alphabetical order by surname, and are recorded in our online catalog. Many of these books are also indexed in the Grosvenor File.  To browse, start at call number CS 71.

Family History Pamphlets – The Grosvenor Room owns a collection of almost 700 family history pamphlets.  Most were published in the 19^th and early 20^th century. When using the pamphlet collection guide, refer to the call number section for an alphabetical list by surname.  The guide is available at the Reference Desk.  Many of these resources are indexed in the Grosvenor File.

Family History Files – The family history vertical files contain a variety of information sources, and are available by request at the Reference Desk.  A guide to these materials is available at the Reference Desk.

Genealogy Manuscript Collection – This is a collection of unpublished manuscripts donated to the former Grosvenor Library, by the Buffalo Genealogical Society (1899-1931) and the Niagara Frontier Genealogy Society (1941-48).  A guide to the collection is available at the Reference Desk.  See also the WNYGS microfilm ML152 for the Philbrick Family Book which covers the 1631-1925 timeframe and the following surnames: Butterfield, Wilson, Manley, Philbrick, Boyce, Holmes, and French.  An index is included.

• Library Catalogs

The Online Catalog of the BECPL – A database showing the books, magazines, CDs, videos, maps, and manuscripts owned by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.  It includes the Grosvenor Room, all departments in the Central Library, and every town and branch library.  To find sources in our collection beyond those listed in this guide, try these Subject searches:

[FAMILY’S LAST NAME WITHOUT BRACKETS] FAMILY – i.e.  Foster Family

[LAST NAME, FIRST NAME WITHOUT BRACKETS] – i.e. Hubbard, Elbert

WorldCat – This is a union library catalog which lists the holdings of thousands of libraries across the U.S. and some foreign libraries as well.  You will find resource titles and the libraries that own them.  Perform an advanced search and search the subject field as follows:

[FAMILY’S LAST NAME WITHOUT BRACKETS] FAMILY – i.e.  Foster Family

[LAST NAME, FIRST NAME WITHOUT BRACKETS] – i.e. Hubbard, Elbert

FamilySearch Library Catalog – This is the online catalog of the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.  It is the largest genealogy library in the world. Perform a surname search, by inputting a single last name in the search field.  To search for resources that cover multiple surnames, use the keyword search.

• Websites

Haithi Trust – A full-text digital library including history and genealogy books.

Internet Archive – Full-text books including a large collection of biographical, genealogical, and local history materials.

A Quick Start to Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestors

• Search the following databases in Ancestry Library Edition:
  • U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783—will give rank and state fought with.
  • Revolutionary War Pension Index—will give rank and state fought with.
• Search HeritageQuest Online’s Revolutionary War Documents:
  • The documents include select items from pension files which may include vital genealogical details such as birth/death/marriage dates and places of the soldier and his family.  Military service details will also be given.
  • Check out our HeritageQuest tutorials at: http://www.buffalolib.org/libraries/collections/genealogy/databases.asp 
• Browse Daughters of the American Revolution publication indexes:
  • Index of the Rolls of Honor (Ancestor’s Index) in the Lineage Books of the N.S.D.A.R—Gro E202.5 .A15
  • DAR Patriot Index Centennial Edition—Gro E255 .D33
  • These publications may give data such as birth, marriage and death dates; place of birth and death; wife’s name; military rank; state fought for; and other details.