Searching for early American colonists

During the Thanksgiving holiday season, we often think about the first colonists in America.

Searching for your early colonial ancestors can be tough though. There are few online resources or digitized records for colonial genealogy research but here are a few books from our collection that can help with your search:

• The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700 by John Camden Hotten (online resource)
• Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900 by William P. Filby 
• A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692, on the Basis of Farmer’s Register by James Savage 
• New England Marriages Prior to 1700 by Clarence Almon Torrey
• Dutch Colonists in the Americas, 1615-1815 by David Dobson
• A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1718-1759 by Jack Kaminkow

These are only a few resources in our collection. We have early vital records, passenger lists, and local histories for specific colonies too. We also have records on Mayflower and Jamestown ancestors.

And don't forget to look in the Lundberg periodical collection. Many early records and town histories are transcribed by local historical and genealogical societies and published in their journals and newsletters.