"Starting in 1820, ships' passenger lists were collected by U.S. Customs officials at all ports of entry. Well into the 1890s, these lists--Customs Passenger Lists--furnish proof of the arrival in the United States of nearly twenty million persons. With the exception of federal census records, they are the largest and most continuous body of records of the entire century. Listing each passenger by name, age, sex, occupation, the country he intended to inhabit, the name of his ship, his port of embarkation, and the date of his arrival, the lists were kept under the authority of the collectors of customs at the various ports of entry, later deposited with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and finally given to the National Archives, where they were sorted and arranged by port, date, and ship, and then microfilmed. The microfilm version of the Customs Passenger Lists for the port of New York--by far the busiest port of entry in the U.S.--consists of both original passenger lists and copies of those lists, depending on which list was most suitable for microfilming. This new compilation by Mrs. Bentley, a sequel to her recent book covering the period 1820-1829, is a direct transcription of the original microfilmed lists (National Archives Microfilm #237) for the port of New York for the period 1830 through 1832. In this one encyclopedic volume are the names--in alphabetical order--of 65,000 passengers with their age, sex, occupation, place of origin, etc., and the names of the 1,700 ships that brought them to New York. Also included is a separate list of ships with the names of ship masters, ports of embarkation, and dates of arrival.Until now these passenger lists have been virtually inaccessible, available only through a somewhat incomplete card index maintained by the National Archives. Along with the first volume in this series, we now have complete coverage of passengers arriving at the port of New York for the entire period from 1820 through 1832!"--Amazon.

The Paine-French genealogy continues the story captured in an earlier book, "The Paine-Shepard Genealogy 1463-1913 written by Clara Paine Ohler, published in 1932, and traces the descendants of Merton K. Paine and Ella Gordon (French) Paine to the present day. While the book includes background from Clara Ohler's publication, it also refers to census reports that identify Paine and French family direct ancestry with references to other side branches. The chapter on "Cemeteries" reveals information on ancestors in Ludlow, Belchertown and Springfield, MA as well as Simsbury, CT. While William French's travels both as a single man and later after his marriage took him and his family to several interesting places eventually ending up in MA, the Paine Family ancestry can be found mostly in MA and CT. The book also includes interesting information concerning our direct ancestors, John and Sarah French, and their son William H. French and his wife Mary Dugan, parents of Ella Gordon (French) Paine. Readers will find the chapters concerning the USS Constellation, the historically verifiable accounts of William H. French's service aboard that venerable ship, and his subsequent service in the Union Army during the War of Rebellion of particular interest.

Genealogists and other historical researchers have valued the first two editions of this work, often referred to as the genealogist's bible."" The new edition continues that tradition. Intended as a handbook and a guide to selecting, locating, and using appropriate primary and secondary resources, The Source also functions as an instructional tool for novice genealogists and a refresher course for experienced researchers. More than 30 experts in this field--genealogists, historians, librarians, and archivists--prepared the 20 signed chapters, which are well written, easy to read, and include many helpful hints for getting the most out of whatever information is acquired. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography and is further enriched by tables, black-and-white illustrations, and examples of documents. Eight appendixes include the expected contact information for groups and institutions that persons studying genealogy and history need to find. ""