The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) has announced that all issues of the NYG&B Record are now accessible online to the Society’s members. The entire run of the NYG&B Record comprises 563 issues at this writing and forms the largest single collection of published material on families that lived in New York State. The collection is every-word searchable and is accompanied by a new surname search engine based on an index to more than one million names from the pages of the Record. Originally created by Jean Worden, the search engine will simultaneously search every issue from 1870-2009 and will be updated every October when the year’s annual index is released.
Continuously published since 1870, the NYG&B Record is the second oldest genealogical journal in the country and one of the most distinguished. Published quarterly, it concentrates on people and places within New York City, State, and region and features compiled genealogies, solutions to problems, and unique source material.
Access to the digital version of the Record is available exclusively to NYG&B members through the Society’s growing E-Library of unique material on its website.
Other New Content: Expanding the digital content available to NYG&B members is one of the Society’s foremost goals. Book one of the 1855 New York State Census for Ward 17 of New York City, including an every name index was recently posted to the E-Library. Ward 17 was often the first home of new immigrants who arrived in the middle of the 19th century. The original census returns were damaged by fire and sat unused for many years. Thanks to an extraordinary effort by NYG&B volunteers and interns these records are now being made available. The remaining books will be posted once the indexing is complete. Also in progress is the posting of more than 500 biographical sketches of NYG&B members from the first half of the 20th century. Personally completed by each member as part of their application to the Society, these biographies contain exceptional firsthand narratives, family trees, and ephemera.
About the NYG&B: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has been a primary resource for research on New York families since 1869. The NYG&B seeks to advance genealogical scholarship and enhance the capabilities of both new and experienced researchers of family history through a rich schedule of programs, workshops, and repository tours- through its quarterly scholarly journal The NYG&B Record and its quarterly review The New York Researcher– and through an E-Library of unique digital material on its website www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org.