Research at the Manchester City Archives

Ward Records, 1846-1914

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:32:00 GMT

Ward Record descriptions for Wards 1 through 8 are now available on the Manchester City Archives website: http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/Departments/CityClerk/MunicipalArchivesandRecordsCenter/WardRecords/tabid/3185/Default.aspx

The History of the Ward 5 Ward Room

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:46:00 GMT

THE HISTORY OF THE WARD 5
WARD ROOM
163 LAKE AVENUE

Three Mayors in One Year

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:31:00 GMT

THREE MAYORS IN ONE YEAR – 1894

Edward J. Knowlton, 1893-May 10, 1894
Byron Worthen, Chairman (dejure) May 10, 1894-December 31, 1894
David B. Varney (defacto) May 10, 1894-July 9, 1894

1940 FEDERAL CENSUS (updated)

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:13:00 GMT

The 1940 Federal Census is now available to the public The public has access to the census records online at the National Archives facilities as well as from any computer connected to the Internet. An individual is able to search by state, county, city or township. There will be no name index.

1864 City Tax Book transcription available at the Archives website.

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:03:00 GMT

The 1864 City Tax Book features all those individuals who were taxed or who owned property in the City of Manchester. Information includes property locations, assets owned, livestock, and whether the individual owned a dog. Here is the link: http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/Departments/CityClerk/MunicipalArchivesandRecordsCenter/TheRecordsoftheManchesterMunicipalArchives/EarlyTaxRecords/1864CityTaxBook/tabid/3080/Default.aspx

"Moose Plate" Award given to Manchester City Archives

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:59:00 GMT

The 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic, and How it Affected Manchester

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:52:00 GMT

CIVIL WAR VOLUMES TO BE RESTORED

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:59:00 GMT

1847 Tax Book

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:52:00 GMT

The 1847 Tax Book is now online.

Genealogical Research - Starting Out

cityclerk@manchesternh.gov — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:03:00 GMT

Genealogy is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the United States. As individuals retire, they often see genealogy as engrossing way to learn about their family and travel the United States. But how do you begin?

The first step is to get organized by setting up some sort of filing system. Too often notebooks are filled with snippets of information that become just uncorrelated and often unrelated data, especially if you are researching two different families. Some individuals begin with a family tree form and others use index cards. There numerous free sources online that can help guide your research. Listed below are two of the more helpful ones.

National Archives of the United States: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/about research.html#start

Rootsweb: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

The next step is to start with your own family by writing down family member names and their birth, marriage and death dates. Then move to your grandparents. Do not take as fact family tales about a deceased relative. Make sure you can document every detail that you put down. If you decide to post your information online at a site such as Rootsweb, your sources of information tell individuals looking at your family tree that you have done legitimate research that is well documented. Beware of copying information online that is unsubstantiated or using a book published long ago about your family. Sometimes people guess and that guess can be perpetuated over the years.

There is also a limit to what you will be able to discover about your family using online resources. Vital Records information is usually not found online. There are two reasons for this. One reason is that is an incoming producing source for many states, cities and towns. Another is privacy. The State of New Hampshire is a privacy state so vital records will never found be found online. The State requires individuals to write a letter or fill out a form and state their relationship to the individual whose information they are requesting. They also require a copy of the requestor’s photo identification.

Census records are an excellent source of information though the researcher must be patient. They are hand written documents that have been microfilmed or scanned. Deciphering the handwriting can often be difficult, and the spelling of the last name can change from year to year, even if it is the same person. If the individual who gave the information was not born in the United States, chances are the information will vary from year to year because the census taker may not have completely understood the information being given.

Census records are available online through Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest for a fee. Sometimes, your local library may have a subscription to these sites. The 1880 Federal Census can be found online for free at www.familysearch.org.

The National Archives facilities also have census records but they can be seen only at the location itself.