One of perhaps the least used genealogical resources is the scholarly journal. These are high-quality genealogy publications that contain family histories, case studies, abstracts of records from various sources and other articles. Don’t neglect to check them out when trying to break down your brick wall.
There are several genealogical journals that have been published over the years and are still being published. The American Genealogist was first published in 1922 and is considered one of the premier genealogical publications. It contains well-researched and documented genealogies and analyses. The National Genealogical Society Quarterly has been published since 1912 and covers all of the United States including different ethnic groups. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record has been printed since 1870 and focuses on New York research although it does contain information on those families that have origins in Europe and have migrated across the United States. The New England Historic and Genealogical Register (AKA The Register) is the oldest of the genealogical journals, the first being published in 1847 and emphasizes New England research. It is the focus of this article.
The Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society (RICIGS) has recently acquired indexes to The Register. They can be found in the Genealogical Society collection at the Rock Island County Historical Society (Dewey decimal RICIGS 974). The first set of indexes consist of three volumes that cover volumes 1-50 of journal. There is another set of four index books that cover volumes 51-149. Note: The current volume published in 2019 is vol. 173.
Once you find your family member in the indexes, there are several places where you can locate the past issues of The Register. First, the Rock Island County Historical Society has hard-bound volumes of the journals from volume 1 through 153 on their shelves. They also have copies of the same indexes that RICIGS has.
Special Collections at the Davenport Public Library (on Main Street in downtown Davenport, Iowa) has a complete collection of The Register including the indexes on their shelves.
Finally, if you are a member of American Ancestors (americanancestors.org) you can access the digital copies of this collection by visiting this link: https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/202/new-england-historical-and-genealogical-register. Recent issues are available at https://www.americanancestors.org/browse/publications/the-register/archive-2015-2019. You can print selected pages or download individual pages as .jpg files.
Good luck and happy researching!
