American Ancestors Finding Aids and Fine Art

American Ancestors seeks to advance the study of family history in America and beyond. We educate, inspire, and connect people through our scholarship, collections, and expertise. We have been collecting, preserving, and providing access to manuscripts and photographs that focus on the study of family history in America since 1845. The documents in our collection represent New England and many other regions. Our holdings include:

• Handwritten and typed family histories and charts.
• Material with vital statistic data such as town, church, and cemetery records.
• Genealogical papers compiled by genealogical researchers and authors.
• Family association collections.
• Original primary source documents donated individually and in collections of family papers.

Manuscripts are available to American Ancestors members, who are visiting the library, under the following provisions:

• Please note that some collections are stored offsite and are identified as such in their catalog record. These collections require a scheduled appointment with the Special Collections staff for their use.
• Manuscripts are requested with a "manuscript request form" submitted to the archivist during normal library hours (forms are available at the 5th and 7th floor reference desks).
• Researchers determine a manuscript call number by looking at the catalog record. Check the library catalog for a complete list of entries to date.