This collection contains research notebooks, scrapbooks, and other documents created or collected by James Fullerton Trott (1815-1898). Most of the collection focuses on his genealogical research, but the collection also contains several notebooks and a scrapbook on various historical subjects. Most of the notebooks include an index to subjects, as well as cross-references to other notebooks and scrapbooks. These cross-references indicate that some of Trott’s notebooks and scrapbooks are missing from our collection.

The collection is arranged in three series. The first series, Genealogy, includes several notebooks on the ancestry of James Fullerton Trott or his wife, Celinda Eliza (Whitney) Trott. The notebooks contain compiled genealogies, notes, newspaper clippings, and some pictures, as well as transcriptions of probate records, letters, and other original documents. The genealogical notebooks focus on the Winslow, Trott, Whitney, and Gardner families; they also contain information on the Bigelow, Cowing, Green, Parkhurst, Penhallow, and Pierce families. The genealogy series also includes some loose documents on these families. This series contains extensive information on the Winslow family, focusing on the descendants of John Winslow (1597-1674) and Mary Chilton of the Mayflower. In addition to genealogies of this Winslow family, the notebooks and papers in the Genealogy series include transcriptions of a letter from Sarah (Winslow) Deming to Joshua Winslow (originally written in 1775), transcriptions of letters between Anna (Green) Winslow and Sarah Coverly (originally written between 1788 and 1808), a transcription of the 1773 diary of Anna (Green) Winslow (Mrs. Joshua Winslow), as well as transcriptions of several probate records for the Winslow family.

The Genealogy series also includes several documents that were collected by or written by James Fullerton Trott’s daughter, Elizabeth C. Trott. These items include the transcription of the 1773 diary of Mrs. Joshua Winslow, a document on the Mayflower ancestors of Eliza Celinda (Whitney) Trott, and a photograph.

The second series of this collection, Notes on ancient history, languages, and other subjects, contains five notebooks and a scrapbook by James Fullerton Trott. These books contain notes and newspaper clippings on wide variety of topics, including the Ancient Romans, Etruscans, Phoenicians, ancient languages, ancient religions and myths, Native Americans, and the early history of North and Central America. The notebooks and scrapbook also contain some information on the colonial history of Boston and Massachusetts, as well as the history of the Niagara Falls area. Most of the notebooks contain an index to subjects, and cross-references to notes on similar topics.

The third series, Graphics, contains a painting and three photographs, all related to family history. The painting, now damaged, depicts the Trott family coat of arms, and was probably by Elizabeth Jane Trott, the sister of James Fullerton Trott. The photographs are related to the Whitney and Winslow families.