This weekend FRPC is offering a bundle of two items specific to Colonial American research as our FRPC Exceptional Bargain offer. The bundle is made up of David Norris’ Tracing Your Colonial American Ancestors, and William Dollarhide’s Colonial Wagon Roads to 1750 InstaGuide. A normal value of $17.90 plus $7 U.S.A. p&h, the package is on sale for 20% off at just $14.32 (plus $5.50 p&h), keeping the total delivered cost within the USA under $20! Note that you can also order just one or the other of the items at 10% off by clicking on their individual links during the sale period.
This sale runs through midnight EST (not MST) Saturday, January 25, 2013. Click here to purchase the bundle.
Both of these publications are invaluable for doing Colonial American research, so order yours today!
Following are reviews of both of the items in the package:
Tracing Your Colonial American Ancestors. gives the genealogist all kinds of information specific to doing Amwerican research prior to the Revolution. At 82 pages, the printing offers 18 articles by popular contributor David A. Norris. The contents of this collection of articles are described by Norris himself:
“Many Americans can trace at least part of their ancestry back to people who lived in the colonial era. Each of the original American ‘Thirteen Colonies’ was unique, and within them, the counties and towns had their own distinctive characteristics. Fortunately for the genealogists today, the Internet, libraries, archives, books, and microfilm are all available to help find and understand family history information from the colonial era. I hope that this guide will provide useful ideas and tips for the reader who is digging into the fascinating history of this time”
Contents
Colonial Newspapers
Newspapers of the day can offer more than just news about your ancestor, but also a look into their daily lives
Maps of Colonial America
Between websites, atlases and modern reproductions, there are lots of places to find maps from the colonial era
Revolutionary War Records
We look at some rich resources for early births, marriages, maiden names and more
Birth, Marriages & Deaths
Tips and hints for locating more vital record information for colonial ancestors. Look outside the box!
The New Calendar
The change to the new calendar in 1752 left a mess for future generations of historians and genealogists
Passenger Ship Records
There are many passenger records for colonial ancestors that have been published or place online
Tax Roll & Colonial Censuses
A look at colonial censuses, along with tax rolls and tithables as helpful census substitutes
Militia Records
It wasn’t all coins and paper money; quite often our ancestors relied on barter and credit
Colonial Money
Along with probate and land records, court records offer some of the richest resources for your research
Colonial Court
Along with probate and land records, court records offer some of the richest resources for your research
The French and Indian Wars
Four European wars spilled over into the histories of many New World families
Indentured Servants
There are a number of easily accessible published and online sources to help you locate your ancestor
Voting & Poll Books
Most election lists are long lost, but scattered lists of voters remain for some of the colonies
Political Committees
Opposition to British rule created new types of family history records
Probate and Land Records
Some of the best information you will discover will come from the land and probate records of your ancestors
Colonial Weights & Measures
The US inherited some British systems of measurement, but differed on others after American independence
Brands, Ear Marks & Strays
Records of your ancestors’ livestock can be a gateway to the past
Predator Bounty Records
Records of bounties on various types of predators or “animal nuisances” can add color to your family history
Get a copy of Tracing Your Colonial American Ancestors from Family Roots Publishing at 10% off through Saturday, January 25, 2014, or purchase as a package with Dollarhides’s Colonial Wagon Roads to 1750 InstaGuide for 20% off, and reduced postage ($5.50 total – Reg $7.00)
Review of Colonial Wagon Roads to 1750 InstaGuide
It often began with a road.
“Genealogists need to know the places their ancestors lived before they will have any success in finding records for a person. Most documents naming a person are still located near the place the person lived, e.g. In a county courthouse, church, cemetery, or local funeral home. A big event in genealogical research is finding the county of residence for a person. To find the right county often means a researcher must understand the history of the area, when the county was first settled, and what roads were available for migrating families moving into the area.”
Not so surprising, many of today’s highways and byways follow the same path they did when first established, often as little more than a horse trail or wagon road. In Colonial Wagon Roads to 1750, author William Dollarhide provides a brief history of colonial roads that still exist today. This information is nicely packaged in the first Genealogists’ Insta-Guide™ from Family Root Publishing.
This new Insta-Guide begins with a brief introduction along nice a table showing the colonial roads covered in this guide alongside their current highway designations. The bulk of the guide is broken into two sections. The first is the King’s Highway, broken into the five major section as it existed in 1750. The second group of roads comes under the banner Scots-Irish Influence on Road Building in Colonial America. There is another brief background followed by information on nine more major colonial roads. The guide is completed with a nearly full page map of these 1750 Colonial roads and a section for print and online references.
When talking with Leland Meitzler from Family Roots Publishing about this new guide, he mentioned the greatest difficulty Dollarhide had in preparing this guide was finding additional resources to add to the guide that didn’t already just quote himself. I guess that is the type of problem one may encounter when they are the nation’s preemptive expert on early migration routes. Readers will only get the best from this guide.
Like other quick sheets, and “at a glance” guides, the new Genealogists’ Insta-Guide series features four-page, laminated, colored guides which fit nicely into three-ringed binders and portfolios. By this design, these guides are easy to take along for sharing or going to the library for research; not to mention, they are easy to store. The Insta-Guide comes pre-punched for three-ringed insertion.
Here’s the real kicker for this new guide series, you can order the Insta-Guide as a printed piece or as a downloadable .pdf file for your computer; plus, supporting tablets and smart phones — as long as your device supports .pdf [Acrobat] files.
Contents
Introduction
Highway Table
King’s Highway
- 1750 King’s Highway – Boston to New York
- 1750 King’s Highway – New York to Philadelphia
- 1750 King’s Highway – Philadelphia to Alexandria
- 1750 King’s Highway – Alexandria to Norfolk
- 1750 King’s Highway – Norfolk to Charles Town
Scots-Irish Influence on Road Building in Colonial America
- Upper Post Road
- Hudson River Road
- Mohawk Road
- Lancaster Road
- Fall Line Road
- Great Valley Road
- Philadelphia Road
- Pioneer’s Road
- Upper Road
Map of 1750 Colonial Wagon Roads
Print References
Online References
Order Colonial Wagon Roads to 1750 from Family Roots Publishing; Price: $7.95 – less 10% individually through Saturday, January 25 or purchase as a package with David Norris’ Tracing Your Colonial American Ancestors for 20% off, and reduced USA postage ($5.50 total – Reg $7.00)
