JONATHAN SHEPPARD BOOKS
Blacks English German Hispanic Irish Italian Jewish Polish Scottish Welch British Isles Other
Mostly, we stock single copies of rare, hard to find and unusual books. Most of them are old and/or out of print. Occasionally, we add a few recently published books to our inventory that we consider important or particularly helpful to the genealogical researcher. These books go in our "new book" corner. Browse through the list of the titles in our New Book Corner - something's bound to catch your eye!
Special Note: Books titles marked with the symbol [*] indicate special purchases; they are offered at prices significantly less than their originally published prices and are in very limited supply. When they're gone, they're gone!
The Black Loyalist Directory: African Americans in Exile After the American Revolution [*]
edited by Graham Russell Hodges.Published by Garland Publishing Inc., New York, 1996. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 x 9 1/2, 318 pp. $37.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0211
Three thousand black Americans departed from New York City with the British at the end of the Revolution. Outraged slave owners, hoping to seek compensation for their lost "property", demanded that the British military compile a complete list of these refugees. This book is a literal transcription of that list, and includes the Black Loyalists’ names, ages, masters’ names, towns of origin, and general physical descriptions, as well as the names and destinations of the ships on which they departed.
Historical and Cultural Atlas of African Americans [*]
by Molefi K. Asante and Mark T. Mattson. Published by Simon & Schuster Macmillan, New York, 1992. Softcovers, 10 x 12, 198 pp. $20.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0212
Here for the first time in one comprehensive volume is a visual and narrative portrait of the African-American heritage, culture, and people. It highlights the historical and contributions of the African-American population within regional, national, and international frameworks.
More than 130 four-color maps, table and diagrams illustrate and complement statistical information covering a wide range of topics, including historic locations, migration routes, underground railroad sites, the growth of the KKK, Freedom Aid Societies, the Black middle class, African-American colleges, and much more.
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage
by S. Chris Anderson and Ernest Thode. Published by Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH, 2000. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11, 192 pp. $18.99 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0214
This hands-on reference for beginners will give you step-by-step instruction for researching your German, Austrian, Swiss or Alsatian lineages. Overcome common Germanic research challenges and determine your ancestors’ villages of origin.
Finding Your German Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide
by Kevan Hansen. Published by Ancestry, Inc., 1999. Softcovers, 6 x 9, 80 pages. $6.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0216
Introducing the first true
beginner's guide to German ancestral research. If you haven't worked with
German records before, this compact guide will warm up your cold feet quickly
and make intimidating foreign sources seem like old friends in no time.
Anyone who has worked with foreign records knows that the language can be
intimidating. In order to overcome this research barrier, author Kevan Hansen
provides the tools and information that empower researchers to work comfortably
with German records.
Finding Your German Ancestors also offers a solution to one of
the largest dilemmas German researchers face: shifting national and regional
borders. Due to the continual changes of boundaries and jurisdictions in
historic Germany, the types of records available vary from region to region.
Finding Your German Ancestors explains the current locations of records from
regions with names and boundaries that have changed. It even includes
information for contacting each location!
Researchers using this book will not only have a greater understanding of their
ancestors' lives, but will gain a tremendous asset in finding more information
on German records.
News From the Land of Freedom: German Immigrants Write Home
Edited by Walter D. Kamphoefner, Wolfgang Helbich, and Ulrike Sommer. Published by Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1991, 1st edition. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2, 645 pp. $25.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0217
From Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, and from isolated frontier farms, newcomers to America wrote back home, capturing in their individual voices the experience of adapting to a profoundly different culture. Here for the first time is a broad cross-section of German immigrant letters - some 350 - arranged in 20 different series, composed by one individual or family group, some spanning a couple of year, some half a century.
The letter-writers span the social scale from university graduates to the illiterate, from miners and domestics to wealthy businessmen and public officials. With a down-to-earth concreteness and spontaneity, their letters give rare glimpses into the thoughts and feelings of the inarticulate and uneducated. They include a variety of religious - and irreligious - views, and cover the entire political spectrum from sympathy for the Kaiser to socialism, from apathy to activism.
An ideal choice for German-Americans who want to know more about their roots, this engaging book will provide rewarding reading for anyone interested in American social history.
A Good Start: The Aussteier or Dowry [*]
by Jeannette Lasansky. Published by The Oral Traditions Project of the Union County Historical Society, Lewisburg, PA and distributed by The University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990. Softcovers, 9 x 11 3/4, 88 pp. $20.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0208
A Good Start chronicles the evolution of the dowry or aussteier as practiced by rural Pennsylvania-German and Anglo-Saxon farm families from the mid-eighteen century to current and similar practices among the Amish. It shows how those "gifts from home" were, and are, part of a complex inheritance system which starts in earnest for both young men and women in adolescence and which culminates near their marriageable age. The results of extensive manuscript research among old indentures, family account books and will are contrasted to the evidence from oral interviews with members of contemporary Plain sects. Ceramics, textiles, iron- and tinware, tools, vehicles, grains, animals, and furniture forms like beds, desks, chests of drawers, tables, chairs, and sometimes clocks, were among those items considered necessary for "a good start".
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Irish Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage
by Dwight A. Radford and Kyle J. Betit. Published by Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH, 2001. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11, 224 pp. Out of Print
To order, use book number NB0218
This latest volume in the Genealogist’s Guide series provides invaluable advice as you begin to trace your Irish origins. You’ll find suggestions for determining your Irish ancestor’s place of origin, as well as advice for researching Irish records in America and on the Emerald Isle itself. Included are basic strategies using cemetery, church, estate and military records and more.
Irish Records: Sources for Family and Local History
by James G. Ryan, Ph.D. The newly revised and enlarged edition published in 1997 by Ancestry, Inc. Hardcover with dust jacket, 81/2" X 11", 700 pages. Out of Stock
To order, use book number NB
9702Newly revised and enlarged, this text covers parish registers, commercial and social directories, newspapers, land records, marriages, wills and administrations, and other sources can help the researcher circumvent destroyed or lost records and fill in ancestral gaps. The book discusses the location and organization of records and the county by county system of record collection and preservation. Specialized maps help locate towns and parishes referenced in the text. It also helps you associate surnames with particular counties; just one shortcut can save you hours of fruitless effort.
St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church Brooklyn, New York, Baptism and Marriage Registers 1839-1857
Published in 1996 by Redmond Press, Salt Lake City. Softcover, 8.5" X 11", 282 pages. $30.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9801
Known as the "Irish Parish", St. Paul's on Court Street was the focal point of Irish Catholic immigrants in the City of Brooklyn. Moreover, because civil registration of births and marriages did not begin in Brooklyn until 1866, these early sacramental registers are the only evidence for many births and marriages that took place prior to 1866. Arranged alphabetically and with separate indexes for mother's and bride's maiden name, these transcriptions of more than 9,000 baptisms and nearly 2,000 marriages will be of inestimable value to researchers.
Sir Richard Musgrave's Memoirs of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, 4th Edition
Edited by Steven W. Meyers and Delores E. McKnight. Published by Round Tower Books, Fort Wayne, IN, 1995. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 1/2 x 9 1/4, 982 pp. Out of Stock
To order, use book number NB0219
A classic loyalist account of the pivotal event in Ireland’s most dramatic decade. The book contains a mass of detailed information including first-hand accounts, sworn affidavits, government proclamations, and battle plans and maps.
Last printed in 1802, Musgrave’s work was for years available only in the largest libraries. This modern edition has a new forward and an new index (10,600 entries). Thousand of names of immense genealogical interest are listed, especially for the south Leinster area of Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Kildare and Dublin, for the east Ulster area of Armagh, Antrim and Down, and for the Mayo Region.
Oceans of Consolation: Personal Accounts of Irish Migration to Australia [*]
by David Fitzpatrick. Published by Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1994. Softcovers, 6 x 9, 649 pp. $20.00 + shipping.
To order, use book number NB0220
"An ocean of consolation" was what one young Irish immigrant in rural Australia called a letter from his father in County Claire in 1855.
Oceans of Consolation offers historians and family researchers noverl and sophisticated ways of reading old letters. It opens to us the daily preoccupations or ordinary women and men with little education and fewer material possessions, as they try to overcome the separation from family and friends created by emigration. The author includes the personal correspondence of fourteen families of Irish emigrants in the Australian colonies, giving equal attention to letters to and from Australia. He reproduces in full more than 100 letters dating from 1843 to 1906, and in his commentaries he pays special attention to words and idiom by which letter-writers expressed their everyday concerns and sought or offered reassurance and advice.
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Experience
By Lynn Nelson. Published in 1997 by Betterway Books. Softcovers, 8 1/2" x 11", 146 pages. Out of PrintTo order, use book number NB9910
This practical guide takes beginners step-by-step through the research process, and includes advanced tips for more experienced researchers. You'll learn how to find Italian vital records - civil documents that record births, marriages and deaths- and how to read the margin notations to learn even more about your family.
This easy-to-use reference even includes information on Italian naming traditions, how to read foreign handwriting from hundreds of years ago, ingenious tips for using an English/Italian dictionary, and a letter writing guide you can use to request data from Italian officials - in Italian!
As you do your research, you'll learn much about the history and customs of Italy that will transform the faceless names you uncover into cherished family members. So put on your detective cap and get ready for the surprises and touching moments waiting to be discovered in your past.
Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Other Records in Family History Research
by Trafford Cole. Published in 1995 by Ancestry, Inc. Hardcover with dust jacket, 8 1/2" X 11", 265 pages. $34.95 + shippingTo order, use book number NB9703
Along with a detailed history of the development of Italian record-keeping, this book will instruct you on the Italian records themselves - civil, church, notarial, military and more. This volume is rich in reproductions of typical records found in repositories throughout Italy, and includes a complete translation and thorough explanation of each example. There is also advice on how to approach Italian repositories and sample letters to help you obtain records through correspondence.
Italian-American Family History: A Guide to Research and Writing About Your Heritage
by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. Published in 1997 by Genealogical Publishing Company. softcovers, 6 x 9, 142 pages. Out of Stock
To order, use book number NB9728
In focusing on Italian-American culture, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack has developed a unique approach, not only to Italian-American genealogical research, but to genealogical research in general. Among other things, this book enables you to evaluate American records for information specific to Italian-American research, to appreciate the importance of Italian-American cultural perspective, and to write a readable and interesting family history. Above all else, this book is designed to help you actually enjoy researching the American generations of your family history.
Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans, 2nd Edition
by John Philip Colletta. Published in 2003 by Genealogical Publishing Company. Softcovers, 6 x 9, 206 pages. $14.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9729
Whether you choose to conduct your family research by traveling to Italy or by writing to town archives and other repositories, this is the complete guide for you. Finding Italian Roots briefly discusses the resources available in the U.S., then how you can tap into the wealth of information available in town halls, archives, churches, and libraries throughout Italy. The glossary of key Italian terms and the extensive annotated bibliography ensure that any Italian-American can rediscover his Italian heritage.
Workshop to Office: Two Generations of Italian Women in New York City [*]
by Miriam Cohen. Published in 1993 by Cornell University Press. Softcover, 6" x 9", 237 pages. $17.50 + shippingTo order, use book number NB9901
In turn-of-the-century New York, Italian immigrant daughters spent their youth in factories while their mothers did irregular wage labor as well as domestic work at home. By the 1940s, Italian-American girls were in school, socializing and preparing for white-collar jobs that would not begin until they were eighteen. Drawing on a range of sources from censuses to high school yearbooks, Miriam Cohen examines shifting patterns in the family roles, work lives, and schooling of two generations of Italian-American women. Paying particular attention to the importance of these women's pragmatic daily choices, she documents how major social and political changes helped create new opportunities and constraints for the second generation.
Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors
by Barbara Krasner-Khait. Published by Heritage Quest, 2001. Softcovers, 8 x 10, 290 pp. Out of Stock
To order, use book number NB0201
Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors is a
comprehensive and concise guide to discovering family history from "the old
country" and chronicling immigration to the U.S. Written by historian
Barbara Krasner-Khait, this book will guide you through the myriad of
publications, archives, institutions and Web sites that hold the keys to
locating the most hard-to-find ancestors — even in towns that have long since
been destroyed along with all their records! This book is not simply a
general primer on genealogy, but focuses on the Jewish experience — its
sources, meaning and value. Krasner-Khait weaves together success stories from
her own personal journey to find her roots with a host of helpful tips. She shows you where to
find historic data unique to the Jewish genealogy experience, including records
about surname changes, migration patterns, family members who perished in the
holocaust and much more.
Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors is enhanced with many examples,
illustrating records specific to Jewish research. It includes an excellent
bibliography, a thorough index and convenient helps throughout, which guide you
in the search for your Jewish roots.
Resources for Jewish Genealogy in the Boston Area
By Warren Blatt. Published in 1996 by Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. Hardcover, 8 1/2" x 11", 275 pages. $25.00 + shippingTo order, use book number NB9931
Organized in two major sections - Record Types and Record Locations - this book describe the major record types and the local institutions holding them in great detail. It contains a wealth of bibliographical information and is especially useful for locating institutions with major European research material. Although written primarily to assist the Jewish researcher, this book is a valuable reference for anyone doing late 19th or 20th century research in the Boston area.
by Rosemary A. Chorzempa. Published in 1993 and reprinted 1996 by Genealogical Publishing Company. Softcovers, 6 x 9, 262 pages. $19.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9730
This pioneering work on Polish family history is designed to provide the American researcher with the kind of information needed to succeed in Polish genealogical research. Beginning with an examination of Polish-American resources and records kept by Polish-American families, the author then treats standard genealogical records groups in the context of Polish-American research. She provides a breakdown of libraries and archives with Polish-American genealogical materials and a comprehensive list of Polish genealogical societies. The bulk of the book is focused on research in Poland, and in addition to the discussions on Polish church and civil records, libraries and archives, and Polish naming customs, there is even a letter writing guide, with a translation of requests to be sent to Polish repositories.
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your English Ancestors
by Paul Milner and Linda Jonas. Published by Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH, 2000. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11, 192 pp. Out-of-Print
To order, use book number NB0221
This insightful and practical guide covers every aspect of English family history research. Learn how to document your findings properly and understand the historical context in which your English ancestors lived.
Your English Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans
To order, use book number NB9708
Many books provide guidance on English research, but Sherry Irvine's book is the first to provide a logical research routine for the family historian based in North America. The author not only tells you what records are available and which are most useful, but also provides excellent advice on how to access those records. The book discusses civil registration records, the census, lists and periodicals, church records, wills before and after 1858, civil records and occupational records. Several appendices, a reference lists and an address list make the book even more useful. This book will make English research easier and more efficient for any North American researcher.
Your Scottish Ancestry: Revised, 2nd edition
by Sherry Irvine. Published in 2003 by Ancestry, Inc. Softcovers, 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", 249 pages. $19.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9709
This new book is a "must have" title for Scottish family historians based in North America. Your Scottish Ancestry explores the best way for a researcher anywhere in North America to approach Scottish family history research. This book will help you gain an understanding of how much you know now and what you want to know, what records are available and how they can be useful, and where you will find the information you need. It is a distillation of information about resources in North America and Scotland, combined with summaries and suggestions for thinking through just how you will get at them.
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry, 3rd edition
By Kathleen B. Cory. Published in 2004 by Genealogical Publishing Company. Softcovers, 6" x 9", 247 pages. $21.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9925
Drawing on years on the author's experience as a genealogist, Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry is a practical, highly readable guide to researching Scottish roots. Packed with information and advice on techniques, essential sources, heraldry, tartans, and surnames, this comprehensive manual contains everything to help on your search and includes a step-by-step model for drawing up a family tree.
Welsh Family History: A Guide to Research, 2nd edition
By J. Rowlands. Published in 1999 by Genealogical Publishing Company Softcovers, 6" x 8", 325 pages. $19.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9922
This handbook on Welsh genealogy deals primarily with those aspects of family history research that are unique to Wales. This is probably the only valid approach to Welsh genealogy because the cultural and linguistic characteristics which have prevailed in Wales over the centuries require a radically different approach to research. This book contains over twenty chapters treating the essential elements of Welsh genealogy. Each chapter is written by a specialist and is designed to guide you through the pitfalls and challenges of tracing your Welsh family heritage.
The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History
by David Hey. Published by BCA, London, 1996. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2, 517 pp. $32.50 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0223
Are you curious to know what your ancestor’s village, town, or county was like many years ago? Do you wish to uncover their everyday lives? The Oxford Companion gives the most detailed, authoritative, and useful guidance available today.
There are entries on activities such as bear-baiting and Morris dancing, individuals ranging from historians to mapmakers, institutions and organizations ranging from manors and trade unions to Methodists. Other topics include employment, foxhunting, and framework knitting.
An appendix lists national and major county record offices along with special collections of national interest.
The Domesday of Inclosures 1517-1518; Being the Extant Returns to Chancery for Berks, Bucks, Cheshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northants, Oxon, and Warwickshire By the Commissioners of Inclosures in 1517 and for Bedfordshire in 1518 Together with Dugdale’s Ms. Notes of the Warwickshire Inquisitions in 1517, 1518, and 1549. 2 Volumes. [*]
edited by I.S. Leadham. First published in 1897 and reissued by Kennikat Press, Port Washington, NY., 1971. Hardcover, 5 ½ x 8 3/4, 715 pp. 2 Volumes: $60.00 + shipping
To order, use book number NB0224
Containing transcriptions of the original Inquisitions at the beginning of the 16th century (some of which are in Latin), this work provides detailed information about the Enclosure Movement which was underway in England at the time. A great source for the history of the movement as well as for information about specific land holders and tenants. A tabular presentation in Volume II provides a recapitulation of the information contained in the text of the Inquisitions, presented by parish and hundred. An essential reference for anyone researching this period.
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage
by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, CG. Published by Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH, 2000. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11, 192 pp. out of print
To order, use book number NB0225
Learn the research techniques specific to your own ancestors’ particular national and ethnic backgrounds. Carmack opens up new avenues of research based on the customs or migration patterns of your specific ethnic groups.
From the Old County: an Oral History of European Migration to America [*]
by Bruce M. Stave & John F. Sutherland, with Aldo Salerno. Published in 1994 by Twayne Publishers. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 1/2" X 9 1/2", 281 pages. $22.95 + shipping
To order, use book number NB9715
Combining excerpts from Depression-era WPA interviews, oral histories from the 1970s and 1980s and contemporary scholarly commentary, this book has been described as the best oral account of European immigration to America now in print. This work helps dispel a number of myths about the immigrant experience. The myth of the uprooted, sequestered immigrant is dispelled, and revealed are the support networks of friends and families that helped find jobs, housing, and in general, helped relieve the sense of alienation that was often felt by the newcomers. Reading the actual words of early 20th century immigrants adds a depth and richness to the account that it often lacking from scholarly studies of immigration and migration.
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