This compilation is the result of a 26-year, masterful reconstruction of the 1698 census of New York by the esteemed genealogist and librarian Kory Meyerink. In this effort, Mr. Meyerink was aided by not only the “surviving” portions of the 1698 census but also the statistical summaries of the census which have survived the passage of time. The fact is that we know exactly how many men, women, and children (all free whites) and slaves (usually black, and sometimes Native American) were counted in the census. With these numbers in hand, Mr. Meyerink was able to locate more or less contemporary substitute sources (e.g., militia lists, tax lists, church records, town minutes, etc.) and reconstruct the residents of the missing counties, towns, and manors. In a number of cases, he was able to find the names of the same New Yorkers on multiple lists, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the reconstruction. In other cases, he assembled lists as “composites” from multiple sources (e.g., Easthampton, Rye, etc.). In all, he has identified by name 96% of the men, 50% of the women, and at least 40% of the children alive in the colony of New York in 1698.

New York in 1698 is arranged alphabetically by county and thereunder by town, ward, or manor. Mr. Meyerink begins each county chapter with a detailed discussion of the reconstruction variables: original source(s), spelling, layout of the original information, statistical recap, a brief history of the area under investigation at the time of the census, and a bibliography for further research on that county. The chapter-by-chapter lists of persons are arranged to conform to the earliest known transcription of the 1698 census, or substitute. The volume concludes with a complete name index of 13,700 and, owing to the significant New Netherland heritage of turn-of-the-17^th century New York, a substantial listing of Dutch names with their English versions. Mr. Meyerink’s historical and methodological Introduction to the book–which also contains a separate bibliography–not only provides insight into the “missing” census itself but also is must reading for any genealogist or historian planning to conduct research into this fascinating period.

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The six volumes of Migration from the Russian Empire cover the first half of this immigration era, from January 1875 through June 1891, identifying hundreds of thousands of persons of Russian nationality who immigrated to the United States. This information was extracted from the original ships’ passenger lists held by the Temple-Balch Center for Immigration Research, the only records that furnish proof of the arrival in the United States for these immigrants. Each volume in the series provides the name of passenger, his/her age, sex, occupation, country of origin, place of residence, and destination; additionally, each passenger list is headed by the name of the ship, the port of embarkation, the port of arrival, and the date of arrival. The concluding volumes in the series, covering the early 1890s, also specify the passengers’ last place of residence in Europe and their precise destination in the U.S.

For researchers investigating their Russian family origins, this type of information is the very bedrock on which all American family history is built.

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The information on these people exists in an invaluable series of port arrival records, the Customs Passenger Lists. Until recently, however, these passenger lists were unpublished and only partially indexed and lay well out of the reach of the average researcher, the more so since they are not classified by nationality. To bring those records dealing with Irish immigrants within the range of the researcher, The Famine Immigrants series was conceived for the purpose of enumerating all Irish passengers who entered the port of New York between 1846 and 1851. There are seven volumes in this series.

The passenger lists found in The Famine Immigrants are arranged by ship and date of arrival in New York, and each person is identified with respect to age, sex, occupation, and family relationships where such was indicated in the original manifests. Additionally, every volume boasts of an extensive index containing all passenger names in the text.

The Famine Immigrants, previously available only by individual volume, is now also available as a complete series at a discounted set price. The coverage of the volumes in the series is as follows:

Volume I: Jan. 1846-June 1847. 85,000 immigrants
Volume II: July 1847-June 1848.75,000 immigrants
Volume III: July 1848-March 1849. 70,000 immigrants
Volume IV: April 1849-Sept. 1849. 80,000 immigrants
Volume V: Oct. 1849-May 1850. 60,000 immigrants
Volume VI: June 1850-March 1851. 90,000 immigrants
Volume VII: April 18151-Dec. 1851. 120,000 immigrants (sold as 1 vol. in 2 parts)

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Mr. Boyle assembled this list of New York runaways for the period 1769-1783 from The New-York Gazette, The New-York Weekly Journal, The New-York Chronicle, The New York Mercury, The New York Morning Post, The New York Packet and American Advertiser, and 40 other papers published from New England south through Maryland. Among those are the Boston Gazette, The Connecticut Gazette, The Maryland Gazette, and The American Weekly Mercury. In all, Mr. Boyle has transcribed upwards of 1,400 ads for missing persons, referencing about 3,000 persons with New York connections.

Each ad conveys a number of details about the runaway and his/her master, including names and aliases of the runaway, physical description, personality quirks if any, location in New York, and where to contact the advertiser. Besides indentured servants and runaway slaves, Mr. Boyle includes ads for military deserters, horse thieves, counterfeiters, burglars, jail breakers, an occasional murderer, enemies of the United States, in this collection.

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From the genealogist’s standpoint, the runaway poses a methodological problem, since it was in the runaway’s best interest to conceal his/her identity after making a successful getaway. In other words, even if the runaway kept the same name, it is quite likely that the link to his original residence in America and to his country of origin was lost–lost, that is, unless his/her identity was uncovered in the thousands of, often very detailed, runaway ads placed in colonial newspapers by the disgruntled “owners.” And this is precisely where the research and publications of Joseph Lee Boyle come in.

Mr. Boyle assembled this list of New York runaways for the period 1706-1768 from The New-York Gazette, The New-York Weekly Journal, The New-York Chronicle, and 27 other papers published from New England south through Maryland. Among those are the Boston Gazette, The Connecticut Gazette, The Maryland Gazette, and The American Weekly Mercury. Although we will never know precisely how many New York indentured servants and other runaways fled their masters–the first New York newspaper did not commence until 1726–Mr. Boyle has transcribed upwards of 1,500 ads for missing persons, referencing more than 3,000 persons with New York connections.

Mr. Boyle’s fascinating Introduction to this volume not only explains his methodology, but also provides fascinating glimpses of the runaways and their motivations. Here is a sampling: “J. Sebastian Stephany recorded his ‘Negro Fellow’ Pompey ran away, though his left Legg is a wooden one. . . . A Negro man named Scipio ran away though he ‘had his arms pinioned behind him.’ Eva Hukel, a runaway German servant girl was only twelve years old. . . . Alexander McCormack, a Ditcher was advertised in New Jersey but ‘has a Wife in New York, named Mary, with a Son about 18 Months old.'”

Besides white male and female runaways this work cites a number of runaway apprentices, both men and women, military deserters, horse thieves, burglars, jail breakers, and perpetrators of serious offenses.

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Descendants of the Irish exodus to New York will discover that this book is a publication worthy of this proud heritage. Mr. Buggy presents a comprehensive overview for anyone wishing to trace their Irish ancestors within New York City. In the process, he has incorporated recent developments in New York Irish genealogy, such as the discovery of the records of the Emigrant Savings Bank, and builds upon them with additional insight. Since the immigrant ancestor who arrived in New York represents the best chance of finding the place of origin in Ireland, helping the researcher find the place of origin of that immigrant ancestor is the central objective of this work. Toward that end, the author provides detailed information about records, resources, and strategies for achieving this objective.

Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City is divided into eleven chapters. Chapters One through Three introduce the record groups in New York City. Fundamental sources such as census and vital records are covered, along with underutilized record sets that can be of particular use when tracing Irish ancestors. Chapters Four through Six delve deeper into researching the Irish in New York City. There is a focus on research strategies that can be utilized when researchers encounter those genealogical brick walls. Irish people from particular counties often lived in certain parts of the city, and this is outlined in detail. Following this, twenty-one different record sets and publications are explained in detail, as they give the place of origin in Ireland for over 160,000 nineteenth-century immigrants and many hundreds of thousands more in the twentieth century. The next three chapters focus on the Roman Catholic Church. An historical analysis outlines how and why the church is so important for Irish genealogical research. Chapter Eight, in particular, contains the most detailed listing to date of every Catholic parish that has ever existed in each of the five boroughs. All important start dates for parish registers are also included. The subsequent chapter on cemeteries lists every known Catholic, public, and non-denominational cemetery that has existed in the city. The concluding two chapters compile comprehensive lists of journal articles, web sites, and other publications that will aid the researcher and provide a wider understanding of the lives of the Irish in New York City.

Given the scale of the Irish experience in New York, it is somewhat surprising that we have had to wait so long for a comprehensive guidebook on the subject. This work not only makes up for lost time but also sets a very high bar for anyone else who might choose to tackle the subject.

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The Fernow volume is divided into four main sections which are followed, in turn, by an Appendix and an index to the non-alphabetically arranged contents of the book. The first part of the opus consists of transcriptions of the texts of hundreds of proceedings of the Provincial Congress, Committee of Safety, and the Convention of New York relating to military matters. Here we learn, for example, how New York was called upon to furnish four regiments for the Continental Army. Next come the members of the New York Line of the Continental Army, which is arranged by regiment and thereunder by company, giving the soldier’s name, date of enlistment, term of enlistment, and date discharged, deserted, deceased, etc. The New York Line is followed by listings of Levies and Militia, arranged by county and thereunder by regiment. In most instances these rosters indicate the date the regiment was formed and the names of its officers and enlisted men. By far the largest complement of the 40,000 soldiers listed by Fernow falls within the Alphabetical Roster of State Troops. This roster indicates the soldier’s name, rank, regiment, and company, though on occasion Fernow was able to append special circumstances, such as when/where enlisted, wounded, frostbitten, captured by Indians, and so on. Among the interesting items to be found in the Appendix are lists of wounded, invalid pension recipients, and accounts of the services of some Levies and Militia.

Any researcher or library hoping to own a complete record of New York’s role in the American Revolution should acquire this reprint edition.

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