Items recently added to the St. Louis Public Library’s collections that may be of interest to genealogists.

1. Our first new arrival is a big one. We have made a huge addition to our collection of 1870 U. S. Federal Census indexes. These are the ones published by Precision Indexing, and they are wonderful. For each entry, they include the person’s name, age, sex, race, place of birth, county, township or locale, microfilm roll number, and page. The added features make it much easier to find the right entry. The following are completely new to us: California, Dakota Territory, Florida, District of Columbia, Indiana (long-awaited by everyone), Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and Wisconsin. Others including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee were available in other editions. We’re really glad to see these, and we’re sure you will be too! Central HG Call numbers vary.

2. Moebs, Thomas Truxtun. Black Soldiers – Black Sailors – Black Ink: Research Guide on African-Americans in U. S. Military History, 1526 – 1900. Chesapeake Bay, MD: Moebs Publishing Co., 1994.

Although this book is directed at historians, it includes an extensive bibliography of writings by African-American veterans of all wars and lists African-American officers, graduates of military academies, medal winners, and other materials. It should prove very helpful to those researching the military careers of African-American veterans.
Central HG 355.008996

…And Some Venerated Ancestors

1. Adventurers of Purse and Per-son Virginia, 1607 – 1624/5. Ed. by Virginia M. Meyer & John Frederick Dorman. 3rd ed. Richmond, VA: Order of First Families of Virginia, 1607-1624/5. Central HG 929.3755

This venerable work, revised and reissued as new material surfaces, includes brief genealogies of early Virginians. Adventurers of purse are those who may or may not have lived in Virginia, but who had financial stakes in the colony and had grandchildren who settled there. Adventurers of person were those who immigrated to Virginia. This group consists of 132 persons, whose genealogies are traced through three generations. A must-see for those with very early Virginia ancestors.

2. Chalkley, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745 – 1800. 3 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Central 975.5

Augusta County at one time consisted of all the area of the Colony of Virginia west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This area was heavily settled by the Scotch-Irish, one of the major immigrant groups in Virginia. Court records are valuable sources for any genealogist; these abstracts from the court records of Augusta County chronicle the lives and history of the Scotch-Irish in Virginia.

3. Dorman, John Frederick, ed. Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications. 38 Vols. Washington, DC: J. F. Dorman, 1958 -. Central 975.5

This series thoroughly abstracts applications from Continental line veterans from the state of Virginia. It is an excellent source of information on Virginia Revolutionary veterans, including information on the veteran’s ser-vice, place of birth, age, spouse and children, and statements by witnesses to much of this information. It is a very valuable resource for those with Revolutionary veterans.

4. Genealogies of Virginia Families: From the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography. Indexed by Thomas L. Hollowak. 3 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. Central 929.3755

5. Genealogies of Virginia Families: From Tyler’s Quarterly Historical & Genealogical Magazine. 3 vols. Indexed by Judith McGhan. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. Central 929.3755

6. Genealogies of Virginia Families: From the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine. 3 vols. Indexed by Gary Parks. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982. Central 929.3755

These three sets reprint genealogies originally published in important family history journals. They are a useful and handy way to access articles on many Virginia families.

7. Greer, George Cabell. Early Virginia Immigrants. Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., 1960. Central 975.5

This work includes more than 25,000 immigrants to Virginia between 1623 and 1666. It includes the name of the immigrant, date, location, and patentee. Because it provides not only the names of landowners, but also headright immigrants, it is an important source for Virginia genealogy.

8. Nugent, Nell Marion, ed. Cavaliers & Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents & Grants. 7 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1963 - . Central 929.3755

This series includes abstracts of Virginia land patents covering the years 1623-1776. The information for each patent includes the name of the patentee, date that the land was patented, how much land is included and where it is located, and sometimes additional information such as fee rents or biographical information, immigration, headrights, and other items. It is another very valuable resource for Virginia genealogy.

9. Swem, E. G., ed. Virginia Historical Index. 4 vols. Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1965. Central 979.5

This index may be feeling its age a bit, but it is still a useful source of Virginia information. The index covers materials that appeared in the Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Hening’s Statutes at Large, Tyler’s Quarterly, and the Virginia Magazine of History & Biography. Thousands of names are included in the index, many from the earliest days of Virginia history. It is one more "must-check" for those with Virginia roots.

10. Virginia. Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts, 1652 – 1781, Preserved in the Capitol at Richmond. 1875. New York: Kraus Reprint Corp., 1968.

State papers provide an invaluable source of information for genealogists. Our ancestors interacted with state or colonial governments on a regular basis. These records can show a side of our ancestors that we otherwise might never find. Central 975.5

11. Wardell, Patrick G. War of 1812: Virginia Bounty Land & Pension Applicants. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1987. Central 973.52455

This series provides brief abstracts of files of War of 1812 veterans who received bounty lands or pensions and who resided in Virginia or West Virginia. They may include residence, name of spouse, date of marriage, place of marriage, date of death, date of death of spouse, or other information. Although there are not as many veterans of the War of 1812 as there are from the Revolutionary War, this is still a valuable source.

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