Working the lunch shift at the reference desk today inspired me to write this post. I *love* the old town records and have used them for genealogical reference and other random questions.
A man came to NHSL having exhausted the digital genealogical records from Ancestry.com. He was looking for any snippet of information he could find on a great-great-…grandfather who he deducted was living in a New Hampshire town in the early 1800s. After quickly verifying a much as I was able to confirm online, I took a chance and headed to the old Sargent Index. This is an index of names found in the old town reports (roughly 1640-1840).
Sure enough, the reclusive ancestor was listed in the correct town! The index includes the name and the volume and page number of the compiled town records where the person is mentioned.
Next, a trip to the Town Records…
The town records include vital records information.
…as well as property information.
There are even livestock marking. (I will admit to being concerned and confused about this page when I first located it.)
And if you are lucky, you might find other interesting tidbits of information!
The physical Sargent Index is not open to the public, but is available to the public on microfilm.