Thankful Thursday: 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week #18 - Historical Books

The Genealogy Community really is a generous and helpful group, and for that I am truly thankful!  I learned this firsthand early on in my family history research.  One instance that sticks out in my mind, and which was extremely helpful by the way, was back in 1997 when I found Mr. William Waterman from Ohio on Cyndi's List.  I contacted Mr. Waterman by email.  This is what I wrote to him -

“Hello Mr. Waterman, My name is Jana Last and I am trying to find the parents, grandparents, etc. of one of my ancestors named Asher Waterman.  I found your name on the home page of Cyndi and Mark Howell.  I wondered if you could check your genealogical records to see if there is an Asher Waterman in your ancestors.  This is what I know about my ancestor named Asher Waterman – He was born around 1792 in New York.  This is according to an 1850 census from Athens County, Ohio.  He married Bathshaba (Bathsheba) Paulk on December 22, 1816 in Athens, Ohio.  They had 12 children.  Their names were Eliza, William, Charles Wesley, Eunice, Homer, Jerusha, Jason, Nancy Jane, Cynthia Maria (my great-great grandmother), Sarah Amanda, Lucy, and Lewis (Louis).  Lucy and Lewis were twins.  Several, if not all, of these children were born in Ohio.  If you have any of these people in your records, I would really appreciate hearing from you.”

That same day, I got the following response from Mr. Waterman -

“Hi Jana, This must be your lucky day.  There are three Waterman Genealogy books that take us back to about 1635.  I have these books.  I can bring you up to date on all of Asher’s line."

Wow!  This was exciting!!  I was so amazed, grateful and happy that Mr. Waterman had the information on my Waterman family and was so willing to share it with me.  I, of course, emailed him back a.s.a.p!  Mr. Waterman was so kind and helpful.  He not only gave me information on Asher Waterman's family, he also gave me information on Asher's brothers and sisters too!  And he gave me information on the three Waterman Genealogy books he had and how I could buy copies of these books.  The books were authored by the renowned genealogist, Donald Lines Jacobus.  Here's the info. for these Waterman genealogy books:

1. The Waterman Family, Volume 1, Descendants of Robert Waterman of Marshfield, Massachusetts through seven generations.  Based on the public records and several collections of family data, notably that of Edgar Francis Waterman under whose direction these records were compiled for publication.  1939
2. The Waterman Family, Volume 2, Descendants of Robert Waterman of Marshfield, Massachusetts from the seventh generation to date.  Based on the public records and several collections of family data, notably that of Edgar Francis Waterman under whose direction these records were compiled for publication. 1942
3. The Waterman Family, Volume 3, Descendants of Richard Waterman of Providence, Rhode Island together with records of many other family groups of the Waterman name.  By Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman. 1954

The first two volumes pertain to my family tree, as I descend from Robert Waterman, but there are some additions to the Robert Waterman family in the third volume.

Now, as all good genealogists know, we shouldn’t just accept as gospel truth anything that is written in a book or that is found on the internet, etc.  We need to make sure the information is accurate.  The great thing about these Waterman books is that they are sourced very well.  With that being said, in general, it's still a good idea to check the accuracy of genealogical material you find, especially if it's unsourced.  I think the phrase, "trust, but verify" works well here.

Okay, back to these fantastic books...I purchased them from the Higginson Book Company.  The Higginson Book Company website says that they specialize in American local history, genealogy, Civil War books and historic maps.  If you click on the Genealogies tab, you will see alphabetized links to genealogy books available.

I also found that the Higginson Book Company had a two-volume book set on my Webster family history as well.  So, we were able to purchase those too.  For anyone descended from Governor John Webster of Connecticut, here’s the info. on these books:

History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut with Numerous Portraits and Illustrations. By the Late William Holcomb Webster, Washington D.C. and Rev. Melville Reuben Webster, D. D., Rochester, N. Y., Final Author, Editor and Publisher. Volumes 1 and 2, 1915.

I highly recommend you check out the Higginson Book Company website.  And thank you Mr. William Waterman for answering my email and for being so kind and generous!

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012