Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas: A Complete Digest of the Records of All the Countries of the Western Hemisphere is the most comprehensive collection of information on colonial period records covering the entire Western Hemisphere, both North and South America. As far as I know, there is no other single reference for records sources covering the colonial periods for the entire hemisphere.
This book examines the colonial period from the earliest European colonization in the Western Hemisphere until:
the American Revolution for the thirteen colonies
statehood was obtained for other U.S. states
Latin American countries which did not declare independence from Spain and Portugal until 1808 or later
Caribbean countries and dependencies through about 1810
the abolition of the slave trade, for slavery related records, including dates of emancipation
For each country, the author Christina K. Schaefer, provides an historical background and brief sketches of the records themselves, plus descriptions for the principle holding of the major repositories. Record groups are broken down into similar categories for each country. Common sections include church and ecclesiastical records, census records, notarial records, governmental and municipal records, military records, land records, etc. A list of suggested readings rounds out each chapter.
At 814 pages, this reference is indeed extensive. It may be literally impossible to cover every possible resource in a single project. Still, Schaefer has provided a treasure trove of information vital to genealogical record finding. If you need colonial period records for anywhere in the Americas, this book can help.
Table of Contents
Preface
Part One: Going Beyond the Line, a Chronology
Chronology of colonial history
Dates of the first colonial governors
Part Two: Latin America
Introduction
Colonies founded by Spain
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Colonies founded by England, France, The Netherlands, and Portugal
Brazil
The Guianas
Belize/British Honduras
The Falkland Islands
Part Three: The Caribbean
Introduction
The Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
The British Leeward Islands
The British Windward Islands
Cuba
The French Antilles
Hispaniola
Jamica
The Netherlands Antilles
Puerto Rico
Trinidad and Tobago
The Virgin Islands
Part Four: The Thirteen Colonies, Maine, and Vermont
Introduciton
New England Colonies
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
Middle Colonies
Delaware
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Maryland
Southern Colonies
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Part Five: Other U.S. States with settlements prior to the Revolution
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New Mexico
Ohio
Tennessee
Texas
Wisconsin
Part Six: Canada
New France
Introduction to New France
Quebec
Ontario
Acadia
Introduction to Acadia
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Other North American Colonies
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Newfoundland and Labrador
Rupert’s Land
Part Seven: Resources for Further Research
Religious groups in the New World
Africa and the New World
Colonial sources in Denmark
Colonial sources in France
Colonial sources in Great Britain
Colonial sources in Germany
Colonial sources in The Netherlands
Colonial sources in Portugal
Colonial sources in Spain
Colonial sources in Sweden
Colonial sources in Switzerland
Foreign records at the Library of Congress
Index
Order Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: GPC5176; Price: $41.97 [30% off the cover price].