Digital Collections

Hosted by New England Historic Genealogical Society on their website AmericanAncestors.org. There are two separate databases:

The browsable collection is available to view after registering for a free guest account.  This includes the ability to view and download images of the original records.  Included are images of handwritten indices, by surname, which were entered into the beginning or end of some volumes.   

The searchable collection is available to full members only and offers the added ability to search the collection by name, date range, etc. and view a typed transcript of each record.  This feature can also be used to search the names of parents, sponsors/godparents and witnesses to marriages, in addition to the recipient(s) of the sacrament. 

(Please note: Benefits of a full membership are not exclusive to our collection and will provide a range of benefits including access to all other content on AmericanAncestors.org.)

Those who have an Ancestry.com membership can search the index to the collection on that website, but records can only be viewed on AmericanAncestors.org and so registering for a free guest account will still be necessary. 

The records of the oldest Catholic cemetery in the archdiocese, Saint Augustine, South Boston, were made available to mark its 200^th anniversary in 2018.  They are available through AmericanAncestors.org by registering for a free guest account and then clicking here. 

Records of the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston are available to those will a full AmericanAncestors.org membership.  The collection, Massachusetts: Catholic Cemetery Association Records, 1833-1940, is fully indexed and can be searched by name.  Please see video below for a tutorial on how to access the collection and an overview of its contents, including cemetery maps.

Boston College has made available The Pilot in its various forms starting with its first issue, titled The Jesuit, or Catholic Sentinel, in September 1829.  This publication and others, including The Sacred Heart Review, can be reached by clicking here. 

This three volume history of the Archdiocese of Boston begins with the establishment and growth of Catholicism in New England during the colonial era.  

There is an index to all three volumes at the end of the third, and this online edition is keyword searchable.

Can be acccessed via the Hathi Trust by clicking here.

Published to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Saint John's Seminary, Boston (Brighton), MA.

Can be accessed via the Hathi Trust by clicking here.