The following announcement was written by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and Ancestry.com:
Boston, MA & Provo, UT - The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and Ancestry.com today announce a new collaboration that will bring together and make available for the first time the enormous resources of both institutions in an effort to continue fostering a growing national interest in family history and genealogy.
As part of the relationship, NEHGS, the country’s largest and oldest non-profit society and Ancestry.com, the largest online family history website, will offer joint access to some of most important family history information available anywhere. While details of the collaboration will be outlined in the weeks to come, it is planned to include special membership opportunities that combine Ancestry.com’s repository of five billion names and 24,000 databases and titles and some of NEHGS’ most significant genealogical publications and services.
“So much of America’s family history lies in New England and colonial America,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. “NEHGS, founded in 1845, has successfully captured the stories of those early American settlers and the generations that followed. We are pleased to partner with an organization so dedicated to helping families make connections with ancestors who cultivated America’s founding.”
D. Brenton Simons, NEHGS president and CEO, added, “In recent years, the addition of billions of family history records on the Web has driven incredible growth and change in the genealogy field. As a leader of online family history, Ancestry.com is helping to drive this advancement. We are thrilled to be working with such an important and innovative partner as Ancestry.com, and feel it represents a unique opportunity for genealogists everywhere to gain new insights and access to their family’s heritage.”
Today, millions of people around the world are engaged in family research as more information is made available on-line. This collaboration demonstrates the tremendously beneficial relationships and opportunities that can be created between non-profit genealogical societies and commercial organizations committed to making family history research easier and more important than ever before.
About NEHGS
The New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, has more than 20,000 members nationally, making it the oldest and largest non-profit genealogical organization in the country. The NEHGS library, located in Boston, includes more than 28 million items, such as manuscripts, letters, periodicals, books, documents, photographs, and other rare and valuable items. These collections provide genealogists of all levels and expertise immeasurable access to their own family histories and stories. The NEHGS staff includes some of the most respected and experienced genealogists in the country, specializing in American, English, Irish, Scottish, and Canadian research.NEHGS also publishes several publications including The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Published since 1847, the Register is considered by many to be the leading source of early American research. Under the NEHGS and Newbury Street Press imprints, NEHGS also publishes a number of books on family and local history.
About Ancestry.com
With 24,000 searchable databases and titles, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. The site is home to the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection, 1790-1930, as well as the world’s largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names, 1820-1960. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including MyFamily.com, Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 10.4 million unique visitors worldwide and over 450 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, March 2007).
