Sargent Index Exceptions

If you have ancestors in New Hampshire, you'll need to use the Sargent Index.  It was WPA Project which indexed all the town records in New Hampshire.  When you look up names you see the town, volume number, and page number on which that name appears.  Additionally there are codes such as (FR) for Family Record and (MR) for Marriage Record.  These two things are what all genealogists key into. 

When I was working on the Yeaton family I discovered that the Sargent Index did not cover ALL New Hampshire towns.  Common sense says that all later towns that didn't have town records weren't included.  However, several early town were accidentally omitted.  One of those towns was New Castle which is central to the Yeatons.  So, you need to read those town records from beginning to end.  Here's the official list I received from the New Hampshire State Library.  It appears old, but it gives you a fair idea of whether you need to pay special attention to certain towns. 

 

Addition: I forget to initially mention that this index is usually called the New Hampshire Town Index  It is available at the New Hampshire State Library (Concord, N.H.) and in microfilm at the NEHGS library (Boston, Mass.) and the Family History Library (Salt Lake City, Utah), among, I'm sure, many places.

Comments

[Heather Rojo]

Where is the Sargent Index available? NEHGS? NHHS library? NH State Library? Portsmouth Atheneum? Those are my usual haunts...

[Martin Hollick]

I know its at the NEHGS library in Boston and the original cards (in a huge card catalog) are at the New Hampshire State Library. The Family History Library has the microfilm as well. I am unsure about the other depositories. Its properly called The New Hampshire Town Index. The Sargent Index is more or less a nickname after the lady who spearheaded the effort.

[Randy Seaver]

I wonder why NEHGS has not digitized and indexed this, and the similar Vermont town records, and put them on their website.

The same with the FHL and FamilySearch. Are there restrictions on these records?

They are so rich with names, dates and places - ideal candidates for significant online databases.

However, this is still a derivative source - the town records are the better, original source for these primary information records.

[Martin Hollick]

I am unsure. The originals are in a massive card catalog at the N.H. State Library. Perhaps they do retain some sort of copyright restriction. With any digitalization project it comes down to money. You need staff hours to do it. How do you pay for it? We are all in tax/budget crunches at the federal and state levels across the country. If a company like Ancestry thought there would be a profit from it, they might do it, otherwise, not enough people descend from New Hampshiriites. This is not a derivative source. It is an index.