Connecticut's Library Heritage
By Nancy Doane
Do you ever wonder who can help you with genealogy questions? The staff of the Godfrey Memorial Library, at 134 Newfield Street in Middletown, is ready and waiting to be of service to you as librarians and to your patrons.
Opened in 1951, the Godfrey Memorial Library was built under the direction of its founder, A. Fremont Rider. Although Rider had many accomplishments during his long life, his final task was building the library and creating the American Genealogical-Biographical Index, which is still published by the library.
Although the Godfrey is privately funded and operated, it is open to the public and unique in that it is devoted entirely to genealogy and local history, covering much of the United States. Resources available at the Godfrey encompass all aspects of genealogical research, from small rural communities to large municipalities, from those who came on the Mayflower to those who arrived later. The library is one of the best-kept secrets in the field of genealogical research.
There are many treasures at the Godfrey, and the resources on its shelves are priceless, many being one of a kind. As a designated Church of Latter Day Saints Family History Center, and with technological changes at the library, we have greatly enhanced our ability to serve the genealogical community all over the world.
The library houses about 17,000 books divided into three main categories: family genealogy, local history, and biography. Although you will find information from all over the United States, most of the information is pre-1900 and focuses on New England, New York, and Pennsylvania as well as recently expanded holdings on the states of Maryland, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Several sources and collections are of special interest for their extensive use, including:
• New England Historical and Genealogical Register and its index
• Essex Institute Historical Collections
• DAR & SAR Lineage Books
• Connecticut Historical Society Collections
• The Mayflower Families
• Mayflower Descendants
• Boston Transcript on microfiche
• Filby's Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, a guide to published arrival records.
The library has city directories for Middletown and vicinity from 1869-1979 and early Middletown newspapers on microfilm as well as the index. We also have over 800 city and business directories from cities across the United States, some as early as 1825.
The American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), mentioned above, is widely used by experienced genealogists, especially those searching for early New England ancestors. Some information in the AGBI is unique, appearing nowhere else; e.g., it includes the index to the Boston Transcript. The two million or more personal name references that appeared in the "genealogical column" of the Boston Transcript during the forty-odd years of its publication appear in the AGBI. This data relates mainly to the inhabitants of New England during the 17th and 18th centuries and covers them more thoroughly than any other single publication.
Another example of the unique value of the AGBI is that it offers a consolidation of all of the "heads of families" who lived in the United States in the year 1790. It is much more efficient to look in the AGBI for a name rather than searching for it in each of the twelve volumes of the 1790 census. Still another example is the fact that all forty-three volumes of records of the soldiers (from all the American colonies) who served in the Revolutionary War are incorporated in the AGBI.
The Godfrey receives no financial support from federal, state, or local governments. Continuation of its services depends upon the income from a small endowment, the sale of the AGBI, funding from grants for special projects, and the support of our many patrons and friends. Established in 1995, the Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library is a growing organization whose membership is open to everyone. The Friends hold special fund-raising events and support the library by donating money for book conservation and special projects.
The paid staff consists of two people, a full-time director and a part-time data entry person. In addition, a large group of volunteers gives much time to the library, many assisting our patrons. Because of this assistance, we are able to provide individual help not normally available at other libraries; we encourage the novice as well as seasoned genealogists to take advantage of our resources.
Many new and exciting technological and operational changes have occurred at the Godfrey over the past several years. One of these is our web site at www.godfrey.org; we can also be reached via e-mail at info@godfrey.org. Our home page gives a much more detailed description of the library, its holdings, and its services. It also lists genealogical books for sale at the library and has many links to other great web sites.
We invite you to come tour the library, either as a group or by yourself, and see what it has to offer. If you would like me to come to your library to speak either on the collection or genealogy, please email me at ndoane@godfrey.org or call 860-346-4375 to set a date.
Nancy Doane is the director of the Godfrey Memorial Library.