The New England Historic and Genealogical Society is one of the nation’s oldest genealogy societies. It was founded in 1845 by five men from Boston, with the purpose of exploring not only the history of New England, but the genealogical history of the people who lived there or had roots there. The story of New England, after all, is the story of the settling of America by Europeans, and the founders of the organization knew this. Interestingly, Charles Francis Adams, a grandson of 2nd U.S. president John Adams and son of 6th U.S. president John Quincy Adams, objected to the organization’s name, as he was already president of the Boston Historical Society, and did not like the similarity in names. Despite his objections, and that of some of the founders who thought the name was too long and cumbersome, it was adopted, and is still called the New England Historic and Genealogical Society today...
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