Researching Your Ancestors in Manchester, New Hampshire

This blog post is part of the lecture I presented at the Founders Day event held in East Derry, New Hampshire on April 12 - 14.  I'll be covering the resources available for genealogical research in Derry, Londonderry, Manchester, Concord and Windham, New Hampshire.  All the links will be posted above under "Nutfield FAQ's".

American Canadian Genealogical Society

Don't be put off by the name, but the American Canadian Genealogical Society is a great small genealogy library on Elm Street in downtown Manchester for anyone to do their family history research. There is free parking and a great staff of volunteers waiting to assist you with your family tree, even if your ancestors are not French Canadian.  I did much of my Mayflower lineage research here when I first applied to the Mayflower Society, and I don't have a single French Canadian ancestor.  The collection is heavily weighted towards the French speaking records in the French speaking provinces, especially the Roman Catholic records. However, it is also a genealogy society, with general genealogy information, local and state histories, and a store with genealogy charts and gifts.  It is also an affiliate Family History Center with computer access to the LDS collections in Salt Lake City.

It is helpful to make an appointment ahead of time with the staff, and they will arrange to have a research assistant available to help.  They will also pull all relevant material and have it waiting for you when you visit.  There is a lunch room with snacks and drinks available, and a waiting area for friends and family members who accompany you to the ACGS.  Very thoughtful!  See the link below for more information.

The Manchester Historic Association Research Facility

The Manchester Historic Association Research Center is located diagonally across the street from the Manchester Public Library.  You can park once, and spend hours doing your family research in both facilities.  The Manchester Historic Association is a private organization, so it's members are welcome free, but there is an admission fee for non-members.  If you are unable to visit in person, there is a research service for fee, too (see the website for details).  The card catalog is online, as well as a photo database of over 900 images of Manchester.

The collections include the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company Records including employee cards from 1911 to the 1930s, Manchester school registers, a large library of books, business and family papers, photographs, oral histories, the Dignam Music Collection, biographies of notable residents, and more. See the finding aids online at the website.  The Manchester Historic Association also operates the Millyard Museum at 200 Bedford Street.

The Manchester Public Library

The Manchester Public Library has a main building on Pine Street, facing Victory Park, and diagonally across from the Manchester Historic Association.   There is an online card catalog and research services available (see the website for details and fees).  You will want to visit the New Hampshire Room for the local history resources (Limited hours and by appointment – collections include town histories, biographies of NH residents, Manchester history and government, genealogies of NH families.  There are also computers with access to Ancestry.com )

Manchester City Hall

The Manchester City Archives are located in the basement of the City Hall on Elm Street. This is where the city stores the historic records dating back to the days of Derryfield and the former Derryfield meetinghouse in the 1700s.  There are vital records for Manchester, city directories, oral histories, photograph collections,  tax records (real estate, poll, and other)  welfare records, including the “overseers of the poor”, and non-city recors such as photographs, postcards, personal papers and business records. The archives are available only with an appointment made at least 24 hours in advance, and are open only during city hall's regular hours. See the website below.  All requests must be made in writing (not by phone or email). 


Places to visit:

American Canadian Genealogical Society, recently moved to 1 Sundial Avenue, Suite 317N, Manchester, New Hampshire 

(603) 622-1554   https://acgs.org/    Members free, $10 day fee for non-members

Open Wednesdays 9am - 4pm, Fridays and Saturdays 9am - 4pm, Sundays 1pm - 4pm

Manchester Historic Association Research Center, 29 Amherst Street, Manchester, New Hampshire

(603) 622-7531  https://www.manchesterhistoric.org/ 

Open Saturdays 10am – 4pm, Wednesday 10am – 3pm, and by appointment (send a detailed email to library@manchesterhistoric.org )   Free to members, $8 adults, $6 seniors and college students, $4 children 12 - 18, and free to children under 12. 

The Manchester Municipal Archives and Records Center, in City Hall basement, One City Hall Plaza, Manchester, New Hampshire

(603) 624-6455    Open Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm by appointment only

https://www.manchesternh.gov/Departments/City-Clerk/Municipal-Archives-and-Records

                

Manchester Public Library, at 405 Pine Street, Manchester, New Hampshire

(603) 624-6550  http://www.manchester.lib.nh.us/ 

Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,  9:30am - 8:30pm. Wednesday and Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm, Saturdays 9:30am - 2:30pm

        

For the truly curious:

The History of Manchester, Formerly Derryfield, in New Hampshire, by Chandler Eastman Potter, 1856  (online at Archive.org )

Manchester on the Merrimack, by Grace Holbrook Blood, 1975

Willey's Semi-centennial Book of Manchester, by George Franklyn Willey, 1896

Manchester Historic Association Collections (published 1899 – 1914 in 12 volumes)


Blogs:

Nutfield Genealogy  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/ 

Cow Hampshire by Janice Webster Brown  http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/ 

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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Researching Your Ancestors in Manchester, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 9, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/05/researching-your-ancestors-in.html: accessed [access date]).