Rhode Island Fast Facts and Key Resources

• Statehood:1790

• Colony founded:1636

• First federal census:1790

• Available Colonial censuses:1730, 1747, 1774, 1777, 1782

• Available state censuses:1865, 1875, 1885, 1905, 1915, 1925, 1936

• Statewide birth, death and marriage records begin:1853

• State-land state

• Contact for vital records:

Rhode Island Department of Health Office of Vital Records 3 Capitol Hill, Room 101 Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2811 <www.health.ri.gov/chic/vital>

Web Sites

• 1824 and 1836-1837 Providence Directories

<www.netris.org/RIToolmakers>

• American Local History Network: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

<www.usgennet.org/usa/ri/state>

• Cyndi’s List: Rhode Island

<cyndislist.com/ri.htm>

• A Guide to Genealogical Research in Rhode Island

<www.newenglandancestors.org/publications/nea/6-2_007_riguide.asp>

• Providence Vital Indexes

<geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9369/vitalind.htm>

• Rhode Island Cemetery Database

<members.tripod.om/~debyns/cemetery.html>

• Rhode Island Genealogy Resources

<distantcousin.com/states/ri>

• Rhode Island GenWeb Project

<rootsweb.com/~rigenweb>

• Rhode Island History

<www.rilin.state.ri.us/studteaguide/rhodeislandhistory/rodehist.html>

Books and CDs

• Census of the Inhabitants of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1774 edited by John R. Bartlett (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print)

• Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island by John O. Austin (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print)

• Genealogies of Rhode Island Families: From Rhode Island Periodicals, 2 volumes (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print)

• A Geographic Dictionary of Connecticut and Rhode Island by Henry Gannett (Genealogical Publishing Co.)

• The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census by Mildred M. Chamberlain (Genealogical Publishing Co., <www.frontierpress.com> or 800-772-7559)

• Rhode Island: Biographical and Genealogical Sketch Index by J. Carlyle Parker (Marietta Publishing Co.)

• Rhode Island Freemen, 1747-1755: A Census of Registered Voters edited by Bruce C. MacGunnigle (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print)

• Rhode Island in the Colonial Wars: A List of Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors in King George’s War (1740-174S) and the Old French and Indian War (1755-1762) by Howard M. Chapin (Genealogical Publishing Co.,<www.frontierpress.com> or 800-772-7559)

• Rhode Island Land Evidences by Dorothy Worthington (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print)

• Rhode Island Vital Records, 1636-1930 CD (Ancestry.com)

• Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850, Arnold Collection CD (CD venture)

Organizations and Archives

• NARA Northeast Region — Boston

Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02452, (781) 663-0130, <archives.gov/northeast/boston>

• New England Historic Genealogical Society

101 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, (617) 536-5740, <www.newenglandancestors.org>

• Newport Historical Society

82 Touro St., Newport, RI 02840, (401) 846-0813, <newporthistorical.org>

• Rhode Island Genealogical Society

Box 433, Greenville, RI 02828, <www.rigensoc.org>

• Rhode Island Historical Society

121 Hope St., Providence, RI 02906, (401) 273-8107, <rihs.org>

• Rhode Island State Archives

337 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02903, (401) 222-2353, <www.sec.state.ri.us/archives>

• Rhode Island Supreme Court Judicial Records Center

From the October 2006 issue of Family Tree Magazine.