The Compendium of American Genealogy

Think your ancestors were one of the First Families of America? Use this source to help find out. This set was begun after The Great War (WWI) with volume 1 being published in 1925. The first three volumes were published under the title The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy First Families of America: A Genealogical Encyclopedia of the United States. Later “Abridged” was dropped from the title as the entries were expanded to include additional information such as formal education titles, photographs, and organizational memberships. The purpose of the set is to present the basic pedigree, including marriages and children, of each of the documented first families to settle in America. There are a total of 7 volumes (volume 7 was printed in 1942) which use a large variety of sources to back up their lineage information, and name roughly 288,000 individuals. Each volume has its own index, which is great since the names are not in any order that seems logical. Come take a look to see if your family is one of the First Families of America. Submitted by Tracy Luscombe, Genealogy Librarian