TORREY SUPPLEMENT

One of the most basic texts consulted by anyone searching early New
England roots is Clarence Almon Torrey's ``New England Marriages Prior
to 1770,'' a 1,000 page index that is said to cover 99% of the married
couples in New England during the 1600s. It is a work on which Torrey
spent 40 years and which has served as a starting point for many a
genealogical investigation.

But, of course, it was not perfect. Enter Melinde Lutz Sandborn, who
has delved into records that have appeared within the last 30 years to
shed new light on marriages covered -- or missed -- by Torrey.

Much of the new information contained in her ``Supplement to Torrey's
New England Marriages Prior to 1700'' involves the surnames of brides
-- names not found in the records Torrey had available to him. 

The two main sources of additional information are English records of
the marriages of colonial immigrants, data that was not readily
available when Mr. Torrey was compiling his index,  and marriages from
the 1690's -- records which Ms. Sandborn says ``suffered from a
lack of interest'' by researchers.

The result is some 600 new entries -- corrections, new discoveries,
significant new biographical detail, or delitions of information. It
could be of particular interest to those who are at a dead-end with
the wife's side of a marriage. Of course, each entry offers the source
-- and many these sources are such that they could fill in a great
deal of earlier and/or later information on lines.

Anyone who employs Torrey must now also check Sandborn. It is to be
hoped that all decent genealogical libraries will pick up this title.
If yours doesn't have it, the book is inexpensive enough: $12.50 for
the 80-page clothbound edition (plus $2.50 postage and handling) from
Genealogical Publishing Company, Dept. SM, 1001 North Calvert Street,
Baltimore, Md., 21202-3897 (1-800-727-6687). Perhaps you could donate
a copy to keep your library's Torrey as complete as possible.

Mr. Torrey's book, incidentally, is still available, in its third
printing (1990) at $50 from the same publisher.--J.F.S.
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