Abstracts from Ben Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1748

Description

Arranged chronologically from 1728 to 1748 during the period of Franklin’s personal charge, this useful reference tool consists of genealogical abstracts of the most important newspaper in 18th-century America–the “Pennsylvania Gazette.” Concerned with everything newsworthy, the “Gazette” featured a variety of human interest stories which, in contemporary terms, translate into strong genealogical fare, particularly under the professional scrutiny of the late Dr. Kenneth Scott. The pages of the “Gazette” record fires, accidents, crimes, desertions, mutinies, piracies, and, in the advertisements, listings of merchants, artisans, teachers, and shippers. Births are rarely mentioned, but notices of marriage are much more frequent, while deaths appear quite often. The abstracts contained herein are reduced to the quintessential minimum consistent with the interests of research. The 12,000 persons indexed are by no means limited to Philadelphia or Pennsylvania, but appear in all the Colonies, especially New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.