I have been a family researcher for a number of years, and have searched in online databases, town halls, and even graveyards for my ancestors. I had heard that Harvard had a good genealogy collection and recently decided to do some exploration there, on a day when I had about an hour and a half to devote to it.

I found that the library has a sizeable collection of historical and genealogical materials in the Sears Room. For people researching their New England heritage—particularly in Massachusetts—the room is a gold mine.

The library has a whole collection of books on Massachusetts vital records, for nearly every town in the state, to the year 1850. It has several town histories, including Acton, Bedford, Bolton, Clinton, Concord, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Salem, Townsend, and more. It also has histories of Worcester and Middlesex counties.

People researching connections with the earliest settlers may find help in the three-volume set, History of the Pilgrims and Puritans, or History of Plymouth Colony, by Francis Baylies. For those studying the ancestries of local families, there are several books containing genealogies of surnames such as Hapgood, Howe, Hutchins and Johnson.

Several books list some of the earliest immigrants to America, with an index of persons and ships. One three-volume set, the Complete Book of Emigrants, covers the years 1607 to 1750. Another three-volume set, The Great Migration—Immigrants to New England, lists people who arrived here from 1634 to 1735.

On my visit to the library, I was interested in learning about the Atherton family, which figured prominently in Harvard’s heritage. I wanted to know if the Harvard Athertons were related to the Athertons in my own family tree.

I started in probably the most obvious place for a search like this: Henry S. Nourse’s book, History of the Town of Harvard from 1732 to 1893. I discovered that the earliest Atherton in Harvard seemed to be James, who moved here from Lancaster in 1702, settling at the south end of Bare Hill.

Nourse said that James and his wife, Hannah, were among the earliest settlers on Nashaway Plantation, and that they came from Dorchester.

He went on to say, “It is supposed that he was the younger brother of Major Humphrey Atherton.”

Aha! Humphrey is “my” Atherton!

Armed with new clues—that Athertons were in Lancaster, and came from Dorchester—I looked for more evidence in the Sears Room. I found another book by Nourse, Early Records of Lancaster, from 1643 to 1725. I found that Humphrey was on a committee that answered a petition for township by inhabitants of Lancaster. And I found the names of James’ children.

In the library’s collection of Massachusetts vital records to 1850, there wasn’t a book on Dorchester. I suspect Dorchester must have been part of another city, probably Boston, but I couldn’t find reference to it in the book on Boston’s records. I did discover a book I thought would be useful: Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners—Dorchester Records, published in 1883 by Rockwell and Churchill. I stumbled on a notation that Humphrey was chosen as a selectman in 1648, and got my hopes up, but most of the book contained only detailed records of transactions, such as a payment made to Humphrey for making bullets for the town. I decided not to spend more time with that source, since it was unlikely to turn up the link I was seeking between Humphrey and James.

Scanning the books on the shelves in the Sears Room, I came across the Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, by James Savage. I found no new Atherton connections but did find more information on one of Humphrey’s children: His son Hope taught grade school in Dorchester and took up preaching in 1669. He served as a chaplain in King Philip’s War, and was captured—and later released—by Indians.

In Burke’s American Families with British Ancestry, by Sir John Bernard Burke, I came across more information about Humphrey and was dismayed to learn he had commanded the expedition against the Narragansett Indians in 1650. I also discovered that he was a deputy, served as speaker of the house in 1653, and attained the rank of major general in 1661. This book had a color plate of the Atherton coat of arms.

Out of time, I put away my notebook for the day. Although I didn’t find specifically what I was looking for, I found some good clues to pursue the next time I have a chance to visit the Sears Room.