Frequently Asked Questions
If you are receiving an authentication failed message, you can reset your password at any time by accessing the login page on AmericanAncestors.org.



An authentication error is when your login information cannot be verified. Please follow our password reset instructions to correct this problem.
If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it at any time by accessing the login page.
If you have already created an account on AmericanAncestors.org, have a lapsed membership, registered as a guest, or purchased an item, we will have your email address on file. You can update your subscription with your preferred email address by logging into the website and clicking the Renew button on the top of the page.
If you have forgotten how to access the account with your desired email address, you can reset it at any time by accessing the login page.
If it is has been a week or more since you last logged in, your session may have expired. Please try logging out and logging back in again.
If this does not solve the problem, please try clearing your cookies and browser cache by following the instructions in this guide for your web browser.
Guest accounts are free. Guest accounts allow web visitors to use a limited suite of AmericanAncestors.org databases and access content such as making purchases from the online store. To receive unlimited access to all 1 billion+ records and other benefits, become a member of NEHGS.
In addition to the standard suite of databases available to guests found below, other new databases may be available to guests for a limited time. To see the complete list of databases currently available to guests, visit the advanced search page and use the “free” check box.
Standard Guest Databases
- Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850
- Social Security Death Index
- Irish Immigrant Advertisements, 1831-1920
- New York Wills, 1626-1836
- Index of Revolutionary War Pensioners
- New England Ancestors Magazine
- American Ancestors Magazine
- Rhode Island Roots journal
- Mass Historical Data Relating to Cities and Towns
Please contact our Membership department at membership@nehgs.org or 888-296-3447 to change the email address associated with your account.




You can join or renew phone and by mail
By Phone
Please call Member Services at 888-296-3447 (choose option 1), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you are renewing by phone please have your member number ready. There is turn-around time of several business days for any phone renewal.
By Mail
You can also send a check, payable to NEHGS, by regular mail. Just mail it to Members Services at the address below. If you are renewing, please include your membership number. If you are joining as a new member, please provide your full contact information, including email address and phone number.
Member Services
99–101 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
Admission to the Research Library is free for NEHGS members. Non-members are always welcome and may purchase a day pass for $20.
More information on parking can be found on our visit page.
You can subscribe to the Weekly Genealogist here.
Please note, your subscription to the Weekly Genealogist is not connected to your email address on AmericanAncestors.org. If you update or change your email address on the website, you will also need to update it via the link at the bottom of your email.
Recent issues of the Register are available online in PDF and FlippingBook formats.

GThe Register is available as a searchable (and savable) PDF and FlippingBook for all members. If you opt for e-delivery of The Register, you will receive an email link to the online version as soon as it is available—usually two or three weeks earlier than the printed version. Doing so will help save printing and mailing costs, allowing NEHGS to allocate resources to other important aspects of the user experience. The online version of The Register is always available to members whether it is mailed or not:
To go paperless, please contact the Member Services team at 1-888-296-3447 (choose option 1) or send a brief email to membership@nehgs.org.
More information about donating manuscripts and other materials can found on our Donate Materials page.

Formed in 2009, the Archive Team (not to be confused with the archive.org Archive-It Team) is a rogue archivist collective dedicated to saving copies of rapidly dying or deleted websites for the sake of history and digital heritage. The group is 100% composed of volunteers and interested parties, and has expanded into a large amount of related projects for saving online and digital history.

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