American Ancestors Magazine

About American Ancestors

An award-winning publication

American Ancestors is a unique, full-color magazine that comes out four times a year, and offers compelling information for family historians of all levels. Features cover useful genealogical sources, helpful research strategies, compelling historical accounts, and interesting case studies. American Ancestors is a benefit of membership starting at the Individual level, as both a print publication and an online PDF. 

American Ancestors Magazine Spring 2022 23-1 cover

Summer 2023 issue now available

This issue introduces our 10 Million Names Project, a significant endeavor that focuses on reclaiming the names and stories of men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in America.

Summer 2023 cover
Preview the latest issue

Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 2023

Witchcraft Victims in Early America

A Message from Our President & CEO Staff Profile
In This Issue Obituaries
Branches of Our Family Staff List
News Family Focus
Programs & Tours  
Features

Introducing 10 Million Names
Ryan J. Woods

10 Myths about Slavery in the United States
Meaghan E. H. Siekman, PhD

Reflections on 10 Million Names
Kendra Taira Field, PhD

Announcing the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences
Ryan J. Woods

10 Million Names Flagship Projects
Lindsay Fulton

Disagreement, DNA, and Divorce: Restoring a New Haven Brockett Lineage
Adrian Brockett

10 Million Names Project Advisory Board: Making the Impossible Possible
Dionne V. Jackson

 
Columns

Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center Spotlight
Beginning with a Name: The Sam Katz Collection 
Gabrielle Roth 

From Our Collections
Conserving A View of West Point and Its Environs, 1782
Todd Pattison

State Spotlight
Virginia Diarist Jane Chancellor Payne (1802–1863) 
Kyle Hurst 

 

Access the members-only archive

Download past issues

You can access and download all past issues of American Ancestors magazine from 2010 to present with your American Ancestors/NEHGS membership.

American Ancestors magazine collage

Search past magazine issues

Searchable Database

Search the magazine database by name, date, keyword, and more. You can also access a database of past issues of New England Ancestors (2000-2009), predecessor to American Ancestors magazine.

Database search for AA magazine

Become a contributor

LETTERS AND FEEDBACK

Email letters to magazine@nehgs.org or American Ancestors magazine, 10 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116. We regret that we cannot reply to every letter. Published letters will be edited for clarity and length.

Have you hit a brick wall in your research?

We seek stories of members’ most challenging “brick walls” for publication in American Ancestors. Send your story to magazine@nehgs.org. Please limit your submissions to 200 words or less; include your name and American Ancestors/NEHGS member number. We regret that we cannot publish or respond to every submission. Published submissions will be edited for clarity and length.

SUBMIT A BOOK NOTICE

American Ancestors is pleased to list members’ recently published family history and source records publications. Books must be published within twelve months of the date of submission. In order to have a book listed in American Ancestors, please provide the following:

  1. NEHGS member #
  2. Section (choose one) Genealogies or Other Books
  3. Subject
  4. Title
  5. Author/editor/compiler
  6. Place of publication
  7. Publisher/self-published
  8. Year of publication
  9. Hardcover/softcover
  10. Price
  11. Page count
  12. Specify if index, illustrations or appendixes are included
  13. Description of book in 25 words or less
  14. Contact/ordering information

To place your listing, email magazine@nehgs.org.

FAMILY ASSOCIATIONS AND DNA STUDIES IN PROGRESS

Family association events and DNA Studies in Progress are announced free for NEHGS members on a space-available basis. (The same notice will be published only once per year.) Event notices should be submitted at least six to nine months prior to the event date. To submit your brief notice (75 words or less), email: magazine@nehgs.org with “Family Associations” or “DNA studies in progress” in the subject line.

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE

For information on writing and submitting an article to American Ancestorsplease click here to review our writer’s guidelines.