NGS Family Papers Collection FAQ

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NGS Family Papers Collection FAQ

What information can I find in the NGS Family Papers Collection?

The NGS Family Papers Collection contains genealogical data submitted by members from more than 2,000 family Bibles and more than 60,000 Members’ Ancestor Charts. Also in the collection are abstracts from the newspaper The National Intelligencer spanning the years 1800-1850. NGS members can search for names in these collections and view PDF scans for most items. The digital files of the Pennington Research Association are included in the collection but are not searchable.

What are the Members’ Ancestor Charts?

Since the 1960’s NGS members have contributed more than 60,000 family group sheets to the Members’ Ancestor Charts (MAC) collection. More than 100 volunteers spent hours indexing the more than one million names. The database is available here for NGS members to search. Users can view PDF scans for virtually all of the MACs.

Has the NGS confirmed the accuracy of the genealogical data in the MACs?

No, the MACs are presented as received from the members. They should be treated as guides for research. Genealogists should independently confirm the information before incorporating it in their family trees.

What will I find among the Bible Records?

The NGS Bible Records collection contains data from more than 2,000 family Bibles contributed by NGS members. Every name index is searchable by NGS members. PDF scans for most of the Bibles are available for viewing.

What is the National Intelligencer?

The National Intelligencer was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. in the early years of the United States. The NGS database has abstracts spanning 1800-1850. Although published in the nation’s capital, individuals included in the abstracts are from all over the country and the world. NGS members can search the database and view PDF scans of the abstracts.

What are the Pennington Research Association Files?

The Pennington Research Association (PRA) was a family association that researched the Pennington family; hosted events; and published important genealogical information. The PRA disbanded in 2022 and its digital files were transferred to NGS. NGS maintains a series of digital files, which will be cataloged on the website soon, and made available to researchers upon request. The files are not currently searchable in a database.


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