Research Resources
Recommended Rhode Island Books
A curated selection of local Rhode Island books and publications that may be useful to genealogists, historians, and researchers.
These recommended books focus on Rhode Island people, places, records, and local history. Some are available in ebook format, while others are available in print through outside booksellers or publishers.
Diary Series
Aunt Hat’s Diaries
By Harriet Spink Smith and Rachel E. Peirce
The diaries of Harriet Spink Smith, known as “Aunt Hat,” of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, begin in 1854 and continue until 1919. Harriet was an uncommon woman: highly intelligent, compassionate, and an astute observer of the people and events around her.
Entries in her diary and the letters she retained cast light on interconnected social movements that began before the Civil War, including Water Cure, Reform Dress, Abolitionism, and Suffrage. Readers will encounter scores of ordinary people Harriet met, some of whom may well be ancestors.
Episodes in the diaries include a brief, unsuccessful first marriage, a second marriage to a notorious con man, the insanity of two beloved nephews, the shooting of one dear niece by a spurned admirer, and the very difficult life of another.
Available Volumes
Aunt Hat’s Diary series
The series is available as seven paperback volumes.
Record Abstracts & Local History
Colonial Kings Towne, Rhode Island
By George R. Loxton
This set of 11 volumes examines the records of Kingstowne, now North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter, and Narragansett.
Volumes 1 through 6 provide biographical sketches that include every reference to every person mentioned in the records prior to 1723, including vital records, town meeting records, town council records, probate, and land evidence, arranged alphabetically by surname.
Volumes 7 and 8 present abstracts of town meeting, town council, and probate records, with indices. Volumes 9 to 11 will cover deeds. Damaged by fire in the 1800s, the records are placed in proper page order, with much of the burned content restored using internal and outside sources.
Available in print in hardcover or paperback, and in ebook format.