Ezra Stiles’ Bills of Mortality for Newport, R.I. 1760-1776

As genealogists we all love new sources that help us find out more about our ancestors. At last we have a complete transcription of Ezra Stiles’ Bills of Mortality for Newport for the years 1760 through 1776. Ezra Stiles, minister of Newport’s Second Congregational Church, kept monthly lists of people who died in Newport, adding a rough date, religious affiliation, the name of the deceased or a close relative, and estimate of age. Sometimes the notes are reasonably accurate, sometimes more of a guess. Given the damage done to Newport records during the British withdrawal from Newport in 1779, any information for this town is especially important. Cherry Fletcher Bamberg has transcribed and annotated Stiles’ records at Rhode Island Historical Society and Newport Historical Society. The book has an informative introduction, color illustrations, bibliography, and long index. If you do any research on colonial Newport, you will find this attractive, inexpensive book a great help.