	Genealogy information and records concerning ancestors in the thirteen original American colonies.

On This Page

A Colonial event for each day of January taken from a book published in 1899. These events are not in chronological order, but rather an event for each day of the year, like a "This Day is History".

People

Colonial Ancestors Database

Graduates of Harvard

Revolutionary War Soldiers

Farmington Soldiers in the Colonial Wars

Women of the Revolution

Officers Who Took Oath of Allegiance at Valley Forge, 1778

Colonial Biographies

The 13 Colonies

Connecticut

Delaware

Georgia

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

New York

New Jersey

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Virginia

The Other Colonies and Colonists

Vermont

Search for Vital Records

The Genealogy Register

This Day in Colonial Times - January

Source: A Year Book of Colonial Times Compiled by the Rev. Frederick S. Sill, D.D. Member of the Society of Colonial Wars, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1899

January 1	1673 - The first Postal Service was established to go between New York and Boston, monthly.
January 2	1646 - The New Amsterdam Council brought charges against their minister, Dominie Bogardus.
January 3	1749 - Date of the Charter of Bennington, Vermont.
January 4	1689 - Henry Sloughter was commissioned Royal Governor of New York on the eve of the Leisler troubles, but did not arrive until March, 1691.
January 5	1770 - The New York Council passed an Act for issuing Bills of Credit.
January 6	1759 - Washington was married to Mistress Martha Custis.
January 7	1699 - Treaty of Peace ratified between Massachusetts and the Sagamores of the Maine Indians.
January 8	1755 - The Town Meeting of Sharon, Mass. as the custom long had been, took action on the salary of their minister.
January 9	1621- A meeting at Plymouth was held which determined the manner and division of labour in building the town: "The germ and bud of the N. E. Town Meeting"
January 10	1676 - Relief troops arrived at Narragansett to succour the survivors of the "Great Swamp Fight".
January 11	1676 - The Council ordered that the Night Watch be set at 8 p.m. in New York City.
January 12	1676 - The Indian Sachems in New England proposed a month's truce, which the Colonists refused.
January 13	1768 - An Act was passed in New York to relieve the city of expense by the speedy trial of offenders.
January 14	1639 - Connecticut adopted a Constitution of its own, the first Colonial Constitution framed by Americans.
January 15	1674 - Provisional Charter granted to New Orange by Gov. Colve, after New York was recommitted to the Dutch in 1673.
January 16	1771 - The sexton of the South Church in Boston was ordered to remove the foot-stoves after service, to prevent fire.
January 17	1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
January 18	1770 - Battle of Golden Hill, Mass. First blood shed in defence of American Colonial rights.
January 19	1621 - John Goodman of Plymouth encountered two great wolves, which he withstood "with a stick and a pale-board."
January 20	1661 - Solomon La Chair was appointed the first Public Notary of New Amsterdam.
January 21	1621 - The Pilgrims held their first full Sunday meeting on shore, most of the town of Plymouth being built.
January 22	1689 - The Grand Council of Indians at Onondaga formed an alliance with the English against Canada.
January 23	1707 - Petition presented to New York Council for the second Ferry to Long Island.
January 24	1764 - Harvard College Library was destroyed by fire.
January 25	1659 - The West India Company was allowed to traffic in slaves, by a commission given to the ship Oak Tree.
January 26	1679 - La Salle laid the keel of the first vessel built in western waters, six miles above Niagara.
January 27	1676 - The Connecticut troops under Major Treat arrived at Narragansett for the second campaign against King Philip.
January 28	1676 - Gov. Winslow marched against the Narragansetts after the "Great Swamp Fight," in the second campaign.
January 29	1621 - Death of Rose Standish, wife of the Captain of Plymouth.
January 30	1649 - Charles the First was beheaded.
January 31	1747 - Battle of Minas, Grand Pré, Nova Scotia.

Other Resources:

New England Early Genealogy Database
Search this 73,000+ name database of ancestors from the early New England period of 1600+/- to 1700+/- to see if your ancestors are included. The index of this database is free and will show the names included, however, a subscription is required for full access.

Search Revolutionary War Rolls See images of the actual regimental rolls from the National Archives. They are being put online through the joint project of National Archives and Footnote.com.

Search Revolutionary War Service Records Images Images of the records from the National Archives. Search the images to see if your ancestors' records have been added yet. If they are not be sure to check back since this is an in-process project. Footnote.com is in the process of working with the National Archives to put images of these records online to be searched.

Search Revolutionary War Officers Collection of Revolutionary Officers Information

Search Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-83 This database is a collection of records kept by the National Archives listing men who fought for the colonies during the war. This database contains only those records available in the National Archives and may not include all persons involved in the American Revolutionary War. Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR)Each volunteer soldier has one Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) for each regiment in which he served.

Search Colonial Families in the U.S. This database covers the families of the early English colonies in America. Beginning with the first landing at Jamestown this series covers families up through the start of the American Revolutionary War and beyond into the Nineteenth Century. Many vital records are included, as well as locations of births, marriages, and deaths. In addition to containing family genealogies this database also contains armorial bearings, or coats of arms, for some of the more prominent families from England and Scotland.

Old Colony Ancestors Online Access this database of nearly 200,000 names with roots in Southeastern Massachusetts, complete with citations, containing information on over 57,000 marriages, with a total of more than 950,000 text records. Some families are followed for only 2-3 generations, but many are traced for up to 15 generations. Once a family moved beyond the Southeastern Massachusetts area, most reports stop. Some are followed as they migrated westward into the Berkshires and up into Vermont and upstate New York.

This free genealogy site may be linked to freely for personal and commercial purposes. All free genealogy information on this site may be used freely for personal genealogy research. The source, Colonial Ancestors should be cited in your work along with any other sources cited on our page for the information. No information on this site can be used for any commercial purpose, other than linking, without written consent of Colonial Ancestors. This site contains links to other sites, and Colonial Ancestors makes no warranty and has no responsibility for the content of those sites.