Title: Veazie genealogy
Description: *Veazie Genealogy* is a well researched study by Ralph Hillman, a certified genealogist, of the descendants of William Veazie (b England, freeman of Braintree, Massachusetts in 1643). As stated in the introduction, the intent of the book is "to describe with documentation some of the descendants" of said William Veazie. "Some of the descendants" is a somewhat modest disclaimer as the author provides 8 generations of descendants, and over 800 descendants, not including spouses and others of interest. The last generation is generally persons born in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and may include children of those persons born in the first quarter of the 1900s, with occasional information through mid-century.

Copies may be available and can be purchased by making contact with the author:

Ralph E. Hillman
2325 Rockwell Drive
Apt. 251
Midland, MI  48642-9333

At the present time (April 2016), the purchase price is $50 (50USD) plus the cost of mailing.

Summary: for reasons of Ralph's source references alone, serious researchers will find *Veazie Genealogy* essential for further work. Casual genealogy "buffs" will find interesting facts and accurate relationships to add to their trees.

Unlike many published genealogies, Ralph provides extensive source references throughout some 600 pages, each occurring as a footnote on the page where it is used. The quality of the research is outstanding and reflects the many years Ralph spent on the collection of data (much of it from primary sources) and its analysis for this compilation. His style is not pedantic, and honestly reflects his study of the sources. He often qualifies dates, locations, etc., with "about," "perhaps," and other indications where the source information is not entirely clear, in dispute, or third-hand. The footnotes often provide the author's justification for using a particular source, noting conflict or coincidence with other data.

Descendants are numbered in typical genealogy style. All descendants are numbered, both when listed as a child under the biography of his/her parents, and (when further information is appropriate) in their own biography profile.

His footnote reference style can be a bit difficult to use at times, as some footnotes cite sources only described in full in a footnote somewhere earlier in the book, and a bit of time must be taken to locate the full description. [EDIT see the **Update** below for the solution to this difficulty.] However, the style appears to be a compromise between conveniently providing references *on the page where it is used*, and filling the valuable page "real estate" only with footnotes. His extensive footnoting often takes up a third of the page as it is. Overall, that style is a reasonable format for serious researchers using the work.

**Update** (Oct 2015): With regard to the footnote style mentioned above, Ralph now provides a pamphlet comprising an alphabetized list of over 100 citations, and where the full citation for each can be found in the book. E.g., a footnote references "Abiezer Veazie's Bible." The pamphlet notes that the full citation for "Abiezer Veazie's Bible" is detailed in footnote 2439, which reads: "Abiezer Veazie's Bible (Philadelphia, 3rd Ed., printed for ... 1803, last known in possession of ..." [ellipses used to shorten the full multi-line quotation. They do not appear in the citation itself.]

As with most genealogies, descendants, for the most part, include only those with the surname Veazie (or several of the name's variants), and children of those descendants, where the surname changes due to marriage. There are exceptions, however, and some families are documented for one or more generations beyond that surname change. In addition, "second marriages," though they may take the persons outside the realm of "Veazie descendant," are frequently mentioned.

Genealogists, researchers and casual users of genealogies are often interested not in the Veazie surname, but in locating intersections with other families (primarily through marriage). In general, Ralph provides good information and references for spouses, the parents of spouses, and other persons mentioned. All are indexed.

Biographical descriptions are provided for most persons. The bios are factual, informative and well referenced.
Subjects: Family, Genealogy
Places: Braintree (Mass.)
People: Veazey family, William Veazie (1616-1681)
Time periods: 1640-1966