Researchers should consult the Newberry's New England Genealogy pathfinder sheet for listings of important general works dealing with the region. The following titles concerning Rhode Island itself should also be of interest.
DenBoer, Gordon. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island: Atlas of historical county boundaries. New York: Simon & Schuster, c1994.
Call #: oG1201.F7A8 1993 (2nd floor open shelf).
Parks, Roger. Rhode Island: A Bibliography of its history. Hanover, Mass.: University Press of New England, 1983.
Call #: oZ1331.R58 (2nd floor open shelf).
Sperry, Kip. Rhode Island sources for family historians and genealogists. Logan, Utah: Everton, c1986.
Call #: oF78.S64 (2nd floor open shelf).
Check both the computer and card catalogs under the name of the town or city, as well as under the name of the county as a subject heading to determine the Newberry's holdings for Rhode Island local histories and records. The following titles should also be of interest:
Arnold, James N. Vital record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850. Providence, 1891-1912. 21 vols.
Call #: E6975.1.
Consult card catalog for volume contents. Note that there is no subject cataloging by county for volumes in this set. For example, the vital records from Kent County towns in this set are not to be found under a Kent County subject heading, although the cards for the set as a whole (you can find them in the catalog under the name of the compiler) will tell you what volume to request for those records.
Austin, John Osborne. Genealogical dictionary of Rhode Island. Reprint with additions and corrections by J.O. Austin and G.A. Moriarty. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978.
Call #: fE6975.141.
Starting point for much early Rhode Island genealogy, covering three generations of settlers who arrived prior to 1690 with several families carried to the fourth generation.
Beaman, Alden G. Rhode Island vital records, new series. East Princeton, Mass., 1976-.
Call #: oF78.B4.
Consult computer catalog for this series to determine volume contents, although subject heading searches under locality will bring you to these entries as well.
Genealogies of Rhode Island families from Rhode Island periodicals. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. 2 vols.
Call #: oF78.G46 (2nd floor open shelf).
Rhode Island genealogical register. 1978-.
Call #: oF76.R55.
Cowell, Benjamin. Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island. Boston: A.J. Wright, 1850.
Call #: F845.19.
Contains rosters, but is unindexed. Also consult the Newberry's pathfinder sheet Genealogical Research on Revolutionary War Patriots.
Rhode Island Adjutant General. Report. Providence, 1866.
Call #: oE528.2.R47 1865 (2nd floor open shelf).
Regimental rosters for the Civil War, no index.
The Roster of Union Soldiers 1861-1865: Rhode Island, Connecticut. Wilmington, N.C.: Broadfoot, 1997.
Call #: oE494.R67 1997 (2nd floor open shelf).
Microfilm holdings complete 1790-1860, nothing thereafter excepting special 1890 schedules for Union veterans and widows. Published indexes 1790-1860. Some colonial and Revolutionary era census transcriptions shelved with the federal census indexes, in addition to The Rhode Island 1777 military census (call #: oF78.R46 on 2nd floor open shelf).