National Intelligencer Newspaper Abstracts, 1844

The eighteenth volume in this popular series contains abstracts of the people and events of 1844. President John Tyler was in office. A tragic event was the explosion on the U.S. ship Princeton, in which several prominent government officials were killed. Henry Clay ran unsuccessfully for the Presidency. The abstracts comprise news items as well as appointments by the President; promotions in the army and navy; marriage and death notices; murders and disasters; criminal cases; courts-martial; all petitions to Congress relating to a person or persons; patents; real estate sales; legal notices; chancery and equity records. Where there is information about something or someone that might be of interest, an abstract was created.

The newspaper reveals a personal side of the lives of many people. During the author's twenty-four years of researching her own family genealogy, she always wanted to read the National Intelligencer and bring to print the many stories found there. They can be found in this book. These abstracts are a vital resource for researching ancestors who lived in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, because they connect family names to businesses, occupations, neighborhoods, estates, relationships, associations and specific dates. The abstracts are arranged chronologically, and the book includes an index of surnames as well as vessels and tracts of land.