Free Access to AmericanAncestors.org

They require not only an e-mail address and a first and last name, but also your phone number and your address.

Lois there is no reason to be concerned. The New England Genealogical Society is the largest and most respected Society of its kind in the world. Its been around since 1854. It is non-profit and dedicated to scholarship. And they publish some of the best journals and books about New England Genealogy.

Roland Henry Baker, III - What do they do with your phone number and address?

Normally when you register as a paid user you automatically get a subscription to the New England Genealogical Register which they mail to you four times a year. They also use your address if you order books and they give you a discount on books. So they need your address for a normal subscription. I'm guessing they simply don't have a separate registration screen for users who aren't subscribers. It probably never occurred to them that some folks would be shy about it. But you certainly could call them and ask. I don't have any ties with the society other than the fact I've been a subscriber for many years. I find the quality of their databases invaluable and use them daily for research. No other organization has anything close to what they offer for New England research.

Okay, so I tried signing up. Now probably need some sort of clue how it is useful.
Just tried the Database - and quickly was told to log in. Comment on it said, if logged in, log out and back in, so did that -- and am told:

"Free Guest accounts allow web visitors to use a limited suite of AmericanAncestors.org databases to sample a portion of the vast offerings that NEHGS provides family historians of all levels. Other new databases may be available to Guests for a limited time. "

So -- how do I get access to ALL THEIR DATABASES?

As you can tell, not familiar with it. No idea about any of those books you mention.
Have used AncestryLibary and familysearch a good bit. No idea how to use this.

Sorry about that Lois. Please report the issue to them by calling them at 1-888-296-3447. You can also try Webmaster (at) nehgs.org. All I can guess is that this has something to do with their closure yesterday due to the huge storm that hit New England. They had a "snow day." Maybe no one was around to "flip the switch." They are said to be open again today. So give it a try again today and tomorrow. I hope you can get it to work!