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[Research by County]  [Find a Town's County Location ]
[Research by Category]  [Massachusetts Eras]
[Massachusetts Statewide Resources]
[ Educational Resources for parents, children and teachers ]
[ Local History <-> Genealogy Research Index ]
[About]

Please Note:  It appears some standard web sites, such as the USGS: Geographic Names Information System , may be inaccessible.  Hopefully, this is temporary, so links to these have not yet been removed.  Please be aware that some links on this site may not work due to these changes.

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When you find ancestors, are you interested in learning more about the history they lived?  Do you want to explore new directions to solve the unsolved mystery?  What was home and family life like?  What did they eat? wear? read? What were the important happenings? Why were the wars fought and who fought them?  How in the world did they move about?  What is a tythingman anyway?    This page is being created, on a volunteer basis, to explore the world of our ancestors who resided in Massachusetts.  Through your genealogical research, you have learned something about your ancestors.  How do you learn more?  How do you solve the unsolved mystery?  My answer to both is to learn more about genealogical research by learning more about the history your ancestors lived.   After all, isn't genealogy the history of individuals and families?
   I believe our ancestors would want us to know more about them than just their names and dates of birth and death.  Don't you?

How can You help others to answer these questions?

   If you have a page that helps to answer questions like these, or you know of such a site, please submit the URL, (and your suggestion for the category it would fit) by e-mail to me, so I can add it to this page.  After all, we can only learn from the past when we learn about the past.  You will be helping others to gain knowledge of our history by doing so.
You may e-mail the link to Webweaver of this page.   Please include your name and e-mail address.
   This is not a for-profit page.  I reserve the right to content decisions for this page.  Copyright remains with the owner of the site linked.  I will only add a link to your site.
  Links are checked before being posted to this page, however, due to the nature of the internet, the content may change.  Though there is a seamier side to history, I want to keep this page appropriate to family viewing.  I want only the cleaned up versions.  Please inform me if you find a link to be inappropriate to family viewing or not working.
   I would greatly appreciate suggestions for additional catagories or criticisms, and hope you will keep me informed if the content on any link changes or becomes inappropriate for family viewing. Contact: Webweaver

Copyright 1998 by Ann Mensch.  All Rights Reserved.

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Visit  Neighbors
New Hampshire
Vermont
Connecticut
Rhode Island

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Massachusetts Counties
[ Map of MA Counties ]
Note:  The towns of each county are listed under the county name.  If town name is highlighted it links to the official town site which often include information about the town's history in addition to reporting addresses for the town's contacts for vital records, deeds, etc., so they are often quite good sites to begin researching both history and genealogy.
   [ Barnstable ]  [ Berkshire ]  [ Bristol ]  [ Dukes ]  [ Essex ]
[ Franklin ]  [ Hampden]  [ Hampshire ]  [ Middlesex ]
[ Nantucket ]  [ Norfolk ]  [ Plymouth ]  [ Suffolk ]  [ Worcester ]

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• Shaker Farms, Buildings and Gardens (19th and 20 Centuries)
• Tools and Machinery

• Hobbamock's Homesite: Plymouth, MA (a reconstructed Wampanoag village)
• Historic Homes and Structures in Minuteman National Park, Concord, MA
• Patrick Charles Keeley: Architect of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross
• Virtual Tour of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, MA - dedicated in 1875.
• Colonel John Ashley House - Ashley Falls, MA
• The World's Lighthouses, Lightships & Lifesaving Stations



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• Archnet: Northeastern North America
• A Guide to New England Projectile Points
• Museum of Science, The Big Dig a WWW exhibit of the site in Boston, MA
• A Web Walking Tour of Plimouth Plantation
• Hobbamock's Homesite: Plymouth, MA (a reconstructed Wampanoag village)



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• Literature
• Literary Resources -- American, link collection maintained by Jack Lynch.
• Henry David Thoreau Home Page - Walden Woods Project includes The Journal of Henry D. Thoreau
• The Concord Hymn, by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837)
• Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide, by Paul P. Reuben.
• The Bay Psalm Book (1640) and The New England Primer (1683? 1690)
• Poetry
• Thanatopsis, by William Cullen Bryant
• Drama
• Painting
• 
  
• Music
• Loyalist and British Songs of the American Revolution
• Lyrics for The State Song for Massachusetts - "All Hale to Massachusetts" by Arthur J. Marsh, See the Index Page for Credits
• Massachusetts State Songs - "Ode to Massachusetts" and  "All Hail to Massachusetts".
• History, from 1914, of The Petersham Brass Band - by Bob Laford
• A Canton Gossip Hymn From 1897  Lyrics posted by the Canton Historical Society.
• The Concord Band - A Symphonic Concert Band, Concord, MA - includes history, biographical sketches, links and more.
• Belchertown Community Band: A Brief History
• History Site of Negro Spirituals, Antique Gospel Music:
• An authority on spirituals discovered the earliest known publication of white spirituals was 1842 in Boston..."
• The Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Entertainment
• American Variety Stage - Vaudville & Popular Entertainment (1870-1920)
Miscellaneous Return to MENU

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Biographies
• Henry David Thoreau: born 1817 in Concord
• Henry David Thoreau Home Page - Walden Woods Project
• W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963), Afro-American author and civil rights pioneer, was born in Great Barrington, MA.
• MA WPA Life Histories
• Patrick Charles Keeley (b. 1816): Architect of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross - South End Boston
• Jonathan Chapman "Johnny Appleseed" (1774-1845)  A pioneer and missionary best known for planting apple trees, Jonathan Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, and died in Indiana.  August 2, 1996, Jonathan Chapman was designated the official folk hero of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Johnny Appleseed
• Native Sons & Daughters: a list of noteworthy people who were born in Massachusetts...

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• Anne Bradstreet, A Dialogue Between Old England and New (1630)
• John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity (1630)
• The Liberties of the Massachusets Collonie in New England, 1641
• New England History and Genealogy Free Books Online Effort by David C. Blackwell
• Archiving Early America - historic documents from 18th century America
• Mayflower Enquirer - contains great articles related to "Mayflower and Early MA  Families"
• Godey's Lady's Book Online (1850s)
• The History Net
• The Early America Review A Journal of Fact and Opinion On the People, Issues and Events Of 18th Century America
• Godey's Lady's Book Online (19th Century)
• The Victoriana Online wide range of topics (19th Century)

• Etiquette of Funerals, from Polite Life and Etiquette or What is Right and The Social Arts, written by Georgene Corry Benham, published by Chicago : Louis Benham & Company, 1891.
• Massachusetts Cemetery Guide, by Mass-Doc Retrieval
• The Association for Gravestone Studies Online
• Boston Public Library Online Databases
  • Boston Public Library Online Obituary Database
• The Poorhouse Story, by Linda Crannell and CCS - a collection of information, by state, which invites submissions to help tell this untold tale, including cemeteries associated with 'poorhouses' - read "Emma's Story" to see the touching story behind the site!!!
• Fireman's Lot at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, MA
• Newton Center Cemetery (Serving Greater Boston)

 791 Walnut Street, Newton Center, Massachusetts 02159-1781
• City of Quincy - Cemeteries
• Crossways Cemetery photos, transcripts, and tour - Tisbury, MA
• Funeral Coach History and Terminology
• Analysis of Selected Probate Inventories of Plymouth Colony - site by Christopher Fennell  Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia <ccf4f@virginia.edu>
• Plymouth Colony - Notes, Bibliography and Glossary - includes useful Colonial terms such as FREEMAN; Old Style Dates, Money, etc.  by James F. Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz.
• The Plymouth Colony Archive Project Analysis of Selected Wills

• MA Census Online
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Services; With the names, ages, and places of residence Returned by the marshalls of the several judicial districts; under The Act for Taking the Sixth Census, Transcribed By: Kathy Leigh, January 16, 2001.
• NARA: National Archives and Records Administration
• The Genealogy Page.
• About Census Records
• 1790-1890 Federal Population Censuses Catalog of NARA Microfilm
• 1910 Census Catalog
• 1930 Census Microfilm Locator
• The Soundex Indexing System
• Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840
• Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930
• Indian Census Rolls
• Nonpopulation Census Records
• Prologue, Spring 1996, Vol. 28, No. 1, "First in the Path of the Firemen" The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, by Kellee Blake. http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/spring_1996_1890_census_1.html .
• Native American Records
• Immigration Records and Naturalization Records
• "Any woman who is now or hereafter may be married... Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940", by Marian L. Smith (Prologue, Summer 1998)
• Military Records available from the National Archives
• Military Service and Pension Records: Requesting Pre-WWI
• Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation, By Michael P. Musick  (Prologue, Summer 1995)
• Women Soldiers of the Civil War, by DeAnne Blanton (Prologue, Spring 1993)
• Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines of the Spanish-American War: The Legacy of USS Maine, By Rebecca Livingston (Prologue, Spring 1998).
• They Answered the Call: Military Service in the United States Army during World War I, 1917-1919  (Prologue, Fall 1998). -- A guide to looking for information about World War I army veterans - By Mitchell Yockelson.
• State-level Lists of Casualties from the Korean Conflict (1951-1957) and the Vietnam Conflict , By Theodore J. Hull, (Prologue, Spring 2000).
• Indian Bounty Land Applications, By Mary Frances Morrow (Prologue,
• American Indians A Select Catalog of NARA Microfilm Publications
Snakes & Scribes: The Dawes Commission and the Enrollment of the Creeks, By Kent Carter, in "Prologue" (Prologue, Spring 1997)
• Genealogical Fallout from the War of 1812, By Ruth Priest Dixon (Prologue, Spring 1992) - "...The impressment of American seamen by the British was one of the causes of the War of 1812. The practice also resulted in the creation of extensive records about merchant seamen that are of great value to genealogists and historians..."
• Genealogical Records of the War of 1812, By Stuart L. Butler (Prologue, Winter 1991) - "...National Archives records created during and after the War of 1812 offer the genealogist a diverse and fertile ground in which to obtain invaluable family information..."
• Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops, by Budge Weidman (Prologue, Summer 1997)
• A Guiding Light: Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, By Debra Newman Ham (Prologue, Special Issue, Summer 1997).
• From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and Black Women's History in the Civil War Era, By Noralee Frankel (Prologue, Summer 1997)
• Riding the Rails Up Paper Mountain: Researching Railroad Records in the National Archives, By David A. Pfeiffer (Spring 1997).
• Prologue Magazine
• Obtaining EDs for the 1930 Census in One Step (Large Cities), by Stephen P. Morse, PhD, Joel D. Weintraub, PhD and David R. Kehs, PhD
• familysearch.org - 1880 Census Index
• 1880 U. S. Federal Census (1%) - visit this page to search by state.
• FTM - Online Census Abstract Forms

• The Pilgrims and Puritans - How do they differ?
• Rev. Stephen Bachiler  An Unforgiven Puritan by Victor C. Sanborn, Concord, NH (Massachusetts Bay - New England)
• The Puritans Weren't Puritanical
• Winthrop Papers Electronic Archive
• Adam Winthrop's "Commonplace Book" (The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots-1586; Letters of Olympia Morata and more) and
• Adam Winthrop (ca.1548-1623), father of John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony...
• History of the Old North Church from 1723.
• Religion in 18th-Century America
• About the Shakers: (First led to America, 1774, by Ann Lee, the Shakers reached their peak by the mid 1800s) - Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
• Hancock Shaker Village is an historic site in western Massachusetts - "...       interpret the lives of the Shakers who lived here from 1790 to 1960..."
• Making Of America a digital library site being developed by the Universities of Cornell and Michigan to document American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction has  Old landmarks and historic personages of Boston by Samuel Adams Drake (1873) which contains information about the Catholic Churches in Boston on pp. ix, 64, 161 and  474 in addition to information about churches of other denominations.
• A Guide to Local Catholic Church History and Genealogy

• Schooling, Education, and Literacy, In Colonial America
• Photographs of Historic Schools in Quincy, MA
• The Lunenburg Home Page (Worcester County)  includes ca. 1908 School Memories: "A Teacher's Memories" by Edith Bradbury Emerson and submitted by her Great Granddaughter: Katherine Ballou
• Twelve Golden Rules for Children (Canton Girl Scouts, 1880s) on Canton Historical Society.

• Massachusetts Archives

   220 Morrissey Blvd. - Boston, MA 02125    Phone: (617) 727-2816
• Virtual Tour of the Governor's Office
• Massachusetts Facts - A Review of the History, Government, and Symbols of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Published by William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth
• A Profile of Massachusetts

PART 1: Concise Facts - State Symbols / Politics / Statistics /
PART 2:  Historical Sketch
PART 3:  The New Massachusetts State House
PART 4:  Miscellaneous Massachusetts Facts
• Massachusetts Studies Project - "Educational resources for teachers, students and lifelong learners."
• History Unbundled - Patriots Park
• The American Revolution
• August 2, 1996, JONATHAN CHAPMAN was designated the OFFICIAL FOLK HERO of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Jonathan Chapman "Johnny Appleseed" (1774-1845)  A pioneer and missionary best known for planting apple trees, Jonathan Chapman was born in Massachusetts, and died in Indiana.  August 2, 1996, Jonathan Chapman was designated the official folk hero of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Johnny Appleseed - A Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel biography.
• Color Massachusetts! published by William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth - a grade school state lesson plan to learn about Massachusetts and it's history includes the following and more .
• The Sacred Cod - COD was designated the official state FISH.
• The State Flag - a brief history, picture and description is found in this lesson.
• How Laws are Made
• The Ladybug Story - A Story About Lawmaking
• Maria Hastings School (Lexington, MA) - An educational site (for both children and adults) with the Colonial Lexington Project which includes educational information and pictures for many colonial topics, such as Ye Olde Graveyard, Lexington Family History, Colonial Life, Clothing, Food, Taverns, Colonial Occupations, The Battle, and more.  I especially enjoyed:
• "Discipline in Church", by Erin C. and Ryan P.
• "Interesting Facts", by Levon, Julia, Jim, Jonathan and Andy
• "Apprentices", by Evan, Bryan, Somudro, Laura, Carolyn.
• "Hard Benches", by Noah, Erin, Evan, Ryan and Bo, about colonial schools.
• Great Work!!!
• Massachusetts Places: A Local Studies Sourcebook by Barbara Robinson
• Plimoth Plantation's Web Site! - The "First Thanksgiving": Facts and Fancies.
• Plymouth: Its History and People includes information about the Pilgrims, John Alden, William Bradford, William Brewster, John Carver, Myles Standish, The Winslows and History of Plymouth and The Mayflower with photos and bibliography, The Mayflower Compact Transcribed, Mayflower Passenger List .
• The Wampanoag Tribes
• Massasoit born about 1590, "...Massasoit signed a peace treaty with the Pilgrims on March 22,1621..."

Economy/Money

• Business and Industry
• Money
• University of Notre Dame Online Exhibit - Colonial Coins & Currency
• U. of Notre Dame Online Exhibit - MA Coins
• The History of U.S. Paper Money
• Currency and Banking History in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay by Anrew McFarland Davis (originally pub. 1900)
• McMaster Archives: History of Economic Thought
• The Inflation Calculator online, created by S. Morgan Friedman, is reported to "...adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 1999..."
• "Current Value of Old Money", by Roy Davies, attempts to answer the frequent question is "how much would a specified amount of money at a certain period of time be worth today?", with resources for Europe, U.S.A., Spain and even ancient Rome.
• The Poorhouse Story, by Linda Crannell and CCS - a collection of information, by state, which invites submissions to help tell this untold tale - read "Emma's Story" to see the touching story behind the site!!!

Ethnic/Cultural/Gender:  Women | Native American | African American | Asian/Pacific |
          | English | Chinese | Irish | French | German | Hispanic | Scottish |
            | Spanish | The Poor | Your suggestions for additional are welcome

• Women in History
• Girls on the Mayflower (1620)
• Francis Cabot Lowell Mill Site, Waltham, MA (opened in 1814, the site of many "firsts" among them: "...The FIRST time in the United States that young women were employed as the predominant workforce and paid actual cash for their labor.")
• About the Shakers: (First led to America, 1774, by Ann Lee, the Shakers reached their peak by the mid 1800s) - Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
• Votes for Women - Selections of National American Women Sufferage Assoc. (1848-1921)
• A Victorian Woman's World  andArchived Victorian Women's Issues
• Native Americans
• Massachusetts State Archives Microfilm Card Index of Native Americans
• First Nations Histories by Lee Stultzman
• Geographic Overview of First Nations Histories
• Massachuset History by Lee Stultzman
• Narragansett History by Lee Stultzman
• Pocumtuc History
• Nipmuc History
• Unseen Neighbors: Native Americans of Central Massachusetts, A People Who Had "Vanished", shortened version published in Colin Calloway, ed., After King Philip’s War, Presence and Persistence In Indian New England [University Press of New England, 1997], by Thomas L. Doughton.  (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• "Like the shadows in the stream": Local Historians, The Discourse of Disappearance and Nipmuc Indians of Central Massachusetts, An abbreviated version of this paper was read by Nipmuc historian Thomas Doughton at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass., May 20, 1999. (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• "People of Color" and National Parks in Southern New England Historical Considerations on the Relationships between African and Native American Peoples Impacting Contemporary Cultural Resource Management Within New England’s National Parks, by Thomas L. Doughton, 1997.   (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• Alpha Roster of Individuals in Earle Report, Compiled by Thomas L. Doughton - Until 1869, Massachusetts Natives were "wards of the Commonwealth," not being granted state citizenship until 1869. Between 1859 and 1861, John Milton Earle was the Bay State's Indian Commissioner. In 1861, he issued his Report to the Governor and Council Concerning the Indians of the Commonwealth under the Act of April 6, 1859 (Boston: William White, State Printer, 1861), the so-called Earle Report.   In this extremely rare document Earle urged the Mass.

Legislature to enfranchise the state's Indians and undertook a tribal community by tribal community "investigation" of Bay State Indians.  At the end of the document Earle included an appendix listing roughly 1400 Indians, plus their non-Indian spouses, for whom the state assumed a "special relationship".
See also: Individuals in the Earle Report by Tribal Group, Provided to Nipmucnet by Dr. Thomas L. Doughton, Nipmuc historian.  Source: Report to the Governor and Council Concerning the Indians of the Commonwealth Under the Act of April 6, 1859 (Boston, Mass.: William White, Printer to the State, 1861).
• Native American Individuals Identified within Earle’s Report, Living in the Central New England Region in the Year 1861 - Listings by towns, Compiled by Dr. Thomas L. Doughton : Some 175 Persons, Excluding Spouses Recorded as Other than Native.  Source: Report to the Governor and Council Concerning the Indians of the Commonwealth Under the Act of April 6, 1859 (Boston, Mass.: William White, Printer to the State, 1861).
• Sturbridge, Massachusetts Vitals Record for People of Color,  Native Americans & African Americans, Compiled by Thomas Doughton, 1996 -  A document reproducing vital record entries for people of color --Native American and African American---Sturbridge, Massachusetts based on original record books of the Sturbridge Town Clerk's office. (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• Descendants of John Nedson & his wife Mary Pegan (Nipmuc) - This is an example of an extended Nipmuc family clan outline providing 10 generations of information on the Nedson/Dorus/Dixon/Hewitt/White families, individuals

of Paucatuck Pequot and Nipmuc heritage, clustered primarily along the Connecticut/ Massachusetts border.  This is one of the larger Nipmuc family clan groups.
• Indian History & Genealogy - Massasoit Book
• Indian signatures and autographs
• Native Tech: Native American Technology and Art
• Hobbamock's Homesite: Plymouth, MA (a reconstructed Wampanoag village)
• New England Indians by Susan Martin (includes history and genealogy)
• Native Web
• African American
• "People of Color" and National Parks in Southern New England Historical Considerations on the Relationships between African and Native American Peoples Impacting Contemporary Cultural Resource Management Within New England’s National Parks, by Thomas L. Doughton, 1997.   (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• Sturbridge, Massachusetts Vitals Record for People of Color,  Native Americans & African Americans, Compiled by Thomas Doughton, 1996 -  A document reproducing vital record entries for people of color --Native American and African American---Sturbridge, Massachusetts based on original record books of the Sturbridge Town Clerk's office. (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)
• African American Perspectives (1818-1907) from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection
• Progress of A People - A Special Presentation of The African American Pamphlet Collection
• 1854 - Slavery in Massachusetts by Henry David Thoreau
• Excerpts from Slave Narratives, Edited by Steven Mintz, University of Houston: Examples include:
• "We Ought to Be Considered as Men: Corporal Jackson Cherry, Company I, 35th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, appeals for equal opportunity for freedmen.
• "The General Features of Slavery are the Same Everywhere": by Charles Ball, from Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave (New York, 1858).
• "The Serfs of Russia...Were Given Three Acres of Land":  Frederick Douglass assesses the meaning of emancipation in 1880, from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Boston, 1892).
•  North Star: The Underground Railroad (Civil War Era) and Directory of Massachusetts Conductors
• History of United States Colored Troops (USCT) - A database of over 230,000 names.
• NPS: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
• History of African Americans in the Civil War
• Africa Research Central - "...gateway to the archives, libraries, and museums with important collections of African primary sources..."
• Afrigeneas - "... a mailing list focused on genealogical research and resources in general and on African ancestry in particular..." by Don Mabry.
• Smithsonian:  African American History and Culture
• Asian/Pacific
• Smithsonian:  Asian/Pacific American History and Culture
• English
• Chinese
• Chinese in Massachusetts: their experiences and contributions - English and Chinese texts by Doris C.J. Chu, Ph.D., Research by Dr. Chu and Glenn Braverman
• Irish
• 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Civil War): Historical Research of Original 28th with The Irish in the War.
• French
• German
• 
  
• Puerto Rican/Hispanic
• Puerto Rican / Hispanic Genealogical Society

   P.O. Box 260118 - Bellerose, NY 11426-0118
   (Miguel J. Hernández - President  Email: miguel_j_hernandez@csi.com)
• Scottish
• Spanish
• The Poor
• The Poorhouse Story, by Linda Crannell and CCS - a collection of information, by state, which invites submissions to help tell this untold tale - read "Emma's Story" to see the touching story behind the site!!!
• Your suggestions for additional are welcome

• The History Channel: The History of Thanksgiving.
• The Wicked Good Guide to Boston English- Can you pronounce these MA town names?
• Quiltmaking--A Timeless American Craft
• Encyclopedia Mythica: Encyclopedia of Mythology, Folklore and Legend



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Vital records have been registered in Massachusetts since 1635.   Depending upon the time era of the Vital Records, you may be able to obtain Birth, Marriage and Death Records from more than one source.  There are no restrictions for requesting records filed prior to 1906.  However, for births and deaths since 1906, there are some restrictions, primarily concerned with records of individuals born to unmarried parents.
The various sources for Vital Records in Massachusetts included below are:  Town/City Clerk; Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records (Public Health Dept.); Massachusetts Archives; Printed Vital Records to 1850 Books and Microfilmed Town Records Books.
• TOWN/CITY CLERK:  See the Massachusetts City and Town Directory

     Birth, Marriage and Death records, from the earliest date to present, may be requested from the town clerk's office in the town in which the event occurred.
• MA REGISTRY of VITAL RECORDS:

    Statewide data collection began in 1841.  The Registry of Vital Records and Statistics in the Department of Public Health has the records of births, deaths and marriages for Massachusetts from 1906 to the present.
"...Every five years the earliest five years of records maintained at the Registry are transferred to the custody of the State Archives. The next transfer will occur in 2001. After the transfer any restrictions that may be on the transferred records will be removed..."
     Registry of Vital Records, Department of Health
   150 Mt. Vernon Street, 1st floor - Dorchester, MA 02125-3105
   (Next to the Bayside Expo Center - see map)
   Phone: (617) 740-2600 for information.
   Phone:  (617) 740-2606 for credit card orders of Vital Records.
   [The OLD address was:  470 Atlantic Avenue, 2nd Floor - Boston, MA 02210]
   How to Order Vital Records in Massachusetts and Fees are available at the web site.
• MA STATE ARCHIVES:
          Records from 1841-1905 are located at The State Archives.
       Massachusetts State Archives
           Columbia Point, 220 Morrissey Boulevard - Boston, MA 02125;
           Phone: (617) 727-2816.
           Read about the collections at the Archives.
Researching Your Family's History at the Massachusetts Archives.
• Printed Books: "Vital Records Prior to 1850", available for many Massachusetts towns, are available in many research libraries.  Some Town Books have been microfilmed, and may be available in research libraries as well.
• Certified copies of divorces must be obtained from the county probate court where the divorce was issued.
• Massachusetts State Library 

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• NARA: National Archives and Records Administration
• The Genealogy Page.
• 1790-1890 Federal Population Censuses Catalog of NARA Microfilm
• 1930 Census Microfilm Locator
• The Soundex Indexing System- A Soundex code is given to a surname based upon the sound of the name rather than the spelling.
• Microfilm Publications.
• Microfilm Catalog
• Native American Records
• Immigration and Naturalization Records
• Order Forms for Military Service and Family History Records
• Military Records available from the National Archives
• Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840
• Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930
• "First in the Path of the Firemen": The Fate of the 1890 Population Census By Kellee Blake.
• Immigration Records
• Naturalization Records
• Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation, By Michael P. Musick  (Prologue, Summer 1995)
• Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines of the Spanish-American War: The Legacy of USS Maine, By Rebecca Livingston (Prologue, Spring 1998).
• They Answered the Call: Military Service in the United States Army during World War I, 1917-1919  (Prologue, Fall 1998). -- A guide to looking for information about World War I army veterans - By Mitchell Yockelson.
• State-level Lists of Casualties from the Korean Conflict (1951-1957) and the Vietnam Conflict , By Theodore J. Hull, (Prologue, Spring 2000).
• National Archives and Records Administration - Northeast Region (Boston)
• National Archives and Records Administration - Northeast Region (Pittsfield)
• Massachusetts Archives  - Policies for Research by Mail - Fees and Procedures
   220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 PH: (617) 727-2816
• Court Records Archivist (for MA Archives requests involving court records)
    Supreme Judicial Court Archives - 1300 New Court House - Boston, MA 02108
• Bureau of Census on-line USA gazetteer
• USGS - Geographic Names Information System
• Social Security Administration - and Freedom of Information Guide.
• Social Security Death Index Search.
• USA - Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Requests for Deceased Veterans' Military Information.
• The Poorhouse Story, by Linda Crannell and CCS - a collection of information, by state, which invites submissions to help tell this untold tale - read "Emma's Story" to see the touching story behind the site!!!
• Massachusetts Genealogy Links
• Massachusetts Archives
• Summary Guide to Holdings
• Family History Resources
• Sources for Ethnic History/Genealogy
USGen Web for Massachusetts
USGenWeb Archives Massachusetts Table of Contents
America's First Families: 1600s Colonial Settlers of the 13 Colonies (NH - MA - ME - RI - CT - NY - NJ - PA - DE - MD - VA - NC - SC).
University of NH Library Special Collections Genealogy papers of MA
A Genealogical Dictionary of  The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, Vols. 1-4, By James Savage.
A Genealogical Dictionary of  The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, Vols. 1-4, By James Savage.
Migrations, by Patrick Hays.
Genealogy Resources on the Internet by Christine Gaunt and John Fuller
Try Genealogy Exchange and Surname Registry
Internet Sources of German Genealogy
The Search Beat for Genealogy and Roots
Massachusetts Research Tools by Jeff Simonson
Massachusetts City and Town Clerks Directory
A Guide to Local Catholic Church History and Catholic Ancestors-Genealogy
Men of Massachusetts (Name, Date and Place of Birth of 1,544 prominent men of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1903.)
New England Indians by Susan Martin (includes history and genealogy)
Welcome to Marston Manor History & Genealogy: Proof and Evidence Classroom
 
• The CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY Mailing List: <Ct-River-Valley-L@rootsweb.com> covers all the counties that border the Connecticut River in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont.  If you would like to subscribe, e-mail to Ct-River-Valley-L-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" in the message.   To post messages to this list use the address Ct-River-Valley-L@rootsweb.com, after you have subscribed.
• Massachusetts Lookups Volunteer
• Massachusetts Research - Professional
• Ann McRoden Mensch, Researching at The Allen County Public Library

• The History Channel
• Library of Congress American Memory Collection for Massachusetts
• Library of Congress WPA Life Histories by State
• Military Battles and Campaigns Map Collection of the Library of Congress
• The National Parks: History
• NPS: Wild & Scenic Rivers
• Cycles of US History - Colonial Cycle (1584-1700)
• Experience Colonial Life
• History Online - American Colonies
• Archives of Milestone Events in 18th Century American History (Digital display of original documents)
• Archiving America - (Digital display of historic original 18th Century American documents)

National Museum of American Art
• U. S. History - A good base for Colonial New England and American Revolution
• Documents of Freedom (Columbus' Letter, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the U. S., Bill of Rights, Monroe Doctrine, etc.)
• Smithsonian:
• Smithsonian: American Social and Cultural History
• Smithsonian: You be the Historian

Smithsonian: Inventors and Innovations
• Massachusetts Courthouse Clerk Uncovers With Trial Books from Mid-1600's
• New England History and Genealogy Free Books Online Effort
• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (official web site) includes Community Profiles, Constitution, etc. - find general county/town information.
• Commonwealth Communities of Massachusetts - Index
• Massachusetts City and Town Clerks Directory
• Big Yellow - Find people and Businesses
 

• First Nations
• First Nations Histories by Lee Stultzman
• Geographic Overview of First Nations Histories
• Massachuset History by Lee Stultzman
• Narragansett History by Lee Stultzman

• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History and Government
• 1620 - The Charter of New England
• 1620 - Agreement Between the Settlers at New Plymouth
• 1629 - Charter of the Colony of New Plymouth Granted to William Bradford and His Associates
• 1629 - The Charter of Massachusetts Bay
• 1635 - The Act of Surrender of the Great Charter of New England to His Majesty
• 1640 - William Bradford, &c. Surrender of the Patent of Plymouth Colony to the Freeman, March 2D
• 1688 - Commission of Sir Edmund Andros for the Dominion of New England. April 7
• 1691 - The Charter of Massachusetts Bay. October 7
• 1725 - Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay - August 26
• America's First Families: 1600s Colonial Settlers of the 13 Colonies (NH - MA - ME - RI - CT - NY - NJ - PA - DE - MD - VA - NC - SC).
• Massachusetts Archives Collection
• Historical Sketch: Colonial Period, 1629-1686, Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
• Historical Sketch: Intercharter Period (1686-1692), Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
• Historical Sketch: Provincial Period (1692-1774), Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
• Historical Sketch: Provincial Congresses (1774-1775), Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
• The Ancestory of Deacon John Leavitt and the Leavitt Family History by Brooks Russell Leavitt II : "...it was Rev. John white, rather than John Winthrop, who was the founding father of the Bay Colony, according to some historians..."- a must see page for history of Massachusetts Bay Colony!
• The Mayflower Compact
• Magna Carta
• 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay
• The Freemen of Massachusetts Bay, 1630 - 1636 - Redacted and introduced by Marcia Stewart, Chairperson of The Winthrop Society.
• U.S. History Colonial Cycle
• Primary Source Documents from Early American History
• Massachusetts (1607-1630s)
• Anne Bradstreet, A Dialogue Between Old England and New (1630)
• John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity (1630)
• Winthrop Papers Electronic Archive
• The Liberties of the Massachusets Collonie in New England, 1641
• Famous American Trials:  The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692
• Massachusetts Bay Colony 1640-1700
• The History of the Arms and Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• King Philip's War (1675 to 1677)
• The Battle of Louisburg in New France (In 1745, the New England Colonials fought to take this capital of the French colony of Ile Royale (northeast of New England)
• French and Indian Wars: an essay (1750s-)
• The British Monarchy Official Web Site - includes the pages below and more:
• History of the Monarchy -
• History of the Crown -
• Historic Royal Speeches -
• Family Trees of British Royal Houses  -
• The British Monarchy - with profiles.
• Historic Profile of King George III reigned from 1760-1820, during the American Revolution and his Letter on the loss of America, 1780s (precise year unknown).
• Report of Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting  (Nov. 20, 1772) : Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists:
• Boston Teaparty (1773)
• Listen & Watch the Boston Teaparty (1773)

• Founding Fathers, Delegates to the Constitutional Convention
• Documents of the Continental Congress & Constitutional Convention (1774-1789)
• "...Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia..."
• The Colonial Navy of Massachusetts - came into being December 29, 1775
• Spy Letters of the American Revolution, from the collection of the Clement's Library.
• Historical Sketch of Massachusetts: Colonizing, Early Statehood, Etc., Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
• History Unbundled - Patriots Park
• The American Revolution
• NPS: Minute Man National Park : The Shot Heard Round the World
• Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Historic Preservation Study
• The Paris Peace Treaty (1783)
• From Revolution to Reconstruction - What Happened After... - Hypertext
• United States
• National

NARA-Charters of Freedom including Declaration of IndependenceUSA - FirstGov: U.S. Government Online Directory
• Department of Veterans Affairs.
Requests for Deceased Veterans' Military Information.
The Great American Web Site - Citizens' Guide to government resources online.
• State

Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State Library of Massachusetts : Genealogy Resources
   Why is Massachusetts a Commonwealth?
Public Records Division:
A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law
History of the Arms and Great Seal of Massachusetts
Massachusetts Archives:
   Secretary of the Commonwealth
   Massachusetts Archives
   220 Morrissey Blvd.
   Boston, MA 02125
   Phone: (617) 727-2816
Researching Your Family's History at the Massachusetts Archives:
Archives Collection
George Washington in Massachusetts: Letters from the Archives
Massachusetts State Records Center
Massachusetts History Timeline
Historical Sketch of Massachusetts: Colonizing, Early Statehood, Etc., Published by: William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives.
Massachusetts Profile and Massachusetts Facts
Welcome to Massachusetts - A practical guide to living in MA
Massachusetts Highest Court: Supreme Judicial Court
Massachusetts - Legislature - Great and General Court
Senators and Representatives by city/town
Massachusetts - Governor /
William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth
See Massachusetts Governor's Office "Kid's Page" for a Tour of the Governor's Office and Massachusetts History Sketch
A Candidate's Guide to Special Elections: Age, residence & signature requirements for United States Respresentative, State Senator, and State Respresentatives.
A Candidate’s Guide to the 2000 State Election, Published by William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections (Pdf file).
Massachusetts State Symbols
State Song: "All Hail to Massachusetts" by Arthur J. Marsh (Lyrics)
State Poem: "Blue Hills of Massachusetts" by Katherine E. Mullen of Barre
• Stately Knowledge about Massachusetts
• Famous Firsts in Massachusetts

FAQs about the Massachusetts State Flag
• Local
• Massachusetts Citizen Information Service - maps and more.
• Massachusetts Dept. of Housing and Community Development:  Community Profiles.
• Taxes
• American History/Revolutionary War: Stamp Tax Passed 1765.
• Roosevelt Junior High: Stamp Tax Passed, Colonies Protest-1765, includes student activities.
• Politicians
• The Political Graveyard for Massachusetts - cemeteries where dead politicians are buried

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  Wars

Early Military Battles and Campaigns
• King Philip's War (1675 to 1677), from History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire, From it's Settlement in 1638, to the Autumn of 1892, by Joseph Dow, 1893.
French and Indian Wars
• French and Indian Wars: an essay (1750s-)
• French and Indian Wars (18th Century)
• The Practice of Scalping During the French and Indian War (1754-1760) By George A. Bray III
The American Revolution
• Boston Teaparty (1773)
• The Battle of Concord (1775)
• The Battle of Lexington, MA (1775) includes Colonial maps.
• The Smithsonian: Vermont - Mount Independence (Summer 1776) soldiers from NH, MA, ....
• Shay's Rebellion (1786-1787)
• Early Navy Personnel Records at the National Archives, 1776-1860, By Lee D. Bacon (Prologue, Spring 1995).

War of 1812
• Key Events & Causes: War of 1812 by Greg D. Feldmeth
• Historical Text Archive: War of 1812
June, 1851: Regulations for the Uniform & Dress of the Army of the United States
• Genealogical Fallout from the War of 1812, By Ruth Priest Dixon (Prologue, Spring 1992) - "...The impressment of American seamen by the British was one of the causes of the War of 1812. The practice also resulted in the creation of extensive records about merchant seamen that are of great value to genealogists and historians..."
• Genealogical Records of the War of 1812, By Stuart L. Butler (Prologue, Winter 1991) - "...National Archives records created during and after the War of 1812 offer the genealogist a diverse and fertile ground in which to obtain invaluable family information..."




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Civil War
• Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation, By Michael P. Musick  (Prologue, Summer 1995)
• U.S. Army Military History Institute: American Civil War Unit Bibliographies
• For Massachusetts
• U.S. Army Military History Institute:  Relevant Sites for Military History.
• MOA (Making of America): The War of the Rebellion - "...a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies published under the direction of the Secretary of War, The Honorary Elihu Root, Brig. Gen. Fred. C. Ainsworth, the Chief of the Record and Pension Office, U.S. War Department, and Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley (Mr. John S. Moodey, indexer).   ("...All volumes have been scanned from originals held by the Cornell University Library...")
• MOA (Making of America): The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion - "...a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate navies published under the direction of the Secretary of Navy, The Honorable H.A. Herbert, Lieut. Commander Richard Bush, Superintendent of Naval War records, U.S. Navy, and Mr. Robert H. Woods in 1894..."  ("...All volumes have been scanned from originals held by the Cornell University Library...")
• History of United States Colored Troops (USCT) - A database of over 230,000 names.
• NPS: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
• History of African Americans in the Civil War
• Library of congress: Civil War Photographs (enter the state name for search)
• 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry
• 2nd Massachusetts Infantry "Gordon's Regulars"
• 3rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 4th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry
• 9th Massachusetts Battery (reenactment) with Historical Information and images of some of the original members.
• 10th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 11th Massachusetts Infantry (Boston Volunteers)
• 12 Regiments Massachusetts Volunteers
• 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 16th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry "Iron Sixteenth"
• 18th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 20th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry "The Harvard Regiment"
• 20th Massachusetts Company D & Sanitary Commission (reenactors)
• 22nd Massachusetts Infantry
• 27th Regt. Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regt.:  Companies A, C, and H
•      Fourth Regiment, Irish Brigade "Faugh A Ballaugh"
• 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry : Historical Research of Original 28th with The Irish in the War and Links.
• 29th 35th and 36th Massachusetts Infantry on the Vicksburg National Military Park Memorial in Vicksburg, Mississippi
• Massachusetts 36th Volunteer Infantry by Deanna Quinn Hancock (composed of volunteers from the counties of Worcester, Suffolk and Hamden)
• 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
• 53rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (organized at Groton, MA)
• 54th Massachusetts Infantry
• 54th. Mass. Volunteer Infantry, Co. I: (reenactors) "Portraying the experience of the African American soldier in the American Civil War in South Carolina" with information on the historic 54th Mass.
• 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (African Descent) by Bennie J. McRae, Jr.
• 56th Massachusetts Regiment  by Donald P. Hayes, Jr.
• 58th Third Veteran Regiment

 
• Women Soldiers of the Civil War, by DeAnne Blanton (Prologue, Spring 1993)
• History of Fort Warren on George's Island in Boston Harbor: Schmidt Publishing
• Civil War Virtual Archive Web Ring  List
Spanish American War
• U. S. Warships of the Spanish American War by Jeff Weaver
• U.S. Army Military History Institute:  Relevant Sites for Military History
WWI
• They Answered the Call: Military Service in the United States Army during World War I, 1917-1919  (Prologue, Fall 1998). -- A guide to looking for information about World War I army veterans - By Mitchell Yockelson.
Foreign Affairs
Timelines, Links, Miscellaneous Military
• USIGS: Military Collection
• The War Generations: a brief time-line of wars
• U.S. Army Military History Institute:  Relevant Sites for Military History
• History of Camp Devens/Fort Devens - established in 1917 on land in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster and Shirley, MA - with Clickable Monuments & Archives Map.

• Childbirth
• Martha Ballard's Words:  A Midwife's Diary from 1785
• Children
• Dressing Baby 1850s Style
• Twelve Golden Rules for Children (Canton Girl Scouts, 1880s) on Canton Historical Society.
• Clothing
• Pilgrim Clothing
• Plimouth Colony Costume
• 17th Century Women's Fashion Plate
• History Unbundled 1792 Fashion
• The Regency Fashion Page (1720-1822 real men's & women's fashions, info and links)
• Explore Godey's Lady's Book Online (1850s)
• The Costume History Page
• Victorian Bridal Gowns from Harper's Bazar library
• Domestic Arts
• Quilts, Counterpanes & Throws - A Smithsonian Virtual Exhibit
• Lowell National Historic Park - Boott Cotton Mills Museum (Weaving and Looms)
• Lowell History Prologue.
• Food & Cooking
• Early American Wine and Foods
• Native American Foods and Recipes
• How to Eat a Lobster - MA Office of Travel and Tourism
• General
• Explore Godey's Lady's Book Online (1850s)
• Lifestyle
• Hobbamock's Homesite: Plymouth, MA (a reconstructed Wampanoag village)
• Concord's Colonial Inn: The Biography of Concord's Colonial Inn
• Longfellow's Wayside Inn
• The Orignial Historic Inns Of New England
• Taverns Key To Colonial Travel - posted by the Canton Historical Society.
• Quiltmaking--A Timeless American Craft
• The Victoriana Online wide range of topics (19th Century)
• A Victorian Woman's World includes household, dress and more
• The Roaring 20s and the Great Depression -Temperance and Prohibition
Return to MENU

Mental and Physical Health Care/Medicine/

• Archaic Medical Terms for Genealogists
• Colonial Diseases and Cures
• Colonial Medicine By Jane Routt Power
• Shaker Farms and Gardens includes medicinal herbs (19th and 20 Centuries)
• From Quackery to Bacteriology: The Emergence of Modern Medicine in 19th Century America,
• Mental Health in the 19th Century:  From Quackery to Bacteriology, from Barbara Floyd, University Archivist, University of Toledo.



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• The Surveyors House
• Massachusetts Land Records
  
• Bureau of Land Management: Eastern States Official Land Patent Records - allows for search by surname
• Massachusetts Registers of Deeds - Links to County sites:
• Barnstable County Register of Deeds
• Berkshire Middle District Registry of Deeds
44 Bank Row, Pittsfield, MA 01201  Ph: (413) 443-7438
E-mail: mobdeeds@berkshire.net
• Northern Berkshire County Registry of Deeds
65 Park Street,  Adams,  MA  Ph:  (413) 743-0035
 E-mail: nbrd@bcn.net
• Essex County Registry of Deeds,
36 Federal Street,  Salem, MA  01970  Ph: (978) 741-0200 x250
• Hampden County Registry of Deeds
50 State Street, Springfield, MA  01103 Ph: (413) 748-8614
• Nantucket County Registry of Deeds
Town and County Bldg., 16 Broad St., Nantucket, MA  02554  Ph:  (508) 228-7250
• Norfolk County Registry of Deeds
649 High St., Dedham, MA  02026  Ph:  (617) 461-6122
• Northern Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
360 Gorham St., Lowell, MA  01852
Some Interesting Historical Facts about NMRD
• South Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
208 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02141
Ph: (617)-494-4500  E-mail: msouth@icpl.com
• Suffolk County Registry of Deeds
One Pemberton Sq., Boston, MA  02108  Ph:  (617) 725-8575
• Plymouth County Registry of Deeds
P.O. Box 3535,  Plymouth, MA 02361  Ph: (508) 830-9200
• Worcester County Northern District Registry of Deeds
Courthouse, 84 Elm St. P. O. Box 893, Fitchburg, MA  01420  Ph: (508) 342-2132
• Worcester District County Register of Deeds
2 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
(508) 798-7717    E-mail:  wrod@browntech.com.
•  Guide for Historical Research


Return to MENU

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• 1600s Dutch Map of New England area
• Massachusetts Maps - City/Town Map; County Map; Congressional District Maps; and Area Code Map.
• A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts with Numerous Illustrations / Rev. Elias Nason, M.A.; revised and enlarged by George J. Varney. Boston : B.B. Russell. 1890, 724 pages, scanned and posted online by David Kew, of Worcester!
• Massachusetts Electronic Atlas, from Harvard University.
• FedStats by State for Massachusetts with Maps
• National Atlas of the United States
• U.S. Gazetteer: This gazetteer is used to identify places to view with the Tiger Map Server and obtain census data from the 1990 Census Lookup server. You can search for places, counties
• U. S. Census Bureau Interactive Maps for MA
• Maps of Massachusetts including satellite and county maps
• United States Geography in the Early Republic - MASSACHUSETTS - contains descriptions of the locations of towns and counties and links to many areas.
• Library of Congress Map Collection
• Library of Congress - American History Railroad Maps for MA
• Library of Congress Map Collection - you can search by cities & towns,
• The Battle of Lexington, MA (1775) includes Colonial maps.
• Massachusetts Maps published by the Sec. of the Commonwealth
• UNH DIMOND LIBRARY: Historic USGS Maps of New England.

• Weather
• Geology
• Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, MA
• Natural Disasters
• Horticulture
• Colonial Herb Gardens Edited by Mrs. Paul H. Walker
• The Arnold Arboretum - Jamaica Plain MA
• The Institute for Cultural Landscape Studies of the Arnold Arboretum
• The Berkshire Botanical Garden - Stockbridge, MA
• Botanic Garden of Smith College - Northampton, MA
• Worcester County Horticultural Society  & Tower Hill Botanical Gardens
• Wildlife
• Massachusetts: U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Refuges & Field Stations
• Oceans
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute - Woods Hole, MA  02543  Phone: (508) 457-2000.
• Rivers
• The Westfield River
• The Millers River Community Development Corporation - The Millers River or North Quabbin Region is located in North Central Massachusetts.
• Tourism and Map, including history and museum contacts and information for the towns of Athol, Erving, New Salem, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston,Warwick and Wendell.
• The Quabbin Reservoir:  In the 1930s, to aid the water supply to western Massachusetts, the Quabbin Reservoir was constructed.  "...Four towns Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott were wiped off the face of the Earth and seven other towns were affected..."
• Quabbin Yesterday and Today.
• "People of Color" and National Parks in Southern New England Historical Considerations on the Relationships between African and Native American Peoples Impacting Contemporary Cultural Resource Management Within New England’s National Parks, by Thomas L. Doughton, 1997.   (Website Contact: Watta Wushan.)

• Colonial Occupations
• American Guild of Town Criers
• Learn about Pirates
• Some Colonial Occupations
• The Mariners' Museum (Newport News, VA) has a nice "age of exploration" collection
• Age of Exploration Time Line: 3200 B.C.-1779 (Mariners' Museum)
• Kendall Whaling Museum, Sharon, MA - Whaling History Bibliography
• Whaling Days in Provincetown, MA - A brief history from the Revolutionary years to date.
• Whaling - includes history, food essentials, ships and more
• Out of Gloucester - by R. Sheedy - genealogy & history examples:
• Down to the Sea in Ships.
• "The chronological list of vessels and men lost fishing out of Gloucester".
• Historical Perspectives on Fishing.
• Lost Vessels But Saved Crews.
• Smithsonian Virtual Exhibit:  Toolchests Symbol and Servant
• Lowell National Historic Park - Boott Cotton Mills Museum (Weaving and Looms)
• Lowell History Prologue.
• Quincy Granite Railway Quarries - Working at the Quarry Photos
• Riding the Rails Up Paper Mountain: Researching Railroad Records in the National Archives, By David A. Pfeiffer (Spring 1997).
• Smithsonian:  Between a Rock and a Hard Place - History of American Sweatshops, 1820-Present
• History of the Niagara Fire Engine Company in Millis, Norfolk County, MA.
• The Town of Orange Fire Department includes  History & Apparatus History

• Printing & Publishing - Early American Magazines and Newspapers

• Daguerreotype Portraits and Views (1839-1864)
• A Brief History of Daquerreotype
• Suggestions to Ladies who sit for Daquerreotypes (1854-1855)
• Dave Rozanna's: Tips for Dating Old Photographs
• Photos: Library of Congress American Memory Collection (ca. 1880-1910)
search by town or category in this collection

• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - in Springfield, MA.
• College Basketball: The Roots - "...As the story goes, in 1891 the students from the YMCA's Training School in Springfield, Mass. were complaining of the gymnastics & calisthenics used in their physical training. One of the instructors, James Naismith (a Canadian) announced he would take care of the problem..." - by David Schwalbe, the American History guide on the miningco.com site.

• Land
• Taverns Key To Colonial Travel - posted by the Canton Historical Society.
• May’s Tavern Landmark of the Revolutionary War (Canton, MA)
• Railroad

Early American Roads and Trails
American Memory, Library of Congress - Railroad Maps 1828-1900
Canton Historical Society's TRAIN PAGE - New Haven Steam
Stories of the Stoughton Branch Railroad
• Norfolk-Southern RR Corporation - History including information about: Norfolk and Western Railway, Southern Railway, Conrail and Pocahontas Land Corporation, with a timeline, from 1826, when "Massachusetts legislature sets up Granite Railway, Conrail's earliest predecessor, to move granite blocks and columns to build Bunker Hill Monument near Boston...", and link to the Railroad History Archives at Virginia Tech.
• Conrail: A Brief History.
• WGBH: Public Broadcasting from Boston has The American Experience and much more online!
• Riding the Rails