Massachusetts Local History <->
Genealogy
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[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.
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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New Hampshire
Vermont
Connecticut
Rhode Island
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 ]
|
Ethnic/Culture/Gender Specific including
the following:
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Catagories
- 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
- 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)
- 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.
- Poetry
- 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
Miscellaneous
- 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...
Books, Newspapers & Publications
- 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)
Cemeteries/Gravestones/Obituaries/Probate
- 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
- 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
o 1790-1890 Federal Population Censuses Catalog of NARA Microfilm
o 1930 Census Microfilm Locator
o Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840
o Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930
o Nonpopulation Census Records
o Prologue, Spring 1996, Vol. 28, No. 1, "First in the Path of the Firemen" The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, by Kellee Blake.
o Immigration Records and Naturalization Records
o "Any woman who is now or hereafter may be married... Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940", by Marian L. Smith (Prologue, Summer 1998)
o By Way of Canada: U.S. Records of Immigration Across the U.S.-Canadian Border, 1895-1954, By Marian L. Smith (St. Albans Lists) (Fall 2000) — A guide to using immigration records of the U.S.-Canada border.
o Military Records available from the National Archives
o Military Service and Pension Records: Requesting Pre-WWI
o Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation, By Michael P. Musick (Prologue, Summer 1995)
o Women Soldiers of the Civil War, by DeAnne Blanton (Prologue, Spring 1993)
o Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines of the Spanish-American War: The Legacy of USS Maine, By Rebecca Livingston (Prologue, Spring 1998).
o 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.
o State-level Lists of Casualties from the Korean Conflict (1951-1957) and the Vietnam Conflict , By Theodore J. Hull, (Prologue, Spring 2000).
o Indian Bounty Land Applications, By Mary Frances Morrow (Prologue,
o 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)
o 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..."
o 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..."
o Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops, by Budge Weidman (Prologue, Summer 1997)
o A Guiding Light: Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, By Debra Newman Ham (Prologue, Special Issue, Summer 1997).
o 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)
o Riding the Rails Up Paper Mountain: Researching Railroad Records in the National Archives, By David A. Pfeiffer (Spring 1997).
· 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
Church & Religion - Historical
- 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.
Educational Resources for
teachers, parents and children
Though there are many educational links on this Local Massachusetts History
site, I will try to place some of the best children's educational links in this
category. Please let me know if you have one to suggest.
· Governor's - Kids Page
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
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..."
- 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
- 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
- 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
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
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.
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.
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
· NARA: National Archives and Records Administration
o 1790-1890 Federal Population Censuses Catalog of NARA Microfilm
o 1930 Census Microfilm Locator
o Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840
o Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930
o Nonpopulation Census Records
o Prologue, Spring 1996, Vol. 28, No. 1, "First in the Path of the Firemen" The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, by Kellee Blake.
o Immigration Records and Naturalization Records
o "Any woman who is now or hereafter may be married... Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940", by Marian L. Smith (Prologue, Summer 1998)
o By Way of Canada: U.S. Records of Immigration Across the U.S.-Canadian Border, 1895-1954, By Marian L. Smith (St. Albans Lists) (Fall 2000) — A guide to using immigration records of the U.S.-Canada border.
o Military Records available from the National Archives
o Military Service and Pension Records: Requesting Pre-WWI
o Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation, By Michael P. Musick (Prologue, Summer 1995)
o Women Soldiers of the Civil War, by DeAnne Blanton (Prologue, Spring 1993)
o Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines of the Spanish-American War: The Legacy of USS Maine, By Rebecca Livingston (Prologue, Spring 1998).
o 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.
o State-level Lists of Casualties from the Korean Conflict (1951-1957) and the Vietnam Conflict , By Theodore J. Hull, (Prologue, Spring 2000).
o Indian Bounty Land Applications, By Mary Frances Morrow (Prologue,
o 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)
o 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..."
o 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..."
o Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops, by Budge Weidman (Prologue, Summer 1997)
o A Guiding Light: Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, By Debra Newman Ham (Prologue, Special Issue, Summer 1997).
o 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)
o Riding the Rails Up Paper Mountain: Researching Railroad Records in the National Archives, By David A. Pfeiffer (Spring 1997).
· 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
- Massachusetts
Archives -
220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Phone: (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.
- 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
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
- 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:
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
Government & Military (See also Wars)
PreColonial
Native Americans - See Also: Native
American Information and Links.
Colonial
- 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)
American
Revolution and Transition
- 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
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 -
220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Phone: (617) 727-2816.
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
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
Early Military Battles and Campaigns
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
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..."
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
- 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
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
- 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
- Lowell National
Historic Park - Boott Cotton Mills Museum (Weaving and Looms)
- Food & Cooking
- Early
American Wine and Foods
- Native
American Foods and Recipes
- How to Eat a
Lobster - MA Office of Travel and Tourism
- General
- 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
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.
· Caleb Johnson's Mayflower Web Page
includes history, passengers bio, etc., etc...
· American Plantations and Colonies
with passenger lists
· "Any
woman who is now or hereafter may be married... Women and Naturalization, ca.
1802-1940", by Marian L. Smith (Prologue, Summer 1998)
· Immigration
and Naturalization Records
· History Web
Pages on Assumption College site.
· His 270: Immigration and
Ethnicity in American History, 1815 to the present a course offered by Dr.
McClymer at Assumption College.
- 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:
44 Bank Row, Pittsfield, MA 01201 Ph: (413) 443-7438
E-mail: mobdeeds@berkshire.net
65 Park Street, Adams, MA Ph: (413)
743-0035
E-mail: nbrd@bcn.net
36 Federal Street, Salem, MA 01970 Ph:
(978) 741-0200 x250
50 State Street, Springfield, MA 01103 Ph: (413)
748-8614
Town and County Bldg., 16 Broad St., Nantucket, MA
02554 Ph: (508) 228-7250
649 High St., Dedham, MA 02026 Ph: (617)
461-6122
360 Gorham St., Lowell, MA 01852
Some Interesting
Historical Facts about NMRD
208 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02141
Ph: (617)-494-4500 E-mail: msouth@icpl.com
One Pemberton Sq., Boston, MA 02108 Ph:
(617) 725-8575
P.O. Box 3535, Plymouth, MA 02361 Ph: (508)
830-9200
Courthouse, 84 Elm St. P. O. Box 893, Fitchburg, MA
01420 Ph: (508) 342-2132
2 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
(508) 798-7717 E-mail: wrod@browntech.com.
- 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.
Medicine (See Health Care/Medicine)
- Weather
- Geology
- 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
- 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..."
- "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)
- 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
- 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!
Tales
from the Rails during the Great Depression with teen Hobos
- Riding
the Rails Up Paper Mountain: Researching Railroad Records in the National
Archives, By David A. Pfeiffer (Spring 1997).
- Automobile
- Beverly Historical
Society & Museum
Walker Transportation Collection - Beverly, MA
- Museum of Transportation - Brookline, MA
- Automotive
History 101
- Funeral Coach
History and Terminology
- Sea
- Ships
The Mayflower -
Caleb's page has passenger lists & more.
First Voyage of the "Mary and
John," 1630
Mary Ann Patten -
Clipper Heroine
Whaling - includes
history, food essentials, ships & more
- The
Maritime History Virtual Archives, by Lars.Bruzelius@udac.se
- Out of Gloucester - genealogy
& history (E-mail: <misuraca@star.net>) examples:
(see also occupations)
- Lighthouses
Legendary
Lighthouses of the North Atlantic Photogallery of PBS
The World's Lighthouses,
Lightships & Lifesaving Stations
Massachusetts History Resources
- Massachusetts
Citizen Information Service - maps and more
- Governor's - Kids Page
- 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
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."
- Massachusetts
Citizen Information Service - maps and more.
- Massachusetts
Dept. of Housing and Community Development: Community Profiles.
- Societies
- Mass Home Directory of
Massachusetts Historical Sites & Historical Societies
- New England Historic Genealogical Society
- Society Hill Directory
for MASSACHUSETTS
- Libraries & Repositories
- Massachusetts Information
and Library Network
- Library of Congress
- The National Archives
- Massachusetts
Archives
- Boston Public Library
- The Harvard Library
- Online Catalog of Suffolk University
Libraries
- History Links
from the CA Chapter of SAR - Great Site!
- From Revolution to
Reconstruction - a Hypertext on American History
- New England History
and Genealogy Free Books Online Effort by David C. Blackwell
- Museums
- The Commonwealth Museum
- The Charles River Museum of
Industry, Waltham, MA
- DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park,
Lincoln, MA (Contemporary Art Museum and Sculpture Park)
- Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
- Harvard University Art Museum,
Cambridge, MA
- Historic Northampton
Museum & Education, Northampton, MA
o New Bedford Whaling Museum - helpful for Barnstable county researchers. 27 Everett Street - Sharon, MA 02067
§ Visit 50 States to learn how: "... America’s highly diversified whaling industry even influenced landlocked states far from the sea..."
- Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art,
North Adams, MA
- Mead Art Museum, Amherst, MA
- MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA
- Museum of Bad Art, Boston, MA
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Cambridge, MA
- Orchard House - Home of Louisa May
Alcott, Concord, MA
- The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts (official web site) includes DHCD Community Profiles,
Constitution, etc. - find general county/town information.
- Unincorporated
and Unofficial names of Massachusetts Communities
- Massachusetts
Historical Commission
- 17th
Century New England Links
- The Making of
America (search the digital library of primary sources in American
social history from Reconstruction to the Rebellion)
- 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.
- Excite:
City Net for Massachusetts - for local travel, maps, info, etc.
- Official
City Web Sites of Massachusetts
- Open Directory Project for Massachusetts
- USA Citylink
for Massachusetts
- Massachusetts
Research Tools by Jeff Simonson
- Deciphering
Old Handwriting by Sabina J. Murray
- U. S. History -
A good base for Colonial New England and American Revolution
- Index
of Resources for United States History
- Documents
of Freedom (Columbus' Letter, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of
Independence, Constitution of the U. S., Bill of Rights, Monroe Doctrine,
etc.)
- Central
Intelligence Agency Publications: World Fact
Book and Maps.
- Smithsonian:
- Smithsonian:
American Social and Cultural History
- Smithsonian: You be
the Historian
- Smithsonian: Inventors
and Innovations
- The History Net
- Archiving Early
America - historic documents from 18th century America
- 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.
- Bureau of Land
Management - Eastern States, General Land Office - Official Land
Patent Records Site
County &
Town [Research by County]
[Find
a Town's County Location ]
Counties List:
Barnstable
Berkshire
Bristol
Dukes
Essex
Franklin
Hampden
Hampshire
Middlesex
Nantucket
Norfolk
Plymouth
Suffolk
Worcester
Eras
Please submit your suggestions for Massachusetts Eras
An
Outline of Early American History
- 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..."
17th Century New England
Links
Massachusetts
Historical Sketch by Eras including a very brief sketch of precolonization
Native American information.
Colonizing
Massachusetts - from the 1630 landing at Salem of John Winthrop and
the Puritans, until 1660.
An Outline of
Colonial American History
The Bay
Colony from 1660, when the Stuarts were restored to the throne, through the
Revolutionary Battle of Bunker Hill on March 17, 1776 which eliminated enemy
troops from within the borders of the Bay Colony.
Repressive
Measures - from the Sugar Act of 1764, to the Revolutionary Battle of
Bunker Hill on March 17, 1776.
Post War
Problems - from the ratification of the Constitution on June 15, 1780, to
the 1815 conclusion of the War of 1812.
A New Era
- from the conclusion of the War of 1812, to the addition of Constitutional
Amendment, in 1833, separating Church and State.
Intellectual
Activity Era - from early 19th century, through the post Civil War years.
North Star: The Underground
Railroad
The Making of America (search
the digital library of primary sources in American social history from
Reconstruction to the Rebellion)
Prosperous
Industry in Massachusetts - from the close of the 19th century when
Massachusetts factories were booming, to the 1930s by which time Massachusetts
had become enriched by immigrants from many nations.
The Future of
the Commonwealth
Last update: 23 Jan 2006.
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000-2006 by Ann Mensch. All Rights Reserved.
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