Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts Genealogy

City and town of Fall River in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Town Information

Description

Fall River, Massachusetts at Wikipedia

In 1653, Freetown, Massachusetts was settled at Assonet Bay by members of the Plymouth Colony, as part of Freeman's Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683 Freetown was incorporated as a town within the colony. The southern part of what is now Fall River was incorporated as the town of Tiverton, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1694, a few years after the merger with the Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island, along with Little Compton and what is now Bristol County, Rhode Island. The state boundary was placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street.
In 1703, Benjamin Church, a prominent veteran of King Philip's War, established a sawmill, a gristmill and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, including the water rights, to Richard Borden of Tiverton and his brother Joseph.

Parent Towns

Populated Places

Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities,
Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Boundary Changes

Adjacent Towns

Town Records

In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

Fall River Town Clerk

Board Of Elections
1 Government Center, RM 636
Fall River, MA 02722
Phone: 508-324-2633
Email: lcamara@fallriverma.org
Website

Vital Records

[Vital records, 1762-1900 [Fall River, Massachusetts]
[Authors: Fall River (Massachusetts). City Clerk (Main Author) Fall River (Massachusetts). City Clerk (Repository)]
[Format: Manuscript/Manuscript on Film]
[Language:English]
[Publication:Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1995]
[Physical:6 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.]
[References: (Digital Collection) Massachusetts town records, ca. 1638-1961]

Births

1636-1924 Massachusetts, Births, 1636-1924 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Marriages

Deaths

1916-1919 Massachusetts Deaths, 1916-1919 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Divorce

Town Reports

Resources

For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

Cemeteries

Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information

Fall River Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
Fall River Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
Bristol County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
Bristol County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

John Perry, Director 765 Prospect Street, Fall River, MA 02722 T: 508-324-2750 | F: 508-324-2751 E: jperry@fallriverma.org

[The Cemeteries Division is a branch of the Department of Community Maintenance. It is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of Fall River’s two public cemeteries, Oak Grove Cemetery and North Burial Ground. Both North Burial Ground and Oak Grove Cemeteries are registered with the National Registry of Historic Places. The Cemeteries Division is overseen by the Board of Park Commissioners.]
[North Burial Ground is over 30 acres and is located on North Main St. between Brightman and Cory Streets.North Burial Ground. 1360 N. Main St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 672-3041. Established 1810.]
[Oak Grove Cemetery. 765 Prospect St. Fall River MA 02720. 508-324-2750. Established c. 1873. Oak Grove Cemetery is over 120 acres and is located in the historic Highlands neighborhood of Fall River. Oak Grove has been the final resting place of Fall River’s most notable citizens.

Historical Note: burial place of Lizzie Borden (1860-1927), acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892.]
Jewish Cemeteries

[Agudath Achim Jewish Cemetery. Newhall Street Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue. 508-674-9761. Go to: http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/]
[Beth El Cemetery. N. Main St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. Contact: Temple Beth El. (508) 674-3529.]
[Hebrew Cemetery. McMahon St. Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue. 508-674-9761.]

Catholic Cemeteries

[Notre Dame Cemetery . 1540 Stafford Rd. Fall River, Mass. 02721. (508) 673-1561. Established 1883.http://www.interment.net/data/us/ma/bristol/notre/index.htm]
[Our Lady of Light Cemetery. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 672-1207. Contact: Notre Dame Cemetery.]
[St. John's Cemetery. 258 Brightman St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 679-2535. Burials: 1858-1891.]
[St. Mary's Cemetery. Amity St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 679-2535. Burials: 1875-1891.]
[St. Patrick's Cemetery. 2233 Robeson St. Fall River, Mass. 02720. (508) 679-2535. Established 1876.]

Census

Church Records

1789-1920 Massachusetts: (Image only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 at American Ancestors - images ($)

City Directories

1905 Fall River Directory(*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images,
[Available on microfilm (1853-1967) and in print (1967-present).]
[Older directories can be a valuable source of family information. Not only do they provide a list of people living in Fall River, they also list home addresses and sometimes business addresses and occupations. They may also include dates of death if someone died in the preceding year. These do have limitations, however: they list heads of household rather than complete families, and they cover the city of Fall River only, not outlying areas.]
[Local History Online - The Durfee High School Library has many historical images and texts available online, including photographs and postcards, high school yearbooks, books, and news articles.]
[Historic Atlas - Pages from an 1883 atlas of Fall River can be viewed and individually downloaded on Flickr, or the entire file (warning: a large download) is available in PDF on the Massachusetts State Library archives page.]

1853-1960 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Fall River at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
1893-1884 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Fall River at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Compiled Genealogies

Court Records

1697-1801 Bristol County, MA: Extracts from Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 1697-1801 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Immigration

Land Records

Local Histories

Maps

This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps

Boundary Map of Fall River at HomeTownLocator
Fall River at FamilySearch Places
Fall River at Google Maps
Fall River at Mapcarta
Massachusetts County Map at Mass.gov
McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
Old Maps of Massachusetts at Old-Maps.com
Massachusetts Maps State Page

Migration

Military

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:

Civil War, 1861-1865

For more Civil War Military Records see:

World War I, 1917-1918

For more World War I Military Records see:

World War II, 1941-1945

For more World War II Military Records see:

Newspapers

1800-Current Massachusetts, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

[Our collection of newspapers on microfilm includes the Herald News (1929-present)]
[ the Daily Evening News (1862-1929)]
[ the Daily Globe (1885-1929)]
[ the Daily Herald (1877-1904)]
[the Evening Herald (1905-1928)]
[There are also reels of microfilm with other early Fall River newspapers, a few dating from before the Civil War.]
[Recent issues of the Herald News are available in print, and online access goes back to 2000.]

Obituaries

[Old newspapers can be a valuable source of information as well as providing a portrait of daily life in different time periods; unfortunately, they are not indexed and often lack a table of contents, so researchers should be prepared to spend some time, especially with 19th century materials. Also note that newspaper obituaries were not standard until around the 1920s; ancestors who died in the 19th or early 20th century may not have had a printed obituary.]
[Obituary Index - Our staff is in the process of compiling an index to local obituaries from the Fall River Herald News. (No index is provided by the newspaper itself.) Some years are currently available in an Excel database format and can be accessed online; others are available in the library. Please ask a reference librarian for assistance.]
Obituary Index of the Fall River Herald News provided by the Fall River Public Library:1946-2010]

Other Town Records

Probate Records

1686-1880 Bristol County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1880 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

School Records

Tax Records

Websites

Research Facilities

Libraries

Fall River Library

Museums

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Franklin Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
North Dartmouth Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
Providence Rhode Island FamilySearch Center
General Society of Mayflower Descendants - an affiliate library
Middleborough Public Library - an affiliate library
Roger Williams University Library - an affiliate library

Societies

References

Part of Newport County Rhode Island 1747-1862.