Halifax, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States

New England

Massachusetts

Plymouth County

Halifax

Guide to Halifax, Plymouth County, Massachusetts ancestry, genealogy and family history, town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.

Town Information

Description

• Halifax, Massachusetts at Wikipedia

This area was first settled in 1669 part of Plymouth Colony. The area was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the area was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. The area is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was established as a town from parts of Middleborough, Pembroke, and Plympton in 1734.

Populated Places

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

Adjacent Towns

Plymouth Co: Bridgewater | East Bridgewater | Hanson | Middleborough | Pembroke | Plympton

Town Records

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

Halifax Town Clerk

499 Plymouth St
Halifax, MA 02338
Phone: 781-293-7970
Fax: 781-294-7684
Email: bgaynor@town.halifax.ma.us
Website

Vital Records

• Microfilm of the originals created by the FamilySearch Library, Halifax town and vital records, 1734-1856, FS Library films 904375 and 770906; 1841-1905, FS Library film 2079888.
  These records are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.
• Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1703-1902, on 56 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
• Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841:
  Massachusetts Archives
  220 Morrissey Blvd.
  Boston MA 02125
  Phone 617-727-2816
  Email archives@sec.state.ma.us
  Hours and Directions
  See the online guide for more information.

Published records

• Vital Records of the town of Halifax, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Boston, 1905).
  This volume was microfilmed by the FamilySearch Library, FS Library film 874033 Item 3 (with digital link) and online at Internet Archive, Ancestry ($), and abstracted online.
  WorldCat (Other Libraries); FS Catalog book 974.482/H4 V2b (with digital link).
  

Online records

• Halifax town and vital records, 1734-1856 and 1841-1905, are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.

Births

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

Deaths

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

Resources

For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries

• Halifax Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
• Halifax Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Plymouth County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Plymouth County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Halifax.

• Map and locations of cemeteries, with links to other information, including some transcriptions - at MAGenWeb.

1. Central Cemetery, 1830. (A)
2. Drew Family Plot, 1807. (A)
3. Hudson-Briggs Family Tomb, 1819. (B - on the East Bridgewater town line)
4. Perkins Lot, 1811. (A)
5. Sturtevant / Monponsett Pond / East Cemetery, 1728. (A)
6. Thomson Cemetery, 1734. (A)

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to:
(A). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries); FS Catalog book 974.4 V3
(B). Vital Records of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1917). See links above under Vital Records.

Church Records

The following is a list of churches established in town in order of organization date (if known) and condition of records in the 1889 survey if listed.

1. Halifax Congregational Church, 1734, records good, but no records before 1824.
2. Baptist Church, n.d., no longer extant with some records with the Middleborough Town Clerk.
3. Calvary Baptist Church, n.d.
4. Our Lady of the Lake Church, n.d.

City Directories

Halifax was published in 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914.

• 1902-1914 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Halifax 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

The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.

Other holdings:

• Ancestry ($) has 1884, 1889, 1892.
• Boston Public Library has 1914 (under Carver).
• FamilySearch Library (Salt Lake City) has 1906, 1910, 1914 (with Carver) on FS Library various film records.
• fold3 ($) has none.
• Massachusetts State Library has 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914.
• New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914 (with Carver.

Local Histories

The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources.

Associated names

Bridgewater was once called Monponsett.

Village or section names include Halifax Station, Monoponsett, and South Halifax.

Border changes

Dates	Events
4 July 1734	Established as a new town from parts of Middleborough, Pembroke, and Plympton. [Prov. Laws, 2: 717]
20 Feb. 1824	Part of Bridgewater annexed
16 Mar. 1831	Part of Plympton annexed
11 Apr. 1857	Part annexed to East Bridgewater and borders established
6 Feb. 1863	Border between Halifax and Plympton established and part of each town annexed to the other town

Works written on the town include:

• Guy S. Baker, History of Halifax, Massachusetts (Halifax, Mass., 1976), 191 pp.
  WorldCat (Other Libraries); FS Catalog book 974.482/H4 H2b.
• Halifax Wikipedia page.

Maps

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

• Boundary Map of Halifax at HomeTownLocator
• Halifax at FamilySearch Places
• Halifax at Google Maps
• Halifax 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
  
  

Military

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:

• Massachusetts Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
• United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865

For more Civil War Military Records see:

• Massachusetts Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918

For more World War I Military Records see:

• Massachusetts Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
• United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945

For more World War II Military Records see:

• Massachusetts Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
• United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers

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

1. Halifax Reporter, 1984-present.

Probate Records

• 1686-1881 Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Research Facilities

Libraries

Holmes Public Library
470 Plymouth Street
Halifax MA 02338
Phone 781-293-2271
Email hfxpl@sailsinc.org

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

• Hingham Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
• Mount Hope Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
• North Dartmouth Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
• David Allen Lambert Library - an affiliate library
• General Society of Mayflower Descendants - an affiliate library
• Middleborough Public Library - an affiliate library
• Thayer Public Library - an affiliate library
• Thomas Crane Public Library - an affiliate library

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