Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States

New England

Massachusetts

Berkshire County

Pittsfield

City and town of Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Town Information

Description

• Pittsfield, Massachusetts at Wikipedia
• In 1738, Colonel Jacob Wendell of Boston purchased 24,000 acres of land originally known as Pontoosuck ("a field or haven for winter deer" in Mohican Indian) as an investment, planning to subdivide and resell the lots to other settlers. Clearing the land began in 1743, but the thread of Indian attacks ended the development until 1752 when many people from nearby Westfield, Massachusetts, began to settle the area which in 1753 was incorporated as Pontoosuck Plantation. The plantation and the near 200 resident became the Township of Pittsfield by 1761.

Populated Places

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

Adjacent Towns

Berkshire Co.: Dalton | Hancock | Lanesborough | Lenox | Richmond | Washington

Town Records

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

Pittsfield Town Clerk

70 Allen Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Phone: 413-499-9460
Fax: 413-499-9463
Email: ltyer@pittsfieldch.com
Website

Vital Records

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

• Pittsfield Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
• Berkshire County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Berkshire County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

City Directories

• 1725-1885 Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 1725-1885 (1885) at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1859-1965 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Pittsfield at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
• 1931 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Pittsfield 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

Maps

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

• Boundary Map of Pittsfield at HomeTownLocator
• 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
• Pittsfield at FamilySearch Places
• Pittsfield at Google Maps
• Pittsfield at Mapcarta
• 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 ($)

Research Facilities

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

• Albany New York FamilySearch Center
• Bennington Vermont FamilySearch Center
• Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library - an affiliate library
• Brooks Memorial Library - an affiliate library
• Chicopee Public Library - an affiliate library
• Jones Library Inc. - an affiliate library

Societies

• The Berkshire Historical Society, 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield MA 01201, (413) 442-1793, info@berkshirehistory.org
• The Berkshire Athenaeum Local History Room, 1 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield MA 01201, (413) 499-9486, pittslhg@cwmars.org
• The Berkshire Family History Association, Post Office Box 1437, Pittsfield MA 01202, bfha@berkshire.net
• An excellent collection of 144 Pittsfield genealogy record sources is available here Pittsfield MA Genealogy