Massachusetts Genealogy Guide: Difference between revisions

''[[United States]]'' [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] '''Massachusetts'''<br>  

This is a lengthy and detailed list of books and articles relating to general topics for Massachusetts. The focus was on books published before 1995, so newer books are welcome additions to this list. The bibliography is divided into several topical groups plus a general section.<br>  

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! colspan="3" | Quick Links to Massachusetts Bibliography

*Alexander Young, ''Chronicles of the First Planters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1623 to 1636'' (Boston, 1846), viii, 571 pp.<br>Digital versions at [http://archive.org/details/chroniclesoffirs00youn Internet Archive], [http://books.google.com/books?id=IcASAAAAYAAJ Google Books], and [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=27031 Ancestry] ($) or [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48126 Ancestry] ($) (rep.).<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/950510 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|144722|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 H2ya or film 896651 Item 1}} (with digital link).<br>

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== Massachusetts Genealogy Records  ==

The original record still is found with the clerk of the town or city. All these records back to the earliest settlement of a town can always be viewed at the [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleclk/clkidx.htm town or city clerk’s office]. Most all town and city vital records have been microfilmed by the Family History Library and microfiched by the Holbrook Research Institute of Oxford, Mass. [now Archive Publishing of Provo, Utah]. This tends to be the most complete record of the event. Since 1841, there should be a second copy with the state and sometimes has abbreviated information from the original. This second copy is the most widely available source for researchers. It has been preserved by the same two vendors listed above and can be found on online in a variety of places and forms as listed below.<br>  

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! colspan="2" | Quick Links to Vital Records

*[https://familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1928860 Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920]<br>[ACTUALLY, only 1916 to 1920, browsable by volume and page only]<br>

This site has the [http://www.fold3.com/title_92/massachusetts_vital_records_index_18411895/ statewide vital records index, 1841-1895] that is searchable, but also browsable in its original form: separate birth, marriage, and death with separate indexes for each five-year period.  

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*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7457 Death Index, 1970-2003] ($)<br>

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*Robert Rene Kuczynski, "The Registration Laws in the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth" in ''American Statistical Association Publications'', 7 [1900-1901]: 65-73.<br>Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2276444 Jstor] (free).<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1480864 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br>  

*Chester F. Sanger, "The Divorce Legislation of Massachusetts" in ''Bay State Monthly'', 3 [1885]: 27-32.<br>Digital version at [http://www.bookmate.com/r#d=b3cju2Qz Bookmate], page 68 of this file, or as a text file at [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17721/17721-8.txt Gutenberg], search text for title.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9960776 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br>

=== Land Records  ===

This is the history of the court system. It is broken up into historical periods and then a discussion of special courts, records, legal definitions, and bibliography. Realize that except for the upper courts, all records and actions were on the county level. To find detailed information regarding a particular county's courts, see that county page from the [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide#Counties|links provided above]].  

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! colspan="3" | Quick Links to court history

With the first permanent settlement at Plymouth, militias were formed to protect the early settlers. The most famous is the Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts Bay established in 1637. This guide is an overview, war-by-war, of histories and published records for those who served. There were other skirmishes of a lesser degree not listed here. To learn about the myriad involvements, consult the wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Wars United States Wars].  

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! colspan="3" | Quick Links to military history and records

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<center>'''Revolutionary War'''</center>  

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! colspan="4" | Quick Links to Revolutionary War topics

| [[#rev01|State Records]]  

| [[#rev02|Published Records]]  

| [[#rev04|Published Records (Gen.)]]

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This is the first war where there are a large number of governmental and private records created for us to better understand the war and the individuals who served in it.  

'''State Records:'''  

*[http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ARC/arccol/colidx.htm#military Massachusetts Revolutionary rolls] are located at the [[#Archives|Massachusetts Archives]]. This collection is the source for the published version listed below.

'''Published Records:'''  

*''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. A compilation from the archives'' (Boston, 1896-1908), 17v.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12601336 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|213956|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 M23m v.# or film 238343 (1st of 17) or fiche 6046890}}.<br>Note: Entries are under the exact spelling in the record; therefore, always look for variant spellings. The most common spelling with have an entry listing all the other variants found in the records.<br>Digital database with all volumes found at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7726 Ancestry] ($). Select the digital link for individual volumes from the table below.<br>

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! colspan="4" | Digital versions of Mass. Soldiers and Sailors

*Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe and Donna D. Smerlas, eds., ''Massachusetts Militia Companies and Officers in the Lexington Alarm'' (Boston, 1976), xlii, 72 pp.<br>[Note: Published records drawn from the originals in the [[#mac|Massachusetts Archives Collection]]]<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2968507 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|91597|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 M2h}}.<br>  

*Rufus Lincoln, James Minor Lincoln, ed., ''The Papers of Captain Rufus Lincoln, of Wareham, Mass.'' [''i.e. Mass. 7th Infantry Regt.''] (Cambridge, Mass., 1904; rep. New York, 1971), 272 pp.<br>Digital versions at [http://archive.org/details/paperscaptainru00lincgoog Internet Archive] and [http://books.google.com/books?id=EF7ZEE7OeBwC Google Books]<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/135564 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|101237|item|disp=FHL film 924669 Item 2 or fiche 6078176}} (with digital link).<br>

'''Federal Records:'''  

*Cards Concerning Revolutionary War Service and Imprisonment, [http://research.archives.gov/description/1756473 NARA HMS I-18 523].<br>ONLINE at [http://www.fold3.com/title_747/revolutionary_war_service_and_imprisonment/ fold3.com] ($).<br>  

*Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872, [NOT found on NARA website under T718 series], {{FHL|42194|item|disp=FHL film 1319381 (1st of 23)}}.<br>ONLINE at [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2069831 FamilySearch.org], only browsable by volumes A through V.<br>

'''Published Records (General):'''  

*Virgil D. White, ''Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War Pension Files'' (Waynesboro, Tenn., 1990-1992), 4v.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23035911 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|476517|disp=FHL book 973 M28g}}.<br>  

*Virgil D. White, ''Index to Revolutionary War Service Records'' (Waynesboro, Tenn., 1995), 4v.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32816867 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|745712|item|disp=FHL book 973 M22wv}}.<br>

'''Regimental History:'''  

*Frank A. Gardner, “Colonel Joseph Read’s Regiment. Colonel Joseph Read’s 6th Regiment, Provincial Army, April-July, 1775. Colonel Joseph Read’s 20th Regiment, Army of the United Colonies, July-October 1775” in ''The Massachusetts Magazine'', 9 [1916]: [http://archive.org/stream/massachusettsmagv9sale#page/n179/mode/2up 87-106].<br>  

*Frank A. Gardner, “Colonel Jonathan Brewer’s Regiment. Colonel Jonathan Brewer’s 19th Regiment, Provincial Army, April-July, 1775. Colonel Jonathan Brewer’s 6th Regiment, Army United Colonies, July-December, 1775” in ''The Massachusetts Magazine'', 9 [1916]: [http://archive.org/stream/massachusettsmagv9sale#page/n279/mode/2up 137-153], [http://archive.org/stream/massachusettsmagv9sale#page/n383/mode/2up 189-204].<br>

'''History:'''  

*Dirk Hoeder, ''People and Mobs: Crowd action in Massachusetts during the American Revolution, 1765-1780'' (Berlin, 1971), vii, 700 pp.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1259944 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br>  

*John W. Lynn, ''Massachusetts Lineages of Revolutionary War Regiments'' (Grand Junction, Colo., 1986), 47 pp.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16644927 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|510252|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 M2Lj}}.<br>

'''General Guides:'''  

*Craig R. Scott, ''The "Lost" Pensions: Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838'' (Lovettsville, Va., 1996), [xi], 374 pp.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34633606 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|767486|item|disp=FHL book 973 M2sL}}.<br>  

*Craig R. Scott, ''Revolutionary War Genealogy Research'' ([Baltimore], 2011), [4] pp.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/746833636 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|1948013|item|disp=FHL book 973 M27scr}}.<br>

=== Immigration  ===

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! colspan="2" | Quick Links to Immigration Records

==== Passenger Lists  ====

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! colspan="3" | Quick Links to Passenger Lists

==== Naturalization Records  ====

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! colspan="4" | Quick Links to Naturalization Records

*Mrs. Nathaniel Thayer, "The Immigrants (1830-1929)" in Albert Bushnell Hart, ''Commonwealth History of Massachusetts'' (New York, 1927-1930), 4: 142–171.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1543273 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|656150|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 H2ha}}.<br>  

*Clarence Almon Torrey, ''New England Marriages Prior to 1700'' (Baltimore, 1985+), xvi, 1009 pp.<br>Digital version at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3824 Ancestry] ($) (2004 ed.)<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11838492 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|146171|item|disp=FHL book 974 V2t}}.<br>Based on original manuscript at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (no catalog record for original), microfilm of manuscript at NEHGS, 12v. on 7 reels, [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57267744 WorldCat (Other Libraries)] and {{FHL|290345|item|disp=FHL film 929494-929500}}.<br>Transcript on CD (Boston, 2001), 1 Disc, Not on WorldCat; {{FHL|1022869|item|disp=FHL CD-ROM no. 1261}}, or [http://www.americanancestors.org/search.aspx?Ca=0344&Da=289 American Ancestors] ($) (database).<br>New edition with bibliographic references and index (Boston, 2011), 3v., [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/712802027 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|1918903|item|disp=FHL book 974 V2tc}}.<br>

=== Newspapers  ===

| This archive was established in 1995 and documents the Massachusetts National Guard organized in 1636 and the archives of the Office of the Adjutant General that includes Massachusetts military records from 1775 to 1940. Researchers should call at least one day in advance for a free appointment.

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=== Libraries and Societies  ===