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''[[United States Genealogy|United | ''[[United States Genealogy|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts|Massachusetts]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]'' [[{{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
Did an ancestor travel the '''Bay Road''' of Massachusetts? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.<br><br>[[Image:{{BayRdmap}}]]__TOC__ | Did an ancestor travel the '''Bay Road''' of Massachusetts? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.<br><br>[[Image:{{BayRdmap}}]]__TOC__ | ||
=== History === | === History === | ||
At least three routes in [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide| | At least three routes in [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts]] have been labelled the '''Bay Road''': (A) the [[Old Connecticut Path]] from Boston to Hartford,<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Post_Road Boston Post Road] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 16 October 2014).</ref> (B) the [[Old Roebuck Road]] from Boston to Providence, and (C) the route from Boston to New Bedford.<ref>Frederic J. Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'' (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 25. [https://archive.org/details/turnpikesofnewen00woodrich Internet Archive version online].</ref> But this article is only about the later pathway from Boston to New Bedford. | ||
The '''Bay Road''' followed an old Indian trail about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay Massachusetts | The '''Bay Road''' followed an old Indian trail about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay Massachusetts Bay] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzards_Bay Buzzard's Bay]. It went from [[Boston, Massachusetts|'''Boston''']] to [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|'''New Bedford''']] in [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts]].<ref name="HBG">''Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America'', 9th ed. (Logan, Utah: Everton Pub., 1999), pages 531 and M-48. {{WorldCat|48077118|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|740321|item|disp=FHL Book 973 D27e 1999}}.</ref> Boston was founded in 1630; New Bedford was established in 1652.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts New Bedford, Massachusetts] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 30 October 2014).</ref> The Bay Road attracted European settlers along its route because it provided access to markets for settler goods and services. | ||
'''Overlapping routes'''. Part of the '''Bay Road''' followed the exact same route as a part of the '''''[[Old Roebuck Road]] ''''' at least as far as Norwood. Moreover, that small portion of the Bay Road was also used as part of one of several main routes of the '''''lower [[Boston Post Road]] ''''' from [[Boston, Massachusetts| | '''Overlapping routes'''. Part of the '''Bay Road''' followed the exact same route as a part of the '''''[[Old Roebuck Road]] ''''' at least as far as Norwood. Moreover, that small portion of the Bay Road was also used as part of one of several main routes of the '''''lower [[Boston Post Road]] ''''' from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] to [[New York City New York genealogy|New York City]]. In the 1760s and 1770s that same small part of the '''Bay Road''' was also part of the '''''[[King's Highway]] ''''' from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[New York City New York genealogy|New York City]] and all the way south to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], South Carolina. | ||
'''Stagecoach service'''. In the 1760s stagecoaches began to traverse these roads carrying regular mail and passengers. Inns for stagecoach passengers and other travelers often were established about the time of American Revolution. By 1800 an advertisement suggested stage service from Boston to Providence took only ten hours.<ref>Frederic J. Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'' (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 86-87. [https://archive.org/details/turnpikesofnewen00woodrich Internet Archive version | '''Stagecoach service'''. In the 1760s stagecoaches began to traverse these roads carrying regular mail and passengers. Inns for stagecoach passengers and other travelers often were established about the time of American Revolution. By 1800 an advertisement suggested stage service from Boston to Providence took only ten hours.<ref>Frederic J. Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'' (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 86-87. [https://archive.org/details/turnpikesofnewen00woodrich Internet Archive version online].</ref> Nevertheless, travel between colonial towns was more often by sea than it was over land until just before the American Revolution.<ref>Wood, 25.</ref> | ||
'''Toll roads'''. Massachusetts developed a turnpike (toll) system for wagon roads in the early 1800s including most of the route from Boston to New Bedford. For example, the New Bedford and Bridgewater Turnpike charged tolls from 1807 to 1847.<ref>Wood, map between 56 and 57, and 131-32.</ref> Most of these early pathways continue as roads today. Modern freeways usually parallel the older road systems. | '''Toll roads'''. Massachusetts developed a turnpike (toll) system for wagon roads in the early 1800s including most of the route from Boston to New Bedford. For example, the New Bedford and Bridgewater Turnpike charged tolls from 1807 to 1847.<ref>Wood, map between 56 and 57, and 131-32.</ref> Most of these early pathways continue as roads today. Modern freeways usually parallel the older road systems. | ||
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=== Route === | === Route === | ||
Settlers who traveled the '''Bay Road''' from '''[[Boston, Massachusetts| | Settlers who traveled the '''Bay Road''' from '''[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]''' to '''[[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]]''' passed through these places: | ||
[[Suffolk County, | [[Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] | ||
:*[[Boston, Massachusetts|'''Boston''']] | :*[[Boston, Massachusetts|'''Boston''']] | ||
:*[[Dorchester, Massachusetts| | :*[[Dorchester, Massachusetts|Dorchester]] | ||
[[Norfolk County, | [[Norfolk County, Massachusetts]] | ||
:*[[Dedham, Massachusetts|Dedham]] | :*[[Dedham, Massachusetts|Dedham]] | ||
:*[[Westwood, Massachusetts|Westwood]] | :*[[Westwood, Massachusetts|Westwood]] | ||
:*[[Norwood, Massachusetts|Norwood]] | :*[[Norwood, Massachusetts|Norwood]] | ||
:*[[Canton, Massachusetts| | :*[[Canton, Massachusetts|Canton]] | ||
:*[[Sharon, Massachusetts| | :*[[Sharon, Massachusetts|Sharon]] | ||
[[Bristol County, | [[Bristol County, Massachusetts]] | ||
:*[[Easton, Massachusetts| | :*[[Easton, Massachusetts|Easton]] | ||
:*[[Taunton, Massachusetts| | :*[[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton]] | ||
[[Plymouth County, | [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts]] | ||
:*[[Lakeville, Massachusetts| | :*[[Lakeville, Massachusetts|Lakeville]] | ||
back into [[Bristol County, | back into [[Bristol County, Massachusetts]] | ||
:*[[Freetown, Massachusetts| | :*[[Freetown, Massachusetts|Freetown]] | ||
:*[[Acushnet, Massachusetts| | :*[[Acushnet, Massachusetts|Acushnet]] | ||
:*[[New Bedford, Massachusetts|'''New Bedford''']] | :*[[New Bedford, Massachusetts|'''New Bedford''']] | ||
'''Connecting Routes'''. The '''''Bay Road ''''' connected with half a dozen new migration routes out of Boston: | '''Connecting Routes'''. The '''''Bay Road ''''' connected with half a dozen new migration routes out of Boston: | ||
:*[[Coast Path]] follows an ancient Indian path near the shoreline from [[Boston, Massachusetts| | :*[[Coast Path]] follows an ancient Indian path near the shoreline from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]]. | ||
:*[[Kennebunk Road]] links [[Boston, Massachusetts| | :*[[Kennebunk Road]] links [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] along the New England coast to [[Augusta, Maine]]. | ||
:*[[King's | :*[[King's Highway]] also known as the Boston Post Road goes from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], Massachusetts to New York City, and south to [[Charleston County, South Carolina|Charleston, South Carolina]] with extensions on each end. In Massachusetts and Connecticut there were at least three competing routes for the Boston Post Road. Parts were laid out 1650 to 1735; its length remained in heavy use through 1783, and some parts are used to this day. | ||
:*[[Mohawk or Iroquois Trail]] This trail was established in 1722 from [[Albany, New York| | :*[[Mohawk or Iroquois Trail]] This trail was established in 1722 from [[Albany, New York|Albany]] to [[Utica, New York|Utica]] to [[Rome, New York|Rome]] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Oswego] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontario]. The [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to Albany side of that route probably preceded the Albany to Oswego route by many years. | ||
:*[[Old Connecticut Path]] a pre-historic Indian path from [[Boston, | :*[[Old Connecticut Path]] a pre-historic Indian path from [[Boston, Massachusetts]] to the Connecticut River Valley at [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] and south to [[Hartford, Connecticut]] . | ||
:*[[Old Roebuck Road]] goes from [[Boston, Massachusetts| | :*[[Old Roebuck Road]] goes from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[Providence, Rhode Island]] (Narragansett Bay). | ||
'''Modern parallels.''' The modern roads that roughly match the '''''Bay Road ''''' from Boston to New Bedford are: | '''Modern parallels.''' The modern roads that roughly match the '''''Bay Road ''''' from Boston to New Bedford are: | ||
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=== Settler Records === | === Settler Records === | ||
Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan immigrants from England. New Bedford was settled in 1652 by some Pilgrim families of Plymouth, Massachusetts, who had purchased their new homeland from the Indians.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts#Immigration_to_New_Bedford New Bedford, | Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan immigrants from England. New Bedford was settled in 1652 by some Pilgrim families of Plymouth, Massachusetts, who had purchased their new homeland from the Indians.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts#Immigration_to_New_Bedford New Bedford, Massachusetts] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' (accessed 16 October 2014).</ref> The road between these two important ports attracted settlers who would be able to more easily get access to the markets which those ports provided. Many of the earliest settlers along the Bay Road would have been from Boston or New Bedford. Look at the earliest deeds along the Bay Road to learn the names of the first settlers. If you already know the name of a settler near the Bay Road, you have a good chance of finding his or her genealogy in sources like: | ||
*Lucy Mary Kellogg, et. al., ''Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620'', 23+ vols. (Plymouth, Massachusetts: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975- ). {{WorldCat|2168141|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|86888|item|disp=FHL Book 974.4 D2mf}}. | *Lucy Mary Kellogg, et. al., ''Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620'', 23+ vols. (Plymouth, Massachusetts: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975- ). {{WorldCat|2168141|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|86888|item|disp=FHL Book 974.4 D2mf}}. | ||
*Robert Charles Anderson, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633'', 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1995). {{WorldCat|33083117|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|22717|item|disp=FHL Book 974 W2a}}. | *Robert Charles Anderson, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633'', 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1995). {{WorldCat|33083117|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|22717|item|disp=FHL Book 974 W2a}}. | ||
*[https://www.themayflowersociety.org/ General Society of Mayflower | *[https://www.themayflowersociety.org/ General Society of Mayflower Descendants] | ||
*[http://www.americanancestors.org/about/ New England Historic Genealogical | *[http://www.americanancestors.org/about/ New England Historic Genealogical Society] | ||
=== External links === | === External links === | ||
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{{Massachusetts|Massachusetts}} | {{Massachusetts|Massachusetts}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:Massachusetts]] [[Category:Suffolk_County,_Massachusetts]] [[Category:Norfolk_County,_Massachusetts]] [[Category:Bristol_County,_Massachusetts]] | ||