Massachusetts Colonial Records: Difference between revisions

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''Many records from the colonial era in New England were kept at the town or county level. Search the catalog at the town or county level to locate those records.''
''Many records from the colonial era in New England were kept at the town or county level. Search the catalog at the town or county level to locate those records.''


*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1055547?availability=Family%20History%20Library '''1622-1788'''- Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period]-index and images. ''This collection includes agricultural, dispositions, ecclesiastical, estates, foreign affairs, Hutchinson's correspondence, Indian affairs, maritime, military, and other records.''
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1055547 '''1622-1788'''- Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period]-index and images. ''This collection includes agricultural, dispositions, ecclesiastical, estates, foreign affairs, Hutchinson's correspondence, Indian affairs, maritime, military, and other records.''
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/341084?availability=Family%20History%20Library '''1628-1777'''- Colony records]- images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/341084 '''1628-1777'''- Colony records]- images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/300720?availability=Family%20History%20Library '''1718-1772'''- Court records and account books]- images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/300720 '''1718-1772'''- Court records and account books]- images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/339255?availability=Family%20History%20Library '''1760-1786'''- Divorce records]-images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/339255 '''1760-1786'''- Divorce records]-images only.
*{{RecordSearch|2548057|'''1767-1833'''- Muster rolls (index file cards) of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts}}-index and images.
*{{RecordSearch|2548057|'''1767-1833'''- Muster rolls (index file cards) of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts}}-index and images.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1471369?availability=Family%20History%20Library '''1603-1779'''- French and Indian War muster roll index cards]- images only.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1471369 '''1603-1779'''- French and Indian War muster roll index cards]- images only.


==History==
==History==
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===Court Records===
===Court Records===


* [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/267953?availability=Family%20History%20Library Records of the court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630-1692]. 3 Vols. (Boston: County of Suffolk, 1901-1928, film 046679).
* [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/267953 Records of the court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630-1692]. 3 Vols. (Boston: County of Suffolk, 1901-1928, film 046679).


===Military Records===
===Military Records===
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*[https://archive.org/details/massachusettsoff00dore ''Massachusetts Officers and Soldiers in the Seventeenth Century Conflicts'' by Carole Doreski. (Boston: Society of Colonial Wars, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1982)].
*[https://archive.org/details/massachusettsoff00dore ''Massachusetts Officers and Soldiers in the Seventeenth Century Conflicts'' by Carole Doreski. (Boston: Society of Colonial Wars, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1982)].
*''Massachusetts Soldiers in the French and Indian Wars, 1744-1755'' by David K. Goss. (Boston: Society of Colonial Wars, 1985).
*''Massachusetts Soldiers in the French and Indian Wars, 1744-1755'' by David K. Goss. (Boston: Society of Colonial Wars, 1985).
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/306798?availability=Family%20History%20Library ''Membership Roll of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, 1637-1744, Massachusetts Bay Colony''].
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/306798 ''Membership Roll of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, 1637-1744, Massachusetts Bay Colony''].
*''Soldiers in the French War from Essex County, 1775-1800'' by Eben Putnam. (Salem, MA: Historical Society of Essex, 1892).
*''Soldiers in the French War from Essex County, 1775-1800'' by Eben Putnam. (Salem, MA: Historical Society of Essex, 1892).
*[https://archive.org/details/soldiersinkingp00bodggoog/page/n9 ''Soldiers in King Philip's War''] by George M. Bodge. (1906. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991).
*[https://archive.org/details/soldiersinkingp00bodggoog/page/n9 ''Soldiers in King Philip's War''] by George M. Bodge. (1906. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991).
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*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/567919-redirection ''Checklist of Boston Newspapers, 1704-1780''] by Mary Farwell Ayer. (Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1907).
*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/567919-redirection ''Checklist of Boston Newspapers, 1704-1780''] by Mary Farwell Ayer. (Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1907).
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/230790?availability=Family%20History%20Library ''Index of Obituaries in Boston Newspapers, 1704-1800'']. 3 Vols. (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1968).
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/230790 ''Index of Obituaries in Boston Newspapers, 1704-1800'']. 3 Vols. (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1968).


===Manuscript Collections===
===Manuscript Collections===
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*''Berkshire Athenaeum'', Pittsfield Public Library. Massachusetts family history files, 1550-1990.
*''Berkshire Athenaeum'', Pittsfield Public Library. Massachusetts family history files, 1550-1990.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bkeywords%3ACollections%20%2Bkeywords%3Aof%20%2Bkeywords%3Athe%20%2Bkeywords%3AMassachusetts%20%2Bkeywords%3AHistorical%20%2Bkeywords%3ASociety ''Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society''].
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bkeywords%3ACollections%20%2Bkeywords%3Aof%20%2Bkeywords%3Athe%20%2Bkeywords%3AMassachusetts%20%2Bkeywords%3AHistorical%20%2Bkeywords%3ASociety ''Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society''].
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/549995?availability=Family%20History%20Library ''Elmer I. Shepard Collection: Massachusetts family group records, 1550-1900'']. Partially digitized but not indexed.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/549995 ''Elmer I. Shepard Collection: Massachusetts family group records, 1550-1900'']. Partially digitized but not indexed.
*''The Judd Manuscript Collection, 1625-1850''at the Forbes Public Library in Northamption.
*''The Judd Manuscript Collection, 1625-1850''at the Forbes Public Library in Northamption.
*''Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: The Bowman Files'' by George Ernest Bowman. (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1983).
*''Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: The Bowman Files'' by George Ernest Bowman. (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1983).
*''Rollin H. Cooke Collections''. A series of town records. Some of these records have been digitized on FamilySearch, and can be found by searching for the town of interest in the library catalog.
*''Rollin H. Cooke Collections''. A series of town records. Some of these records have been digitized on FamilySearch, and can be found by searching for the town of interest in the library catalog.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/199269?availability=Family%20History%20Library ''Walter E. Corbin Manuscript Collection''] at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. Digitized but not indexed.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/199269 ''Walter E. Corbin Manuscript Collection''] at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. Digitized but not indexed.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 09:00, 12 August 2020

Massachusetts Wiki Topics
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Beginning Research
Record Types
Massachusetts Background
Cultural Groups
Local Research Resources

Online Records[edit | edit source]

Many records from the colonial era in New England were kept at the town or county level. Search the catalog at the town or county level to locate those records.

History[edit | edit source]

The Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were the first permanent European settlements. The Bay Colony originally included parts of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Southern Maine.[1]

Earliest Church Records Earliest Land Records Earliest Court Records Earliest Newspapers
1620 1620 1620 1704

[2]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Manuscript Collections[edit | edit source]

  • Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Public Library. Massachusetts family history files, 1550-1990.
  • Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
  • Elmer I. Shepard Collection: Massachusetts family group records, 1550-1900. Partially digitized but not indexed.
  • The Judd Manuscript Collection, 1625-1850at the Forbes Public Library in Northamption.
  • Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: The Bowman Files by George Ernest Bowman. (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1983).
  • Rollin H. Cooke Collections. A series of town records. Some of these records have been digitized on FamilySearch, and can be found by searching for the town of interest in the library catalog.
  • Walter E. Corbin Manuscript Collection at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. Digitized but not indexed.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Christina K. Schaefer, Genealogical encyclopedia of the colonial Americas : a complete digest of the records of all the countries of the Western Hemisphere (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, c1998), 243. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 929.11812 D26 1998
  2. Christina K. Schaefer, Genealogical encyclopedia of the colonial Americas : a complete digest of the records of all the countries of the Western Hemisphere (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, c1998), 183, 192. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 929.11812 D26 1998