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Amending data on Vital Records and adding bibliography
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(Amending data on Vital Records and adding bibliography) |
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| [[#vr05|Divorce Records]] | | [[#vr05|Divorce Records]] | ||
| [[#vr06|Adoption Records]] | | [[#vr06|Adoption Records]] | ||
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| [[#vr07|Bibliography]] | |||
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<center>'''Pre-1850''' </center> | <center>'''Pre-1850''' </center> | ||
Before 1900, a few towns started publishing their own vital records in book form. The records were usually re-arranged into alphabetical order but separated by births, marriages, and deaths. Church and private records were added to get a more complete record and were clearly noted. The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants published a few of these volumes along with the Systematic History Fund (a state fund); Essex Institute in Salem; Topsfield Historical Society, and others. The greatest number were published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, in part from their Eddy Town-Record Fund. About two-thirds of the state (roughly 236 towns) has been published from the original town records and a few still are being released today. Check the Mass. Town Pre-1850 Published Vital Records Guide for a listing of the towns published | Before 1900, a few towns started publishing their own vital records in book form. The records were usually re-arranged into alphabetical order but separated by births, marriages, and deaths. Church and private records were added to get a more complete record and were clearly noted. The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants published a few of these volumes along with the Systematic History Fund (a state fund); Essex Institute in Salem; Topsfield Historical Society, and others. The greatest number were published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, in part from their Eddy Town-Record Fund. About two-thirds of the state (roughly 236 towns) has been published from the original town records and a few still are being released today. To learn more about this state publication project, see the article on [http://books.google.com/books?id=UssUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52 The Publication of Vital Records of Massachusetts Towns] written in 1919. Check the [http://www.massmayflower.org/research/online/vital-records/vital-records-ma-towns-pre-1850.htm Mass. Town Pre-1850 Published Vital Records Guide] for a listing of the towns published up to 2011. There are links to some online versions below. A search in Google will reveal many town / region specific sites that have reproduced the volumes online or pdf versions available for downloading.<br> | ||
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*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7853 Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850]<br>[extracted from FHL films of original records, not complete, but extensive] | *[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7853 Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850]<br>[extracted from FHL films of original records, not complete, but extensive] | ||
*Frederic W. Bailey, [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2091 Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800] [church records only]<br> | *Frederic W. Bailey, [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2091 Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800] [church records only]<br> | ||
'''Free online versions''' | |||
*The [http://ma-vitalrecords.org Early Vital Records of Massachusetts] website transcribes each page and links it to an image of original of the original page. As of May 2013, Plymouth County was only partially done and Suffolk County had not been started. The rest of the towns across the state were there. Click on the Town tab to get a list of towns by county.<br> | |||
*Frederic William Bailey, comp., ''Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800'' (New Haven, Conn., 1897-1914, in 7v.; rep. Baltimore, 1968+).<br>Digital version for Vol. 1 (Worcester Co.) only at [http://archive.org/details/earlymassachuse00unkngoog Internet Archive] or [http://books.google.com/books?id=VKUihfQuBiEC Google Books].<br>Berkshire Genealogist Indexing Committee, ''Master Index to Early Massachusetts Marriages'' (Pittsfield, Mass., 1996), 131 leaves, is a single, full-name index to the series of seven volumes.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36136812 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br> | |||
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<center>'''Adoption Records''' </center> | <center>'''Adoption Records''' </center> | ||
Like most all states, Massachusetts seals the records of adoption that include the original birth certificate with the biological parents. These records stay sealed unless opened by court order. Who can see this sealed information is limited by [http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.showSearchForm law]. There is no way a person can know they are adopted without being told by someone. There are several registries online set up to assist adoptees and biological parents help find each other. To order your [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/laws-regs/dph/regs-u-z/public-health-regulations-vital-records.html pre-adoption birth certificate], download the [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-memo.pdf instructions] and [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-app-form.pdf form].<br><br>To learn more about the history of adoption in Massachusetts, see Joseph Ben-Or, "The Law of Adoption in the United States: Its Massachusetts Origins and the Statute of 1851" in ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', 130 [1976]: 259-269, and online at [http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=235492719 American Ancestors] ($). | Like most all states, Massachusetts seals the records of adoption that include the original birth certificate with the biological parents. These records stay sealed unless opened by court order. Who can see this sealed information is limited by [http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.showSearchForm law]. There is no way a person can know they are adopted without being told by someone. There are several registries online set up to assist adoptees and biological parents help find each other. To order your [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/laws-regs/dph/regs-u-z/public-health-regulations-vital-records.html pre-adoption birth certificate], download the [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-memo.pdf instructions] and [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-app-form.pdf form].<br><br>To learn more about the history of adoption in Massachusetts, see Joseph Ben-Or, "The Law of Adoption in the United States: Its Massachusetts Origins and the Statute of 1851" in ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', 130 [1976]: 259-269, and online at [http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=235492719 American Ancestors] ($).<br> | ||
<center>Thanks to the [http://massmayflower.org Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants] for their contributions to this page </center> <center>[[#top|Top of Page]] || [[#vr00|Top of VRs]]</center> | <center>[[#top|Top of Page]] || [[#vr00|Top of VRs]]</center> | ||
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<center>'''Bibliography''' </center> | |||
*John Ballard Blake, "The Early History of Vital Statistics in Massachusetts" in ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'', 29 [1955]: 46-68.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33891126 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br> | |||
*Charles Cowley, "Judicial Falsifications of History" in the ''New England Magazine and Bay State Montly'', May 1886.<br>Digital version at [http://www.newenglandmagazine.com/the-new-england-magazine/volume-1-no-5-march-1886/judicial-falsifications-of-history/ New England Magazine].<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9960792 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br> | |||
*David Cressy, "The Seasonality of Marriage in Old and New England" in ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'', 16 [1985]: 1-21.<br>Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/204319 Jstor] ($).<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1799976 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; Not at FHL.<br> | |||
*Historical Records Survey - Massachusetts, ''Guide to the Public Vital Records in Massachusetts'' (Boston, 1942), 342 pp.<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9375198 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|1709250|item|disp=FHL book 974.4 A3hr}} (Los Angeles and Logan only).<br> | |||
*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> | |||
<center>Thanks to the [http://massmayflower.org Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants] for their contributions to this page </center> <center>[[#top|Top of Page]] || [[#vr00|Top of VRs]]</center> | |||
=== Massachusetts Land Records === | === Massachusetts Land Records === | ||