Massachusetts Colonial Records

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Colonial Records

History

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]

Statewide Records and Resources

Under the Charter of 1629, all official meeting notes were listed as "courts."^[3]
General Court (1620-1684, 1692-1825).

Years 1628-1777 are on film 0954385, Digitized but not indexed.

Court of Assistants (1630-1686, 1689-1692) This was the appellate court for county and inferior courts. It also was the jurisdiction for capital crimes and divorces. For a short time in the 1680s the Court of Assistants was under the Governor and Council appointed by the Crown.^[4]

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).

Manuscript Collections

Additional Reading

References

↑ 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
↑ 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
↑ 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
↑ 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

[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

[3] 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

[4] 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

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