LI B R.AR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UN IVLRSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 IU. HIST. SURVtV 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/massachusettsrecOObowe 
 
MASSACHUSETTS RECORDS 
 
Books by 
 Richard LeBaron Bowen 
 
 Early Rhode Island Colonial Money and 
 Its Counterfeiting, 1647-1726. 
 
 The Providence Oath of Allegiance and 
 Its Signers, 1651-2. 
 
 Early Rehoboth, Vols. I, II, III, and IV. 
 
 Index of Early Records of The Town of 
 Providence, Vols. I-XXI. 
 
 Massachusetts Records. 
 
1. Seal of New Plymouth 
 
 2. Seal of Massachusetts, 1628/9 
 
 6. Seal under George II, III 
 
 8. Seal of 1780 
 
 3Ijj8 
 
 5. Seal under George I 
 
 9. Present seal 
 
 THE GREAT SEALS OF NEW-PLYMOUTH COLONY AND OF THE 
 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 
MASSACHUSETTS 
 RECORDS 
 
 eyf Handbook for Genealogists, 
 Historians, lawyers, and 
 other ^Researchers 
 
 By 
 Richard LeBaron Bowen 
 
 Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists; Fellow 
 
 of the Society of Genealogists, London; Vice President 
 
 of the New England Historic Genealogical Society 
 
 and member of its Committee on Heraldry 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 
 REHOBOTH, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 1957 
 
Copyright, © 1957 
 
 By RICHARD LeBARON BOWEN 
 
 All rights Reserved 
 
 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 57-11588 
 
 Printed in the United States of America by 
 The Rumford Press, Concord, New Hampshire 
 
 VI 
 

 PREFACE 
 
 This handbook is written for genealogists, historians, lawyers, 
 and other researchers, to assist them in locating the thousands of 
 original records spread about in the fourteen counties and three 
 hundred and fifty-one cities and towns now constituting the Com- 
 monwealth of Massachusetts. Although long needed, no other 
 similar guide has been published. 
 
 The arrangement of this handbook is very simple. A general 
 description of the principal source records is given, followed by the 
 counties in alphabetical order, giving the location of each Registry 
 of Deeds and of Probate, and the office of each Clerk of the Courts, 
 with a listing of the principal court records to 1859, together with 
 like information for the cities and towns in each county, with dates 
 of establishment or incorporation in parenthesis. The names of the 
 cities are set in capitals. 
 
 Especially important are the footnotes describing records in the 
 various cities and towns. Those whose vital records have been 
 printed are marked with an asterisk. The accompanying map shows 
 the division of the Commonwealth into counties with their cities and 
 towns. The appended index is provided for locating them. Num- 
 bered "Note" pages are added for future memoranda. 
 
 With the exception of Suffolk, each of the counties has an official 
 seal all of which are assembled and reproduced here for the first 
 time. The frontispiece shows the great seal of Plymouth Colony and 
 all of the great seals used for Massachusetts from the first seal 
 adopted in 1628-9 to the present time. The great seals used by the 
 Royal Governors for the Province of Massachusetts, beginning with 
 King William III in 1692, and continuing through the reigns of the 
 three George's to the period of the Revolution, were the Royal arms 
 of England, with the name of the reigning king and a motto show- 
 ing that the seal appertained to the Province. 
 
 The detail of these seals may be over emphasized in this book, 
 but the writer found the study so fascinating and so historically 
 important that he decided to include more than he had originally 
 intended. He realizes clearly that at nearly 80 years of age, with two 
 other books partly written, it was print them now or never, for 
 there would be no time left in which to do a more complete study 
 in a separate paper. 
 
 vu 
 
 
Preface 
 
 First of all, I wish to thank Dr. Arthur Adams, F.A.S.G., F.S.G., 
 of Boston; Mr. George Andrews Moriarty, F.A.S.G., F.S.G., of 
 Ogunquit, Maine; Miss Marion Charlotte Reed, A.B., of Boston; and 
 Mr. Francis Richmond Sears, LL.B., of Swansea, Mass., for their 
 careful reading of the MS of this book. All are experienced re- 
 searchers in these Massachusetts records, and their suggestions are 
 deeply appreciated. 
 
 I am much indebted to Mrs. Florence Conant Howes, Curator 
 of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, for the use of 
 her valuable original notes on the printed and manuscript vital rec- 
 ords of Massachusetts; to Miss Elsie McCormack, Assistant Editor 
 of the Society's Register; to Mr. Robert H. Haynes, Assistant Li- 
 brarian of Harvard College Library; to Dr. Stephen Thomas Riley, 
 Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society; and to Dr. Law- 
 rence C. Wroth, Librarian of John Carter Brown Library, for valu- 
 able assistance. To Dr. Clarence S. Brigham, Director of the American 
 Antiquarian Society; to Mr. George C. P. Olsson, Clerk of the Courts, 
 Plymouth; and to the County Commissioners in the several counties 
 for furnishing copies of the county seals. To His Excellency, Gover- 
 nor Christian A. Herter; to Frederick M. Dearborn, Jr., Special 
 Counsel to the Governor; and to the Honorable Edward J. Cronin, 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth, for their gracious assistance. And 
 finally, I express my appreciation to my secretary, Mrs. Olive Wea- 
 vill Madejowski, for her careful typing and indexing. 
 
 In spite of the most painstaking efforts, errors and omissions are 
 inevitable in a work covering so many diversified records spread 
 over so large an area. The writer would be grateful to readers who 
 send him corrections, or suggestions for additions. 
 
 Rehoboth, Massachusetts, 
 15 December 1956 
 
 viii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 I 
 
 Introduction— The four Massachusetts Bay counties— The 
 three New-Plymouth counties— Reference books for original 
 Commonwealth records 1 
 
 II 
 
 Plymouth Colony— Tax troubles— Charter efforts— Absorption 
 by Massachusetts Colony— Transfer of old Plymouth records- 
 Plymouth Colony Scrap Book— Bradford's Of Plymouth Planta- 
 tion— Mourt's Relation— Extracts from Journals of Bradford and 
 Winslow— Winslow s Good Newes from New England— Records 
 of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England— Morton's 
 New England Memorial 2 
 
 III 
 
 Massachusetts Colony— Organization of the Province of Mas- 
 sachusetts—The printed original records— Records of Boston 
 Record Commissioners— State archives— Census lists— Early 
 maps— Court records— Vice- Admiralty court records— Apprentice 
 Indenture papers— Nationalization papers— Bibliography of 
 early court records— The Andros Administration— Town records 
 —Proprietor's records— Vital records— Town rate lists— Federal 
 Tax— Genealogical publications— Microfilm records— Other rec- 
 ords 7 
 
 IV 
 
 Division of Commonwealth by counties, giving location of the 
 Registry of Deeds, clerk of the Courts, together with the records 
 in the cities and towns in each county 19 
 
 V 
 The extant original seals of seven Commonwealth counties . . 42 
 
 VI 
 
 The great seal of New-Plymouth— The great seal of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay and the successive seals of the Commonwealth . . 47 
 
 Index— Numbered pages for Additional Memoranda 55 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 Plate Page 
 
 I. Seal of New-Plymouth, 1620; Massachusetts Bay, 
 1628-9; arms of William III; arms of Queen Anne; 
 Massachusetts Seals under George I, George II, and III; 
 Seal of 1775; Seal of 1780; and present seal .... Frontispiece 
 
 II. Seal of the Dominion of New England ( 1686-1689) ... 13 
 
 III. Seal of Barnstable County 19 
 
 IV. Seal of Berkshire County 20 
 
 V. Seal of Bristol County 22 
 
 VI. Seal of Dukes County 26 
 
 VII. Seal of Essex County 27 
 
 VIII. Seal of Franklin County 29 
 
 IX. Seal of Hampden County 30 
 
 X. Seal of Hampshire County 32 
 
 XL Seal of Middlesex County 33 
 
 XII. Seal of Nantucket County 35 
 
 XIII. Seal of Norfolk County 36 
 
 XIV. Seal of Plymouth County 37 
 
 XV. Seal of Suffolk County 38 
 
 XVI. Seal of Worcester County 40 
 
 XVII. Original Seal of First Massachusetts Court 43 
 
 XVIII. Original Seal of Bristol County 43 
 
 XIX. Original Seal of Bristol, England 44 
 
 XX. Original Seal of Hampshire County 44 
 
 XXI. Original Seal of Middlesex County 44 
 
 XXII. Original Seal of Nantucket County 45 
 
 XXIII. Original Seal of Plymouth County 45 
 
 XXIV. Original Seal of Suffolk County 46 
 
 XXV. Arms of England under William III 50 
 
 XXVI. Arms of William III used by Queen Anne 50 
 
 The official map of Massachusetts Counties and Towns 67 
 
Fourteen counties of thirty-nine cities and three hundred and 
 twelve towns constitute the present Commonwealth of Massa- 
 chusetts. In these are found the earliest records of New England 
 from the first settlements of Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the 
 Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. The two colonies were con- 
 solidated under Massachusetts by the 1691 Provincial Charter of 
 William and Mary. 
 
 The present Commonwealth of Massachusetts possesses more 
 early source records than any other state in the Union. The history 
 of New England, and from that point the history of the whole 
 United States and the genealogies of its early settlers all start in 
 the present Massachusetts area. 
 
 For many years after the first settlement of New England, the 
 present territorial limits of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 included the two colonies governed by separate and distinct 
 political bodies acting under separate charters with records in no 
 way common. 
 
 The colony of the Massachusetts Bay comprised, together with 
 other territories, the most northern and western portions of the 
 Commonwealth as it is now bounded. In 1643, it was divided 
 into the four counties, Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. It 
 must also be remembered that New Hampshire was under Massa- 
 chusetts until 1679; Maine, until 1820; and that the present 
 Dukes and Nantucket Counties were under the Province of New 
 York until after 1691. 
 
 The Colony of New-Plymouth, known as the "Old Colony", 
 embraced the south-eastern part of the state, now included 
 within the counties of Barnstable, Bristol, and Plymouth, divided 
 in 1685, excepting the town of Hingham which from the first 
 appertained to the Massachusetts Colony. It also included parts 
 of the present state of Rhode Island. During the Colonial period, 
 the island counties were not within the jurisdiction of either of 
 these colonies, but were annexed to Massachusetts from the 
 Province of New York, as was the Plymouth Colony, under the 
 1691 Provincial Charter. 
 
 The seven original counties of these two colonies have been 
 developed into the present fourteen counties of thirty-nine cities 
 
2 Massachusetts Records 
 
 and three hundred and twelve towns of the Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts, and the records of these two colonies are scattered 
 over an area of more than 8000 square miles. 
 
 The subject of these Massachusetts records is so large and has 
 so many ramifications that in the short space of this study it is 
 possible only to outline briefly the principal source records and 
 locations in each county. These consist of the early records of 
 the old colonies of Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay; State 
 Archives; Registries of Deed and Probate records in the county 
 seats; Court records in the County Court Houses; and records in 
 the various towns. 
 
 The first task confronting the student of genealogy or history 
 who wants to work in these records is to learn where they are 
 located, and the general system of their arrangement. While much 
 in general has been written about Massachusetts records, no 
 single work has heretofore been published giving this information. 
 
 The best reference books for the location of records in the 
 counties, cities, and towns of the present Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts are the Reports of the Massachusetts Commissioner 
 of Public Records (1885-1920). The best data guide for the in- 
 corporation of the present cities and towns is the pamphlet en- 
 titled Historical Data, Counties, Cities and Towns in Massachu- 
 setts, issued in 1920, by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, 
 Division of Public Records, and reissued in 1948 with the addi- 
 tion of a map. Also, see The Population of Massachusetts, 1950, 
 by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, based on the figures of 
 the Bureau of the Census. These reports have been freely used in 
 this study of Massachusetts records. 
 
 II 
 
 Plymouth Colony, unlike her neighboring colonies, never had 
 a Royal charter. For more than seventy years, the only 
 basis for her legal existence was a patent from a long defunct 
 trading company, the Council of New England. In 1680, Charles 
 II gave the King Philip lands to Plymouth and promised the 
 Colony a charter on application. Had it not been for the sub- 
 sequent untimely death at this time of its two envoys, Plymouth 
 would probably have had a Royal charter. When the next and 
 final opportunity came for obtaining a Royal charter under 
 
Plymouth Colony 3 
 
 William and Mary, the General Court called for contributions of 
 £700 current money for that purpose. The tax weary inhabitants 
 refused to contribute, apparently no longer caring to which 
 colony they belonged. 1 
 
 Fundamentally, Plymouth Colony, with its small population, 
 was woefully weak and poor. The large property losses suffered 
 in King Philip's war, and the resultant high taxes to pay for the 
 war, followed by the high taxes under the Andros administration, 
 pretty well drained the towns. Then the tremendously higher 
 additional taxes in King William's war, just about finished break- 
 ing the financial back of the Colony; the money just wasn't there. 
 
 In 1690, in the brief period of one year and four months, 
 taxes had reached the point where they amounted to 17)2 per 
 centum of the Colony's total ratable estate of £35,900. Many 
 towns were in open revolt. The towns especially named in the 
 court records as either refusing to pay taxes, being in arrears, or 
 in tax controversy with the General Court, 2 are: Bristol, Dart- 
 mouth, Little Compton, and Swansey, in Bristol county; Eastham, 
 Monamoy, Rochester, and Yarmouth, in Barnstable county; and 
 Scituate (the colony's largest town), Bridgewater, Duxburough, 
 Marshfield, and Middleborough in Plymouth county. These re- 
 corded towns numbered 65 per centum of the colony towns, 
 representing 63 per centum of the colony's ratable property, and 
 furnishing 49 per centum of the soldiers. 3 From the "other towns 
 not specifically named" language of the court records, we know that 
 the actual figures, although unprovable, were much higher. The 
 Plymouth Colony General Court stopped this tax revolt by not 
 proportioning the December 1690 levy of £1350 on its towns. No 
 further tax levy was made during the remaining one year and 
 five months of the Colony's separate existence. 
 
 It was fortunate that the Plymouth consolidation with strong 
 Massachusetts took place when it did, for the towns were in 
 open tax revolt against their government. Without the backing 
 and authority of a Royal charter, just what the Plymouth General 
 Court could have done to regain its control is an enigma difficult 
 to answer. The situation was certainly unique in the annals of 
 
 1 For a documented record, see Richard LeBaron Bowen, "The 1690 Tax Revolt of Ply- 
 mouth Colony Towns", New England Historical & Genealogical Register, vol. CXII (Jan. 
 1958). 
 
 2 Phjmouth Colony Records, vol. VI, pp. 36, 177, 182, 209, 210, 226, 234, 246, 251, 255, 
 257, 258, 259, 269. 
 
 3 For table showing value of ratable estates in towns of Plymouth Colony and number of 
 soldiers drafted in 1690, see Richard LeBaron Bowen, Early Rehoboth (Rehoboth, 1945), 
 vol. I, p. 13. 
 
4 Massachusetts Records 
 
 New England colonies. The extreme seriousness of this Plymouth 
 Colony internal tax strife has escaped the attention of historians. 
 
 In 1690, the Rev. Ichabod Wiswall was in England for the 
 second time since 1683, as a representative of Plymouth Colony 
 to obtain a separate charter for the colony. That eminent divine 
 and clever politician (who had been in England since 1688), the 
 Rev. Increase Mather, represented Massachusetts; and others, 
 New York. Up to this late date, Plymouth, which had no Royal 
 charter, had made no concentrated effort to obtain one. The 
 result was that there was a bitter fight on between New York 
 and Massachusetts to include Plymouth in their charters. Of all 
 the lobbyists, Mr. Wiswall found himself without powerful friends 
 or influence, due to the lack of the lobbyist's prerequisite tool, 
 money. Discouraged at the prospect of obtaining a separate 
 charter, he wrote Governor Hinckley, on 17 Oct. 1690, advising 
 the Colony to "remember 10 Ecclesiastes 19" (A feast is made for 
 laughter, and wine maketh merry; but money answer eth all things ) . 
 
 Still smarting under the open defiance of its authority by the 
 refusal of its towns to pay taxes, and to contribute money for 
 obtaining a charter, the Plymouth General Court, in the last 
 meeting of its existence, ordered the marshal of Bristol County to 
 go into the town of Swansey and collect the taxes by force. 
 
 Having lost tax control over its towns, and apparently satisfied 
 that the colony was to be absorbed by Massachusetts, the Plymouth 
 Colony General Court simply quit. It wasn't until a month later 
 (11 Aug. 1691) that the King approved the Council's plan for a 
 Massachusetts charter, which included the old Plymouth Colony. 
 On 7 Oct. 1691, the new Massachusetts charter passed the seals 
 and Plymouth ended its existence as a separate colony and be- 
 came a part of the Province of Massachusetts. On 12 May 1692, 
 Royal Governor Sir William Phips arrived in Boston with the 
 new charter. Elections were held that spring and the new Massachu- 
 setts charter was in full operation. 
 
 Under the new Massachusetts charter, the King appointed the 
 members of the royal council for the first year. There after, the 
 old Plymouth territory was allowed only four members on the 
 council of twenty-four members. As a sort of face saver for the 
 old Plymouth General Court, the Governor, Deputy-Governor, and 
 the six court assistants last elected, together with three or four of 
 the more prominent citizens, were appointed members of the first 
 royal council. This was three times the membership provided by 
 the new charter. The change in government proceeded smoothly 
 
Plymouth Colony 5 
 
 and without incident. The weak old Plymouth colony was now 
 part of a strong government. 
 
 For a period of one year and three months, from the time of 
 the last meeting of the Plymouth General Court to the beginning 
 of the new government of the Province of Massachusetts, the 
 twenty Plymouth towns were without a Plymouth General Court 
 government and were free to run their individual towns as they 
 saw fit. 
 
 When the consolidation of the two colonies took place in May 
 1692, the old Plymouth records remained in the hands of the 
 last Secretary of the colony, Mr. Samuel Sprague of Marshfield. 
 At his death, in 1710, the old records were taken over by 
 Massachusetts and sent to Plymouth. 4 The old books of deeds, 
 wills, inventories and probate, were deposited in the Plymouth 
 Registry of Deeds, where they now are. The remaining court 
 papers and documents were deposited in the Plymouth County 
 court house. These ancient files were almost totally destroyed in 
 the fire which burned the roof off the court house on 7 Nov. 1881. 
 Abner C. Goodell, writing in 1883, says that "on a few of the 
 scattered papers of early date that were saved from the fire, I 
 was, by the kindness of their possessors, enabled to discover the 
 impression of this [Plymouth] seal, and to observe that it has 
 undergone but very slight change since 1692". 
 
 All of the known extant loose papers in these ancient files are 
 the odds and ends contained in the Plymouth Colony Scrap Book 
 (1636-1693) in the Plymouth Registry of Deeds, collected after 
 the fire by an unknown Recorder. This scrap book contains 
 mostly original wills and probates, many of which have interesting 
 wax seals attached. More than twenty-five years ago the writer 
 made rubbings of many of these seals. Today that is impossible 
 for the documents have been preserved between sheets of silk. The 
 
 4 "The ancient records of the Colony of New-Plymouth, upon the change of government 
 and uniting of the colonies of Massachusetts and Plymouth, were left in the hands of Mr. 
 Samuel Sprague of Marshfield, who was last secretary of the Colony of Plymouth, and 
 were in his hands when he died in September 1710. Upon his death, the General Quarter 
 Sessions of the Peace within the county of Plymouth ordered Col. Nathaniel Thomas to 
 take the records into his care. On 9 Oct. 1710, the General Court at Boston ordered that 
 the books, records and files of the General Court of the late Colony of New-Plymouth be 
 committed to the custody of the Clerk of the Inferior Court of the County of Plymouth 
 . . ." [Plymouth Colony Laws, vol. XI, p. 8]. 
 
 10 Nov. 1710— "Ordered that the Bookes Records, and files of the General Court of the 
 late Colony of New-Plymouth, be committed to the Custody of the Clerk of the Inferiour 
 Court of the County of Plymouth for the time being, he dwelling in Plymouth; a perfect 
 Schedule thereof being made, with an Indent to be passed for the same to the Justices 
 of the said Court. And that the Clerk be Impowered to Transcribe and attest Copy's of 
 the said Records, for any that shall desire the same upon paying the Establish'd Fees." 
 [Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. IX (1708-1719), p. 152], 
 
6 Massachusetts Records 
 
 scrap book was transcribed by Charles Henry Pope and published 
 by Goodspeed ( Boston, 1918), in a book of 125 pages. 
 
 With the exception of the private historical writings of the 
 fathers of the Plymouth Colony, Bradford and Winslow, little can 
 be found on record relating to the earliest years of this settle- 
 ment in America. The principal printed records of Plymouth 
 Colony are: Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, the 
 prime source for Plymouth history to 1646; Mourfs Relation; 
 extracts from the Journals of Bradford and Winslow, printed in 
 London in 1622. Of the several reprints, the best edition, with 
 notes, is that of H. M. Dexter (1865). Edward Winslow's Good 
 Newes from New England (1624) and his Brief e Narration (1646), 
 important sources, are reprinted in Young's Chronicles of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers; and the Records of the Colony of New Plymouth 
 in New England, 12 large volumes (1620-1692), edited by Na- 
 thaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D. (vols. 1-8), and David Pulsifer (vols. 
 9-12). 
 
 New England's Memorial, by Nathaniel Morton, Secretary of 
 the Court (Cambridge, 1669). In his Epistle Dedicatory, he says 
 "the greatest part of my intelligence hath been borrowed from 
 my much honored uncle, Mr. William Bradford and such manu- 
 scripts as he left in his study, from the year 1620, unto 1646". In 
 the words of Admiral Morison, this history "is largely a poor 
 paraphrase of Bradford." Of the several editions printed, the best 
 is the fifth by John Davis, with "large additions in marginal notes 
 and an appendix" ( Boston, 1826 ) . 
 
 Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, has been frequently re- 
 printed. The best and latest is the 1952 edition, with modernized 
 spelling and punctuation, edited by Samuel Eliot Morison. This 
 book, together with his latest history, a chronological Story of the 
 Old Colony of New Plymouth, 1620-1692 (New York, 1956), 
 make our best working tools for the study of the history of this 
 colony. 
 
 At the Plymouth Registry of Deeds are found five early vol- 
 umes of wills and inventories dating from 1633 to 1686. Of these, 
 The Mayflower Descendant has printed vol. I (1633-1654); vol. 
 II (1654-1668); and part of vol. Ill (1669-1678), of which there 
 remains 27 pages of Part I to be printed, and 237 pages of Part 
 II. Volume IV (1683-1686), containing Parts I and II, a total of 
 264 pages has not been printed. These printed transcripts appear 
 in the following volumes of The Mayflower Descendant: com- 
 mencing vol. I, page 23 and ending vol. II, page 206; com- 
 
Massachusetts Charter 7 
 
 mencing vol. XII, page 244 and ending vol. XIV, page 233; 
 commencing vol. XV, page 58 and ending vol. XVIII, page 77; 
 and commencing vol. XVIII, page 185 and ending vol. XXXIV, 
 page 114. A typed alphabetical list of these printed early wills is 
 in the Member's Room of the New England Historic Genealogical 
 Society at Boston. This same Mayflower publication has also 
 printed many of the early deeds. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The new Massachusetts charter was signed on 7 Oct. 1691. On 
 7 Mar. 1691/2, Sir William Phips, the new Royal Governor, 
 accompanied by Rev. Increase Mather, left London, and on the 
 29th sailed from Plymouth under convoy of the frigate Nonsuch, 
 under command of Captain Short, for Boston, where they arrived 
 14 May 1692, bringing the charter with them. 
 
 This new charter of King William III, dissolved by legal 
 process, the old charter of King Charles I which had created a 
 corporation of Englishmen under the name of the "Governor and 
 Company of Massachusetts Bay/' Under the new charter, a com- 
 munity of Englishmen was invested in law as a body politic, with 
 certain privileges and restraints under the name of the "Province 
 of Massachusetts." For the first time in its history, the Colony had 
 now lost the independence which it once possessed and was 
 brought into a condition of formal and definite subjection to 
 England. The religious element was also eliminated from the 
 government. 
 
 The Province, as now constituted, included the colonies of 
 Massachusetts and Plymouth; all of the group of islands off the 
 Plymouth coast known as Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Eliza- 
 beth, etc., formerly belonging to New York; and the territories 
 of Maine and Nova Scotia (and of what is now New Brunswick), 
 with all of the lands lying between the two last-named jurisdic- 
 tions. Although she had failed in retaining New Hampshire, this 
 loss was more than made up by the acquisition of Plymouth. 
 
 The charter provided that there should be a Governor, Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, and Secretary, to be appointed from time to time by 
 the King. There was to be a General Court, or Legislature, in two 
 branches,— namely, a House of Representatives chosen, as hereto- 
 fore, annually by the towns; and a Council consisting of twenty- 
 
8 Massachusetts Records 
 
 eight members to be selected by the General Court, annually on 
 the last Wednesday in May, subject to the Governor's rejection. 
 Eighteen, at least, of the Counsellors were to be inhabitants or 
 landholders in Massachusetts proper; four in what had been in 
 Plymouth Colony; 5 three in Maine; and one in the country be- 
 tween the Kennebec and Nova Scotia. The King was to appoint 
 the members of the first royal council. Seven counsellors were 
 to be a quorum for the transaction of business. Representatives 
 were required to be freeholders, and each town, for the present, 
 was to have two Representatives and no more. This limitation 
 was subject to later change by law. 
 
 Bills passed by the Council and Representatives were subject 
 to rejections by the Governor. Laws approved by him were im- 
 mediately in effect, but were to be reported to the King who 
 might annul them at any time within three years from their 
 enactment. The Governor was to be commander-in-chief of the 
 militia, and to appoint military officers. In this connection, it is 
 interesting to note that on commissions the great seal was never 
 used, always the Governor's personal seal. With the consent of the 
 Council, he was to appoint certain judges and other court officers. 
 
 Although a new acquisition for Massachusetts, this whole ex- 
 tensive territory of Nova Scotia (including what is now New 
 Brunswick) with its total white population of 803 inhabitants, 
 was of questionable value, considering the cost of its defence, in 
 view of the fact that by the treaty of Brenda the territory was 
 the property of the King of France. Consequently, Massachusetts 
 did not at any time take possession of Nova Scotia, other than to 
 occupy Port Royal (Annapolis) and St. John. 
 
 The principal printed records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
 are: The History of New England (1630-1649), by John Win- 
 throp, Esq.; Records of the Governor and Company of the Massa- 
 chusetts Bay in New England, 5 volumes (1628-1686); Records 
 
 6 This consolidation brings to mind that ridiculous story, "Rehoboth in Brief Review", so 
 widely advertised and often reprinted, written by Edgar Perry 63 years ago, and published 
 in the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of Rehoboth (1894), p. 7, in which he says 
 "When the two colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay united, Rehoboth, the largest 
 town [actually the ninth] in Plymouth, and Boston, the largest town in Massachusetts Bay 
 Colony, had a sharp contest to see which should have the honor of being the capital of 
 the new commonwealth, and that Boston won the prize only by a few votes." Why anyone 
 would think that the old capitol of Massachusetts Bay, with its important seaport, would 
 ever be in danger of being relocated at Rehoboth, whose seaport was the salt cove forming 
 the mouth of the Ten Mile River, is incomprehensible. 
 
 Not content with this one preposterous invention dressed up as history, he continues his 
 alleged "history" and in seven pages makes twenty-two statements about Rehoboth history, 
 none of which are historically true. Mr. Perry, a reporter on the Boston Herald, should have 
 stuck to newspaper reporting. 
 
Massachusetts Archives 9 
 
 of the Court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 
 3 volumes (1630-1692); The Acts and Resolves, Public and Pri- 
 vate, of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, 21 volumes 
 (1692-1780); Session Laws and Statutes; and the Journals of the 
 House of Representatives of Massachusetts, 31 volumes to 1755, 
 published by the Massachusetts Historical Society. 
 
 The Reports of the Record Commissioners of the city of Boston, 
 some 39 volumes of verbatim transcripts of original records; the 
 Note-Book kept by Thomas Lechford, Esq., Lawyer, in Boston, 
 Massachusetts Bay, from 27 June 1638 to 29 July 1641; also to be 
 noted is the Aspinwall Notarial Records (1644-1651), vol. XXXII 
 (1903) in the series of Reports of the Record Commissioners 
 of the City of Boston. The Massachusetts Historical Society Publi- 
 cations, consisting of 79 volumes of its Collections; 68 volumes of 
 its Proceedings; and some 50 special publications, are rich in 
 source material. The Historical Collections of the Essex Institute; 
 the publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and the 
 Prince Society of Boston, are of great value. 
 
 The Session Laws, previously mentioned, were first printed in 
 1661, and are the laws passed at successive legislative sessions. 
 Statutes at Large, first printed in 1648, are statutes in full as 
 originally enacted, as distinguished from abridgements, compila- 
 tions, and revisions. A great wealth of genealogical data is found 
 in these Laws and Statutes. More genealogical facts, especially 
 in the private acts, were inserted than were necessary to the laws 
 enacted. Among other items, much data are found in acts of 
 naturalization, change of names, divorces, marriages made legiti- 
 mate, etc. However, it is recommended that research be made 
 exclusively in the Sessions Laws, for these surely contain in full 
 detail, without abbreviation, every private act and law enacted. 6 
 A methodical search of this source would solve many genealogical 
 problems. These Session Laws and Statutes will be found in the 
 Massachusetts State Archives, the State Law Library, and in the 
 various County Law Libraries. 
 
 Massachusetts Archives 
 
 The Massachusetts State Archives, on the fourth floor of the 
 State House at Boston, contain a wealth of source material in 
 
 6 See Noel C. Stevenson, F.A.S.G., Genealogical Research in Session Laws, and Statutes, 
 New England Historical & Genealogical Register, vol. CX (1956) pp. 98-103. 
 
10 Massachusetts Records 
 
 some 327 volumes of bound documents, a part of which have been 
 indexed. The first 242 volumes were arranged by subjects and 
 dates by Joseph B. Felt, 1836-1846. Besides these bound volumes, 
 there are many drawers filled with miscellaneous documents and 
 maps from towns in Massachusetts, and from many places outside 
 of the Commonwealth up to about 1800. There is also considerable 
 early Plymouth material, including copies of the early deeds and 
 probates— in fact, without consulting the excellent indices, one 
 never knows what will be found. There are also many town 
 records, some in bound volumes, others stored in loose sheets. In 
 the Rhode Island State Archives at the State House, Providence, 
 R. I., are many documents pertaining to early Plymouth Colony 
 and the Massachusetts Bay towns. 7 Pension papers are valuable 
 sources. Not to be overlooked, are the seventeen volumes of 
 printed Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary 
 War, a compilation from the Massachusetts Archives prepared 
 and published from 1896 to 1908 by the Secretary of the Common- 
 wealth. The Soldiers and Sailors of War of 1812 is of value also. 
 
 In the study of any town, the Federal Census lists contain data 
 not found in any other record. The names of the heads of families 
 are listed, together with the males and females in each family 
 divided into age groups. These census lists are of inestimable 
 value to the genealogist. 
 
 The first Massachusetts census (totals only) was taken in 1764 
 and 1765. The first United States census, taken in 1790, is in print; 
 the second, 1800 (not printed), is in the Library of Congress, at 
 Washington, D. C. In the State Archives at Boston are copies of 
 many Massachusetts state censuses, including those for the years 
 1855, 1865, and 1875. Also, there are copies of the Federal censuses, 
 including the years 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. 
 
 So far as is known to the writer, the 1800 U. S. census of 
 Rehoboth is the only town census for that year that has been 
 published. 7a It was printed from an accurate copy of the original 
 
 7 In the 1746 settlement of the boundary line dispute, the Royal Commission took the towns 
 of Barrington (with parts of Swansea and Rehoboth), Bristol, Tiverton, Little Compton, 
 and Cumberland from Massachusetts and awarded them to Rhode Island. There are a 
 number of deeds relating to adjacent parts of Massachusetts in the Rhode Island Colony 
 Deeds in the Secretary of State's Office at the State House, Providence, R. I.; as well as 
 some wills. 
 
 7 » For this Rehoboth census, see Richard LeBaron Bowen, Early Rehoboth (Rehoboth, 1950), 
 vol. IV, chap. VI. 
 
Court Records 11 
 
 in the Archives of the Library of Congress, made by Mr. Edward 
 H. West, F.A.S.G., of Laurel, Maryland, and presented to the 
 writer. 
 
 Early maps are of assistance to the genealogist and especially to 
 the historian. In the State Archives at Boston will be found an 
 unusual collection of town and other maps, the earliest of which 
 was made in 1649. This valuable collection is not so widely 
 known to genealogists and historians as it should be. 
 
 In 1794, the Commonwealth provided by law that "accurate 
 plans be made of each town and district, to a scale of 200 rods 
 to an inch, to be filed in the Secretary's Office. " With the excep- 
 tion of the town of Chelsea, the plans were duly filed and are 
 to be found in the Secretary's Office, Division of Archives, Town 
 Plans (1794), vols. I to XVI. Later, these plans were used as a 
 basis for maps of Massachusetts proper and for the District of 
 Maine, published and distributed in 1801. 
 
 In 1830, the Commonwealth again ordered "accurate plans to 
 be made of each town and district, upon a scale of 100 rods 
 to an inch, upon a minute and accurate survey, to be lodged 
 in the Secretary's Office." These plans, with the exception of 
 those for the towns of Carver, Chelsea, Littleton, Nantucket, 
 New Bedford, and Plympton, are on file in the Secretary's Office, 
 Division of Archives, Town Plans (1830), vols. I to XV. In addi- 
 tion to the Rehoboth map on file, there is one for Seekonk, 
 dated 1831, which was the eastern part of the original town of 
 Rehoboth, and also an 1827 map 8 of Pawtucket, Massachusetts 
 (now in Rhode Island), originally the northern part of Seekonk. 
 
 Within the last few years, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 issued two excellent maps (undated), one 31%" x 21" and the 
 other 13&" x 9M", showing the division of the state into counties 
 and towns. These maps may be obtained by applying to the 
 Massachusetts Department of Agriculture at Boston. A tip-in of 
 the small map, supplied by Mr. L. Roy Hawes, Commissioner, is 
 shown in the following pages. 
 
 Court Records 
 
 As previously noted, the Plymouth Colony Records (1620- 
 1697/8), in twelve volumes, and those of the Massachusetts Bay 
 (1628-1686), in six volumes, have been transcribed and are in 
 print. 
 
 8 For a facsimile of this Pawtucket map, see Richard Le Baron Bowen, Early Rehoboth 
 (Rehoboth, 1950), vol. IV, facing p. 84. 
 
12 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Since 1636 many courts have been established, 9 abolished, and 
 revived again under the same or new names. Special Courts of 
 Oyer and Terminer 10 were held in various places by Commissioners 
 appointed by the Governor during the provincial period, the 
 records of which are found in the offices of the Clerk of the 
 Courts. This whole court subject is so vast and complicated, how- 
 ever, that the only courts that can be listed within the limited 
 space of this book are the principal ones beginning with the 
 County Courts commencing in 1636 and ending with the Superior 
 Courts which commenced in 1859. 
 
 The records of the Superior Court of Judicature in the several 
 counties, from 1693 to 1788, will be found in thirty-five volumes 11 
 in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the 
 county of Suffolk at Boston; and also, in one hundred and ten 
 volumes of Minute Books, 12 from 1702 to 1788. 
 
 Besides the regular court record books, many of the courts 
 have quantities of valuable loose papers and documents which 
 contain much of interest to genealogists and historians. For in- 
 stance, in the basement of the Superior Court Building at Taunton 
 are many files of original papers, in disorder, containing all sorts 
 of miscellaneous letters and court documents, the earliest of which 
 commence in the late 1690's. Another lot commences in 1709 and 
 ends about 1730. In their jumbled condition as to subjects, it is 
 difficult, without reading each one, to determine their exact 
 nature. 
 
 The vice- Admiralty Court records, and the records of the 
 Collectors of Customs for the various ports, are sources often 
 overlooked. 
 
 Apprentice Indenture Papers are valuable sources. For example, 
 in the old Boston Court House, there were about three thousand 
 indentures binding apprentices, which had been filed with the 
 town clerk. The earliest of these is dated 27 Nov. 1734, and the 
 
 9 Establishment of Courts by Original Titles, First Report, Massachusetts Commissioner of 
 Public Records (1885), pp. 305-310; Establishment of Courts by Present Titles, Ibid., 
 pp. 10-316; Courts shown by Counties, Ibid., pp. 333-363. 
 
 10 The Court of Oyer and Terminer ( hear and determine ) was a court for the trial of 
 indictments held under a commission by virtue of which the judges have power to hear 
 and determine specified offences, usually all treasons, felonies, and misdemeanors. In some 
 states, the name has been adopted for the higher criminal courts of corresponding juris- 
 diction. 
 
 11 For names of counties and dates of court terms, cf. First Report, Massachusetts Commis- 
 sioner of Public Records (1885), pp. 316-325. 
 
 12 For names of counties and dates of court terms, cf. ibid., pp. 326-331. 
 
The Andros Administration 13 
 
 latest in 1805. They bear the signatures of the selectmen of 
 Boston and attached to many are certificates of the Selectmen 
 of the town where the master dwelt, indorsing him as "a man of 
 sober life . . . and in such circumstances that we can recommend 
 him as a fit person to bind an apprentice to". These are of his- 
 torical value in accounting for boys who disappeared from Boston, 
 and for the presence in the records of a town of names of men 
 whose ancestry had been in doubt, no parents ever having dwelt 
 there. These Boston Indenture Papers are now in the custody of 
 the Boston Record Commissioners. 
 
 The Nationalization Papers, in the various County Court 
 houses, contain data on later immigrants not found in any other 
 record, such as the name of town and country where born, names 
 of parents, date of birth, and places of residence in America, etc. 
 At the Bristol County Court, at Taunton, these papers commence 
 in 1805, but are indexed only from 1856 to 1885. 
 
 The latest tool for the use of lawyers, genealogists, and historians, 
 is a bibliography of published materials on Early New England 
 Court Records, by William Jeffrey, Jr., assistant Law Librarian at 
 Yale, with an introduction by Zechariah Chafee, Jr., printed in 
 the July 1954 issue of the Boston Public Library Quarterly, and 
 later reprinted in pamphlet form for the Ames Foundation, Har- 
 vard Law School. With considerable detail, this valuable work 
 lists thirty-nine titles of some 167 printed volumes. 
 
 The Andros Administration 
 
 Sir Edmund Andros (1637-1714) arrived in 
 New York in 1675 as Royal Governor of the 
 colony of New York, an appointee of the Duke 
 of York. In 1686, King James II united the 
 New England colonies and set up a new gov- 
 ernment under the title of the Dominion of 
 New England, with Sir Edmund Andros as 
 Royal Governor. The colonies were denied their former rights and 
 liberties while the Dominion lasted. They lost their right to vote 
 taxes; the Council simply notified each town the amount of 
 money it must send to Boston annually. These sums were much 
 higher than the taxpayers had been accustomed to paying. The 
 people were told that their land titles were worthless; that they 
 must bring their deeds to Boston and pay to have them con- 
 
14 Massachusetts Records 
 
 firmed. The Plymouth court was ordered to bring all of its 
 records to Boston. 
 
 A kind of prerogative court was also set up at Boston for pro- 
 bating the wills of all New England, including the Province of 
 New York and East and West New Jersey, involving all property 
 of more than fifty shillings in value. These documents are recorded 
 in the Suffolk County Registry of Probate (1686-1692). An index 
 of these wills was compiled by Mary L. and Winifred L. Holman, 
 F.A.S.G., and published in The American Genealogist, vol. XII, 
 pages 175, 222; vol. XIII, page 98; and vol. XIV, page 34. No 
 genealogical research is complete without consulting this index. 
 
 A new two-sided great seal, the reverse here shown, was used 
 until the downfall of King James II, and the end of the Dominion 
 of New England in 1689. The reverse of this seal shows the King's 
 arms, with the garter, crown, supporters, and motto, and this in- 
 scription round the circumference: sigillum novae angliae in 
 
 AMERICA. 13 
 
 The oppressive Andros government lasted less than three years 
 (1686-1689), because the people of England forced James II to 
 flee to France and brought in King William III and Queen Mary 
 II as joint sovereigns. On 4 April 1689, John Winslow arrived at 
 Boston from the Island of Nevis, bringing a copy of the Declara- 
 tion by the Prince of Orange on his landing in England. The 
 people of Boston arose, put Andros in jail, and sent him a prisoner 
 to England. There he was later released and subsequently ap- 
 pointed Royal Governor of the colony of Virginia ( 1692-97 ) . 
 
 Town Records 
 
 The early records kept in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts 
 Bay towns followed much the same general pattern and consisted, 
 usually, of separate books called Proprietors, Town Meetings, 
 Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Rates, Constable and Townsmen 
 (Selectmen) books. The church records of baptisms, marriages, 
 and burials were also later kept by the church societies. 
 
 Through the years, the original plantations, proprietory or town, 
 have been divided and sub-divided so many times that it is often 
 difficult to determine the constituent parts of the present towns, 
 
 13 Governor Andros had seized and broken the Province of New York seal. He had apparently 
 seized the Plymouth Colony seal, for on 4 June 1689, the Plymouth Colony court petitioned 
 the King and Queen for the "reestablishment of their former liberties and priviledges,— and 
 also, to endeavor the regaining of our publique seal,— otherwise to procure one at the ex- 
 pense of the colony" [Plymouth Colony Records, vol. VI, pp. 209-10]. 
 
Town Records 15 
 
 much of the history of which will often be found in a non-existent 
 town of another name. 
 
 The Colonies granted large tracts of common lands to groups 
 of prospective settlers, called Proprietors, for the establishment of 
 towns. The Proprietors' Records 14 contain the meets and bounds 
 of these lands assigned to the various settlers. These records 
 usually antedate the Town Meeting's records, and are all too 
 often overlooked by the genealogist. The records show many in- 
 stances in which land in families has come down by descent, 
 although no title is shown by recorded deed. In such cases, the 
 Proprietors' records are of great importance, for the courts have 
 decided that titles of lands running directly through the Proprietors' 
 records, may carry title as against the record in the registry. 
 
 In tracing the organization of new towns it is not uncommon to 
 find that these Proprietors' records were commenced in an old 
 town where the body of the proprietors organized, and that the 
 names appearing in the new town records are of families in the 
 old town. 
 
 A typical example is that of the Proprietors' records of Savoy, 
 Berkshire Co., which are dated at Rehoboth in 1771, twenty-six 
 years before the incorporation of Savoy on 20 Feb. 1797. The 
 name by which the plantation or proprietory was known before it 
 became a district or town, is often found in these records and in no 
 other State record. 
 
 The earliest Town Meeting records 15 contain everything that 
 was to be made a matter of record— town meetings, land transac- 
 tions, vital records, copies of court orders, rate lists, constables' 
 returns, warning out notices, overseer of the poor reports, ear- 
 marks and cattle brands, stray cattle, soldier lists, etc. These 
 entries are usually not in chronological order, and as they are not 
 indexed, the books in their original condition are of little value 
 for quick reference. Comparatively few Town Meeting Books 
 have been transcribed, and fewer printed. 
 
 The earliest Birth, Marriage, and Death records 16 are found in the 
 Town Meeting books, later in separate volumes, and often in the 
 
 14 Eighth Report, Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Records (1896). 
 
 15 See First Report, Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Records (1885), pp. 148-294; 
 Extinct Cities, Towns, and Districts, ibid., pp. 295-303; and the Fourteenth Report, ibid. 
 (1902). 
 
 19 Of course the extant gravestones and the printed transcripts of inscriptions, together with 
 the interment records of the various cemeteries are an additional help. Also to be noted, are 
 the newspaper vital records. Marriage and death notices appear very early, followed later 
 by obituaries and funeral notices, and still later by records of births. 
 
16 Massachusetts Records 
 
 County court records. The marriage intention records started at a 
 later date; in Rehoboth, around 1700. Many of the vital records 
 were originally entered in the Town Meeting Books with all of 
 the children listed under the name of the father. There could be 
 no doubt of the parentage of the children under this system. Later, 
 these records were copied into separate town books. In transcrib- 
 ing for publication of printed vital records, this family arrangement 
 was broken up by listing the names of the children in alphabetical 
 order, which separation often results in the loss of the childs' 
 positive identity. 
 
 A difficulty in correct marriage records exists in towns bordering 
 on other states. Persons unable to obtain permits in their own 
 towns crossed the state line and were married leaving no record 
 in the Commonwealth unless they returned to reside. 
 
 Many city and town vital records have been transcribed and 
 printed. The library of the New England Historic Genealogical 
 Society, at Boston, has on its shelves the printed vital records of 
 more than 214 cities and towns in Massachusetts, besides numer- 
 ous other MS vital records. There are also many printed vital 
 records for extinct towns that are now incorporated as parts of 
 present-day towns. In addition to these printed transcripts, there 
 are also many manuscript copies in the various Town Clerks' 
 offices. 
 
 At a later period, the Town Clerks were required by law to 
 make return of vital records to the Clerk of the Courts at the 
 county seats. These court returns seem to have been made with 
 considerable care and often show names not appearing in the 
 original town vital records. 
 
 The Town Rate (tax) Lists are of particular value, for, as a rule, 
 only a few were entered in the early Town Meeting books. The 
 assessments were listed on separate sheets of paper and given to 
 the constable for collection. If these lists can be found, they are 
 an important source of information for the genealogist, for it 
 was customary to prefix to the names various military, and other 
 titles such as "Mr", "Deacon", and the suffix "Esquire", etc., which 
 is a great help in the identification of different individuals of the 
 same name. All assessments were made by districts and the names 
 entered by home lots, not alphabetically, so it is oftentimes possi- 
 ble to locate a homestead by the position of the owner's name 
 in the tax list by knowing the name of a neighbor on either side. 
 After the collection of taxes, the constable returned the lists to 
 
Genealogical Publications 17 
 
 the Town Clerk who folded and briefed each paper and tied 
 them in bundles. Through the years, not much attention has been 
 paid to these lists; some towns now have several hundred; others 
 have none. 
 
 Church Records, of a later date, are numerous and more or 
 less complete. Their location will be found in detail in the various 
 Reports of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Records. 17 
 
 The Federal Tax 
 
 In July 1798, the Senate and House of Representatives voted 
 to lay a direct tax on the United States, at that time comprising 
 sixteen states. The returns for the states of Massachusetts and 
 Maine were deposited in the old Boston Custom House where 
 they were long buried in obscurity. In 1855, Mr. Montague caught 
 the janitor tossing the papers into the furnace and stopped him. 
 General Lincoln, the Collector, permitted the transfer of the 
 papers to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where 
 they are preserved, bound in 20 volumes with some indices made. 
 The records of a few of the towns were lost in the furnace fire. 18 
 This tax lists the name of the owner, or tenant, of each house in 
 every town in Massachusetts and Maine. This is important infor- 
 mation, for there are always many tenant residents of a town 
 whose names never get into the records. This 1798 Federal 
 Dwelling House Tax, together with the 1800 census, enables us to 
 re-construct a far more complete record of a town at the end of 
 the eighteenth century than is possible in any other period. The 
 1798 Federal Direct Tax for the town of Rehoboth has been 
 printed. 19 
 
 Genealogical Publications 
 
 Of first importance are the 110 volumes of the Register, pub- 
 lished by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which 
 contain a wealth of genealogical and historical information not 
 
 17 Existing Churches by Towns, Existing Churches by Denominations, and Extinct Churches 
 by Towns, First Report, Commissioner of Massachusetts Public Records (1885), pp. 9-79, 
 80-132. Historical Data on Massachusetts Churches, Parishes, Precincts, and Religious So- 
 cieties, past or present, Tenth Report, ibid. (1897), pp. 1-189. Additional Church Records, 
 Twelfth Report, ibid. (1900), p. 10; Fifteenth Report, ibid. (1902), pp. 14-16; Plymouth 
 Church Records (1620-1859), and Publications of the Colonial Society, vols. XXII and 
 XXIII. 
 
 18 Report of the Record Commissioners of City of Boston (Boston, 1890), vol. XXII, p. ill. 
 
 19 See Richard LeBaron Bowen, Early Rehoboth (Rehoboth, 1950), vol. IV, Chap. VII. 
 
18 Massachusetts Records 
 
 found in any other publication. The 32 volumes of The American 
 Genealogist, edited and published by Donald Lines Jacobus, M.A., 
 F.A.S.G., New Haven, Connecticut, is an authoritative, scholarly 
 publication containing the genealogies of and considerable data on 
 many early Massachusetts families. See also, Jacobus, Index to Gen- 
 ealogical Periodicals, vol. I (1932), II (1948), III (1953). 
 
 A new aid to the genealogist, unfortunately not too well 
 known, is the new series of Genealogical Microcards published by 
 the Godfrey Memorial Library, of Middletown, Connecticut. Per- 
 haps the most important of this series are The Genealogical Index, 
 and The Library of Congress Catalogue of English and American 
 Genealogies. This great genealogical bibliography answers quickly 
 and comprehensively the question of what published genealogies 
 there are on a particular family, so frequently asked of the genea- 
 logical librarian. Then there are Microcards of the genealogical 
 column of the Boston Transcript. Nearly half of these cards are 
 devoted to the genealogical records of families for which, at 
 present, no other printed genealogy exists. The New England 
 Historic Genealogical Society Library has copies of these Micro- 
 cards. 
 
 This microfilm library is now being completely indexed in the 
 Genealogical-Biographical Index. On the 1st of April (1956) the 
 index had reached the letter "N". It is estimated that the final 
 number of entries indexed will run to nearly two-million names— 
 almost all of them 17th and 18th century. 
 
 Other Records 
 
 While perhaps strictly not the type of records properly belonging 
 to this Massachusetts study, nevertheless the following sources are 
 so helpful that they must be mentioned. 
 
 City and Town Directories are often useful sources. At the 
 New England Historic Genealogical Society are thousands of 
 directories covering most of the states. The State Library at Boston 
 has a large collection of Massachusetts directories, probably the 
 most complete assembled in any one place. 
 
 The records of the various Medical and Legal Societies, Frater- 
 nal Orders, Colleges, etc., contain valuable data. For example, 
 the Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Masonic Temple, 
 Boylston Street, Boston, has indexed records dating from the 
 early seventeen hundreds to the present time. 
 
 Among the College Records, the most important are the nine 
 
Barnstable County 19 
 
 volumes of the Shipton-Sibley's Harvard Graduates with biographi- 
 cal sketches of those who attended Harvard College from 1642 
 to 1735. In compiling the biographies in the last six volumes, 
 Clifford K. Shipton has explored public records, private manuscript 
 collections, and colonial newspapers with a thoroughness impossible 
 for a genealogist interested in a single family, profession, or place. 
 In these volumes appear "royal governors, conterfeiters, college 
 presidents, bootleggers, Indian fighters, drunkards, and clergymen 
 of four persuasions. Together they form a cross-section of Colonial 
 life in which the Harvard tie is only incidental." 
 
 It may not be out of place to call attention here to The 
 Centralization of Vital Records in the Various States, by Harold 
 Clark Durrell, a former editor of the Register, which gives com- 
 plete information on what vital records have been assembled in 
 the State Capitols of the forty-eight states, and in the District of 
 Columbia. See New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 vol. XC, January 1936, pp. 9-31. 
 
 IV 
 
 In the following pages will be found the division of the Common- 
 wealth of Massachusetts by counties, giving the location of the 
 Registry of Deeds and Probate, the office of the Clerk of the 
 Courts, with a listing of the principal court records to 1859, together 
 with the names of the various cities and towns in each county. The 
 names of the cities are printed in capitals. 
 
 BARNSTABLE COUNTY 
 
 Established by order of the Plymouth Colony 
 Court 2 June 1685. The Registry of Deeds, 
 Registry of Probate, and office of the Clerk of the 
 Courts are at Barnstable, the shire-town. The 
 records of the towns in the county before 2 June 
 1685 are in the Registry of Deeds at Plymouth. 
 Fires in 1701 and 22 Oct. 1827 destroyed 
 practically all original deed records of the county. The 1827 fire 
 alone destroyed 93 books of deeds from 1686 to 1827. There are a 
 few deeds recorded prior to 1827. The same 1827 fire destroyed 
 all original probate records, but only two of the probate copy 
 
20 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 books. The Hinckley Papers, in the New England Historic Genea- 
 logical Society at Boston, contain many papers, copies of those 
 burned in the Barnstable fire. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature held 
 in Barnstable county, commencing in 1693, and the Minute Books, 
 commencing in 1719, are hxthe office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: All County Court, Inferior Court of Common Pleas, Court 
 of General Sessions of the Peace, and Circuit Court of Common 
 Pleas records, ninety-three out of ninety-four volumes, were burned 
 in the fire which destroyed the county buildings on 22 Oct. 1827. 
 The Court of Sessions records commence 29 Jan. 1828; the Court 
 of Common Pleas, 4 Sept. 1827; Superior Court, 2 July 1859. There 
 are no Marriage, Notaries Public, or Miscellaneous records in the 
 Clerk's Office. 
 
 Towns in Barnstable county and dates of establishment, or in- 
 corporation: 
 
 Barnstable (1638) 
 
 Bourne (1884) 
 
 *Brewster (1803) 
 
 * Chatham (1712) 
 
 Dennis 20 (1793) 
 
 *Eastham (1651) 
 Falmouth 21 (1694) 
 Harwich 22 (1694) 
 Mashpee (1763) 
 Orleans (1797) 
 
 Provincetown 23 (1727) 
 Sandwich (1638) 
 oTruro 24 (1709) 
 Wellfleet (1763) 
 Yarmouth 25 (1639) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 BERKSHIRE COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 21 April 1761. The Registry of 
 Probate and the office of the Clerk of the Courts 
 are at Pittsfield, the shire-town. The county is 
 divided into three districts for the registry of 
 deeds. Prior to the incorporation of the county 
 in 1761, the deeds for the towns in Berkshire 
 county were recorded at Springfield. From 30 
 
 June 1761 to 18 June 1788, the Registry for the whole of Berkshire 
 
 County was at Springfield. 
 
 20 Dennis— For vital records, see Mayflower Descendant. 
 
 21 Falmouth-For Births, Marriages, and Deaths in town records, see Advertiser, vol. Ill, 
 pp. 57-81; vol. IV, pp. 19, 81, 111; also records of two graveyards, printed by H. H. Smythe. 
 
 22 The Harwich town records from 1694 to 1703 are lost. 
 
 23 The Provincetown records from 1776 to 1788 are missing. 
 
 24 Truro vital records were published by the Mayflower Descendant under Mr. Bowman, but 
 not in the form authorized by the Commonwealth. 
 
 25 The Yarmouth town records, previous to 1677, were burned in the fire which destroyed 
 the town clerk's house. 
 
Berkshire County 21 
 
 Northern District 
 
 Established 18 June 1788. Registry at Adams. The city and towns 
 constituting the district are Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, 
 Hancock, Lanesborough, New Ashford, North Adams, Savoy, Wil- 
 liamstown, and Windsor. The city and town records from 1761 to 
 
 1789 are in the Registry of Deeds at Pittsfield. 
 
 Muddle District 
 
 Established 18 June 1788. Registry at Pittsfield. The city and 
 towns in this district are Becket, Dalton, Hinsdale, Lee, Lenox, Otis, 
 Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Stockbridge, Tyringham, and Washing- 
 ton. The Pittsfield Public Library has a set of typed and bound MS 
 volumes of newspaper accounts of marriages, deaths, and church 
 records, indexed by towns for the whole county. 
 
 Southern District 
 
 Established 18 June 1788. Registry at Great Barrington. The 
 towns constituting the district are Alford, Egremont, Great Barring- 
 ton, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Sandisfield, 
 Sheffield, and West Stockbridge. The town records from 1761 to 
 
 1790 are in the Registry of Deeds at Pittsfield. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature held 
 in Berkshire County, commencing in 1763, are in the office of the 
 Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: The County Court records, if any, will be found in the 
 Hampshire County records. The Inferior Court of Common Pleas 
 records commence 13 July 1761; Court of Sessions, 11 Apr. 1808; 
 Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 1 Sept. 1761; Circuit Court 
 of Common Pleas, 26 Aug. 1811; Court of Common Pleas, 25 Feb. 
 1783; Superior Court, 24 Oct. 1859. There is one volume of Marriage 
 records from thirteen towns 26 covering the period from May 1788 
 to June 1795. There are no records of Notaries Public in the Clerk's 
 Office. In the Miscellaneous records, the earliest volume is a record 
 of Executions from 1767 to 1787, indexed under the name of the 
 plaintiff. 
 
 28 These towns are Adams, Cheshire, Dalton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lanesborough, 
 Lenox, Mount Washington, Pittsfield, Tyringham, West Stockbridge, Williamstown, and 
 Windsor [First Report, Mass. Commissioner of Public Records (1885), p. 335]. 
 
22 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Cities and towns in the Berkshire county and date of establish- 
 ment or incorporation: 
 
 Adams 27 (1778) 
 
 *Alford (1773) 
 
 *Becket (1765) 
 Cheshire (1793) 
 Clarksburg 28 (1798) 
 
 *Dalton (1784) 
 Egremont ( 1775 ) 
 Florida (1805) 
 
 * Great Barrington 29 
 
 (1761) 
 Hancock 30 (1776) 
 
 * Hinsdale (1804) 
 
 * The vital records are 
 
 Lanesborough (1765) 
 *Lee (1777) 
 
 Lenox (1767) 
 
 Monterey (1847) 
 
 Mount Washington 31 
 
 (1779) 
 *New Ashford ( 1781 ) 
 
 New Marlborough ( 1759 ) 
 
 NORTH ADAMS 32 ( 1878 ) 
 *Otis (1810) 
 *Peru (1806) 
 
 PITTSFIELD ( 1761 ) 
 
 ^Richmond 38 (1785) 
 *Sandis6eld (1762) 
 Savoy 34 (1797) 
 Sheffield (1733) 
 Stockbridge (1739) 
 oTyringham 35 (1762) 
 
 * Washington (1777) 
 *West Stockbridge 
 
 (1774) 
 *Williamstown (1765) 
 
 * Windsor (1778) 
 
 in print. 
 
 BRISTOL COUNTY 
 
 Established by order of the Plymouth Colony 
 Court, 2 June 1685. Bristol was the shire-town 
 until 13 Nov. 1746 when it was succeeded by 
 Taunton. 36 The county is divided into three 
 districts for the registry of deeds. The Registry 
 of Probate and the office of the Clerk of the 
 Courts are at Taunton, one of the two shire- 
 towns. The other is New Bedford. 
 
 The earliest records in the Registry of Deeds at Taunton are in 
 vol. I (1686-1696), 387 pages. The earliest deed was recorded there 
 14 Sept. 1686. All deed records before this date are at the Plymouth 
 Registry of Deeds at Plymouth. The earliest probate records in the 
 Registry of Probate at Taunton are in vol. I ( 1687-1698), 230 pages. 
 The earliest probate record was recorded 18 Aug. 1687. The County 
 
 27 Some of the early Adams records were destroyed; those prior to 1878 are at North Adams. 
 
 28 A volume of Clarksburg town records from 1798 to 1855 is missing. 
 
 29 The Great Barrington town records from 1812 to 1817 were lost by fire. 
 
 30 In 1912, the Hancock town records were being copied by W. K. Hadselle, town clerk, 
 and the church records by Rev. George E. Allen. Gravestone records are in the library of 
 the New England Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 31 The Mount Washington town records prior to 1796 were lost by fire. 
 
 32 The NORTH ADAMS city records contain the records of the town of Adams from 1778 
 to 1877. 
 
 33 The Richmond town and parish records prior to 1776 were destroyed by fire. 
 
 34 The Savoy proprietors' records are dated at Rehoboth, 1771. 
 
 85 The Tyringham records prior to 1847 are in the custody of the Town Clerk of Monterey. 
 36 Due to a boundary line change, the towns of Tiverton, Little Compton, Bristol, Warren, 
 Barrington, and Cumberland were restored to Rhode Island by Royal Decree 28 May 1746. 
 Six months later, the county office and records were moved to the new county seat at 
 Taunton. Some of the records appear to have been lost in moving and there has always 
 been a question as to what became of them. The court records of the old Bristol County from 
 1685 to 1696 are missing. 
 
Bristol County 23 
 
 Court proceedings prior to 1692 are in this office. All probate records 
 before 1687 are in the Registry of Deeds, Plymouth. 
 
 The principal records in the County Court House at Taunton are: 
 The Inferior Court of Common Pleas records commencing in 1696; 37 
 the Court of Sessions, 12 Apr. 1702; the Circuit Court of Common 
 Pleas, 9 Dec. 1811; the Court of Common Pleas, 11 Mar. 1783; the 
 Superior Court, 5 Dec. 1859. There is one volume of Marriage 
 records, from 1783 to 1795, containing marriage records from four- 
 teen towns: Attleboro, Easton, and Norton, 1783-1795; Berkley, 
 1776-1791; Dartmouth, 1762-1795; Dighton, 1772-1796; Freetown, 
 1784-1796; Mansfield, 1788-1794; New Bedford and Westport, 1787- 
 1795; Rehoboth and Swansea, 1785 to 1795; Somerset, 1790-1794; 
 and Taunton, 1782-1795. The earliest Notaries Public records com- 
 mence in 1853; the earliest Miscellaneous records, in 1836. The 
 County Court records from 1692, instead of being among these court 
 records are in the Registry of Probate. 
 
 The record books of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in Bristol county, commencing in 1693 and ending in 1782, 
 and the Minute books, commencing in 1719 and ending in 1784, are 
 in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk 
 Co., Boston. The County Court proceedings from 1692 are in the 
 Taunton Registry of Probate. 
 
 In the basement of the Taunton Superior Court Building are 
 many disorderly files of original papers containing all sorts of mis- 
 cellaneous letters and court documents, the earliest dated in the 
 late 1690's. Another lot commences in 1709 and ends about 1730. 
 In their jumbled condition, only a reading will disclose the subject 
 matter. 
 
 Northern District 
 
 Registry at Taunton. The cities and towns constituting the district 
 are Attleborough, Berkley, Dighton, Easton, Mansfield, North 
 Attleborough, Norton, Raynham, Rehoboth, and Seekonk. Some of 
 the county, city, and town records, from 2 June 1685, are in the 
 Registry of Deeds at Taunton. 
 
 Southern District 
 
 Established 1 July 1837. Registry at New Bedford, the other 
 shire-town. The city and towns constituting the district are Acush- 
 net, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, New Bedford, and Westport. 
 
 37 Not 10 Oct. 1702 as stated in the First Report, Mass. Commissioner of Public Records 
 (1885), p. 335. The records for the years 1715 to 1723, inclusive, are missing. 
 
24 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Fall River District 
 
 Established 1 Jan. 1892. Registry at Fall River. The city and 
 towns constituting the district are Fall River, Somerset, and Swan- 
 sea. 
 
 Cities and towns in Bristol county and date of establishment or 
 incorporation: 
 
 Acushnet ( 1860 ) FALL RIVER ( 1803 ) Raynham ( 1731 ) 
 
 * ATTLEBOROUGH 38 ( 1694 ) Freetown " ( 1683 ) *Rehoboth 47 ( 1645 ) 
 
 Berkley 39 ( 1735 ) *Mans6eld ( 1770 ) *Seekonk " ( 1812 ) 
 
 ^Dartmouth *° ( 1652 ) *NEW BEDFORD ( 1787 ) Somerset ( 1790 ) 
 
 Dighton 41 ( 1712 ) * North Attleborough « ^Swansea 49 ( 1668 ) 
 
 Easton " ( 1725 ) ( 1887 ) *TAUNTON " ( 1639 ) 
 
 Fairhaven « ( 1812 ) ^Norton ** ( 1710 ) * Westport ( 1787 ) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 38 The earliest records in the Attleboro City Clerk's office are the Town of Attleborough 
 Records (1672-1724), 446 pages. On the fly-leaf is written: "The Book of the Recordes of 
 the North Purchased Landes belonging to Rehoboth, 1672; William Carpenter, First Book 
 Anno Domini, 1766". There are few dates in the volume previous to 1700. 
 89 On 3 Feb. 1894 the Berkley selectmen voted that "all the town records of birth, mar- 
 riages, and deaths, from the [date of] incorporation of the town" be indexed. This included 
 Books I, II, III, A, and B, covering the period from 1735 to 1860; also, the Congregational 
 Church records, Book I (1736-1781) and the Register (1860-1895). This index was com- 
 pleted and is found in a hand- written book in the Town Clerk's office. It is to be used 
 with care, however, for it contains much injected information not found in the town records. 
 The introduction states that to the town records "has been added names of persons, with 
 date of birth, to complete the family list and the date of the decease of persons where no 
 record is found in the Town Books, the record being supplied from gravestones and other 
 sources; there is added also a list of the marriages copied from the 1st Book of Records 
 of the Congregational Church of Berkley, kept by the pastor, Rev. Samuel Tobey ( 1737- 
 1754)." Few of these entries appear in the town records. For gravestone records, see N.E. 
 Hist. Gen. Society Register, vol. VIII, p. 286. 
 
 40 The Dartmouth Proprietors' records are in the Registry of Deeds at New Bedford. 
 
 41 The vital records of Dighton are in type script. The original records of the Dighton First 
 Baptist Church, from 1808 to 1850, are in the Old Colony Historical Society at Taunton. 
 A copy of the early record book, compiled by Miss Helen Kimball is in the New England 
 Historic Genealogical Society library. 
 
 42 The names of the Easton proprietors are in the records of the Taunton North Purchase 
 Company, in custody of the Clerk of that company. MS records, compiled by Mrs. Ella F. 
 Huntoon, are in the safe at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 43 All Fairhaven records from 1812 to 1815 are lost. 
 
 44 The Proprietors' records for the first twenty-four years of the "Freeman Purchase" of the 
 twenty-six lots, afterwards Freetown, are lost, undoubtedly in the fire which destroyed the 
 house of Selectman James Winslow, about 1870. The Freetown town records, from 1683 
 to 1688, were probably kept in this lost volume. Mrs. Eugene A. Herbert, the Freetown 
 genealogist now in her 94th year (1956), told the writer, in 1946, that she remembered 
 talking with persons who had seen and read these lost records. She further said that about 
 1930 the Freetown book of births, marriages, and deaths, was taken to Boston to be pre- 
 served by the Emery process. At some point in the journey, the first sheet in the book, 
 compactly written on both sides by Samuel Gardner, the first town clerk, was lost and 
 unfortunately never found. Some sixty years ago, when Palo Alto Peirce was town clerk, 
 Mrs. Katharine Peabody, living in 1946, wrote an index for this book. She said that the town 
 clerk had his son, Pembroke, a boy about fifteen years old, read the old records and had 
 her do the writing. Unable to decipher some of the old writing, the boy guessed at what he 
 couldn't read. She said that she made some corrections in the names as he read them, but 
 that there were many that she herself could not read. As would be expected, this index is 
 very inaccurate and cannot be safely used without a careful rechecking with, the original 
 entries. 
 
 At the Old Colony Historical Society at Taunton is a manuscript book, size 6% x 8 
 inches, of 197 pages of "Marriages copied from Books I, II, III, and V of Freetown Records, 
 with 323 names gathered from the Records of Surrounding towns wherein one or both 
 
Bristol County 25 
 
 of the Contracting Parties belonged in Freetown. Palo Alto Peirce, Town Clerk." There 
 is, also, another manuscript book, size 7% by 9% inches, of 121 pages, entitled "A copy 
 of ye Deaths in Books I, II, III, V, and VI of ye Records of ye Ancient Town of Freetown, 
 Massachusetts (1686-1844)". The birth, marriage, and death records of the town, and the 
 MS of Rev. S. Brett's marriages, 1748-76, are in the New England Historic Genealogical 
 Society. See its Register, vol. IV, p. 33. 
 
 45 The North Attleborough vital records are included in the ATTLEBOROUGH vital records. 
 
 46 The Norton town records from 1760 to 1769 are missing. 
 
 47 Rehoboth, originally Seekonk (1643); name changed, 1645. The original Rehoboth 
 Proprietors' Records, in five volumes, from 1660 to 1848, are at the Bristol County Registry 
 of Deeds at Taunton. These books have all been copied, but must be checked with the 
 originals, for there are numerous errors in transcribing. For instance, in volume I, p. 13, 
 John Fites, should read Fitch; on pp. 15 and 41, Edward Saile should read Saris; on p. 28, 
 Nathaniel Palmer should read Paine; on p. 32, Mr. Vilbeame should read Pilbeame; on p. 36, 
 James Calrks should read Clarks; and on p. 63, John Button, although correctly copied from 
 the original, should read Sutton. In the same office is also another book entitled "Proprietors' 
 of Rehoboth, Meetings [1730-1841]." 
 
 A copy of Baptisms from Rehoboth Church Records, by Rev. Thomas Greenwood, from 
 17 Feb. 1694 to 17 Apr. 1709, with Records of the Greenwood Family, is printed in New 
 England Historic Genealogical Society Register, vol. XV, pp. 67-72, 239-240. 
 
 A copy of Rehoboth baptisms and marriages, from 22 Oct. 1721 to 28 Nov. 1777, from 
 the Book of Church Records of the First Church in Rehoboth, made by Hubbard Winston 
 Bryant, Boston, 1860, is in the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society 
 at Boston. In the original is a note reading: "Rehoboth Feb. 21, 1738/9— This book was 
 given me by my honored father Rev. Thomas Greenwood (Signed) John Greenwood, 
 Pastor". 
 
 The only extant original record of the Palmer's River church, organized in 1721, is the 
 Rehoboth Second Precinct Book (1759-1827), 395 pp., in the possession of the Rehoboth 
 Congregational Church Society at Rehoboth. 
 
 The original Records of the Church of Christ in Rehoboth under the Pastoral care of 
 Nathan Parce and Thomas Simeons, Elders, from January 1789 to 13 June 1842, are in the 
 possession of the Old Colony Historical Society at Taunton, presented to the Society by 
 Nancy Huldah Wilmarth. A MS Wilmarth genealogy is in the possession of the New Eng- 
 land Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 Many of the Rehoboth 1782 to 1795 marriages recorded at the County Court House, at 
 Taunton, do not appear in Arnold's Rehoboth Vital Records. 
 
 48 The Seekonk vital records (including East Providence and Pawtucket, R. I., and the New- 
 man Congregational Church), are found in James N. Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode 
 Island, vol. IX. 
 
 49 The Swansea records of deaths, from 1800 to 1843, are missing. The earliest Swansea 
 records of births, marriages, and deaths is "Book A (1663-1709)". Alverdo H. Mason 
 transcribed and printed these records in 1900, and did an excellent job. The earliest town 
 records are found in the volume of Swansea Town Meetings (1667-1793), 312 pages, and 
 the Swansea Proprietors' Book, Grants and Meetings (1668-1769), 153 pages. A manu- 
 script index of Swansea vital records, compiled by a former town clerk, was copied and 
 published in 1930 by Marion Pearce Carter under the title "A copy of the Index of Swan- 
 sea Mass. Vital Records, Book B and a few Records of Book D, vol. VIII". This index must 
 be used with great care, for when the town clerk compiled his list he used his imagination 
 a great deal and included much not found in the original records, especially in coupling 
 up marriages. Among the Swansea 1783 to 1795 marriage records recorded at the Taunton 
 County Court House, are many which do not appear in the Swansea records. The original 
 Sowam's Proprietors' Records, Swansea, commencing with the copy of Massasoit's deed of 
 March 1653, is in the town clerk's office at Barrington, R. I. These records were published 
 in 1908 by Thomas W. Bicknell, under the title of Sowams, with Ancient Records of Swan- 
 sea and Parts Adjacent. 
 
 50 The Taunton records prior to 1804 were lost in the $110,000 fire which started at four 
 o'clock Sunday morning 23 Sept. 1838 and destroyed twenty-five buildings, including the 
 library and valuable manuscripts of Francis Baylies, the historian. Edmund Anthony was 
 Town Clerk (1835 to 1845) and also publisher of the weekly Bristol County Democrat. 
 The following Friday issue of the newspaper states that the building occupied by "Edward 
 Anthony as Town Clerk's office and office of the Bristol County Democrat was burned; 
 loss $800; Town Records mostly saved" [Bristol County Democrat, 28 Sept. 1838]. 
 
 The following Taunton Proprietors' Records are extant: The first four (or five) volumes, 
 1642 to 1816, bound in one volume, preserved by the Emery process, are in the clerk's 
 office, Taunton City Hall. Four volumes of the Proprietors' North Purchase records, com- 
 mencing in 1668, are in the possession of the Old Colony Historical Society. One volume 
 of the Proprietors' South Purchase records, commencing in 1672, is in the office of the 
 Taunton Registry of Deeds. These proprietors' books contain Taunton marriage, birth, and 
 death records from 1660 to 1700. 
 
26 Massachusetts Records 
 
 COUNTY OF DUKES COUNTY 
 
 Established 1 Nov. 1683 by act of Legislature of 
 the Province of New York. It is peculiar in its 
 name inasmuch as it is the only county where the 
 word county appears twice. Incorporated by the 
 Province of the Massachusetts Bay 22 June 1695. 51 
 The Registries of Deeds and Probate, and office of 
 the Clerk of the Courts is at Edgartown, the shire- 
 town. 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in Dukes County, commencing in 1696, and the Minute Books 
 commencing in 1719, are in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The principal records in the County Court House are as follows: 
 one large volume of miscellaneous records for the island of Martha's 
 Vineyard, chiefly court, from 1665 to 1715, covering a period of 
 
 51 In 1641, Thomas Mayhew, of Watertown, Mass., a former merchant, of Southampton, 
 England, purchased the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands 
 from the Earl of Stirling. Later, a better title was claimed by Sir Fernando Gorges, who 
 styled himself "Lord Palentine of the Province of Maine". Mayhew purchased the islands 
 for the second time. In 1642, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., established a settlement at Martha's 
 Vineyard. From that time until 1665 it was virtually an independent colony, owned by 
 Thomas Mayhew and his only son, co-patentee Thomas Mayhew, Jr. Then the Duke of 
 York, later King James II of England, purchased the Lord Stirling patents and asserted 
 his claim to the overlordship of Martha's Vineyard and adjacent islands. On 8 July 1671, 
 Thomas Mayhew had to make purchase of the islands for the third time. He received a 
 patent for some of the islands and for "Tysbury Manor", on Martha's Vineyard, naming 
 him and eldest grandson joint lords and "their Heyres and Assigns". He received also, a 
 commission as Governor of Martha's Vineyard "during his natural life" over the English 
 and Indian inhabitants. 
 
 On 28 June 1671, Gov. Francis Lovelace, "by vertue of ye Commission and Authority 
 unto mee given by His Royall Highnesse upon whom (as well by ye Resignation & Assign- 
 ment of ye Heyres of ye said William Earle of Sterling and also by Lawfull Grant & Patent 
 from his Royall Ma tie Charles the second) ye Propriety & Government of Long Island, 
 Martins Vineyard, Nantucket, & all ye Islands adjacent, . . . gave, granted, ratified, and 
 confirmed" unto Tristam Coffin Sen 1 " and Thomas Macy as Patentees for & only on ye 
 behalfe of themselves & their associates ye Inhabitants ffreeholders ... ye said Island 
 called Nantuckett Island, ... so much thereof as hath by them been made Purchase of". 
 The following day, Governor Lovelace conveyed Tuckaruckett Island to Tristam Coffin Sen 1 ", 
 Peter Coffin, Tristam Coffin Jun r , and James Coffin [N.Y. Book of Patents, vol. IV, p. 70]. 
 
 On 8 July 1671, Governor Lovelace granted to Thomas Mayhew Sen r and Thomas 
 Mayhew Jun r "A certain Island ... in length over against ye Maine near East and West 
 and being to ye North West of ye Island Nantuckett", containing lands bought of the 
 Indians called Chickemote, Keep-hickon, Quinaimes, Nashowa-Kemmuck, "together with 
 two of ye Elizabeth Islands called Kataymuck & Nanname-sitt and several other small and 
 inconsiderable islands in Monument Bay ... to be called and knowne by ye name of 
 Tysbury Manno r ." [Ibid., vol. IV, p. 73]. 
 
 By an act passed by the legislature of the Province of New York 1 Nov. 1683, entitled 
 "An act to divide this province and dependences into shires and Countyes" the County of 
 Dukes County was established to contain the Island of Nantucket, Martin's Vineyard, Eliz- 
 abeth Island, and nomans Land". By the Province Charter of 1691, the "Isles of Cappawock 
 and Nantucket, near Cape Cod" were granted to the Province of Massachusetts. On 
 13 June 1693, the Province Laws refer to the "Islands of Capawack, abas Martha's Vine- 
 yard". On 22 June 1695 (Province Laws, vol. I, p. 216) it was ordered that. "The Islands 
 of Martha's Vineyard, Elizabeth Islands, the islands Nomans's land, and all the dependencies 
 formerly belonging to Dukes County (the Island of Nantucket only excepted) shall be and 
 remain, and continue to be one county to all intents and purposes, by the name of Dukes 
 County". 
 
Essex County 27 
 
 eighteen years before the establishment of the County of Dukes 
 County by the New York Legislature; the Inferior Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas records commencing 31 Mar. 1722; Court of Sessions, 
 18 May 1808; Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 15 May 
 1687; Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 13 May 1814; Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, 20 May 1822; Superior Court, 2 July 1859. There are no 
 Marriage records in the Clerk's Office. The earliest Notaries Public 
 records commence in 1807. There is one large volume of miscel- 
 laneous records, chiefly court, from 1665 to 1715. It contains the 
 records of three terms of a court called "Court of Sessions", held 
 in 1680, 1681, and 1684. These records are for the island of Martha s 
 Vineyard commencing eighteen years before the County of Dukes 
 County was established by the Legislature of the Province of New 
 York. See Charles E. Banks' MS on Dukes County in the New 
 England Historic Genealogical Society at Boston, for court, probate, 
 deeds, and other records. 
 
 Town in Dukes county and date of establishment or incorpora- 
 tion: 
 
 *Chilmark ( 1694 ) Gayhead 52 ( 1856 ) *Tisbury ( 1671 ) 
 
 *Edgartown ( 1671 ) Gosnold ( 1864 ) West Tisbury ( 1892 ) 
 
 Oak Bluffs (1907) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 ESSEX COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 10 May 1643. The county is divided 
 into two districts for the registry of deeds. Prior 
 to 1869 the Registry for the whole of Essex County 
 was at Salem. The Registry of Probate and the 
 office of the Clerk of the Courts are at Salem, one 
 of three shire-towns. 
 
 Northern District 
 
 Established 1 Oct. 1869. Registry at Lawrence, a shire-town. The 
 city and towns constituting the district are Andover, Lawrence, 
 Methuen, and North Andover. 
 
 Southern District 
 
 Registry at Salem, a shire-town. The cities and towns constituting 
 the district are Amesbury, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, George- 
 town, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, 
 
 52 One volume of Gayhead town records from 1876 to 1880 is lost. 
 
28 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Lynn, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Merrimac, Middleton, 
 Nahant, Newbury, Newburyport (a shire-town), Peabody, Rock- 
 port, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield, 
 Wenham, and West Newbury. In this Registry are three series of 
 records: The Ipswich series, 1640 to 1694; the old county of Norfolk 
 series, 1637 to 1714; and the present Salem series beginning in 
 1640. There are also several hundred unrecorded deeds which are 
 kept separate, but can be seen by request. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature held 
 in Essex County, commencing in 1693, and the Minute Books, com- 
 mencing in 1702, are in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The principal records in the County Court House are as follows: 
 The County Court records commencing 20 Jan. 1636; Inferior Court 
 of Common Pleas, 27 Jan. 1692; Court of Sessions, 10 May 1808; 
 Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 27 June 1693; Circuit Court 
 of Common Pleas, 30 Dec. 1811; Court of Common Pleas, 3 Dec. 
 1782; Superior Court, 5 Sept. 1859; Criminal Court, 8 May 1849. 
 There are four volumes of Marriage records. The first volume, 
 1654 to 1691, contains the records of ten towns; the second volume, 53 
 1681 to 1786, twenty-one towns; the third volume, 1776 to 1795, 
 twenty-three towns; and the fourth volume, 1631 to 1791, seven 
 towns, a total of sixty-one towns. 54 The earliest Notaries Public 
 record commences in 1803. Miscellaneous records, 1836. The Essex 
 Institute has printed the Essex Quarterly Court Files ( 1636-1680). 
 
 Cities and towns in Essex county and date of establishment or 
 incorporation: 
 
 *Amesbury 55 (1668) 
 *Andover 56 (1646) 
 *BEVERLY 57 (1668) 
 *Boxford (1694) 
 *Danvers (1752) 
 *Essex (1819) 
 ^Georgetown (1838) 
 ^GLOUCESTER (1642) 
 Groveland (1850) 
 ^Hamilton (1793) 
 *HAVERHILL (1641) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 * Ipswich (1634) 
 ^LAWRENCE (1847) 
 ^LYNN 58 (1637) 
 *Lynnfield (1782) 
 ^Manchester 59 (1645) 
 *Marblehead 60 (1635) 
 
 Merrimac ( 1876 ) 
 *Methuen (1725) 
 *Middleton (1728) 
 
 Nahant (1853) 
 
 * Newbury (1635) 
 *NEWBURYPORT ( 1764 
 
 North Andover (1855) 
 PEABODY (1868) 
 *Rockport (1840) 
 ^Rowley 61 (1639) 
 *SALEM 62 (1630) 
 
 * Salisbury 63 (1640) 
 *Saugus (1815) 
 
 Swampscott (1852) 
 ^Topsfield 64 (1648) 
 
 * Wenham 65 (1643) 
 
 * West Newbury (1820) 
 
 53 This is a volume of the Ipswich court series, and also contains a record of births and 
 deaths. 
 
 54 For names of the sixty-one towns, see First Report of the Mass. Commissioner of Public 
 Records (1885), pp. 340, 341. There are many volumes of records of innholders licenses, 
 etc., stored in the attic of the Essex County court house. 
 
QOVNTy 
 
 -"+> OF ►+ 
 
 Franklin County 29 
 
 FRANKLIN COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 24 June 1811. Registry of Deeds 
 tiPM* ^V at Greenfield. On 1 Mar. 1787, three Registries 
 of Deeds were established in Hampshire County: 
 one at Northampton for twenty-two towns, one 
 at Deerfield "for towns north of the above", and 
 ?§Sno?(&^ one at Springfield "for towns south of the 
 above." The "towns north of the above" at that 
 time, and conseqently within the jurisdiction of the Registry at 
 Deerfield, were probably Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Charle- 
 mont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Greenfield, Heath, Leverett, 
 Leyden, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Rowe, Shel- 
 burne, Shutesbury, Sunderland, Warwick, Wendell, and Whately. 
 The records for these towns prior to 1787, are in the Registry of 
 Deeds at Springfield. 
 
 With the completion of the Quabbin Dam in 1936 and the conse- 
 quent flooding of the area in the development of a water system, 
 most of the town of Greenwich, Hampshire Co., was submerged 
 and parts of the town, not under water, were annexed to the towns 
 of New Salem, Franklin Co., and Petersham, Worcester Co., under 
 provision of the Acts of 1938, Chapter 240, Sections 3a and 3b. 
 
 The Registry of Probate and the office of the Clerk of the Courts 
 are at Greenfield, the shire-town. The following are the principal 
 records in the County Court House: The Court of Sessions records 
 commencing 5 Mar. 1812; Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 12 Mar. 
 1812; Court of Common Pleas, 13 Aug. 1821; Superior Court, 8 Aug. 
 
 55 One volume of Amesbury births, marriages, and deaths covering the years from 1666 to 
 1686 is lost. MS Epitaphs are in the New England Historic Genealogical Society library. 
 
 58 It is believed that some of the earliest Andover proprietors' and miscellaneous records 
 from 1643 to 1703 were destroyed. 
 
 57 There is a record of marriages in other towns of residents of Beverly from 1683 to 1799. 
 
 58 The greater part of the old Lynn records were burned in 1863. 
 
 59 The early Manchester records are badly kept and show omissions of many years. The sec- 
 ond volume is so illegible and mutilated as to be useless as a record. 
 
 60 The second volume of Marblehead town records, 1710 to 1721, is lost. 
 
 61 One volume of the Rowley proprietors' records is in the Massachusetts State Library. 
 
 62 The Essex Institute has printed the Salem town meetings, church, and other records. 
 Court cases of today's town of Hampton, N. H., are now at Salem as Hampton was part 
 of Norfolk Co. in the 17th century. When Norfolk Co. was abolished, it became part of 
 Essex and its records were incorporated in Essex Co. records at Salem. 
 
 63 The Salisbury town records were called proprietors' records until 1738. 
 
 64 The Topsfield records from 1650 to 1675 are lost. The original records of births, mar- 
 riages, and deaths from 1645 to 1695 are lost, but the omissions have been supplied by 
 copies made from the County Court records. 
 
 65 The Wenham assessors' records from 1778 to 1782 are missing. 
 
30 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 1859. There are no marriage records in the Clerk's Office. The 
 earliest Notaries Public records commence in 1872; the earliest Mis- 
 cellaneous records, in 1836. 
 
 Towns in Franklin county and date of establishment or in- 
 corporation: 
 
 *Ashfieid 66 (1765) 
 Bernardston 67 (1762) 
 
 *Buckland 0S (1779) 
 
 *Charlemont (1765) 
 
 *Colrain 69 (1761) 
 
 *Conway (1767) 
 
 * Deerfield 70 (1677) 
 Erving (1838) 
 
 *Gill (1793) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 ^Greenfield (1753) 
 Hawley 71 (1792) 
 
 * Heath (1785) 
 Leverett ( 1774 ) 
 Leyden (1784) 
 Monroe (1822) 
 
 * Montague 72 (1754) 
 *New Salem 73 (1753) 
 
 * Northfield 74 (1714) 
 Orange ( 1783 ) 
 Rowe (1785) 
 
 *Shelburne (1768) 
 Shutesbury ( 1761 ) 
 Sunderland 75 (1718) 
 Warwick (1763) 
 Wendell ( 1781 ) 
 
 *Whately 76 (1771) 
 
 HAMPDEN COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 25 Feb. 1812. The Registries of 
 Deeds and Probate and the office of the Clerk 
 of the Courts are at Springfield, the shire-town. 
 On 1 Mar. 1787, three Registries of Deeds were 
 established in Hampshire County; one at North- 
 ampton for twenty-two towns, one at Deerfield 
 "for towns north of the above", and one at 
 Springfield "for towns south of the above." The "towns south of 
 the above" at that time, and consequently within the jurisdiction 
 of the Registry at Springfield at that time, were probably Bland- 
 ford, Brimfield, Granville, Holland, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Monson, 
 Montgomery, Palmer, South Brimfield (now Wales), Southwick, 
 Springfield, Tolland, Westfield, West Springfield, and Wilbraham. 
 
 66 No Ashfield records were kept prior to 1776. 
 
 67 MS birth, marriage, and death records for Bernardston are in the New England Historic 
 Genealogical Society library. 
 
 68 All Buckland records were burned 22 July 1876. The vital records of Colrain and Montague 
 are bound together in the Buckland volume. 
 
 69 The vital records of Colrain are bound in the Buckland volume. 
 
 70 The Deerfield proprietors' records are in the possession of the Pocomtuck Valley Memorial 
 Association. 
 
 71 For Hawley vital records, see Atkin's History of Hawley. 
 
 72 The records of Montague are scattered; a part are at Turner's Falls in possession of the 
 Town Clerk; a part at Montague Center, and parts in other places. The vital records are 
 bound in the Buckland volume. 
 
 73 All the New Salem records prior to 1855 were burned in that year. 
 
 74 The first volume of Northfield town records from 1723 to 1766 is lost. A book of birth, 
 marriage, and death records is in the Dickinson Library, Northfield, titled "Alexander Papers, 
 No. 8". 
 
 75 The Sunderland town records from 1673 to 1713 are lost. 
 
 76 The Whately records of births, marriages, and deaths, prior to 1850, were compiled from 
 private records. 
 
Hampden County 31 
 
 The Registry at Springfield was the Registry for the original 
 county of Hampshire, which comprised the present county of 
 Berkshire until 1761; the present county of Franklin until 1811; 
 the present county of Hampden until 1812; certain towns after- 
 ward in the present county of Worcester; and the towns of Somers 
 and Suffield now in the State of Connecticut. It must be re- 
 membered that the Hampshire County Deeds to the time Hampden 
 County was formed, are at Springfield, and that the Hampshire 
 County Probates, including the present Hampden County for the 
 period before the division, are at Northampton. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 house: The Inferior Court of Common Pleas records commencing 
 6 June 1693; Court of Sessions, 14 Sept. 1812; Court of General 
 Sessions of the Peace, 25 Sept. 1694; Circuit Court of Common 
 Pleas, 31 Aug. 1812; Court of Common Pleas, 21 Aug. 1821; 
 Superior Court, 3 Oct. 1859. There are no marriage records in 
 the Clerk's Office. In 1885 the early records of the Magistrates 
 for this jurisdiction, commencing about 1636 and called the 
 Pynchon Records, were in the possession of Henry Morris of 
 Springfield. 
 
 Cities and towns in Hampden county and date of establishment 
 or incorporation: 
 
 Agawam ( 1855 ) Holland ( 1783 ) Russell 82 ( 1792 ) 
 
 Blandford 77 ( 1741 ) HOLYOKE ( 1850 ) Southwick 83 ( 1770 ) 
 
 *Brimfield 78 ( 1714 ) Longmeadow 79 ( 1783 ) SPRINGFIELD 84 ( 1641 ) 
 
 ^Chester ( 1783 ) Ludlow ( 1774 ) Tolland ( 1810 ) 
 
 CHICOPEE ( 1848 ) Monson 80 ( 1760 ) Wales 85 ( 1828 ) 
 
 East Longmeadow ( 1894 ) ^Montgomery ( 1780 ) Westfield ( 1669 ) 
 
 ^Granville ( 1754 ) *Palmer 81 ( 1752 ) * West Springfield ( 1774 ) 
 
 Hampden ( 1878 ) Wilbraham 86 ( 1763 ) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 77 The Blandford records prior to 1742 were lost by fire. 
 
 78 The Brimfield proprietors' records previous to 1731 were lost by fire. 
 
 79 For Longmeadow families, births, marriages, and deaths, and some account of what be- 
 came of the children, see the New England Historical & Genealogical Register, vols. XXXI- 
 XXXVIII, and vol. XLIX. 
 
 80 There is no record of Monson marriages from 1762 to 1800. 
 
 81 The Palmer records prior to 1841 are incomplete; those from 1807 to 1818 were lost by 
 fire. The proprietors' and some of the older town records were in the public library build- 
 ing in 1893. 
 
 82 The Russell records prior to 1804 were in loose sheets, not bound; these sheets are lost. 
 
 83 A volume of Southwick town records from 1819 to 1834 is missing. 
 
 84 The Springfield town records from 1664 to 1681 are incomplete. 
 
 85 A MS copy of the town records of Wales, by Absalom Gardner, may be consulted at the 
 Town Clerk's office. 
 
 86 In 1913, a Mr. Peck made a MS copy of the Town of Wilbraham vital records. 
 
32 Massachusetts Records 
 
 HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 7 May 1662. Registries of Deeds 
 and Probate and office of the Clerk of the Courts 
 are at Northampton, the shire-town. A registry 
 was established at Northampton 1 March 1787 
 for the towns of Amherst, Belchertown, Chester 
 (part annexed to Norwich, 1853), Chesterfield, 
 Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, 
 Greenwich (now non-existent), Hadley, Hatfield, Middlefield, 
 Northampton, Norwich (now Huntington), Pelham, Plainfield, 
 Southampton, South Hadley, Ware, Westhampton, Williamsburg, 
 and Worthington. The records for these towns prior to 1787 are in 
 the Registry of Deeds at Springfield, Hampden Co., incorporated 
 25 Feb. 1812. 
 
 With the completion of the Quabbin Dam in 1936 and the sub- 
 sequent flooding of the area in the development of a water system, 
 most of the town of Greenwich, Hampshire Co., was submerged 
 and parts of the town, not under water, were annexed to the towns 
 of New Salem, Franklin Co., and Petersham, Worcester Co., under 
 provision of the Acts of 1938, Chapter 240, Sections 3a and 3b. 
 
 After the Quabbin Dam was built, many of the old records 
 of the submerged towns were stored in an office building at the dam 
 site. Among those especially noted were the Proprietors' Records of 
 the Town of Greenwich. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature held 
 in Hampshire county, commencing in 1716, and the Minute Books 
 commencing in 1728, are in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal court records in the County Court 
 House: The County Court records commencing 25 Sept. 1677; the 
 Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 7 Mar. 1726; Court of Sessions, 
 1 Jan. 1800; Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 4 Mar. 1728; 
 Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 4 Nov. 1811; Court of Common 
 Pleas, 26 Aug. 1783; Superior Court, 17 Oct. 1859. There are no 
 separate volumes containing records of marriages, but in the Gen- 
 eral Sessions of the Peace, vol. L, between the years 1786 to 1790 are 
 Marriage records in fourteen different towns 87 . The Notaries Public 
 records commence in 1813. There are no miscellaneous records in 
 the Clerk's Office. 
 
 87 For names of these towns, see First Report of Mass. Commissioner of Public Records 
 (1885), p. 347. 
 
Middlesex County 
 
 33 
 
 City and towns in Hampshire county and date of establishment 
 or incorporation: 
 
 Amherst 88 (1759) 
 Belchertown 89 ( 1761 ) 
 Chesterfield (1762) 
 Cummington 90 (1779) 
 Easthampton ( 1785 ) 
 Goshen ( 1781 ) 
 Granby (1768) 
 
 • The vital records are in print. 
 
 Hadley 91 (1661) 
 
 Hatfield 92 (1670) 
 ^Huntington ( 1855 ) 
 *Middlefield (1783) 
 
 NORTHAMPTON ( 1656 
 *Pelham (1743) 
 
 Plainfield (1785) 
 South Hadley (1753) 
 Southampton ( 1753 ) 
 Ware (1761) 
 Westhampton 93 (1778) 
 Williamsburg ( 1771 ) 
 ^Worthington (1768) 
 
 MIDDLESEX COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 10 May 1643. The county is di- 
 vided into two districts for the registry of deeds. 
 The Registry of Probate and the office of the 
 Clerk of the Courts are at Cambridge (East), one 
 of the two shire-towns. Prior to 1855 the Regis- 
 try for the whole of Middlesex County was at 
 Cambridge. 
 
 Northern Distrct 
 
 Established 1 July 1855. Registry at Lowell, the other shire- 
 town. The city and towns constituting the district are Billerica, 
 Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tewksbury, 
 Tyngsborough, Westford, and Wilmington. The town of Littleton 
 was in this district from 1 June 1856 to 1 June 1860. The records 
 of these towns from 1649 to 1855 are in the Registry at Cambridge. 
 
 Southern Distrct 
 
 Registry at Cambridge. The cities and towns constituting this 
 district are Acton, Arlington, Ashby, Ashland, Ayer, Bedford, 
 Belmont, Boxborough, Burlington, Cambridge, Concord, Everett, 
 Framingham, Groton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lexington, 
 
 88 A MS record of the Amherst church, and of three graveyards, are in the New England 
 Historic Genealogical Society library. 
 
 89 The Belchertown assessors' records for 1804 are missing. 
 
 90 Cummington gravestone MS records are in the New England Historic Genealogical Society 
 library. 
 
 91 Some Hadley 1748 death records are in the New England Historical & Genealogical 
 Register, vol. LV, p. 442. The MS records of six cemeteries, and a Diary, are in the vaults 
 of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 92 Hatfield has one volume of births, marriages, and deaths in the towns of Northampton, 
 Hadley, and Hatfield for the years 1655 to 1843. MS records of Hatfield births, marriages, 
 and deaths, 1662-1843, are in the vaults of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 93 The Westhampton birth, marriage, and death records prior to 1808 have been destroyed; 
 those prior to 1844 are incomplete. 
 
34 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Lincoln, Littleton (from 1 June 1856 to 1 June 1860 in the Middle- 
 sex Northern District), Malden, Marlborough, Maynard, Med- 
 ford, Melrose, Natick, Newton, North Reading, Pepperell, Read- 
 ing, Sherborn, Shirley, Somerville, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, 
 Townsend, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Weston, 
 Winchester, and Woburn. 
 
 In this Registry is a series of sixteen volumes called "Deeds of 
 Hopkinton and Upton", also, one, volume called "Littleton Rec- 
 ords", which is a copy of records in the Middlesex Northern Dis- 
 trict, of lands in Littleton. The first volume of births, marriages, and 
 deaths in Middlesex County, from 1632 to 1678, is bound in at the 
 end of the first volume relating to deeds. A copy of these vital 
 records is in the office of the Clerk of the Courts. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in Middlesex County, commencing in 1693 and the Minute 
 Books commencing in 1719, are in the office of the Clerk of the 
 Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal court records in the County 
 Court House: The County Court records 94 commencing 30 Oct. 
 1649; Inferior Court of Pleas, 4 Oct. 1692; Court of Sessions, 20 
 Sept. 1808; Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 19 July 1692; 
 Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 16 Dec. 1811; Court of Common 
 Pleas, 7 June 1783; Superior Court, 5 Sept. 1859. There are several 
 volumes of birth, marriage, and death records, 1651 to 1745, from 
 one hundred and three towns. 95 There are also two volumes of 
 Marriage records, 1733 to 1793, for sixty-one towns. 96 The Notaries 
 Public records commence in 1874; miscellaneous records, in 1791. 
 
 See Wyman's MS of Middlesex Court Files, 2 mss vols., at New 
 England Historic Genealogical Society. 
 
 Cities and towns in Middlesex county and date of establishment 
 or incorporation: 
 
 * Acton ( 1735 ) *Billerica ( 1655 ) *Dracut ( 1702 ) 
 
 * Arlington ( 1867 ) *Boxborough ( 1783 ) * Dunstable ( 1673 ) 
 Ashby m ( 1767 ) ^Burlington ( 1799 ) EVERETT ( 1870 ) 
 Ashland ( 1846 ) ^CAMBRIDGE ( 1636 ) *Framingham ( 1675 ) 
 Ayer ( 1871 ) ^Carlisle ( 1780 ) *Groton ( 1655 ) 
 
 ^Bedford ( 1729 ) ^Chelmsford ( 1655 ) *Holliston ( 1724 ) 
 
 Belmont ( 1859 ) ^Concord ( 1635 ) * Hopkinton 98 ( 1715 ) 
 
 9 ± Volume II of County Court records is lost. 
 
 95 For names of these towns see First Report of Mass. Commissioner of Public Records 
 
 (1885), p. 350. 
 
 06 For names of these sixty-one towns, see ibid., p. 351. 
 
 97 MS records of Ashby births, marriages, and deaths, 1754-1874, and Epitaphs, are in the 
 
 New England Historic Genealogical Society library. 
 
 9 « The Hopkinton proprietors' records are in the Registry of Deeds at East Cambridge. 
 
Nantucket County 
 
 35 
 
 * Hudson (1866) 
 ^Lexington (1713) 
 
 * Lincoln ( 1754 ) 
 ^Littleton (1715) 
 
 * LOWELL (1826) 
 *MALDEN" (1649) 
 
 * MARLBOROUGH (1660) 
 Maynard ( 1871 ) 
 
 *MEDFORD 100 (1630) 
 MELROSE (1850) 
 *Natick (1650) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 *NEWTON (1691) 
 North Reading (1853) 
 Pepperell (1753) 
 
 'Reading (1644) 
 
 *Sherborn (1674) 
 
 * Shirley (1753) 
 SOMERVILLE (1842; 
 
 *Stoneham (1725) 
 
 *Stow 101 (1683) 
 
 * Sudbury (1639) 
 
 *Tewksbury 102 (1734) 
 
 Townsend 103 (1732) 
 *Tyngsborough ( 1789 ) 
 6 Wakefield (1868) 
 *WALTHAM (1738) 
 *Watertown (1630) 
 *Wayland (1835) 
 *Westford (1729) 
 
 * Weston (1713) 
 
 * Wilmington 104 (1730) 
 Winchester (1850) 
 
 *WOBURN (1642) 
 
 ittlMMU*, 
 
 ^% 
 
 
 ^2^ 
 
 NANTUCKET COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 22 June 1695. Nantucket is both a 
 town and a county; same seal for both. 105 The 
 Registries of Deeds and Probate and the office 
 of the Clerk of the Courts are at Nantucket, 
 the shire-town. The terms of the Superior Court 
 of Judicature for Nantucket were held in Bris- 
 tol county; these records are in the office of the 
 Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. The 
 island of Nantucket was originally a part of Dukes County, 
 Province of New York ( see Dukes County, note 51 ) . 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: There are no County Court, Court of Sessions, or Circuit 
 Court of Common Pleas records. The Inferior Court of Common 
 Pleas records commence 3 Oct. 1721; Court of General Sessions 
 of the Peace, 3 Oct. 1721; Court of Common Pleas, 28 Mar. 1786; 
 Superior Court, 3 Oct. 1859. There are two volumes of Nantucket 
 marriage records, 1766 to 1790. The Notaries Public records com- 
 mence in 1840. There are no Miscellaneous records in the Clerk's 
 office. 
 
 Town in the Nantucket county and date of incorporation: 
 
 * Nantucket 106 ( 1795 ) * The vital records are in print. 
 
 99 The first volume of Maiden town records, 1649 to 1678, is lost. 
 
 100 The Medford town records from 1630 to 1670 are missing. 
 
 101 The Stow birth, marriage, and death records previous to 1713 were destroyed. 
 
 102 The Tewksbury death records from 1829 to 1844 were destroyed by fire. 
 
 103 Two volumes of Townsend birth and marriage records from 1780 to 1810 are lost. 
 
 104 The Wilmington town records from 1762 to 1786 are lost. 
 
 105 ". . . in Nantucket county the selectmen of Nantucket . . . shall, except as otherwise 
 provided, have the powers and perfonn the duties of County Commissioners" [Chapter 34, 
 Section 4 of the General Laws of Massachusetts], "Nantucket is both a town and a county; 
 same seal for both"— letter of 29 Oct. 1956 from James K. Glidden, Secretary of the Nan- 
 tucket Board of Selectmen. 
 106 One volume of Nantucket town records, 1754 to 1784, is missing. 
 
36 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 NORFOLK COUNTY 
 
 The present and second county of that name 
 was established 26 Mar. 1793. The Registries of 
 Deeds and Probate and the office of the Clerk 
 of the courts are at Dedham, the shire-town. 
 
 The original Norfolk county, incorporated 10 
 May 1643, 107 comprised Salisbury, Hampton, 
 Haverhill, Exeter, Dover, and Strawberry Bank 
 (afterwards Portsmouth). The records of the old Norfolk county 
 are in the Essex Southern District Registry at Salem (see Essex 
 County, ante). The second Norfolk county included "all the terri- 
 tory of the county of Suffolk not comprehended within the towns 
 of Boston and Chelsea." On the day the act took effect, an act was 
 passed continuing Hingham and Hull in Suffolk Co. On 18 June 
 1803 the towns of Hingham and Hull were annexed to Plymouth 
 County. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: The County Court records for this jurisdiction are in the 
 Suffolk county records. The Inferior Court of Common Pleas rec- 
 ords commence 24 Sept. 1793; Court of Sessions, 25 Apr. 1808; 
 Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 20 June 1793; Circuit 
 Court of Common Pleas, 22 Apr. 1812; Court of Common Pleas, 
 23 Apr. 1821; Superior Court, 25 Apr. 1859. There is one volume of 
 Marriages, 1793 to 1795, containing the records in twenty-one 
 towns. 108 The Notaries Public records commence in 1849. There 
 are no Miscellaneous records in the Clerk's Office. 
 
 City and towns in Norfolk county and date of establishment or 
 incorporation: 
 
 Avon (1888) 
 *Bellingham (1719) 
 *Braintree 109 (1640) 
 ^Brookline 110 (1705) 
 *Canton (1797) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 *Cohasset (1770) 
 *Dedham (1636) 
 *Dover (1784) 
 *Foxborough (1778 
 * Franklin (1778) 
 
 Holbrook (1872) 
 *Medfield m (1650) 
 *Medway llj2 (1713) 
 
 Millis (1885) 
 * Milton (1662) 
 
 107 The towns remaining in Norfolk county 4 Feb. 1680 were re-annexed to Essex county 
 [Mass. Bay Records, vol. V, p. 264]. 
 
 108 -por the names of these twenty-one towns, see First Report of Mass. Commissioner of 
 Public Records (1885), p. 354. 
 
 109 A Braintree bible record is in the New England Historic Genealogical Society library. 
 
 110 The Brookline town records from 1686 to 1697 are missing from the first volume. 
 
 111 One volume of Medfield town records, from 1860 to 1874, was lost by fire. 
 
 113 Some of the Medway birth, marriage, and death records destroyed in the fire of 1870, 
 have since been copied from records at the State House. 
 
Needham (1711) 
 Norfolk (1870) 
 Norwood (1872) 
 Plainville (1905) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 Plymouth County 
 
 QUINCY (1792) 
 Randolph (1793) 
 *Sharon (1783) 
 *Stoughton u3 (1726) 
 *Walpole m (1724) 
 
 37 
 
 Wellesley (1881) 
 Westwood ( 1897 ) 
 * Weymouth 115 (1635) 
 *Wrentham (1673) 
 
 PLYMOUTH COUNTY 
 
 Established by order of the Plymouth Colony 
 General Court 2 June 1685. The Registries of 
 Deeds and Probate, and office of the Clerk of 
 the Courts are at Plymouth, the shire-town. All 
 of the early original Plymouth Colony records 
 previous to 2 June 1685 are in the Registry 
 of Deeds. As Plymouth was the first town in 
 the colony, there are also many early records in the office of the 
 Plymouth Town Clerk, beginning in 1637. 
 
 The first entry appearing in "Plimouths great Book of Deeds of 
 Lands Enrolled" is dated 1620. Copies of the first two volumes of 
 Plymouth "Town Proceedings" are at the court house; also a copy 
 of the first of ten volumes of births, marriages, and deaths. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in Bristol County, commencing in 1693 and the Minute 
 Books from 1719, are in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: The County Court records commencing 25 Sept. 1686; 
 Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 20 June 1702; Court of Sessions, 
 15 Mar. 1808; Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 15 Sept. 
 1730; Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 23 Nov. 1812; Court of 
 Common Pleas, 7 Oct. 1783; Superior Court, 1850. Volume II of 
 the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, and volumes I, II, III and 
 IV of the Court of the General Sessions of the Peace contain 
 birth, marriage, and death records in fourteen towns covering the 
 period from 1724 to 1788. 116 The Notaries Public records com- 
 mence in 1770. There are no Miscellaneous records in the Clerk's 
 Office. 
 
 u3 Printed in 1896, a MS copy of the Stoughton vital records is in the New England His- 
 toric Genealogical Society library. 
 
 114 The Walpole records, from 1776, to 1780, are missing from the first volume. 
 
 115 The Weymouth records of births from 1644 to 1654; marriages from 1663 to 1700; 
 deaths from 1642 to 1655; the year 1657; and from 1661 to 1699 are missing. 
 
 116 For names of these fourteen towns, see First B.eport of Mass. Commissioner of Public 
 Records (1885), p. 355. 
 
38 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 City and towns in Plymouth county and date of establishment 
 or incorporation: 
 
 *Abington (1712) 
 
 * Bridge water (1656) 
 * BROCKTON (1874) 
 
 * Carver (1790) 
 *Duxbury 117 (1637) 
 *East Bridgewater ( 1823 \ 
 ^Halifax (1734) 
 *Hanover (1727) 
 *Hanson (1820) 
 
 * Hingham 118 (1635) 
 *Hull 119 (1644) 
 
 * Kingston (1726) 
 Lakeville 120 (1853) 
 Marion (1852) 
 Marshfield (1640) 
 Mattapoisett ( 1857 ) 
 Middleborough 121 (1669 
 Norwell (1888) 
 
 ^Pembroke (1712) 
 
 * Plymouth 1 - 2 (1620) 
 *PIympton (1707) 
 
 * Rochester (1686) 
 Rockland (1874) 
 
 * Scituate 123 (1633) 
 Wareham (1739) 
 
 * West Bridgewater ( 1822 ) 
 Whitman (1886) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 SUFFOLK COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 10 May 1643. There is no official 
 seal for Suffolk County. 124 The Registries of 
 Deeds and Probate and the office of the Clerk 
 of the Courts are at Boston, the shire-town. 
 Vol. CXII, January to July 1768; and vol. 
 CXIV, January, February, and March 1769, 
 were lost, probably in moving the records to 
 Dedham as authorized by the General Court 8 Feb. 1776. Many 
 of the early volumes of records have been copied and printed by 
 the Boston Record Commissioners. 
 
 Under Governor Andros's administration of the Dominion of 
 New England, 1686-1689, all wills for the colonies of Massachu- 
 setts Bay, New Plymouth, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, 
 
 U7 Duxbury— For vital record files, see the Mayflower Descendant. 
 
 118 The town of Hingham was taken out of Norfolk co., 18 June 1803, and annexed to 
 Plymouth Co. There are MSS of some of the early Hingham records at the New England 
 Historic Genealogical Society for use of members only. 
 
 119 The town of Hull was taken out of Norfolk Co., 18 June 1803, and annexed to Plymouth 
 Co. 
 
 120 Lakeville— for gravestone records, see Register, vol. VIII, p. 287. 
 
 121 The Middleborough proprietors' records prior to 1675 are lost. 
 
 122 Plymouth— Vital records are found in the various numbers of the Mayflower Quarterly. 
 Frederic Freeman's History of Cape Cod (2 vols., 1860-1862), is still the best history of 
 the Cape towns. 
 
 123 The first volume of Scituate births, marriages, and deaths is lost. Many emigrations have 
 been made from this town. In 1640, to Barnstable, when nearly half of the population de- 
 parted. In 1650, to York and vicinity. In 1658, to Barbados. In 1670, to Behoboth and 
 Swansey. In 1690, to Norwich, Conn. In 1710, to Newport and Scituate, Bhode Island. In 
 1760, to Chesterfield, Vermont, and soon after, to Turner, Harpswell, and Topsham, Maine 
 [Samuel Deane, Hist, of Scituate (Boston, 1831), p. iii]. 
 
 124 ". . . in Suffolk county, the mayor and city council of Boston, the municipal council of 
 Chelsea and the City Council of Bevere, in their respective cities, and the selectmen of 
 Winthrop in said town, shall, except as otherwise provided, have the powers and perform 
 the duties of County Commissioners (Chapter 34, Section 4 of the General Laws of Massa- 
 chusetts). The City of Boston pays all the strictly County expenses of the County of Suf- 
 folk"-Walter J. Malloy, Clerk of Boston City Council, letter of 18 Oct. 1956. 
 
Suffolk County 39 
 
 Connecticut, Province of New York, and East and West New 
 Jersey, were probated in Boston, consequently are not found in 
 the various Colony County Registries where they properly belong. 
 These records are now in Suffolk Registry of Probate, Boston. 125 
 
 Block Island was first claimed by Massachusetts as in the town 
 of "Boston, Suffolk Co.," until set off to Rhode Island in its 
 charter of 1663. Previous to this date, the land records of this 
 Island are in the Suffolk County Registry of deeds. A transcript of 
 the first volume of Block Island town records is in the library of 
 the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
 
 This Island passed into the possession of Massachusetts in 1636 
 "by right of conquest" due to Colonel Endicott's punitive expedition 
 after the Indians murdered Captain Oldham. This transfer was 
 acknowledged in January, 1638, when the Block Island Indians 
 sent three men, with ten fathoms of wampum for part of their 
 tribute to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
 
 The following are the principal court records in the County 
 Court House: The County Court Records commencing 27 Apr. 
 1680; Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 27 July 1686; Court of 
 Sessions, 22 Nov. 1808; Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 
 21 Apr. 1796; Circuit Court of Common Pleas, 30 Nov. 1810; 
 Superior Court of the County of Suffolk, 6 Nov. 1855; Superior 
 Court, 5 July 1859. In the cellar of the Court House are eleven 
 chests of Notaries Public records. There are several hundred vol- 
 umes of Miscellaneous records commencing in 1782. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in the various counties, commencing in 1693 and the Minute 
 Books commencing in 1719, are in the office of the Clerk of the 
 Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 From 1867 to 1911, several cities and towns were annexed to 
 Boston in the following order: Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestown, 
 Brighton, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and parts of Brookline. The 
 records of all these extinct cities and towns are in the Boston City 
 Hall. Nathaniel I. Bowditch's valuable map of the early estates 
 of Boston is on file in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds. 
 
 Cities and town in Suffolk county and date of establishment or 
 incorporation: 
 
 ^BOSTON ( 1630 ) ^CHELSEA ( 1739 ) Winthrop ( 1852 ) 
 
 REVERE (1871) 
 
 ° The vital records are in print. 
 
 125 For an index of these wills, compiled by Mary L. and Winifred L. Hohnan, F.A.S.G., see 
 The American Genealogist, vol. XII, pp. 175, 222; vol. XIII, p. 98; and vol. XIV, p. 34. 
 
40 Massachusetts Records 
 
 WORCESTER COUNTY 
 
 Incorporated 2 Apr. 1731. Registry of Probate 
 and office of Clerk of the Courts at Worcester, 
 one of the two shire-towns. The county is di- 
 vided into two districts for the registry of 
 deeds. Prior to 1 Aug. 1884, the Registry for 
 the whole of Worcester County was at Worces- 
 ter. 
 
 Worcester District 
 
 Registry at Worcester, a shire town. The cities and towns 
 constituting the district are Athol, Auburn, Barre, Berlin, Black- 
 stone, Bolton, Boylston, Brookfield, Charlton, Clinton, Douglas, 
 Dudley, East Brookfield, Gardner, Grafton, Hardwick, Harvard, 
 Holden, Hopedale, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leicester, Mendon, 
 Milford, Millbury, Millville, New Braintree, North Brookfield, 
 Northborough, Northbridge, Oakham, Oxford, Paxton, Petersham, 
 Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Rutland, Shrewsbury, South- 
 borough, Southbridge, Spencer, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sutton, Tem- 
 pleton, Upton, Uxbridge, Warren, Webster, West Boylston, West 
 Brookfield, Westborough, Winchendon, and Worcester. 
 
 With the completion of the Quabbin Dam, in 1936, the town of 
 Dana, Worcester Co., was submerged and became non-existent. 
 Most of the town of Greenwich, Hampshire Co., was also sub- 
 merged and parts of the town not under water were annexed to 
 the towns of New Salem, Franklin Co., and Petersham, Worcester 
 Co., under provision of the Acts of 1938, Chapter 240, Sections 
 3a and 3b. 
 
 Northern District 
 
 Established 1 Aug. 1884. Registry at Fitchburg, the other shire- 
 town. The cities and towns constituting the district are Ashburn- 
 ham, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lunenburg, and Westminster. 
 
 The record of the terms of the Superior Court of Judicature 
 held in Worcester County, commencing in 1731 and the Minute 
 Books commencing in 1735, are in the office of the Clerk of the 
 Supreme Judicial Court, Suffolk Co., Boston. 
 
 The following are the principal records in the County Court 
 House: The Inferior Court of Common Pleas records commencing 
 14 Aug. 1731; Court of Sessions, 23 Feb. 1808; Court of General 
 
Worcester County 41 
 
 Sessions of the Peace, 12 Aug. 1731; Circuit Court of Common 
 Pleas, 17 June 1816; Court of Common Pleas, 8 June 1784; Superior 
 Court, 2 July 1859. There are two volumes of Marriage records, 
 1746 to 1794, in forty-nine towns. 126 The Notaries Public records 
 commence in 1831. The Miscellaneous records commence in 1750. 
 
 Cities and towns in Worcester county and date of establishment 
 or incorporation: 
 
 *Ashburnham (1765) 
 *Athol 127 (1762) 
 
 * Auburn (1837) 
 *Barre 128 (1776) 
 *Berlin 129 (1784) 
 
 Blackstone (1845) 
 
 * Bolton (1738) 
 *Boylston (1786) 
 *Brookfield (1673) 
 
 * Charlton (1754) 
 Clinton (1850) 
 
 *Douglas (1746) 
 
 * Dudley (1732) 
 
 East Brookfield (1920) 
 *FITCHBURG (1764) 
 
 * GARDNER (1785) 
 *Grafton (1735) 
 *Hardwick (1739) 
 ^Harvard (1732) 
 *Holden (1741) 
 
 Hopedale (1886) 
 *Hubbardson (1767) 
 ^Lancaster (1653) 
 
 * Leicester ( 1714 ) 
 
 * LEOMINSTER (1740) 
 *Lunenberg (1728) 
 *Mendon (1667) 
 *Milford (1780) 
 *Millbury (1813) 
 
 Millville (1916) 
 *New Braintree ( 1751 ) 
 
 North Brookfield 180 (1812) 
 *Northborough (1766) 
 *Northbridge (1772) 
 
 * Oakham (1762) 
 ^Oxford (1693) 
 *Paxton (1765) 
 *Petersham 131 (1754) 
 *Phillipstown (1814) 
 ^Princeton 132 (1759) 
 
 *Royalston (1765) 
 ^Rutland (1714) 
 
 * Shrewsbury (1720) 
 *Southborough (1727) 
 
 Southbridge (1816) 
 
 * Spencer (1753) 
 Sterling (1781) 
 
 *Sturbridge (1738) 
 *Sutton (1714) 
 *Templeton (1762) 
 *Upton(1735) 
 *Uxbridge (1727) 
 
 * Warren (1834) 
 Webster (1832) 
 
 *Westborough (1717) 
 *West Boylston (1808) 
 West Brookfield (1848) 
 
 * Westminster ( 1759 ) 
 *Winchendon (1764) 
 
 * WORCESTER (1684) 
 
 * The vital records are in print. 
 
 129 For list of the forty-nine towns see First Report of Mass. Commissioner of Public Records 
 (1885), p. 362. 
 
 127 The Athol proprietors' records from 1734 to 1749 were carried away by the clerk. 
 
 128 Part of the Barre town records prior to 1787, are supposed to have been burned. 
 
 129 No Berlin marriage records were kept from 1821 to 1824. 
 
 130 The North Brookfield records prior to 14 Oct. 1862 were lost by fire. 
 
 131 The Petersham selectmen's records prior to 1841 were burned. 
 
 132 In 1885 the Princeton town records, 1759 to 1761, had been missing for more than fifty 
 years. 
 
42 Massachusetts Records 
 
 V 
 
 The original use of county seals and their historical function is 
 not generally understood. 133 The use of the seals of the colonial 
 and provincial courts of justice was made imperative by law, 
 and as they were essential to the proper authentication of writs 
 and other processes, they are of much importance judicially and 
 historically. 
 
 Undoubtedly, all of the Commonwealth's county common-law 
 courts, in which was included the Court of Sessions of the Peace, 
 had seals. When this county court was discontinued and its ad- 
 ministrative functions taken over by the various Boards of County 
 Commissioners, they also succeeded to the county seals and their 
 particular use in each county should have been continued. 
 
 Of the fourteen Commonwealth counties, there are now known 
 to be extant the original seals for seven. These are Bristol, Essex, 
 Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket (partial), Plymouth, Suffolk, 
 and Worcester. Further intensive research would undoubtedly 
 uncover the seals used in the other counties. Of these ancient 
 original seals, we know definitely of only two in use today. These 
 are by the Boards of County Commissioners of Essex, and 
 Worcester. Suffolk county uses no seal, although the original is 
 extant. The seal of the common-law courts of Essex County is a 
 monogram for "Essex" (see Essex County). Over the monogram is 
 a duck wings close a spray in bill and beneath it is a fleur- 
 de-lis, each charge between two groups of six dots around a cen- 
 ter dot, which may have been intended for roses, although the 
 heraldic rose usually had five spiked petals with a seeded center. 
 The original seal, or die, still extant, was first designed for the 
 Inferior Court of Common Pleas. Upon the establishment of the 
 Inferior Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Sessions, in 
 1692, it was adopted by them and continued in use as the 
 county seal of these courts until they were superseded. It is now, 
 very properly, used as the seal of the Essex Board of County 
 Commissioners which succeeds to the administrative functions of 
 the old Court of Sessions of the Peace. 
 
 183 On 8 Mar. 1883, Mr. Abner C. Goodell, Jr., A.M., of Salem, read a paper entitled 
 "Provincial Seals in Massachusetts" before the Massachusetts Historical Society. In October 
 of that year it was published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 vol. XXXVII, pp. 349-358, illustrated with 24 of the seals used by the old courts. With 
 the exception of Bristol, the writer has made no original research on these seals, but has 
 drawn almost exclusively from this scholarly paper. The ancient seals here reproduced are 
 from Mr. Goodell's drawings. 
 
Original Seals 
 
 43 
 
 The seal of the common-law courts of Worcester is an heraldic 
 stag regardant (see Worcester County). It continued to be used 
 by the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and Court Sessions of the 
 Peace from 1731, when the county was established, until the 
 courts were superseded. When the Board of County Commissioners 
 took over the administrative functions of the old Court of Sessions 
 of the Peace, it properly continued the use of the Court's old 
 Suffolk county seal. An enlarged reproduction of this court seal 
 hangs in the law library in Worcester. 
 
 Of the original stamps or mounted dies used by the clerks to 
 impress these seals, only four are known to be in existence (1883) 
 namely, those of the Superior Court of Judicature; the common- 
 law county courts of Plymouth and Essex; and of the Probate 
 Court of Plymouth County. 
 
 While not properly belonging in this list of 
 county seals, the seal of the Supreme Court of 
 Probate is so important historically that it is 
 here reproduced. It is remarkable as being the 
 first court seal in Massachusetts to use the figure 
 of the blind-folded justice holding the scales 
 which are now universally used on Massachu- 
 setts court seals. 
 
 On 18 June 1692, judges and registers of probate were appointed 
 for the four principal counties without any legislative enabling act, 
 but by a delegation of civil law judicial functions, the rules of 
 which were followed in the ecclesiastical courts. 
 
 The original Bristol County seal, here shown, is 
 the ancient official seal of the common-law 
 courts of Bristol County. It was used by the 
 Inferior Court of Common Pleas and Court of 
 General Sessions of the Peace, until they were 
 superseded by the Circuit Court of Common 
 Pleas. It bears date of 1687, which is probably 
 the date of its adoption, although the first known use was on 28 
 Nov. 1689, while Stephen Burton was clerk. 
 
 This original Bristol County Plymouth Colony seal depicts the 
 arms on the corporate seal of the City and County of Bristol, Eng- 
 land, as will be seen by comparing the two. On the New 
 England seal, the charges were reversed. Bristol was later to 
 become an important seaport. 
 
44 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Bristol, England, a city and county of itself, and 
 a considerable port, situated near the mouth of 
 the Bristol channel, and between the counties of 
 Gloucester and Somerset, is 118 miles west from 
 London. In 1353, King Edward III erected the 
 port into a separate county under the designa- 
 tion of the "City and County of the City of 
 Bristol." The Corporation holds a court of session quarterly, a 
 court of assize in April, and a court of Nisi Prius, in which one 
 of the judges on the western circuit presides. 134 The corporate seal, 
 the reverse of which is here shown, embodies the arms of Bristol. 
 Arms: gules, dexter a man-of-war ship under full sail with three 
 flags flying, passing a sinister harbor castle fortification with two 
 flags flying; in base, per pale, waves and shore vert. Crest: two 
 crossed bent arms; a pair of scales in hand of dexter arm; a snake 
 in hand of sinister arm, coiled around the dexter arm. Supporters: 
 two unicorns gold. 
 
 The original Hampshire County seal, here illus- 
 trated, blazoned a garb banded, and as shown 
 by its inscription sigillum comitatus hamp- 
 
 TONIAE DE PROBATIONE TESTAMENTORUM, is Strict- 
 ly the seal of the Probate Court for Hampshire 
 County,— which originally included Berkshire, 
 Hampden, and Franklin,— but it appears to have 
 been, also, the only seal used by the Inferior Court of Common 
 Pleas and by the Court of Sessions of the Peace of that large 
 territory. The seal undoubtedly dates back to 1692, when the 
 Probate Court in Hampshire County was first established. 
 
 The original Middlesex County seal, here shown, 
 is found in the files of the Inferior Court of 
 Common Pleas and of the Court of Sessions for 
 Middlesex County, so early as 1692-1693, but the 
 loss of the more ancient files of the County Court 
 leaves us in doubt as to its earliest use. The 
 blazon is, on a tree inclining to the dexter out of a 
 mount in the base, a dove holding in the beak an olive branch. In 
 the seal here depicted, the seal-cutter omitted a "d" in Middlesex, 
 and for "Registry" cut the anomalous word "Regisley." 
 
 134 Lewis, Topographical Dictionary of England (London, 1831), vol. I, p. 263. 
 
Original Seals 45 
 
 The seal fragment, here shown, is supposed to have 
 been part of the original Probate Court seal of 
 Nantucket County. In 1715, while this seal was in 
 use, and while James Coffin was judge and Eleazer 
 Folger was acting as registrar, a seal was used 
 which shows arms a chief indented and a chevron. 
 Just before the Revolution, and later, another seal, not infre- 
 quently used, was a wyvern, or more probably a cockatrice. This 
 last mentioned seal was used while Grafton Gardner was judge 
 and Frederick Folger was registrar. In 1771, under the same judge 
 and registrar, a seal with the charges of St. George and the 
 Dragon was used. 
 
 The files saved from the fire of July 1846 show no seal especially 
 adopted for the common-law courts of Nantucket. As this island 
 was first under the jurisdiction of the Duke of York, and later 
 the Province of New York, research in that state seems to be 
 necessary. Since 1800, the sealing of writs of the Inferior Courts 
 of Common Pleas has been made by the reverse of a cent, or by 
 any other coin or instrument that could be conveniently em- 
 ployed for that purpose. 
 
 The original seal of the common-law courts of 
 Plymouth, here shown, features what is prob- 
 ably meant to be a ferocious, naked demon 
 armed with a poised bow and arrow, especially 
 typical of the troublesome times in which the 
 ancient seal was used. In 1883 this original seal 
 was in the possession of the Clerk of the Courts. 
 It had undergone very slight changes since 1692, which is for- 
 tunate, since the ancient files of the clerk's office were almost 
 totally destroyed by the court house fire on 7 Nov. 1881. Today, 
 Mr. Olsson, the present clerk of the Courts, has no knowledge 
 of the existence of this seal, but does have in his files one old 
 document showing a wax impression of this ancient seal. 
 
 For a number of years, the County Commissioners and the 
 Town of Plymouth both used the seal of the "Society of Plymouth 
 in New England'', but it had little meaning so far as the county 
 was concerned. 
 
 Previous to 1931, the County Commissioners announced that so 
 far as they could determine, "no official seal of the County has 
 ever been adopted and it is probable that the only seal used to 
 
46 Massachusetts Records 
 
 attest its official acts for more than 150 years was a lump of sealing 
 wax impressed with the magistrates thumb". Thus, having er- 
 roneously settled this antiquarian question by lack of adequate 
 research, Frederick T. Bailey of North Scituate, for many years 
 chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, proceeded to 
 design the present seal (see Plymouth County). On 31 Mar. 1931, 
 acting under authority of Chap. 34, Sec. 14 of the General Laws, 
 the County Commissioners adopted the present seal "to be affixed 
 to all processes requiring it". This new seal shows the Mayflower 
 swinging at anchor, her hull reflected in the water. Around the 
 Mayflower a chaplet of twenty-seven pearls, the smallest repre- 
 senting the towns of Plympton and Halifax and the largest the 
 city of Brockton, the combination forming a very artistic modern 
 seal, but unfortunately not the authentic ancient seal of Plymouth 
 county. 
 
 The interesting ancient Suffolk County seal, here 
 shown, is remarkable as being the first seal ever 
 adopted by a judicial court in Massachusetts. 
 The blazon is on a shield a ship in full sail with 
 five flags flying; waves in base. At a County 
 Court, held at Boston 25 Jan. 1680, it was 
 "ordered that the Clerke provide a Seale for the 
 Courts use to annex to probate of wills and grants of Adm con , the 
 circumference thereof to be the same [size] of a shilling and a 
 Ship engraven thereon with the inscription sigdllum comitatus 
 suffolciae". In 1692 it was adopted as the seal of the Inferior 
 Court of Common Pleas, and of the Court of General Sessions of 
 the Peace for that county. It resembles the Admiralty seal of 
 Boston, Lincolnshire, England. So here is the original seal, adopted 
 276 years ago and used by the Court of General Sessions of the 
 Peace, the administrative functions of which the Suffolk Board of 
 County Commissioners took over. As Suffolk is the only county in 
 the Commonwealth without a seal, it is perhaps not too much 
 to hope that the commissioners will officially adopt this ancient 
 Suffolk seal which authentically belongs to the county. 
 
 The present day county seals, adopted and now in use by the 
 various Boards of County Commissioners throughout the Common- 
 wealth are shown in the preceding pages. Many of these seals are 
 meaningless modern heraldic monstrosities, symbolic of neither 
 age, history, nor anything else warranting their use. This new de- 
 
Great Seals of Massachusetts 47 
 
 signing was all so unnecessary, for, as has been shown, there were 
 known authentic ancient seals in many of the counties, in some 
 instances dating back two and three quarter centuries, and more. 
 
 VI 
 
 The study of Massachusetts great seals has proved to be un- 
 usually interesting and rewarding, resulting in the correction 
 of some mis-statements of historical facts, and the development of 
 considerable heretofore unpublished material. 
 
 On critical examination of the three later Massachusetts seals 
 under George I, II, and III, in use from 1714 to the Revolution, a 
 period of sixty years, the word "Bay" stands out in the motto "Seal 
 of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England in America". 
 This is especially true when it is remembered that "Massachusetts 
 Bay" was the title of the colony for fifty-five years, until the first 
 Charles I charter was abrogated in 1684; and that the official title 
 of the colony under the second 1691 charter of William III, was the 
 "Province of Massachusetts" (see ante-Ill, charter of William III). 
 The final Royal phraseology on the Massachusetts seal motto 
 seems to have been the result of a gradual evolution from the 
 Charles I seal in 1628/9, commencing with the words "Massa- 
 chusetts Bay in New England". On the next James II seal of 1686-9 
 was added the words "in America". For the next twenty-five years, 
 through the reigns of William III and Queen Anne, we have no 
 known originals of the Massachusetts great seals. We do know, how- 
 ever, that in his Royal letter to Boston, dated 14 April 1701 ( discussed 
 later), William III refers to "Our Province of the Massachusetts- 
 Bay in America". 
 
 Halfway up the stairs at the State House is a large triple window 
 containing exquisite reproductions in stained glass of all of the 
 various official great seals of Massachusetts, with the glaring ex- 
 ception of those of William III and Queen Anne. In the center is 
 the first great seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, under the 
 charter granted by Charles I in 1628/9. 
 
 The next seal is that of the "Dominion of New England" ( 1686- 
 1689), under King James II while Sir Edmund Andros was Royal 
 Governor, which was used until the downfall of the King in 1689. 
 Both sides are shown in the window. On the obverse, there is an 
 effigy of the King in full regalia with an Englishman and an Indian 
 
48 Massachusetts Records 
 
 kneeling in front of him, while on the reverse is the royal arms 
 with garter, crown, supporters and motto, and the added inscription 
 "Sigillum Novae Angliae in America/' 
 
 Below this are the seals of George I (crowned 20 October 1714) 
 and George II (crowned 11 October 1727). Upon the accession of 
 George III ( crowned 27 September 1761 ) , his name was substituted 
 for the latter. These three seals contain the royal arms, with the 
 addition of a motto pertaining to the Province. The seal of William 
 III and Mary II (crowned 11 April 1689), who granted the second 
 Province charter, is not represented on the window. Neither are 
 the arms of their successor, Queen Anne (crowned 23 April 1702). 
 
 In describing these stained glass seals, the State Library's book- 
 let, The Massachusetts State House (Boston, 1953), page 25, states 
 that below this James II seal "are the seals of the Province, from 
 1692 [1691] to the Revolution, granted under the second charter,— 
 the first during the reign of George I, the second about 1728, under 
 George II. Upon the succession of George III, his name was sub- 
 stituted for the latter." While this is a correct statement of die 
 order of the seals on the window, the seal of George I was not the 
 first under the second Massachusetts charter, but the third. 
 
 The center of the window contains a replica of the Great Seal 
 of Massachusetts. Below it are the 1775 and the 1780 seals. There 
 are also the personal coats-of-arms seals of several of the Royal 
 Governors. 135 
 
 A description of the great seals shown on the frontispiece facing 
 the title page of this book follows: 
 
 Fig. 1 is the great seal of New-Plymouth, dated 1620, sent over by 
 the London Adventurers in 1624, here reproduced from Na- 
 thaniel Morton's New England Memorial (Cambridge, Mass., 
 1669). The arms are a shield quartered by a cross quarterly, 
 a figure kneeling facing the dexter holding in his hands what is 
 said to be a flaming heart shaped lamp between two pine trees. 
 Over the shield is the date 1620. In the circle around the 
 arms is a garland under which are the words, SIGILLVM: 
 SOCIETATIS:PLIMOVTH NOV-ANGLIA (seal of the So- 
 ciety of Plymouth in New England). This original great seal 
 was used by Plymouth Colony until its confiscation during Sir 
 Edmund Andros's administration. 136 
 
 135 Besides the Province seals, the personal seals of the Royal Governors were important. 
 Under the second 1691 charter, the governor was commander-in-chief of the provincial 
 forces. All commissions to officers in the military service were issued under a Privy Seal, 
 bearing the personal coat-of-arms seal of the governor. 
 
Great Seals of Massachusetts 49 
 
 Fig. 2 is the great seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under its 
 charter authorized by Charles I in 1628/9. In April 1629, the 
 Governor in England wrote the colonists that he had sent 
 over "the companyes seale in silver", by Mr. Samuell Sharpe, 
 a passenger. It is an elliptical oval and bears the device of an 
 Indian affrontee belted with leaves, an arrow point to base 
 in his dexter hand, a bow in his sinister hand, between two 
 pine trees. Over the Indian's head is a pennoncel in which the 
 Indian is portrayed as speaking the prayer of a man of Macedonia 
 to St. Paul,— "Come over and help us." [ Acts of the Apostles, 
 16:9]. Within the outer oval ring of the seal is a wreath 
 under which are the words SIGILLVM:GVB:ET:SOCIET: 
 DE:MATTACHVSETTS:BAY:IN:NOVA:ANGLIA. This was 
 the only seal used until the abrogation of the first charter of 
 Massachusetts Bay, in 1684. 
 
 During the reign of Sir Edmund Andros as Royal Governor of 
 New England (1686-1689), the Royal Arms of England under 
 James II were used (for arms see Ante-Andros Administration). 
 During this period Massachusetts was without her own great seal. 
 
 Fig. 3— The arms of William III and Mary II, styled "King and 
 Queen of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defenders 
 of the Faith", viz:— quarterly, 1st and 4th, France and England, 
 quarterly; 2nd, or a lion ramp, within a double treasure flory 
 counter flory gu. for Scotland; 3rd az. a harp or, stringed or, 
 for Ireland. With the same styling, these were the arms of 
 James I. As William was an elected King, he placed a shield 
 of pretence with the arms of NASSAU (az. billetee a lion 
 rampant or) over the escutcheon. 
 
 His Majesty was the only son of William II, Prince of 
 Orange, and of the Princess Mary, his wife, eldest daughter 
 of King Charles I. He married Mary, eldest daughter of James 
 II. They were crowned joint King and Queen on 11 April 
 1689. Their Majesties having no issue, at the decease of King 
 William, the crown devolved upon the deceased Queen's sister 
 Anne. 
 
 Among the original papers in the State Archives are many 
 
 188 At a General Court of Elections held at Plymouth, 4 June 1689, the "court requested 
 the honorable Governor, Thomas Hinckley, Esq., in behalf of the court and colony to 
 make their address to their ma ties King and Queen of England, etc., and also to endeavor 
 the regaining of our publique seal if it may be, and if otherwise, to procure a new one, 
 and this colony to defray the charge of it" [Plymouth Colony Records, vol. VI, p. 209]. 
 
50 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 documents with the Massachusetts seal under William III. This is 
 of red wax, 1% inches in diameter, but unfortunately, all are covered 
 with paper wafers which completely obliterate the seals. Figure 3, 
 in the frontispiece, is a reproduction of the 1% inch seal of William 
 III, embossed on a plain paper wafer, without sealing wax, on "His 
 Majesty's Royal Letter to Boston" dated 4 April 1701 and received 
 8 October 1701 137 [State Archives, Book 51, p. 117A]. 
 
 The arms here shown are a facsimile of the 
 arms of William III on "An Act for Prevent- 
 ing Frauds and Regulating Abuses in Planta- 
 tion Trade. Reprinted at Boston, in New 
 England, by Bartholomew Green & John 
 Allen, Printers to the Governor & Council, 
 1696" [Mass. Historical Society Library]. 
 This is a crude reproduction of the arms appearing on the original 
 Act (John Carter Brown Library), printed in London in 1695, and 
 are the earliest arms of William III recorded in the State Archives 
 at Boston. It may well be that this is the first wood-engraving of 
 Royal arms made in New England. 
 
 Fig. 4— The arms of Queen Anne. She had the same styling and 
 bore the same arms as William III, without the escutcheon 
 of pretence for Nassau, viz:— 1st and 4th, France and England, 
 quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland; but after the union 
 with Scotland, 7 Mar. 1707, Her Majesty bore, 1st and 4th, 
 England, impaling Scotland; 2nd, France; 3rd, Ireland. 
 
 Queen Anne was the sister of Queen Mary II and daughter 
 of James II. She ascended the throne at the decease of her 
 brother-in-law King William III. As Queen Anne left no sur- 
 viving child, at her death, the crown passed, by Act of Settle- 
 ment, to the great-grandson of James I, who ascended the 
 throne under the title of George the First. 
 
 The arms here shown are reproduced from the 
 green wax seal, one half inch in diameter, at- 
 tached to the original 35 page document at the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society entitled, "Queen 
 Anne's Instruction to Governor Joseph Dudley, 
 dated at a Court at St. James, 6 April 1702, in 
 first year of reign" [Winthrop Papers, vol. 7B, 
 
 137 The writer is indebted to Mr. Leo Flaherty, chief of the Archives Division for calling 
 his attention to this William III seal, and for other valuable assistance. 
 
Great Seals of Massachusetts 51 
 
 fol. 51]. This seal is unique, for it proves that the Queen was 
 using the arms of her predecessor, William III, in the first year 
 of her reign. 
 
 Here again, as in the case of William III, the many wax seals 
 on the original Massachusetts papers during her reign are all 
 covered with paper wafers and we have no proof that the seal 
 had a motto pertaining to the Province, as did the seals under 
 the reigns of the following three Georges. 
 
 Fig. 5 are the arms of George I (crowned 20 Oct. 1714), styled 
 "King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Duke of Bruns- 
 wick-Lunenburgh, etc., Defender of the Faith'', viz:— quarterly, 
 1st, England, impaling Scotland; 2nd, France; 3rd, Ireland; 
 4th, gu. two lions pass, guard, in pale or, for Brunswick; im- 
 paling or, semee of hearts gu. a lion ramp. az. for Lunen- 
 burgh; on a point in point gu. a horse courant or, for Saxony; 
 on the centre of the fourth quarter an escutcheon gu. charged 
 with the crown of Charlemagne or, as the Arch-Treasurer 
 of the Holy Roman Empire. 
 
 Fig. 6— The arms of George II (crowned 11 October 1727). He was 
 styled the same as his father George I, and bore the same 
 arms. George III (crowned 27 September 1761), was styled 
 the same and bore the same arms as George I until the union 
 with Ireland, when the ensigns of France were abandoned 
 by his Majesty's order in Council, 5 November 1800. 
 
 Fig. 7 is the first great seal adopted by the Commonwealth. When 
 the war against England began in 1775, Gen. Thomas Gage, the 
 royal governor, had the custody of the Commonwealth seal. 
 As his authority was no longer recognized, it became necessary 
 to adopt a new public seal. On 28 July 1775, the General 
 Court passed an order appointing a committee to consider 
 "what is necessary to be done relative to a Colony Seal." The 
 design adopted was that of an English-American affrontee 
 holding a sword in his dexter hand and the Magna "Charter" 
 scroll in his sinister hand. In a circle over his head is a rib- 
 bon mottO ENSE PETIT PLACIDAM SUB LIBERTATE QUIETEM, and 
 
 in the outer rim of the circle, sigillum coloniae mass- 
 
 ACHUSETTENIS 1775. 
 
 "This motto is the second of two lines written about 1659, by 
 Algernon Sydney, the famous English patriot, in the Book of 
 Mottoes in the Kings Library at Copenhagen, Denmark." 
 It is a peaceful motto and means "By the sword we seek 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF lU-MWte 
 
 ubram 
 
52 Massachusetts Records 
 
 peace, and peace only under liberty ." It was adopted by the 
 Provincial Congress while the colonies were at war with 
 England and was intended as a message to England. Through 
 the years to this day, it has continued to be the motto of the 
 Commonwealth. 
 
 Fig. 8 is the second great seal adopted by the Commonwealth. 
 Soon after the first meeting of the state legislature under the 
 constitution, the council, at a meeting held on Wednesday 13 
 Dec. 1780, "Ordered, That Nathan Cushing, Esqr., be a com- 
 mittee to prepare a Seal for the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
 setts. He reported a device for a seal for the said Common- 
 wealth as follows [Arms], viz: Sapphire, an Indian, dressed 
 in his Shirt, Moggosins, belted proper, in his right hand a 
 Bow Topaz, in his left an Arrow, its point towards the 
 Base, of the second; on the Dexter side of the Indian's head 
 a Star Pearl, for one of the United States of America. 
 
 "Crest: On a Wreath a Dexter Arm clothed and ruffled 
 proper, grasping a Broad Sword, the Pummel and Hilt To- 
 paz, with this motto: ense petit placidam sub libertate 
 ourjETEM, and around the Seal: sigillum reipublicae massa- 
 
 CHUSETTENSIS. 
 
 "Advised that the said Report be accepted as the Arms of 
 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts" [Council Records]. 
 
 For one hundred and five years, this action of the council was 
 the only authority for the seal. In 1885, the legislature, by act, 
 prescribed its form. 
 
 The old heralds used minute distinctions in their blazons. The 
 arms of gentlemen, esquires, knights, and baronets they blazoned 
 by tinctures; those of nobility, by precious stones; and those of 
 emperors, kings, and other sovereign princes by planets. 
 
 In designing the new arms, Nathan Cushing, 138 who claimed 
 descent from an ancient armigerous family, and who apparently 
 
 188 Hon. Nathan Cushing of Hingham and Scituate (H.C. 1763), was a member of the 
 legislature and a Justice of the Supreme Court. Representing Scituate, he voted to ratify 
 the Federal Constitution of the United States at the convention held at Boston 9 Jan. 1788 
 [N.E. Hist. & Gen. Register, vol. I, p. 233]. Nathan 5 Cushing was the great, great, great, 
 grandson of Mathew Cushing who emigrated from Hingham, England, and settled in Hing- 
 ham, Mass., in 1638. 
 
 H. G. Somerby, an American genealogist working in England in the middle of the 19th 
 century, claimed that this Cushing family was descended from a Thomas Cushing who lived 
 in the town of Hardingham, co. Norfolk, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, and 
 who, also, had large landed estates in Hingham and other parts of the county. He claimed 
 that the Cushing arms were gules, quarterly, an eagle displayed ppr.; and three dexter 
 gauntletts appaume vert sinister bendwise towards base, one and two, with a quarter of 
 nine squares gold and azure [Ibid., vol. XIX (1865), pp. 39-43]. 
 
Great Seals of Massachusetts 53 
 
 knew considerable about heraldry, used the system of precious 
 stones to indicate tinctures. He blazoned the field with the gem 
 Sapphire, the color of which is a deep pure blue, azure; the bow 
 and arrow of the Indian by the gem Topaz, for yellow, or; the 
 star with the Pearl, representing a delicate grey, argent. In the 
 crest, the only tincture he indicates is the Topaz, for yellow, or, 
 in the pummel and hilt of the broad sword. In his drawing of the 
 shield, he departs from his precious stones blazon and uses a 
 later system under which horizontal lines represent the tincture 
 azure. 
 
 In designing the 1780 coat-of-arms, Cushing used the Indian on 
 the 1629 seal, but for some unknown reason, reversed the position 
 of the bow and arrow. On the old seal the Indian was more war- 
 like for he was all set to fit his arrow and let fly. Cushing's 
 Indian, unless he was left-handed, would have to shift the bow 
 to his left hand and the arrow to his right before he could shoot. 
 
 Fig. 9 is the present coat-of-arms and great seal of the common- 
 wealth. The following is the blazon prescribed by law: "The 
 arms of the commonwealth shall consist of a shield having a 
 blue field or surface with an Indian thereon, dressed in a 
 shirt and moccasins, holding in his right hand a bow, and 
 in his left hand an arrow, point downward all of gold; and, in 
 the upper corner of the field, above his right arm, a silver 
 star with five points. The crest shall be a wreath of blue and 
 gold, whereon, in gold, shall be a right arm, bent at the 
 elbow, clothed and ruffled, with the hand grasping a broad- 
 sword. The motto shall be ense petit placidam sub lebertate 
 quietam [General Laws, Chapter 2, Section 1]. 
 
 "The coat-of-arms as drawn and emblazoned under the 
 direction of the secretary of the commonwealth in the year 
 eighteen hundred and ninety-eight and deposited in his 
 office shall be the official representation of the coat-of-arms 
 of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all designs of said 
 
 This English pedigree seems to be just another one of Somerby's plain fabrications of 
 which so many have been exploded, the best example of which is the long ancient Peck 
 pedigree. Dr. Arthur Adams, Chairman of the New England Historic Genealogical So- 
 ciety's Committee on Heraldry, says that "Cushing is not a Visitation family; that it is 
 not mentioned in Walter Rye's work on Norfolk families, a sort of dictionary, nor do any 
 arms for Cushing appear either in Burke's General Armory, or in Papworth's Ordinary of 
 British Armorials". 
 
 About 1750, the Cushing family built an armorial tomb in the Granary Burying Ground 
 in Boston. This date coincides with the period in New England when so many families 
 were assuming arms. The activities of Hon. Nathan Cushing were confined principally to 
 Hingham, Norfolk County, and to the adjacent town of Scituate, Plymouth Colony. Un- 
 doubtedly he was influential in having the bounds of Plymouth Colony changed, in 1803, 
 to include the town of Hingham. 
 
54 Massachusetts Records 
 
 coat-of-arms for official use shall conform strictly to said 
 representation [Ibid., Chapter 2, Section 2]. 
 
 "The great seal of the commonwealth shall be circular in 
 form, bearing upon its face a representation of the arms of 
 the commonwealth encircled with the inscription, sigillum 
 reipublicae MASSACHusETTENSis . . ." [Ibid., Chapter 2, Sec- 
 tions]. 
 
 The present coat-of-arms used by the commonwealth does not 
 correspond with the blazon as prescribed by law. First, the blazon 
 specifies no ribbon for the motto, and secondly, it says nothing 
 about this ribbon's being azure with letters gold, neither does it 
 provide for the shield to be rimmed in gold. Just what occasioned 
 this departure is not known to the writer. 
 
 In 1898, under the direction of William M. Olin, the then 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth, Edmund H. Garett redesigned 
 the present coat-of-arms and the great seal of Massachusetts. It 
 was probably intended to be a simplified copy of the arms designed 
 by Nathan Cushing in 1780, which had already been in use by 
 the Commonwealth for one hundred and eighteen years. The 
 only change Garett made in Cushing's original drawing of the 
 arms and the great seal was to substitute in the arms, a plain 
 escutcheon in place of the rococo shield prevalent in the 17th and 
 18th centuries. Other than the shield, Garett changed only the 
 tinctures of the charges. It would seem that this was probably due 
 to his not understanding the heraldic meaning of the word 
 "proper". This opinion appears to be borne out by the erroneous 
 translation of the blazon of the 1780 arms frequently made 
 through the years in publications issued from the office of the 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 
 In the 1780 arms the blazon of the Indian is "an Indian 
 dressed in his shirt, Moggosins, belted proper [meaning all in 
 natural colors], holding in his right [dexter] hand a Bow topaz 
 [gold], in his left [sinister] an Arrow, its point towards the Base, 
 of the second" [topaz]. In the present arms, Garett blazoned 
 the whole Indian, as well as the bow and arrow, gold, and rimmed 
 the shield in gold. 
 
 The blazon of the 1780 crest is "a Dexter arm clothed and 
 ruffled proper [meaning in natural colors], grasping a Broad 
 sword, the Pummel and Hilt topaz" [gold]. Garett blazoned 
 the arm and whole sword gold, with the addition of azure and 
 gold to the wreath of the crest. 
 
Massachusetts Records 54a 
 
 ADDENDA 
 
 To follow first paragraph, page 9. 
 
 The following books contain considerable historical information. 
 Wood's New England's Prospect (1634). New England Canaan, by 
 Thomas Morton ( ? Amsterdam, 1637) . Wonder-working Providences of 
 Sion's Savior, by Edward Johnson (London, England, 1654). New 
 England Judged, by G. Bishop (Pt. I, 1661 ; Pt. II, 1667; both pts. with 
 additions, 1703). 
 
 To follow second paragraph, page 16. 
 
 A helpful book is American Marriage Records before 1699, compiled 
 by William Montgomery Clemens (New Jersey, 1926). 
 
 Add the following to Genealogical Publications, page 18: 
 
 The Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, 
 showing three generations of those who came before 1692, four volumes, 
 2492 pages, compiled by James Savage (Boston, 1860-1862) . While this 
 monumental work is indispensable to the genealogist and historian, it 
 must be remembered, however, that it was compiled nearly one hundred 
 years ago, and that in the intervening years, research has corrected many 
 errors and added new names. 
 
 The Pioneers of Massachusetts, A Descriptive List, drawn from the 
 Colonies, Towns, Churches, and other contemporaneous documents, 
 550 pages, compiled by Charles Henry Pope (Boston, 1900). As would 
 be expected, this book contains many names not found in Savage, and 
 corrects many errors. Also, see "A supplement of additions and correc- 
 tions", consisting of 16 pages (Boston, 1901). On the last page of this 
 supplement is a list of 132 "Gentle" Pioneers of Massachusetts, residents 
 to whom the titles Knight, Esquire, Gentlemen, Armiger, or Lady, were 
 applied in legal documents, or by trustworthy writers in the Pioneer 
 Period, and whose fathers in England were so designated officially. 
 
 Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, 795 pages, 
 compiled by Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby, and Walter Goodwin 
 Davis, F.A.S.G. (Portland, Maine, 1928-1939) . This is a scholarly work 
 and contains many Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay names. 
 
 The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, comprising generations 
 of 485 settlers who came before 1690. Compiled by John Osborne Austin 
 (Albany, N. Y., 1687) . Of these families, 392 are carried to three gener- 
 ations, and 93 to four generations. Also, see the three "Additions and 
 
54b Addenda 
 
 Corrections" lists added at undated intervals, consisting of eight pages. 
 This Dictionary contains many Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts 
 Bay names. 
 
 Topographical Dictionary of New England Emigrants to New Eng- 
 land, 1620-1650, 332 pages, compiled by Charles Edward Banks, edited 
 and published by Elijah Ellsworth Brownell (Philadelphia, Pa., 1937). 
 It lists the names of 2885 emigrants, with names of the English parishes 
 from which they came, and the New England towns in which they 
 landed. Also, the present locations of the important manuscript material 
 found in the library of Colonel Banks at the time of his death in 1931. 
 Forty-four titles, in 56 volumes, are in the Congressional Library, Wash- 
 ington, D.C.; 6 manuscript titles and 23 cardboard containers of typed 
 and printed genealogical memoranda, English and New England, are 
 in the Bangor Public Library, Bangor, Maine ; 1 7 titles of a wide variety 
 of manuscripts are in the New England Historic Genealogical Society 
 library. 
 
 The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, Emigrants, Religious Exiles, 
 Political Rebels, Serving Men sold for a term of years, Apprentices, 
 Children stolen, Maidens pressed, and others who went from Great 
 Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700. Their ages are given, 
 together with the localities where they formerly lived in the mother 
 country; the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other 
 interesting particulars. From MSS. preserved in the State Paper De- 
 partment of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England. Edited by 
 John Camden Hotten (London, England, 1874), 612 pages. 
 
 ERRATA 
 
 Page 4. In 6th line from bottom of page, change 24 to 28. 
 Page 7. In 20th line from top of page, to Massachusetts add Bay. 
 Page 8. In 25th line from top of page, change Brenda to Breda. 
 Page 47. In 16th line from top of page, to Massachusetts add Bay; 
 » doleto»thf neYt . fivO ' lin e c ending with Niw England. 
 
INDEX 
 

INDEX 
 
 Cities are printed in capitals. A name may appear more than once on a page. Names 
 in notes are marked with n. 
 
 Abington, 38 
 
 Acton, 33, 34 
 
 Acushnet, 23, 24 
 
 Adams, 21, 22 
 
 Adams, Dr. Arthur, 53n 
 
 Advertiser, 20n 
 
 Agawam, 31 
 
 Alford, 21, 22 
 
 Allen, Rev. George E., 22n 
 
 Allen, John, 50 
 
 America, 47, 48 
 
 American Genealogist, 14, 
 18 39 
 
 Ames'bury, 27, 28, 29n 
 
 Ames Foundation, 13 
 
 Amherst, 32, 33 
 
 Andover, 27, 28, 29n 
 
 Andros, 14; Administration, 
 13; Governor, 14n, 38; 
 Sir Edmund, 13, 47, 48, 
 49 
 
 Annapolis (Port Royal), 7 
 
 Anne, sister of Queen, 49 
 
 Anthony, Edmund, 25n 
 
 Apprentice Indenture papers, 
 12 
 
 Arlington, 33, 34 
 
 Arnold, James N., vital rec- 
 ords, Rehoboth, Rhode Is- 
 land, 25n 
 
 Ashburnham, 40, 41 
 
 Ashby, 33, 34 
 
 Ashfield, 29, 30 
 
 Ashland, 33, 34 
 
 Aspinwall, notarial records, 9 
 
 Athol, 40, 41 
 
 Atkin's History of Hawley, 
 30fi 
 
 ATTLEBORO (Attlebor- 
 ough), 23, 24, 25n 
 
 Auburn, 40, 41 
 
 Avon, 36 
 
 Ayer, 33, 34 
 
 Bailey, Frederick T., 46 
 Banks, Charles E., 27 
 Barbados, 38n 
 Barnstable, 19, 20 
 Barnstable County, 1, 3, 19, 
 
 20 
 Barre, 40, 41 
 
 Barrington, lOn, 22n, 25n 
 Baylies, Francis, 25n 
 Becket, 21, 22 
 Bedford, 33, 34 
 Belchertown, 32, 33 
 Bellingham, 36 
 Belmont, 33, 34 
 Berkley, 23, 24 
 Berkshire, 31 
 Berkshire County, 15, 20, 21, 
 
 22, 44 
 Berlin, 40, 41 
 
 Bernardston, 29, 30 
 
 BEVERLY, 27, 28, 29n 
 
 Bicknell, Thomas W., 25n 
 
 Billerica, 33, 34 
 
 Blackstone, 40, 41 
 
 Blandford, 30, 31 
 
 Block Island, 39 
 
 Bolton, 40, 41 
 
 Book of Mottoes, 51 
 
 BOSTON, 6, 7, 8n, 9, 10, 
 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 
 20, 21, 23, 24n, 25n, 27 
 28, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 
 39, 40, 46, 48, 50, 52n, 
 53n; Herald, 8n; Public Li- 
 brary Quarterly, 13; Rec- 
 ord Commissioners, 9, 38; 
 Transcript, 18 
 
 Boston, Eng., 46 
 
 Bourne, 20 
 
 Bowditch, Nathaniel I., 39 
 
 Bowen, Richard LeBaron, 
 3n, lOn, lln, 17n 
 
 Bowman, Mr., 20n 
 
 Boxborough, 33, 34 
 
 Boxford, 27, 28 
 
 Boylston, 40, 41 
 
 Bradford, William, 6 
 
 Braintree, 36 
 
 Brenda, treaty of, 17 
 
 Brett, Rev. S., 25n 
 
 Brewster, 20 
 
 Bridgewater, 3, 38 
 
 Brighton, 39 
 
 BrimBeld, 30, 31 
 
 Bristol, 3, lOn, 22, 42n, 43; 
 county, 1, 3, 4, 22, 23, 
 24, 35, 37, 42, 43; county 
 court, 12, 13; county mar- 
 shal ordered to collect 
 Swansea taxes, 4; county 
 registry of deeds, 25n; 
 County Democrat, 25n 
 
 Bristol, Eng., 43, 44 
 
 BROCKTON, 38, 46 
 
 Brookfield, 40, 41 
 
 Brookline, 36, 39 
 
 Brunswick, 51; Duke of 
 Brunswick-Lunenburgh, 51 
 
 Buckland, 29, 30 
 
 Burke's General Armory, 53n 
 
 Burlington, 33, 34 
 
 Burton, Stephen, 43 
 
 Button, John, 25n 
 
 Bryant, Hubbard Winston, 
 25n 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, 33, 34, 48 
 
 Canton, 36 
 
 Capawack, islands of (alias 
 
 Martha's Vineyard), 26n 
 Cape Cod, 26n 
 Cappawock, Isle of, 26n 
 
 Carlisle, 33, 34 
 
 Carpenter, William, 24n 
 
 Carter, Marion Pearce, 25n 
 
 Carver, 11, 38 
 
 Chaffee, Zechariah, Jr., 13 
 
 Charlemagne, 51 
 
 Charlemont, 29, 30 
 
 Charles I, 1, 7, 47, 49 
 
 Charles II, 26n 
 
 Charlestown, 39 
 
 Charlton, 40, 41 
 
 Chatham, 20 
 
 Chelmsford, 33, 34 
 
 CHELSEA, 11, 36, 38n, 39 
 
 Cheshire, 21, 22 
 
 Chester, 31, 32 
 
 Chesterfield, 32, 33, 38n 
 
 CHICOPEE, 31 
 
 Chickemote, 26n 
 
 Chilmark, 27 
 
 Churches, by denomination, 
 17n; by towns, 17n; exist- 
 ing, 17n; historical data, 
 17n 
 
 Church records, 14 
 
 Cities, best location reference, 
 2 
 
 Clarks (Calrks), James, 25n 
 
 Clarksburg, 21, 22 
 
 Clinton, 40, 41 
 
 Coffin, James, 26n, 45 
 
 Coffin, Peter, 26n 
 
 Coffin, Tristam, 26n 
 
 Coffin, Tristam, Jr., 26n 
 
 Coffin, Tristam, Sr., 26n 
 
 Cohasset, 36 
 
 Collectors of Customs rec- 
 ords, 12 
 
 College records, 18 
 
 Colonial Society of Massa- 
 chusetts publications, 9 
 
 Colrain, 29, 30 
 
 Commissioner of Massachu- 
 setts Public records, 17n 
 
 Commonwealth, 20n, 42, 46, 
 51, 52, 53, 54 
 
 Concord, 33, 34 
 
 Connecticut, 18, 31, 38n, 39 
 
 Constable records, 14 
 
 Conway, 29, 30 
 
 Copenhagen, Denmark, 51 
 
 Council records, 52 
 
 Counties, development of the 
 seven original, 1 
 
 County seals, original, 42 
 
 Court records, 11, 20, 23, 26, 
 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 
 37, 39, 40; establishment 
 by original titles, 12n; Nisi 
 Prius, 44; Oyer and Term- 
 iner, 12n; unindexed doc- 
 uments, 12; vice-admiralty, 
 12 
 
58 
 
 Cumberland, lOn, 22n 
 Cummington, 32, 33 
 Cushing, 53 
 Cushing, Mathew, 52n 
 Cushing, Nathan, 52, 53n, 
 
 54 
 Cushing, Thomas, 52n 
 
 Dalton, 21, 22 
 
 Dana, 40 
 
 Danvers, 27, 28 
 
 Dartmouth, 3, 23, 24 
 
 Davis, John, 6 
 
 Deane, Samuel, 38n 
 
 Dedham, 36, 38 
 
 Deerfield, 29, 30 
 
 Dennis, 20 
 
 Dickinson Library, 30n 
 
 Dighton, 23, 24 
 
 Directories, City and Town, 
 
 18 
 Dominion of New England, 13 
 Dorchester, 39 
 Dover, 36 
 Douglas, 40, 41 
 Dracut, 33, 34 
 Dudley, 40, 41 
 Dudley, Gov. Joseph, 50 
 Dukes County, 1, 26, 27, 35 
 Dunstable, 33, 34 
 Durrell, Harold Clark, 19 
 Duxbury ( Duxburough ) , 3, 
 
 38 
 
 Early Rehoboth, 3n, lOn, 
 lln, 17n 
 
 East Bridgewater, 38 
 
 East Brookfield, 40, 41 
 
 East Cambridge, 34n 
 
 Eastham, 3, 20 
 
 Easthampton, 32, 33 
 
 East Longmeadow, 31 
 
 Easton, 23, 24 
 
 East Providence, 25n 
 
 Ecclesiastes, 4 
 
 Edgartown, 26, 27 
 
 Egremont, 21, 22 
 
 Elizabeth, 7 
 
 Elizabeth Islands, 26n 
 
 Endicott, Colonel, 39 
 
 England, 4, 14, 26n, 49, 50, 
 51, 52; King of, 49n; Topo- 
 graphical Dictionary of, 44 
 
 Erving, 30 
 
 Essex, 27, 28, 43; county, 1, 
 27, 28, 36n, 42; county 
 records, 29n; Institute 28, 
 29n; Institute Historical 
 Collections, 9 
 
 EVERETT, 33, 34 
 
 Exeter, 36 
 
 Fairhaven, 23, 24 
 FALL RIVER, 24 
 Falmouth, 20 
 Federal Census lists, 10 
 Felt, Joseph B., 10 
 Fitch, 25n 
 
 FITCHBURG, 40, 41 
 Fites, John, 25n 
 Flaherty, Leo, 50n 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Florida, 21, 22 
 
 Folger, Eleazer, 45 
 
 Folger, Frederick, 45 
 
 Foxborough, 36 
 
 Framingham, 33, 34 
 
 France, 49, 50, 51; King of, 
 
 8 
 Franklin, 31, 36; county, 29, 
 
 30, 32, 40, 44 
 Fraternal societies' records, 
 
 18 
 Freeman, Frederic, History of 
 
 Cape Cod, 38n 
 Freetown, 23, 24, 25n 
 
 Gage, Gen. Thomas, 51 
 
 GARDNER, 40, 41 
 
 Gardner, Absalom, 3 In 
 
 Gardner, Grafton, 45 
 
 Gardner, Samuel, 24n 
 
 Garett, Edmund H., 54 
 
 Gayhead, 27 
 
 Genealogical-Biographical In- 
 dex, 18; Index, 18; Publi- 
 cations, 17; Microcards, 18 
 
 General Laws, 53 
 
 George I, 47, 48, 50, 51 
 
 George II, 47, 48, 51 
 
 George III, 47, 48, 51 
 
 Georgetown, 27, 28 
 
 Gill, 30 
 
 Glidden, James K., 35n 
 
 GLOUCESTER, 27, 28 
 
 Gloucester county, 44 
 
 Godfrey Memorial Library, 18 
 
 Goodell, Mr., 42n 
 
 Goodell, Abner C, 5 
 
 Goodell, Abner C, Jr., 42n 
 
 Goodspeed, 6 
 
 Gorges, Sir Fernando, 26n 
 
 Goshen, 32, 33 
 
 Gosnold, 27 
 
 Grafton, 40, 41 
 
 Granary Burying Ground, 53n 
 
 Granby, 32, 33 
 
 Granville, 30, 31 
 
 Gravestones, 15n 
 
 Great Barrington, 21, 22 
 
 Great Britain, 51 
 
 Green, Bartholomew, 50 
 
 Greenfield, 29, 30 
 
 Greenwich, 29, 32, 40 
 
 Greenwood, 25n 
 
 Greenwood, Rev. Thomas, 
 25n 
 
 Groton, 33, 34 
 
 Groveland, 27, 28 
 
 Hadley, 32, 33 
 
 Hadselle, W. K., 22n 
 
 Halifax, 38, 46 
 
 Hamilton, 27, 28 
 
 Hampden, 31 
 
 Hampden county, 30, 31, 32, 
 
 44 
 Hampshire, 31; county, 21, 
 
 29, 30, 32, 33, 40, 42, 44; 
 
 county deeds, 31; county 
 
 probates, 31 
 Hampton, 29n, 36 
 Hancock, 21, 22 
 Hanover, 38 
 
 Hanson, 38 
 
 Hardingham, 52n 
 
 Hardwick, 40, 41 
 
 Harps well, 38n 
 
 Harvard, 40, 41, 42; College, 
 
 19; Law School, 13 
 Harwich, 20 
 Hatfield, 32, 33 
 HAVERHILL, 27, 28, 36 
 Hawes, Roy L., 11 
 Hawley, 30 
 Heath, 29, 30 
 
 Heraldry, Committee on, 53 
 Herbert, Mrs. Eugene A., 24n 
 Hinckley, Governor, 4 
 Hinckley Papers, 20 
 Hinckley, Thomas, 49n 
 Hingham, 1, 36, 38, 52n, 
 
 53n 
 Hinsdale, 21, 22 
 Holbrook, 36 
 Holden, 40, 41 
 Holland, 30, 31 
 Holliston, 33, 34 
 Holman, Mary L., 14, 39 
 Holman, Winifred L., 14, 39 
 HOLYOKE, 31 
 Hopedale, 40, 41 
 Hopkinton, 33, 34 
 House of Representatives, 7 
 Hubbardston, 40, 41 
 Hudson, 33, 35 
 Hull, 36, 38 
 Huntington, 32, 33 
 Huntoon, Mrs. Ella F., 24n 
 Hyde Park, 39 
 
 Incorporation of counties, 
 cities, and towns, best ref- 
 erence, 2 
 
 Index to Genealogical peri- 
 odicals, 18 
 
 Ipswich, 27, 28 
 
 Ireland, 49, 50, 51 
 
 Jacobus, Donald Lines, 18 
 
 James I, 49, 50 
 
 James II, 13, 14, 26n, 47, 
 
 48, 49, 50 
 Jeffrey, William, Jr., 13 
 John Carter Brown Library, 
 
 50 
 
 Kataymuck, 26n 
 Keep-hickon, 26n 
 Kennebec, 8 
 Kimball, Helen, 24n 
 King, 4 
 
 King Edward III, 44 
 Kingston, 38 
 
 Lakeville, 38 
 Lancaster, 40, 41 
 Lanesborough, 21, 22 
 Laurel, Maryland, 11 
 LAWRENCE, 27, 28 
 Lechford Note Book, 9 
 Lee, 21, 22 
 
 Legal Society records, 18 
 Leicester, 40, 41 
 Lenox, 21, 22 
 LEOMINSTER, 40, 41 
 Leverett, 29, 30 
 
Index 
 
 59 
 
 Lewis, Topographical Diction- 
 ary of England, 44n 
 
 Lexington, 33, 35 
 
 Leyden, 29, 30 
 
 Library of Congress, 10; Cat- 
 alogue of English and 
 American Genealogies, 18; 
 archives, 11 
 
 Lincoln, 34, 35 
 
 Lincoln, General, 17 
 
 Little Compton, 3, lOn, 22n 
 
 Littleton, 11, 33, 34, 35 
 
 London, 7, 44; Adventurers, 
 48 
 
 Long Island, 26n 
 
 Longmeadow, 30, 31 
 
 Lovelace, Gov. Francis, 26n 
 
 LOWELL, 33, 35 
 
 Ludlow, 30, 31 
 
 Lunenburg, 40, 41, 51 
 
 LYNN, 28, 29n 
 
 Lynnfield, 28 
 
 Macedonia, 49 
 
 Macy, Thomas 26n 
 
 Maine, 1, 7, 8, 11, 26n, 38; 
 Providence, 26n; Federal 
 tax, 17 
 
 MALDEN, 34, 35 
 
 Malloy, Walter J., 38n 
 
 Manchester, 28, 29n 
 
 Mansfield, 23, 24 
 
 Marblehead, 28, 29n 
 
 Marion, 38 
 
 MARLBOROUGH, 34, 35 
 
 Marshfield, 3, 5, 38 
 
 Martha's (Martin's) Vineyard, 
 7, 26, 26n, 27 
 
 Mary II, 48, 49 
 
 Mary, daughter of James II, 
 49 
 
 Mary, Princess, 49 
 
 Mashpee, 20 
 
 Mason, Alverdo H., 25n 
 
 Masonic records, 18 
 
 Massachusetts, 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 
 18, 19, 25n, 26n, 39, 42n, 
 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 
 52, 53, 54; Commissioner 
 of Public Records, 12, 15, 
 2 In, 23n, 28n, 32n, 34n, 
 36n, 37n, 41n; deeds in 
 Rhode Island, 10n; Direct- 
 ories, 18; early source rec- 
 ords, 1; early maps, 11; 
 Federal tax, 17; first hand- 
 book published, 2; General 
 Laws, 38n; Great seals, 
 47; historical data, 2; His- 
 torical Society, 9, 42n, 50; 
 Journals of House of Rep- 
 resentatives, 9; Organiza- 
 tion under 2nd charter, 4, 
 7; population, 2; present 
 map, 11; present territorial 
 limits, 1; state archives, 9, 
 10; State census, 10; State 
 House, 48; State Library, 
 29n; Soldiers and Sailors of 
 the Revolutionary War, 10; 
 Soldiers and Sailors of War 
 of 1812, 10 
 
 Massachusetts Bay, 1, 2, 7, 
 8n, 10, 26, 38, 39, 47, 49; 
 Acts and Resolves, 5n, 9; 
 Court of Assistants, records, 
 9; Governor and company, 
 7, 8; Organization under 
 1st charter, 7; principal 
 printed records, 8; records, 
 36n; territorial limits, 1 
 
 Massasoit, 25n 
 
 Mather, Rev. Increase, 4, 7 
 
 Mattapoisett, 38 
 
 Mayflower Descendant, 20n, 
 38n; copies of early wills, 
 inventories, and deeds, 6 
 
 Mayflower Quarterly, 38n 
 
 Mayhew, Thomas, 26n 
 
 Maynard, 34, 35 
 
 Medfield, 36 
 
 MEDFORD, 34, 35 
 
 Medical Society records, 18 
 
 Medway, 36 
 
 MELROSE, 34, 35 
 
 Mendon, 40, 41 
 
 Merrimac, 28 
 
 Methuen, 27, 28 
 
 Middleborough, 3, 38 
 
 Middlefield, 32, 33 
 
 Middlesex County, 1, 33, 34, 
 42, 44 
 
 Middleton, 18, 28 
 
 Milford, 40, 41 
 
 Millbury, 40, 41 
 
 Millis, 36 
 
 Millville, 40, 41 
 
 Milton, 36 
 
 Monomoy, 3 
 
 Monroe, 30 
 
 Monson, 30, 31 
 
 Montague, 29, 30, 30n 
 
 Montague, Mr., 17 
 
 Monterey, 21, 22 
 
 Montgomery, 30, 31 
 
 Monument Bay, 26n 
 
 Morison, Admiral, 6 
 
 Morison, Samuel Eliot, 6 
 
 Morris, Henry, 31 
 
 Morton, Nathaniel, 6, 48 
 
 Morton's New England Me- 
 morial, 6 
 
 Mount Washington, 21, 22 
 
 Mourt's Relation, 6 
 
 Nahant, 28 
 Nanname-sitt, 26n 
 Nantucket, 7, 11, 26n, 35 
 Nantucket County, 1, 35, 42, 
 
 45 
 Nantucket Island, 26n, 35 
 Nashowa-Kemmuck, 26n 
 Nassau, 50 
 Natick, 34, 35 
 Nationalization papers, 12, 
 
 13 
 Needham, 37 
 Nevis, island of, 14 
 New Ashford, 21, 22 
 NEW BEDFORD, 11, 22, 23, 
 
 24 
 New Braintree, 40, 41 
 New Brunswick, 7 
 Newbury, 28 
 
 NEWBURYPORT, 28 
 
 New England, 4, 38, 43, 45, 
 47, 48, 49, 50, 53n; Bib- 
 liography of Court Records, 
 13; Dominion, 13; council 
 of, 2; earliest records, 2; 
 Historical & Genealogical 
 Register, 3n, 9n, 19, 3 In, 
 42n, 52n; Historic Genea- 
 logical Society, 16, 17, 
 18, 20, 22n, 24n, 25n, 27, 
 29n, 30n, 33n, 34, 36n, 
 37n, 38n, 53n; history, 2; 
 Memorial, 48; wills prob- 
 ated at Boston, 14 
 
 New Hampshire, 1, 7, 29n, 
 38 
 
 New Haven, 18 
 
 New Jersey, east, 14, 39 
 
 New Jersey, west 14, 39 
 
 Newman Congregational 
 Church, 25n 
 
 Newport, 38n 
 
 NEWTON, 34, 35 
 
 New Marlborough, 21, 22 
 
 New Plymouth, 5n, 38, 48; 
 records, 6; Story of the 
 Old Colony of New Plym- 
 outh, a chronological his- 
 tory by Morison, 6; terri- 
 torial limits, 1 
 
 New Salem, 29, 30, 32, 40 
 
 New York, 4, 7, 13, 14; Book 
 of Patents, 26n; great seal 
 confiscated and broken, 
 14n; Legislature, 27; Prov- 
 ince, 1, 26, 27, 35, 39, 45 
 
 Nomans Land, 26n 
 
 Nonsuch, frigate, 7 
 
 Norfolk County, 1, 28, 29n, 
 36, 37, 38n, 52n, 53n 
 
 NORTH ADAMS, 21, 22 
 
 NORTHAMPTON, 29, 30, 
 31, 32, 33 
 
 North Andover, 27, 28 
 
 North Attleborough, 23, 24, 
 25n 
 
 Northborough, 40, 41 
 
 Northbridge, 40, 41 
 
 North Brookfield, 40, 41 
 
 Northfield, 29, 30 
 
 North Reading, 34, 35 
 
 North Scituate, 46 
 
 Norton, 23, 24, 25n 
 
 Norwell, 38 
 
 Norwich, 32, 38n 
 
 Norwood, 37 
 
 Nova Scotia, 7, 8 
 
 Oak Bluffs, 27 
 
 Oakham, 40, 41 
 
 Old Colony, 1 
 
 Old Colony Historical So- 
 ciety, 24n, 25n 
 
 Oldham, Captain, 39 
 
 Olin, William M., 54 
 
 Olsson, Mr., 45 
 
 Orange, Prince of, 14, 29, 30, 
 49 
 
 Orleans, 20 
 
 Other records, 18 
 
60 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 Otis, 21, 22 
 
 Oxford, 40, 41 
 
 Paine, 25n 
 
 Palentine, Lord, 26n 
 
 Palmer, 30, 31 
 
 Palmer, Nathaniel, 25n 
 
 Palmer river, 25n 
 
 Papworth's Ordinary of Brit- 
 ish Armorials, 53n 
 
 Parce, Nathan, 25n 
 
 Pawtucket, 11, 25n 
 
 Paxton, 40, 41 
 
 PEABODY, 28 
 
 Peabody, Mrs. Katharine, 24n 
 
 Peck, Mr., 3 In 
 
 Peirce, Palo Alto, 24n, 25n 
 
 Peirce, Pembroke, 24n 
 
 Pelham, 32, 33 
 
 Pembroke, 38 
 
 Pepperell, 34, 35 
 
 Perry, Edgar, 8n 
 
 Peru, 21, 22 
 
 Petersham, 29, 32, 40, 41 
 
 Philip, King, lands given to 
 Plymouth Colony, 2 
 
 Phillipston, 40, 41 
 
 Phips, Sir William, 4, 7 
 
 Pilbeame, 25n 
 
 PITTSFIELD, 20, 21, 22 
 
 Plainfield, 32, 33 
 
 Plainville, 37 
 
 Plymouth, 7, 10, 19, 37, 38, 
 43, 45, 48, 49n; Colony, 1, 
 2, 4, 7, 8, 8n, 10, 37, 48, 
 53n; ancient files lost by 
 fire, 5; ancient records 
 taken over by Mass., 5; 
 court, 14, 22; General 
 Court, 3; great seal con- 
 fiscated, 49; General Court 
 stopped tax revolt, 3; Laws, 
 5n; lost tax control of 
 towns, 4; never had a 
 Royal charter, 2; Of Plym- 
 outh Plantation, Bradford, 
 6; principal printed rec- 
 ords, 6; Records, 3n, 14, 
 49n; towns refuse to con- 
 tribute money for charter, 
 4; towns refused to pay 
 taxes, 3; towns without a 
 government, 5; Society in 
 England, 45; Scrap book, 
 5; tax revolt, 3n; weak and 
 poor, 3 
 
 Plymouth County, 1, 3, 36, 
 37, 38, 42, 43, 46 
 
 Plympton, 11, 38, 46 
 
 Pocomtuck Valley Memorial 
 Ass'n, 30n 
 
 Pope, Charles Henry, 6 
 
 Port Royal (Annapolis), 7 
 
 Portsmouth, 36 
 
 Prince Society of Boston rec- 
 ords, 9 
 
 Princeton, 40, 41 
 
 Proprietors' records, 15 
 
 Providence, 10 
 
 Province Laws, 26n 
 
 Provincetown, 20 
 
 Pulsifer, David, 6 
 Pynchon Records, 31 
 
 Quabbin Dam, 29, 32, 40 
 Queen Anne, 47, 48, 50 
 Queen of England, 49n 
 Queen Mary II, 14, 50 
 Quinaimes, 26n 
 QUINCY, 37 
 
 Randolph, 37 
 
 Raynham, 23, 24 
 
 Reading, 34, 35 
 
 Register, 17 
 
 Rehoboth, 7, 8n, 10, 11, lln, 
 15, 22n, 23, 24, 25n, 38n; 
 Church of Christ, 25n; 
 Congregational Church So- 
 ciety, 25n; Two hundred 
 and fiftieth anniversary, 
 8n; U.S. 1800 Census, 10 
 
 REVERE, 38n, 39 
 
 Rhode Island, 1, lOn, 22n, 
 25n, 38, 39; colony deeds, 
 10n; Historical Society, 39; 
 State Archives, 10 
 
 Richmond, 21, 22 
 
 Rochester, 3, 38 
 
 Rockland, 38 
 
 Rockport, 28 
 
 Roman Empire, 51 
 
 Rowe, 29, 30 
 
 Rowley, 28, 29n 
 
 Roxbury, 39 
 
 Royal commission, 10 
 
 Royalston, 40, 41 
 
 Russell, 31 
 
 Rutland, 40, 41 
 
 Rye, Walter, 53n 
 
 Saile, Edward, 25n 
 
 SALEM, 27, 28, 29n, 36, 
 
 42n 
 Salisbury, 28, 29n, 36 
 Sandisfield, 21, 22 
 Sandwich, 20 
 Saris, 25n 
 Saugus, 28 
 Savoy, 21, 22; proprietors' 
 
 records dated at Reboboth, 
 
 15 
 Saxony, 51 
 Scituate, 3, 38, 52n, 53n; 
 
 History, 38n 
 Scotland, 49, 50, 51 
 Seekonk, 11, 23, 24, 25n; 
 
 vital records, 25n 
 Selectmen records, 14 
 Session Laws, 9 
 Session Laws and Statutes, 9 
 Sharon, 37 
 
 Sharpe, Mr. Samuel, 49 
 Sheffield, 21, 22 
 Shelburne, 29, 30 
 Sherborn, 34, 35 
 Shipton, Clifford K., 19 
 Shipton-SiMey's Harvard 
 
 Graduates, 19 
 Shirley, 34, 35 
 Shrewsbury, 40, 41 
 Short, Capt., 7 
 Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., 6 
 
 Shutesbury, 29, 30 
 
 Simeons, Thomas, 25n 
 
 Smythe, H. H., 20n 
 
 Somerby, 53n 
 
 Somerby, H. G., 52n 
 
 Somers, 31 
 
 Somerset, 23, 24, 44 
 
 SOMERVILLE, 34, 35 
 
 Southampton, 26n, 32, 33 
 
 Southborough, 40, 41 
 
 Southbridge, 40, 41 
 
 South Brimfield, 30 
 
 South Hadley, 32, 33 
 
 Southwick, 30, 31 
 
 Sowams, with Ancient Rec- 
 ords of Swansea and Parts 
 Adjacent, 25n; proprietors' 
 records, 25n 
 
 Spencer, 40, 41 
 
 Sprague, Mr. Samuel, 5 
 
 SPRINGFIELD, 29, 30, 31, 
 32 
 
 St. James Court, 50 
 
 St. John, 7 
 
 St. Paul, 49 
 
 State Archives, 50 
 
 Statutes at Large, 9 
 
 Sterling, 40, 41 
 
 Stevenson, Noel C, 9n 
 
 Stirling, Earl of, 26n 
 
 Stirling, Lord, 26n 
 
 Stockbridge, 21, 22 
 
 Stoneham, 34, 35 
 
 Stoughton, 37 
 
 Stow, 34, 35 
 
 Strawberry Bank, 36 
 
 Sturbridge, 40, 41 
 
 Sudbury, 34, 35 
 
 Suffield, 31 
 
 Suffolk, 39; county, 1, 20, 
 21, 23, 28, 32, 34, 35, 
 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 
 46 
 
 Sunderland, 29, 30 
 
 Superior Court of Judicature 
 records, 12 
 
 Sutton, 25n, 40, 41 
 
 Swampscott, 28 
 
 Swansea (Swansey), 3, 4, 10, 
 
 23, 24, 25n, 38n; pro- 
 prietors' book, grants & 
 meetings, 25n; town meet- 
 ings, 25n 
 
 Sydney, Algernon, 51 
 
 TAUNTON, 12, 13, 22, 23, 
 
 24, 25n; registry of prob- 
 ate, 23 
 
 Tax, dwelling houses, 17 
 
 Templeton, 40, 41 
 
 Ten Mile River, 8n 
 
 Tewksbury, 33, 35 
 
 Thomas, Col. Nathaniel, 5n 
 
 Tisbury, 27 
 
 Tiverton, lOn, 22n 
 
 Tobey, Rev. Samuel, 24n 
 
 Tolland, 30, 31 
 
 Topsfield, 28, 29n 
 
 Topsham, 38n 
 
 Towns, location reference, 2; 
 meetings, 14; meeting 
 books, few transcribed and 
 
Index 
 
 61 
 
 printed, 15; plans, 11; 
 
 rate lists, 16; records, 14 
 Townsend, 34, 35 
 Truro, 20 
 
 Tuckaruckett Island, 26n 
 Turner, 38n 
 Turner's Falls, 30n 
 Tyngsborough, 33, 35 
 Tyringham, 21, 22 
 Tysbury Manor, 26n 
 
 United States, 52; 1st census, 
 1790, 10; 2nd census, 
 1800, 10 
 
 Upton, 34, 40, 41 
 
 Uxbridge, 40, 41 
 
 Vilbeame, Mr., 25n 
 
 Virginia, 14 
 
 Vital records, 14; centraliza- 
 tion in the states, 19; 
 printed, 16; returns to 
 county courts, 16 
 
 Wakefield, 34, 35 
 Wales, 30, 31 
 Walpole, 37 
 WALTHAM, 34, 35 
 Ware, 32, 33 
 Wareham, 38 
 Warren, 22n, 40, 41 
 Warwick, 29, 30 
 Washington, 21, 22 
 Watertown, 26n, 34, 35 
 Wayland, 34, 35 
 
 Webster, 40, 41 
 
 Wellesley, 37 
 
 Wellfleet, 20 
 
 Wendell, 29, 30 
 
 Wenham, 28, 29n 
 
 West, Edward H., 11 
 
 Westborough, 40, 41 
 
 West Boylston, 40, 41 
 
 West Bridgewater, 38 
 
 West Brookfield, 40, 41 
 
 WESTFIELD, 30, 31 
 
 Westford, 33, 35 
 
 Westhampton, 32, 33 
 
 Westminster, 40, 41 
 
 West Newbury, 28 
 
 Weston, 34, 35 
 
 Westport, 23, 24 
 
 West Roxbury, 39 
 
 West Springfield, 30, 31 
 
 West Stockbridge, 21, 22 
 
 West Tisbury, 27 
 
 Westwood, 37 
 
 Weymouth, 37 
 
 Whately, 29, 30 
 
 Whitman, 38 
 
 Wilbraham, 30, 31 
 
 William, Earl of Sterling, 26n 
 
 William III, 7, 14, 47, 48, 
 
 49, 50, 51; war taxes broke 
 
 Plymouth Colony, 13; 
 
 charter of William and 
 
 Mary, 1 
 Williamsburg, 32, 33 
 Williamstown, 21, 2 In, 22 
 Wilmarth, Nancy Huldah, 
 
 25n 
 
 Wilmington, 33, 35 
 
 Wills, a typed alphabetical 
 list of early, printed in 
 members room at N.E. 
 Hist. Gen. Society rooms, 
 Boston, 7; under Andros 
 at Suffolk Registry of Pro- 
 bate, 14 
 
 Winchendon, 40, 41 
 
 Winchester, 34, 35 
 
 Windsor, 21, 22 
 
 Winslow, James, 24n 
 
 Winslow, John, 14 
 
 Winslow's Briefe Narration, 
 6; Good Newes from New 
 England, 6 
 
 Winthrop, 38n, 39; Winthrop 
 Papers, 50; History of New 
 England, 8 
 
 Wiswall, Rev. Ichabod, 4 
 
 WOBURN, 34, 35 
 
 WORCESTER, 31, 40, 43; 
 county, 29, 32, 40, 41, 42, 
 43 
 
 Worthington, 32, 33 
 
 Wrentham, 37 
 
 Wyman, MS of Middlesex 
 Court Files, 34 
 
 Yale, 13 
 
 Yarmouth, 3, 20 
 
 York, 38n; Duke of, 13, 
 
 26n, 45 
 Young, Chronicles of the 
 
 Pilgrim Fathers, 6 
 
62 Massachusetts Records 
 
 
Additional Memoranda 63 
 
64 
 
 Massachusetts Records 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS RECORDS 
 
 Addition to page 32 
 
 Contribution to Massachusetts Source Material. — The recent publication of a 
 handbook of source material for early Massachusetts history {vide "Massachusetts 
 Records", by Richard LeBaron Bowen) renders timely an account of some early 
 Probate Records of Hampshire County, Mass., which have remained in obscurity 
 for some seventy years. These are found in the earliest volume of Hampshire County 
 deeds, recorded at Springfield, Mass., known as Volume A. At the back of the book 
 are 27 folios of records of the County Court covering the period September 1690 
 through 1692. Prior to November 1692, when Probate Courts for each county were 
 established by legislative act, jurisdiction in the settling of estates was vested in the 
 County Court. 
 
 That these records were formerly recognized as Probate Records is evidenced by a 
 reference to them on page 368 of the 1889 Report of Record Commissioner, Carroll D. 
 Wright. The final chapter of this report, entitled "County Records", opens with a 
 listing of the successive steps in legislation which culminated in the establishment 
 of Probate Courts in November 1692. Thereafter follows a Return from each Probate 
 Registry showing such records as are still extant and in their custody as of 1889. 
 The Hampden County Return reads as follows: 
 
 "County Court Proceedings prior to 1692 Proceedings for the towns comprising 
 this county are at the Hampshire County Registry at Northampton, with the excep- 
 tion of a few which are at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds at Springfield". 
 
 In the two year period covered by this Court Record there are approximately 150 
 entries relating to estates, testate and intestate. These records supplement the files at 
 Northampton and in some cases supply data entirely lacking in the Probate Records. 
 
 Mrs. Winifred Lovering Holman of Lexington, Mass., brought this to the atten- 
 tion of Mr. Frank E. Tuit III, the present Register of Probate for Hampshire County, 
 whose response was spontaneous and immediate. Photostatic copies of the Court 
 Records, September 1690-November 1692, are now on deposit in the Probate Registry 
 at Northampton. (They have not as yet been indexed.) 
 
 It should be added that the first volume of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 
 bearing dates 1677-1728, in the custody of the Clerk of the Courts at Northampton, 
 also contains Probate material supplementing the other sources. Prior to the Session of 
 27 Sept. 1692 the court was designated as the County Court. This duplication may be 
 explained by a court order appearing on page 2 of this volume, whereby two Regis- 
 ters were appointed to keep the records, one for the sessions held at Northampton, 
 the other for the sessions held at Springfield. 
 
 Longmeadow, Mass. Ethel Lord Scofield. 
 
 [Reprinted from New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 vol. CXII, Apr. 1958, p. 156]. 
 
Additional Memoranda (55 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS RECORDS 
 
 Addition to page 32 
 
 Contribution to Massachusetts Source Material. — The recent publication of a 
 handbook of source material for early Massachusetts history (^^"Massachusetts 
 Records", by Richard LeBaron Bowen) renders timely an account of some early 
 Probate Records of Hampshire County, Mass., which have remained in obscurity 
 for some seventy years. These are found in the earliest volume of Hampshire County 
 deeds, recorded at Springfield, Mass., known as Volume A. At the back of the book 
 are 27 folios of records of the County Court covering the period September 1690 
 through 1692. Prior to November 1692, when Probate Courts for each county were 
 established by legislative act, jurisdiction in the settling of estates was vested in the 
 County Court. 
 
 That these records were formerly recognized as Probate Records is evidenced by a 
 reference to them on page 368 of the 1889 Report of Record Commissioner, Carroll D. 
 Wright. The final chapter of this report, entitled "County Records", opens with a 
 listing of the successive steps in legislation which culminated in the establishment 
 of Probate Courts in November 1692. Thereafter follows a Return from each Probate 
 Registry showing such records as are still extant and in their custody as of 1889. 
 The Hampden County Return reads as follows: 
 
 "County Court Proceedings prior to 1692 Proceedings for the towns comprising 
 this county are at the Hampshire County Registry at Northampton, with the excep- 
 tion of a few which are at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds at Springfield". 
 
 In the two year period covered by this Court Record there are approximately 150 
 entries relating to estates, testate and intestate. These records supplement the files at 
 Northampton and in some cases supply data entirely lacking in the Probate Records. 
 
 Mrs. Winifred Lovering Holman of Lexington, Mass., brought this to the atten- 
 tion of Mr. Frank E. Tuit III, the present Register of Probate for Hampshire County, 
 whose response was spontaneous and immediate. Photostatic copies of the Court 
 Records, September 1690-November 1692, are now on deposit in the Probate Registry 
 at Northampton. (They have not as yet been indexed.) 
 
 It should be added that the first volume of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 
 bearing dates 1677-1728, in the custody of the Clerk of the Courts at Northampton, 
 also contains Probate material supplementing the other sources. Prior to the Session of 
 27 Sept. 1692 the court was designated as the County Court. This duplication may be 
 explained by a court order appearing on page 2 of this volume, whereby two Regis- 
 ters were appointed to keep the records, one for the sessions held at Northampton, 
 the other for the sessions held at Springfield. 
 
 Longmeadow, Mass. Ethel Lord Scofield. 
 
 [Reprinted from New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 vol. CXII, Apr. 1958, p. 156]. 
 
66 Massachusetts Records