Massachusetts Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Records

See Also Researching in Vital Records - Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......

Starting with the arrival of the Pilgrims, vital events have been diligently, although not completely, recorded, preserved, and published. By legislative order, 206 (out of 364) towns had all their vital records to 1850 published. The volume (or volumes) in this Systematic Series for each town is divided into births, marriages, and deaths, then alphabetized by surname and then given name.

Some town vital records published before and after legislative order were printed verbatim, and then indexed, making them somewhat more valuable for research purposes since original family groupings remain as recorded. Other towns' vital records have been published or microfilmed since publication of the Systematic Series. Original manuscript volumes of the Systematic Series are at the Massachusetts [State] Archives at Columbia Point. Transcriptions of vital records for several western Massachusetts towns are in the Corbin Collection and those for the Braintree area are in the Sprague Collection, both at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

There are some early vital records which were filed by county instead of town for Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Plymouth (marriages only), and Hampshire (from private papers).

Beginning in 1841 the state mandated that a copy of each event recorded in a town or city be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which means that two sources exist for each event after that date - the town(or city) and the state. Some towns were not in compliance however, until the late 1840s. The indexes for 1841-95 are in bound, ledger-style books, arranged in five-year periods, except for the first which is 1841-50. They are available at Massachusetts State Archives. Boston records after mandatory recording do not begin in the ledger books until 1848, but all the city's vital records (from 1630) are extant at Boston City Hall Archives. Published Boston vital records include births, deaths, marriages 1630-1699; births 1700-1800; and marriages 1700-1751; 1752-1809.

The 1841-95 vital records ledger books and indexes for the state are also available on microfilm at New England Historic Genealogical Society and through the FHL.

As of 1 January 1896 the Massachusetts Division of Health Statistics and Research, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 150 Tremont Street, Room B-3, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, is the repository for copies of town or city recorded vital records. As with the bound ledger-style volumes for the 1841-95 period, indexes continue in five-year periods, separated into births, marriages, and deaths. Records and indexes are transferred to the Massachusetts State Archives every five years. The 1896-1900 grouping will begin the transfer process after December, 1991. Until individual death certificates were used in the 1900s, the name of the cemetery does not appear in the state copy, but it may be found in the town or city copy.

A statewide index to divorces after 1952 is available at the Registry of Vital Records, but no records are kept there.

 

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Links For Birth Records

• Massachusetts Birth Record Books at Amazon.com
• Massachusetts Town Birth Records: This database is a collection of birth records from many towns. Each record reveals the individual's name, birth date, birthplace, and parents' names. It provides the names of over 95,000 persons.
• Search All U.S and Foriegn Birth, Marriage and Death Records
• Search County Birth Records
• Order Birth Certificates Online

Links For Marriage Records

• Massachusetts Marriage Record Books at Amazon.com
• Order Marriage Certificates or Divorce Records Online
• Massachusetts Marriages to 1800: This database of Massachusetts marriages to 1850 contains over 29,000 names.
• Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850: This database is an index to approximately 838,000 individuals who were married in select areas of the State of Massachusetts, USA, between 1633 and 1850.
• Massachusetts Town Marriage Records: This database is a collection of Marriage records from many towns. Each record reveals the names of bride and groom, marriage date, and marriage location. It provides the names of about 190,000 persons.
• Search U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• Search County Marriage Records
• Search County Divorce Records

Links For Death Records

• Massachusetts Death Record Books at Amazon.com
• Massachusetts Town Death Records: This database is a collection of death records from many towns. Each record reveals the individual's name, death date, burial place, and other useful information. It provides the names of over 90,000 persons.
• Social Security Death Index
• Obituary Collection
• Search County Death Records
• Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Massachusetts obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Massachusetts newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Massachusetts.
• Search America's Obituaries (1977 to current) at Genealogybank.com - Obituaries contain helpful information such as names, dates, places of birth, death, marriage and family information. Over 28 million obituaries make this the most complete collection from the 20th and 21st centuries - includes over 1,100 U.S. newspapers. New content added daily!