Massachusetts Census Records - Federal Population Schedules that exist for Massachusetts are 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Original state copies and microfilm copies of the federal population, mortality, industry, and agriculture schedules are held by the Massachusetts State Archives, The 1800 census does not include enumerations for Boston or much of Suffolk County, but the published 1798 U.S. Direct Tax for Boston may be helpful.

See Also Researching in Census Records - What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......

  There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Union Veterans Schedules were conducted in 1890.

 State Schedules: Massachusetts conducted two state census enumerations, 1855 and 1865, which contain information similar to the federal schedules. The originals are at the Massachusetts State Archives and transcripts with indexes are being published. Towns currently available are in Essex, Middlesex, and Plymouth counties. This makes it possible to follow a family in the census records for every five-year period 1850–70, a critical time given immigration and Industrial Revolution mobility.

• Massachusetts Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; Early Census Index.

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   There are numerous ways to determine the location in which to concentrate research for an ancestor. One of the most popular and productive is the census.
Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., In Ancestry’s Red Book: American State,County and Town Sources

    Since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a nationwide population count every ten years. Unique in scope and often surprisingly detailed, the census population schedules created from 1790 to 1920 are among the most used of records created by the federal government. Over the course of two centuries the United States has changed significantly, and so has the census. From the six basic questions asked in the 1790 census, the scope and categories of information have changed and expanded dramatically.

   Early censuses were essentially basic counts of inhabitants; but as the nation grew, so did the need for statistics that would reflect the characteristics of the people. In 1850, the focus of the census was radically broadened. Going far beyond the vague questions previously asked of heads of households, the 1850 census enumerators were instructed to ask the age, sex, color, occupation, birthplace, and other questions regarding every individual in every household. Succeeding enumerations solicited more information; by 1920, census enumerators asked twenty-nine questions of every head of household and almost as many questions of everyone else in the residence. (Only a very small segment of the 1890 census remains; a fire in the Commerce Department destroyed the vast majority of the original records for that year. Because of privacy considerations, census records less than seventy-two years old are not available to the general public; thus, the 1920 census is the most recent available to the public.)

   Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the U.S. federal censuses. The population schedules are successive “snapshots” of Americans that depict where and how they were living at particular periods in the past. Once home sources and library sources have been exhausted, the census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. Statewide indexes are available for almost every census; they are logical tools for locating individuals whose precise place of residence is unknown. While some inaccuracies are to be expected in census records, they still provide some of the most fascinating and useful pieces of personal history to be found in any source. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. Additionally, information found in the census will often point to other sources critical to complete research, such as court, land, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records.

   The importance of census records does not diminish over time in any research project. It is always wise to return to these records as discoveries are made in other sources because, as you discover new evidence about individuals, some information that seemed unrelated or unimportant in a first look at the census may take on new importance.

   When you can’t find family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means of documenting the events of a person’s life. Vital registration—the official recording of births, deaths, and marriages—did not begin until around 1920 in many areas of the United States, and fires, floods and other disasters since have destroyed some official government records. When other documentation is missing, census records are frequently used by individuals who must prove their age or citizenship status (or that of their parents) for Social Security benefits, insurance, passports, and other important reasons.

How to Find Census Records
   All available federal census schedules (those made from 1790 to 1920) have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; at the National Archives’ regional archives; at the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) in Salt Lake City and LDS family history centers throughout North America, “The Family History Library and Its Centers”); at many large libraries; in genealogical society libraries; and through companies that lend microfilmed records. Some state and local agencies have census schedules for the state or area they serve. Generally, microfilm copies may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Starting With the Census
   It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1920) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence.

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Massachusetts Church Records - One expects an ample supply of church records in a state whose history is so interwoven with religious principles and dissension, and such is the case in Massachusetts; many exist in either published form by themselves or in numerous periodicals or noted in several collections of inventories. Some early church records of vital events were included in the Systematic Series. Church records often contain other genealogical information such as admissions and dismissals indicating migration. Original records not held by the church itself are often deposited in central denominational libraries. The Corbin Collection includes many church records for the western part of the state. The following will guide the researcher to finding the appropriate records in Massachusetts for some of the historically largest or prominent denominations:

• Baptist. Southern (1800-1960) and American Baptist (1699-1872) church records for Boston are on microfilm at their national headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., and Rochester, N.Y., respectively.
• Congregational. The Congregational Library, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108.
• Episcopal. See WPA, Inventory of Church Archives of Massachusetts: Protestant Episcopal Church which was produced in 1942, and the Diocesan Library and Archives, 138 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.
• Jewish. Records can be found at the American Jewish Historical Society Library, 2 Thornton Road, Waltham, MA 02154, which is located on campus of Brandeis University.
• Methodist. See the Boston University School of Theology Library, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, for Methodist records.
• Roman Catholic. Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston, 2121 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton, MA 02135.
• Society of Friends (Quakers). See Rhode Island -Archives - Rhode Island Historical Society), and Essex Institute.
• Unitarian-Universalist. Harvard Divinity School Library, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

See Also Research In State Church & Cemetery Records - Church records rank among the most promising of genealogical records available. Indeed, for periods before the advent of civil registration of vital statistics (a very late development in many American states), church records rank as the best available sources for information on specific vital events: birth, marriage, and death. They are also among the most under-used major records in American genealogy. Part of the reason lies in the number of denominations-there are hundreds of them. Identifying and locating the records of these various churches makes even professional genealogists hesitate......

Some major religious bodies have libraries in the commonwealth with collections that include not only Pennsylvania church records, but those for other states as well. These include the following:

• The collection at the Friends Historical Library Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA 19081
  The library has original and microfilmed Quaker records, mostly for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and some for Virginia, including those for fourteen Pennsylvania meetings copied by Hinshaw but never published. While the basic meeting records are located at Swarthmore, other material can be found at Haverford College Library Quaker Collection Haverford, PA 19041-1392
• The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society 2215 Millstream Road Lancaster, PA 16702-1499
  has a handout entitled Genealogical Resources at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. A research fee is charged for mail inquiries. The society also publishes a quarterly, Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage.
• The Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society of the United Church of Christ 555 West James Street Lancaster, PA 17603
  loans microfilm of church records, covering German churches in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York counties, as well as a few for Maryland and Virginia. Many German church records, particularly for the German Reformed and Evangelical church, have been published in books and periodicals.
• The Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
  has records of over 20,000 churches and has published the Journal of Presbyterian History since 1901.
• The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center at the Balch Institute 18 South 7th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
  has a microfilm collection of Jewish synagogue and cemetery records; other related material. Other important archives are kept by: The Moravians 66 West Church Street Bethlehem, PA 18018
• The Schwenkfelders Pennsburg, PA 18073
• The Lutherans Abdel Ross Wentz Library Gettysburg, PA 17325
• Luthean Theological Seminary 7301 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19119
• Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages: This database is a collection of Lutheran Church baptism and marriage records from southeastern Pennsylvania between 1730 and 1779.
  

Massachusetts Cemetery Records - Cemeteries are maintained by towns, churches, families and, later, private enterprises. Some records for Boston's oldest cemeteries, such as Central and Granary, have been published.

The state DAR annual volumes of cemetery (Bible, family and church) records transcribed by local chapters are helpful, but there is no central repository for maintaining them as is often the case for other states. Copies of some of the DAR volumes are at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Periodicals and repositories throughout the state have many examples of transcriptions, the most notable are the Berkshire Athenaeum and New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Systematic Series of town vital records included some information from gravestones. Some of these transcriptions and others in the Corbin Collection are at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

   Cemetery records and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. Cemetery and other sources of information associated with death include:

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Massachusetts Land Records - Land ownership in Massachusetts descended initially from colony to proprietor and eventually to private ownership by individuals. The colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were legally based on charters or patents from England to a company of business or trading associates. The general court for each colony, acting as a legislative body, established towns by granting to a group of proprietors blocks of land. The primary obligation of the proprietors was to divide the land among the settlers in the town based on family size, wealth, or both. Part of the land was held by town proprietors for the common good.

See Also Researching in Land Records - Land records provide two types of important evidence for the genealogist. Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. Most beginning genealogists underestimate the importance of using land records to pin persons to specific locales. In the South, which has far fewer vital records than New England, the land records are even more crucial to genealogical success. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Land records......

Land was surveyed and plats drawn to identify who had a proprietarily share in each piece of land in town. The land itself was not actually sold in the early stages of town development. Having the use of a house lot and acreage for farming included a proprietorial right in the enterprise of the town and to further divisions of town land. Native Americans, with a different concept and understanding of land than that of the colonists, often relinquished their land claims to colonists who found the land a desirable location for a town or useful for hunting, trapping, or farming Successive divisions of town land occurred, since not all the land was divided at one time. As families grew and newcomers arrived, shares of additional divisions were allocated to more people. Influx of the Great Migration period (1630-42), overcrowding, the desire for more land, and disagreements among inhabitants over religious, social, and political concerns all form the development of new towns, and the process of land acquisition was repeated. Those who wished to form a new town petitioned the general court; the land was granted to the proprietors to divide as fit the needs of the new town. Published grants before county formation (1643 in Massachusetts Bay, 1685 in Plymouth) are found among the records of the colony.

When a county system became established, land transactions became part of the county's records. Eventually, land was sold by proprietors to individuals and between individuals. Proprietors continued to keep records on "common and undivided lands" in a town-some well into the nineteenth century.
Deeds are recorded in the earliest records of the counties. A series of abstracts for the latter continues in the revived Mayflower Descendant. Deeds are the purview of the county registry of deeds. Grantor and grantee indexes are available, and sometimes the location (or town) and date of recording are listed in the index, although this practice is not uniform. The first fourteen volumes of Suffolk County deeds published has, in addition to the grantor and grantee indexes, an every-name index for deeds from 1640-1799 located at its registry office. This index is a consolidation of names other than grantor/grantee found in the deeds, such as witnesses and abutters.

In New England fashion, deeds generally indicate the residence of both sets of parties and describe the land in either lot numbers, divisions, metes and bounds, or abutters-sometimes all four. There are conveyances for property, personal possessions, pews in churches, sale and manumissions of slaves, indentures, mortgages, pre-nuptial agreements, and dower rights. Some conveyances for cemetery plots can be found in nineteenth- and twentieth-century transactions.

Deeds are available at the relevant county seat. There is usually a general deed index across deed books, although early deed books may also have their own index in each volume. While the usual location for deeds is the county seat, larger counties were later divided up into districts to make the registry more convenient to the seller. The FHL also has microfilm copies of early through mid nineteenth-century deeds.

• Land Records from All States
• Search County Property Records
• Search County Land Patents

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone, In Land and Property Research in the United States

U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3

   The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.

   Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.

   Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.

   The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).

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Massachusetts Military Records -   Armed conflict was as much a part of Massachusetts history as religious dissention, and the sources are just as plentiful as for church records, but in this case great quantities of them have been published.
Original extant records for the period 1643-1783 are at Massachusetts State Archives, as well as some materials related to Shays' Rebellion, the War of 1812, and the Spanish American War. Civil War records and later, including the Korean War, are at the Adjutant General's office, War Records, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02202.

See Also Researching in Military Records - The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest.......

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1896-1908) is comprised of seventeen volumes. Twenty-thousand names found after the publication were entered on cards and are on microfilm at Massachusetts State Archives and New England Historic Genealogical Society. Each listing, in both the published list and microfilmed card file, is alphabetical by occurrence of the name in a muster roll, report, or pay file, etc., along with a town residence of the man if it was obvious in the original record. No attempt was made to determine whether more than one record for the same name, in either the volumes or on cards, is actually for the same person.

Numerous materials are available for Loyalist research in Massachusetts, including biographical studies.
In addition to the Adjutant General's Office, many towns have memorials to their residents who served in later wars. Records are generally kept at the town or city clerk's office.

The Massachusetts Military History Research Institute, 143 Speen Street, Natick, MA 01760, has an excellent collection of material from 1774 through the Vietnam War with a heavy concentration on the Civil War.

The site U.S. Wars list conflicts dating from earliest to 1865. Wars covered that are availibele are:

Military records in the State Archives cover conflicts dating from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries; those most useful to genealogists date from 1643 to 1865. The records can be used to identify the service of particular individuals but provide little background on the person’s family or life.

Information concerning military service in the colonial wars (circa 1643-1774) can be gleaned from legislative records and a variety of military rolls and accounts. Similar rolls from the Revolutionary period document the service of soldiers in the state militia; there are also a limited number of Continental Army rolls. Additionally the Archives holds records of state pensions, bounties, and Maine land grants for Revolutionary War veterans, or their heirs, who were not eligible to receive federal pensions. Family relationships may be included in the pension records, as heirs tried to document their status. Military records from the colonial wars and the Revolution are indexed by name and are available on microfilm at the Archives. Revolutionary service is also referenced through the seventeen-volume set, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Boston, 1896-1908).

Payrolls and other military records at the Archives may also be used to document the garrison on Castle Island in Boston Harbor. Following the Revolution, soldiers continued to be stationed at the Castle as a defense for the harbor. These soldiers guarded the state prison that existed there between 1785 and 1798.

Records from Shays’ Rebellion, a period of internal turbulence dated 1786-87, are included in the Massachusetts Archives collection (see page ), and records of the state treasurer and the commissary general. Letters, orders, warrants, petitions, special reports, military payrolls, service certificates, financial records, and oaths of allegiance provide extensive documentation of Shays’ Rebellion. Partial indices exist with names of soldiers and individuals who supplied or housed the army.

Military records relating to the War of 1812 (1812-1815) are found in the records of the Governor and Executive Council; these are concerned primarily with the formation of militia units and commissions for officers. Records of the Massachusetts Militia in the War of 1812-1814 (Boston, 1913), provides information on the militia regiments called out in 1814 in anticipation of a British attack on Massachusetts.

The most complete list of Massachusetts men who served in the Civil War is found in the multi-volume set, Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War (Norwood, MA, 1931-1935). Civil War records held by the Archives include a variety of muster, clothing and descriptive rolls, lists of assignments of recruits to particular town quotas, materials documenting the use of substitutes for draftees, and records of Massachusetts bounty payments to southern African-Americans who were recruited into the U.S. Army. Additional archival materials from this period include the records of the State Military Agent and the letterbooks of Governor John Andrew, an early and strong supporter of the war effort.

Records relating to the Spanish-American War (1898) include a small collection of letters and petitions for bonuses from veterans or their families to the state treasurer.

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

Below is a list of online resources for Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Email us with websites containing information on Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War by clicking the link below:

• Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Massachusetts (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 from the State of Massachusetts.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of Massachusetts (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, 17 Vols: There are over 175,000 records in this database, which give, when available, the name and age of the individual, town of residence, the date and location of enlistment, areas and length of service, date of discharge, and description of their physical features.
• Massachusetts Military Company History, Vol. 4: The database contains many facts concerning births, marriages, occupations, etc. of the past and present members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company,

Search Civil War Soldiers, Service Records, Regiments, General Officers, Battle Summaries, Pension Index: 1861-1934, CSA Field Officers and the War of the Rebellion

Below is a list of online resources for Massachusetts in the Civil War. Email us with websites containing information on Massachusetts in the Civil War by clicking the link below:

• Southern Claims Commission from the State of Massachusetts (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Massachusetts (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Massachusetts Army & Navy, 1861-1865 : This database lists Massachusetts officers and soldiers who were killed in action.
• Massachusetts Spanish American War Records

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Military and pension records are among the most useful sources available to genealogists because of the detail they offer. These records are important because they may provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of family members, and other details that can round out a picture of his or her life. Judith Prowse Reid, Head, Local History and Genealogy, Library of Congress

   Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

How to Find Military Records
   To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.

   When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.

Military Time Lines
   Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.

Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records
   There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.

Military History
   Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.

   In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.

Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries
   Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.

Evidence of Military Service in Court Records
   Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.

Military Records in the National Archives
   Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.

   A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records). Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.

   Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.

U.S. Military Records
   By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:

Records of state militias and the National Guard
Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
Records of the military academies
Post-service records
Pensions
Bounty-land grants
Bonuses and family assistance
Soldier’s homes
Military burials
Military installations
Censuses of veterans
Conscription
Civilian affairs

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Massachusetts Vital Records - 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.

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.......

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.

Massachusetts State Vital Records Office, 150 Mount Vernon St., 1st Fl., Dorchester, MA 02125-3105; Main Telephone: (617) 740-2600. Check or money order should be made payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Personal checks are accepted. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (617) 740-2600. This will be a recorded message. Delivery Time is 4-6 weeks by mail or you can reciebve the certificates in as little as 2-5 days by Ordering Online Below

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Facts on Birth Records - Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.

While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.

Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age.

Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.

• 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.
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Facts on Marriage Records - Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).

Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.

Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.

Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.

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• 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.
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Facts on Death Records - Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.

By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.

• 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.
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• 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 Pennsylvania obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Pennsylvania newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Alabama.
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