Source:Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988

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Original data

Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).

Records in This Database

[from website as 0f 11 February 2015] Massachusetts boasts some of the oldest and most extensive records in the United States, and some documents in this database go back to the colony’s earliest days. They were made more readily accessible through the efforts of Jay and DeLene Holbrook. About 30 years ago, the Holbrooks began filming vital and town records in Massachusetts. To date, the Holbrooks have visited 315 of the state's 351 towns and cities and filmed their records collections.

This database contains a wide variety of those documents, including both vital and other records. This is a sample of the types of documents you may find:

• birth and baptismal registers
• intention of marriage and marriage records
• courthouse records
• death registers
• account books
• almshouse records
• aid to soldiers and veterans
• assessments and tax records (lists, collections, invoices, valuations)
• cemetery records
• censuses
• church and parish records
• school records
• town meeting records
• pew sales
• deeds
• dog licenses
• minutes
• militia lists and military records
• indexes
• fishing permits
• land grants
• voters lists and registers
• mortgage records
• selectmen’s records

Records can contain names, dates, and places. In addition, some may indicate family relationship or provide details that give context to a person’s life: whether they owned a dog, paid for a church pew, or took out a mortgage.

Search/Browse

Births, Marriages, Deaths can be searched.
Records (including Town Records where available) for specific towns can be browsed.