Vital Records of Swansea, Massachusetts to 1850

The following was excerpted from the introduction to this volume:

"The town of Swansea, founded in 1667, lies in a key geographical position at the head of Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays, originally encompassing land now in Somerset, Massachusetts, and Barrington and Warren, Rhode Island. Through it passed many Plymouth and Bristol County families, often Mayflower descendants, heading west into Rhode Island and beyond. Given this history, it is rather surprising that Swansea's vital records have not been published in full until now.

"Unfortunately any attempt, however poor, at presenting information often deters subsequent, more thorough efforts, and the delay in this case was certainly due in part to the existence of some earlier, incomplete transcriptions which are described in detail in the introductions to each section.

"Because of the persistence and dedication of the late H.L. Peter Rounds, NEHGS is able, finally, to publish these Vital Records of Swansea, Massachusetts to 1850. Mr. Rounds began transcribing them from microfilm in the early 1980s. While it was not his initial intent to provide a literal transcription, others from whom he sought advice convinced him to copy the original records as exactly as possible. He was for some time unsuccessful in finding a publisher. In the mid-1980s, however, the Society accepted his proposal and purchased the manuscript with funds provided by John Brooks Threlfall of Madison, Wisconsin."

The original text is available at the NEHGS Library. The call number is REF F74/S995/R68/1992.

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