David Lambert The Online Genealogist

Each day (M-F), David Lambert, the NEHGS Online Genealogist, will post an interesting "Question of the Day" to share with you. We hope these questions are valuable and beneficial in your research. Check back daily for new questions and answers or read through our archives. David's genealogical expertise includes specialties in New England and Atlantic Canadian research, military records, and Native American and African American genealogical research. David has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including the PBS-TV show History Detectives. He is the host of a local public access television talk show, devoted to capturing the stories of the U.S. Military veterans of the town of Stoughton, Massachusetts.

January 30, 2009

Question:
I am looking to research the annual town reports for a batch of Massachusetts towns. I have gone to the Boston Public Library and to NEHGS but you do not have the towns I need. Is there a complete collection at the Massachusetts State Archives?

Answer:
Thanks for your question. The Massachusetts State Library not the State Archives has a fairly comprehensive collection of the annual city and town reports for Massachusetts communities from the 19th through 21st centuries. On their website you can also determine the towns and the years they have availble.

http://www.mass.gov/lib/collections/gd/town.htm#reports

For some communities the town reports publish births, marriages and deaths for the previous year. This is a quick way to search post-1915 vital records not already open to the public. These records were made public at the time of their publication, but remain an underutilized resource among genealogists and historians.

Massachusetts State Library
State House – Room 341
Boston, MA 02133
Tel: 617-727-2590

Archives:

• 1-29-2009
  My grandfather’s record were destroyed in St. Louis, Missour in the fire in the 1970’s. I recall you mentioned at one of your military lectures that on a local level there are some records? He lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts before the war.
• 1-28-2009
  While consulting old deeds in Franklin County, Massachusetts I came across the reference to “Bardwell’s Ferry” as a location where my relative lived. Can you tell me where this was located?
• 1-27-2009
  I'm trying to sort out the John Somerbys in Newburyport. There is a reference to a Somerby death in Thomas Cary's Newbuyrport diary (online at NEHGS) in which Cary refers to "Master Somerby" who was buried in 1800. Read more.
• 1-26-2009
  Do you have the Dorchester school records of those schools or a listing of children attending?
• 1-23-2009
  In the mail I received a certified copy of vital records from my ancestors town in Vermont. To my surprise there were the names of all of the children and their dates. Since these are all grouped together on the same page are they authentic? The record was recorded in 1805 by the town clerk.
• 1-22-2009
  Recently I found a Civil War pension index card from the National Archives microfilm with a notations I do not recognize. The card had a “CX” at the bottom, and I saw some cards that had “C” followed by a number. Does this indicate they were rejected because they were really “C” for Confederates?
• 1-21-2009
  Presently, I'm working on another branch of the family, the Crofts branch. Frank Spencer Crofts was my sons' great grandfather. He was born in Spithfield, Providence, RI in 1859. I'd like to locate his birth certificate, for starters (also marriage and death certs) but when I search on this site for RI information, I am shown endless pages of lists but don't seem to be able to look at the contents of any of those lists. Can you advise me about gaining access to RI records?
• 1-19-2009
  Good afternoon! I am wondering if there are any transcribed cemetery documents that will help me locate the place of burial for an individual, Solon Orville Burrington. Solon died on 15 October 1888 in Saratoga Springs, NY, but according to his death certificate, he was buried in North Adams. Read more.
• 1-16-2009
  I have found records of my ancestors’ burial site via your databases – my problem is that there are references that give two (or 3) different cemeteries. How do I determine which is correct? Read more.
• 1-15-2009
  I am an author working on a biography and note that your collection has a work I'm looking for. It is the GHC Bulletin series called Genealogie et histoire de la Caraibe. I need #177 (January 2005, page 4409). Please tell me if you have this issue and how I might procure it, or even just the page I need.
• 1-14-2009
  Someone told me that they found some information relevant to my family in a volume that's part of a set of books called the Boston Transcript. Are those volumes on-line on the NEHGS website, or are they only available there at the library?
• 1-13-2009
  I understand that the province of Newfoundland has later census records then the rest of Canada. I would imagine that is because of it not joining Canada until the 1940’s. What records do you have?
• 1-12-2009
  Do original marriage records from Salem 1836 still exist? Andrew married Ann Marshall on Oct. 12, 1836. This record is unavailable online as an original view.
• 1-09-2009 -
  I have found the record of a marriage between Frederick Rupp and Charity Peters on March 29, 1807 at New South Church in the online Boston Marriages 1700-1809 and in the online Boston Church Records. Do the handwritten originals exist, and did they contain the birthplaces, ages and parents' names of the bride and groom?
• 1-08-2009 -
  I am looking for Helen Purcell dob 5/14/1895 in Peabody. Massachusetts vital records has no record of her birth.
• 1-07-2009 -
  I am researching one Isaac Hamblin/Hamlin, who served in the War of 1812, and was present at (and wrote a description of) the death of Tecumseh? Read full question.