Massachusetts Archives and Libraries

United States Massachusetts  Archives and Libraries

These repositories preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Massachusetts.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories in Massachusetts
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Online Records of Massacusetts
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American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society 185 Salisbury Street Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-1634 Telephone: 508-755-5221 Fax: 508-753-3311 E-mail: [mailto:Library@americanantiquarian.org Library@americanantiquarian.org] Website: American Antiquarian Society
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 * The AAS is best known for its U.S. newspaper collection of over 18,000 bound volumes 1704-1820, history, genealogy, Bibles, maps, biography, directories, Native Americans, women, canals, railroads, photos, manuscripts.

Pittsfield Federal Records Center
Pittsfield Federal Records Center 10 Conte Drive Pittsfield, MA 01201-8230 Telephone: 413-236-3603 Fax: 413-236-3609 E-mail: [mailto:frc@nara.gov frc@nara.gov] Website: Pittsfield Federal Records Center


 * The Pittsfield Center has CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT federal government agency and court documents. Their large genealogy microfilm collection has been transferred to the Berkshire Athenaeum  listed below.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society 101 Newbury Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3007 Telephone: 617-536-5740; Library 617-226-1231 Fax:  617-536-7307 E-mail:  [mailto:info@nehgs.org info@nehgs.org] Website: AmericanAncestors.org


 * Best overall collection for New England vital records and probates, and excellent collection for Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe. The manuscript collection for members only has diaries, letters, account books, business papers, church and town records, sermons, maps, wills, deeds, unpublished town and family genealogies, photos, and papers of the region's best genealogists since 1850.

Massachusetts Historical Society Library
Massachusetts Historical Society Library 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215-3695 Telephone: 617-536-1608 Fax: 617-859-0074 E-mail: Contact Us Website: Massachusetts Historical Society


 * Excellent historical materials, original town records, newspapers and genealogies. This collection does not repeat the New England Historic Genealogical Society collection.

Massachusetts State Archives
Massachusetts State Archives 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125 Phone: (617) 727–2816 E-mail: [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us ] Website: Massachusetts Archives Division


 * Government records, censuses, military records, land records, naturalizations, divorces, probate, name changes, and adoptions. Only 18 of the 328 volumes of the excellent Massachusetts Archives Collection, aka Felt Collection, of 1629-1799 history are indexed online. The Archives' online searchable collections include:
 * The Massachusetts Archives Collection Database (1629-1799) serves as a searchable, descriptive index and catalog for documents of eighteen volumes of the Massachusetts Archives Collection.
 * Index to Passenger Manifests (1848-1891)
 * Index to Vital Records (1841-1910)

State Library of Massachusetts
State Library of Massachusetts State House, Room 341 24 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02133 Phone: (617) 727–2590 Fax: (617) 727–5819 Website: State Library of Massachusetts


 * Published books, periodicals, state and town histories, government publications, city directories, maps, tax records, newspapers and indexes.

Berkshire Athenaeum
Berkshire Athenaeum 1 Wendell Ave Pittsfield, MA 01201 Telephone: 413-499-9480 Fax: 413-499-9489 E-mail: [mailto:pittsref@cwmars.org pittsref@cwmars.org] Website: Berkshire Athenaeum Pittsfield Public Library


 * Best genealogical respository in western Massachusetts, including newspapers, books, and family histories. Now includes the former Pittsfield Federal Records Center's 71,000 microfilms of censuses, Revolutionary War pension and bounty land warrants, service records 1784-1901, Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, New England naturalizations, 1791-1966, passenger arrivals at Boston, New York, Philadelphia and east coast ports, Canadian border crossings, Indian enrollment cards, Russian Consular records, Barbour Collection for Connecticut, and Vermont vital records index.

Boston Massachusetts Family History Center
Boston Massachusetts Family History Center 150 Brown Street Weston, Massachusetts 02493-2604 Telephone: 781-235-2164 Website: Boston Massachusetts Family History Center


 * The largest Family History Center in New England. Can order microfilms from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. They have published town and county histories of New England, social histories, vital records, family histories, and major indexes.

Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library 700 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116 Phone: (617) 536–5400 Fax: (617) 536–4306 E-mail: [mailto:info@bpl.org info@bpl.org] Website: Boston Public Library


 * Their collection includes New England newspapers, city directores, town records, county and local histories, and genealogies.

Dedham Historical Society Library
Dedham Historical Society Library 612 High Street Dedham, MA 02027-0125 Telephone: 781-326-1385 E-mail: [mailto:society@dedhamhistorical.org society@dedhamhistorical.org] Website: Dedham Historical Society


 * Great collection of manuscripts including deeds, vital and town records from the 15 towns created from old Dedham (south of Boston).

Harvard University Houghton Library
Harvard University Houghton Library Harvard Yard Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 Telephone: 617-495-2440 Website: Houghton Library


 * Manuscripts and rare books from many nations, but especially New England, Britain and Europe, historical archives of publishing history, political and missionary archives, paintings and artifacts. Largest volume of primary historical documents.

Haverhill Public Library
Haverhill Public Library 99 Main Street Haverhill, MA 01830 Telephone: 978-373-1586 E-mail: [mailto:hpl-ref@mvlc.org hpl-ref@mvlc.org] Website: Haverhill Public Library Special Collections


 * One of New England's largest collections of original manuscripts, books, genealogical periodicals, and surname folders, local history collection, genealogy databases, Massachusetts vital records to 1910, federal and state censuses, 9,000 New England town and family histories.

Jones Library
Jones Library 43 Amity Street Amherst, MA 01002 Telephone: 413-259-3090 Website: Jones Library


 * The Boltwood Collection includes 20,000 documents, genealogies, family folders, genealogy periodicals, newspapers, and local histories with an emphasis on Amherst and the Pioneer Valley.

Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum Phillips Library 1 Second Street (temporarily) Peabody, MA USA Telephone: 978-745-9500, or 866-745-1876 For the Hearing Impaired: 978-740-3649 Website: Peabody Essex Museum


 * Essex County books, manuscripts, and government records such as probate records, customs records, and maritime records. Can often help find trans-Atlantic ship logs, and ship images.

Plymouth Public Library
Plymouth Public Library 132 South Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Telephone: 508-830-4250 E-mail: Contact Us Website: Plymouth Public Library


 * Almost all published histories and genealogies of early Massachusetts settlers are here.

Springfield History Library and Archives
Springfield History Library and Archives (formerly Connecticut Valley Historical Museum Library) 21 Edwards Street Springfield, Massachusetts 01103 Telephone: 800-625-7738 E-mail: [mailto:wmshlibrary@springfieldmuseums.org wmshlibrary@springfieldmuseums.org] Website: Springfield History Library and Archives


 * Can help identify Massachusetts emigrants headed west using vital records, land records, and probate records from many New England towns. They also have French Canadian records, the Loiselle Index, New York passenger arrivals, computer databases, over 20,000 genealogy books, 6,000 microforms, 50,000 photos and 2.5 million manuscripts including diaries, and account books.

University of Massachusetts Amherst Library
University of Massachusetts Amherst Library 154 Hicks Way Amherst, MA 01003 Telephone: 413-545-0284 E-mail: [mailto:ref@library.umass.edu ref@library.umass.edu] Website: UMass Amherst Libraries, and their Online Guide to Genealogy


 * Very large set of biographies, genealogies, and never-published histories, and church, business, fraternal, insurance, and manufacturing records. They also have the Massachusetts Archives Collection  microfilms, Franklin, Hampshire, and Suffolk counties' probate records, especially Connecticut River Valley towns.


 * For additional information, see also Massachusetts Repositories.

Allen County Public Library
Allen County Public Library 900 Library Plaza Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Telephone: 260-421-1225 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@acpl.info genealogy@acpl.info] Website: Genealogy Center ACPL


 * This is the second-largest genealogy collection in the United States and the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Its holdings include more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items on microfilm and microfiche. It has a premier genealogical periodical collection, local histories, genealogies, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, ethnic sources, and Canadians. They have a great eastern seaboard and Massachusetts collection.

New York Public Library
New York Public Library U.S. History, Local History & Genealogy Irma and Paul Milstein Division First Floor, Room 121 Schwarzman Main Branch Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street New York, New York 10018-2788 Telephone: 212-930-0828 E-mail: [mailto:histref@nypl.org histref@nypl.org] Website: NYPL home page


 * The Genealogy Division has an outstanding collection of American history at national, state and local levels; international genealogy and heraldry in Roman alphabets; Dorot Jewish collection; manuscripts, photos; New York censuses, directories, vital records, Revolutionary War soldiers, Irish in America, and Massachusetts records.

Onondaga Historical Association Library
Onondaga Historical Association Library 321 Montgomery Street Syracuse, New York 13202 Telephone:315-428-1864 Fax: 315-471-2133 E-mail: Contact Us Website: Onondaga Historical Association Collections and Archives


 * 10,000 family folders for northeastern families, including many from Massachusetts.

Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library
Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library Leahy Library Vermont History Center 60 Washington Street Barre, Vermont 05641-4209 Telephone: 802-479-8509 Fax: 802-479-8510 Email: [mailto:vhs-library@state.vt.us vhs-library@state.vt.us] Website: Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library


 * Their collection includes a comprehensive name index of Massachusetts people, strong collection of family and town histories of New England, vital records, cemetery transcripts, genealogical periodicals, manuscripts, maps, and photos.

For Further Reading

 * Historical Records Survey (Massachusetts). Preliminary Edition of Guide to Depositories of Manuscript Collections in Massachusetts (Boston, Massachusetts: Historical Records Survey, 1939). . . This work lists major manuscript collections and their locations.
 * Carroll D. Wright, Report on the Custody and Condition of the Public Records of Parishes, Towns, and Counties (Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter, 1889). . . Gives a brief description of the town records that existed in 1889 and which may still be available.