Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Plymouth  Hingham

Town Clerk
210 Central Street Hingham, MA 02043 Phone: 781-741-1410 Fax: 781-740-0239 Email: [mailto:townclerk@hingham-ma.com townclerk@hingham-ma.com] Website

Brief History
Hingham was a settlement in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town was placed in Suffolk County when counties were formed in 1643. For a brief time, the town was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. When the new Norfolk County was formed in 1793, Hingham and Hull were cherry-picked to stay in Suffolk County while Norfolk County bordered it on the west and east. Hingham was annexed to Plymouth County on 18 June 1803, still leaving its west and east borders with Norfolk County. Hingham remains in Plymouth County.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Hingham was once called Barecove.

Village or section names include Broad Cove, Conihassett, Crow Point, East Hingham, Fort Hill, Hingham Center, Liberty Plain, Lower Plain, Mount Blue, Nantasket Junction, Naval Magazine, Old Colony Hill, Power Station, Prospect Hill, Queen Anne's Corner, Rocky Nook, South Hingham, U.S. Naval Air Station, Upper Plains, Weir River, West Hingham, and World's End. Border changes

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:


 * Solomon Lincoln, History of the Town of Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts (Hingham, Mass., 1827), iv, 183 pp. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($), and on GooBooGeni. WorldCat (Other Libraries); or.


 * There are sketches on Hobart, Lincoln, and Wilder families.


 * Fearing Burr and George Lincoln, The Town of Hingham in the late Civil War, with sketches of its Soldiers and Sailors, also the address and other exercises at the dedication of the soldiers' and sailors' monument (Boston, 1876), 455 pp.. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and on Ancestry ($). WorldCat (Other Libraries); or.


 * History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts (Hingham, Mass., 1893), 3v. in 4 [Note: The Genealogies being v. 2-3 were reprinted in 1v. (Somersworth, N.H., 1982), 486, 429 pp. Digital versions at Internet Archive (v.1 andv.2-3), Google Books (v.1 pt. 1, v.1 pt. 2, v.2, and [v.3), and a transcription for v.2-3 online. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.


 * This work includes families from the east or second precinct until 1770 when it became the separate town of Cohasset. Sketches include: Abbott, Adamas, Adderton, Adriaenssens, Allen, Anderson, Andrew(s), Bacon, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Ballard, Balston, Bampton, Bangs, Banister, Bantlett / Bentlett / Bentley, Barber, Barker, Barnard, Barnes, Barrell, Barrett, Barry, Barstow, Bartlett, Barton, Barton, Bass, Bassett, Batchelder, Bates, Battles, Baylies, Beal(e), Bearse, Belcher, Bennett, Benson, Berry, Betscome, Bibby, Bicknell, Bills, Binney, Bisbee, Black, Blair, Blake, Blany, Bloodworth, Blossom, Boardman, Bogle, Bond, Benny, Bosworth, Botting, Bourne, Bouve, Bowers, Bowser, Boynton, Bradford, Bramhall / Brimhall, Brassel, Breams, Breed, Breen, Brett, Brewer, Briggs / Bridges, Bronsdon, Brooks, Brossard, Broughton, Brown, Bruce, Bryant, Buck, Buckland, Buckley, Buerly, Buker, Bull, Bullen, Burbank, Burdett / Burditt, Burns, Burr, Burrell, Burtenshaw, Burton, Butler, Buttimer, Cain, Caldwell, Campbell, Canterbury, Carnes, Carr, Carter, Carver, Caryl / Carrel, Casey, Cazneau, Chaffee, Chamberlain, Chapman, Chessman, Childs, Chittenden, Chubbuck, Church, Churchill, Clapp, Clark, Cleverly, Cobb, Cockeril, Cockram, Coffey, Coit, Colbath, Colby, Cole, Collamore, Collier, Colman, Colson, Condon, Connally, Cook, Combes, Corbett, Cooper, Corcoran, Corthell, Coughlan, Cowell, Cowing, Cox, Craig, Crehan, Creswell, Croade, Crocker, Crosby, Cross, Crowe, Crowell, Cudworth, Cunde, Curtis, Cushing, Cutler, Dacey, Daggett, Daley, Damon, Daniels, Davis, Dawes, Dawson / Dorson, Day, Dayton, Dean, Delargy, Dill, Dixon, Doane, Dolan, Donovan, Dorby, Dorr, Doughty, Douglass, Dower, Druce, Dukes, Dunbar, Dunham, Dunkin / Duncan, Dunn, Dunning, Dwelley, Dyer, Eames, Easterbrook, Eaton, Edes, Eells, Egre, Eldredge, English, Enos, Ensign, Everett, Ewell, Ewer, Fair, Fanning, Farmer, Farnsworth, Farrow / Farrer, Fearing / Ferin, Fee, Field, Finney, Fisher, Fiske, Fletcher, Flint, Foley, Folsom, Ford, Foster, Fotler, Fowle, Franklin, Freeman, French, Frost, Fuller, Gammons, Fannett, Gardner / Garnet, Gates, Gay, Gibbons, Gibbs, Gilbert / Gilbard, Gilford, Gilkey, Gill, Gilman, Gold, Good, Goodwin, Goold / Gould, Gordon, Gorman, Grafton, Grant, Graves, Gray, Greeley, Green, Greenleaf, Groce / Gross, Grover, Gunn, Hall, Halley / Holly, Hamlin, Hammond, Hann, Harden / Harding, Hardy, Harlow, Harris, Hart, Harvey, Haskell, Hassell / Harshall, Hatch, Havey, Hawes, Hawke, Hayes, Hayward / Howard, Henderson, Hennessy, Hersey, Hichborn, Hickey, Higgins, Hill, Hilliard, Hillman, Hinckley, Hines, Hobart / Hubbard, Hodsden, Holbrook, Holden, Hollis, Holmes, Hooper, Hopkins, Horswell, Horton, Hough, Howard / Hayward, Howe(s), Hudson, Huet / Hewitt, Hughs, Hull, Humphrey, Hunt, Hussey, Hutchings, Ibrook, Ings, Jacob, James, Jenkins, Jennings, Jepson / Gipson, Jernegan, Jewell, Jewett, Johns, Johnson, Jones, Jordan / Jourdaine, Josselyn / Joslin / Jocelyn, Joy, Joyce, Judkins, Keating, Keen, Keeshan, Kehoe, Keliher, Kelsey, Kenerson, Kent, Kilborn / Kilburn, Kilby, Kimball, King, Kingman, Kittredge, Lahee, Lambert, Landers, Lane, Lang, Langer, Langley, Lapham, Lasell / Lazell, Lawrence, Lawson, Leary, Leavitt, LeBaron, Legary / Legere, Leigh, Lemner, Lemon, Leonard, Lewis, Lincoln, Linscot, Lisle, Litchfield, Little, Lobdell / Lobden, Long, Lord, Lorden, Loring / Lorraine, Lothrop, Loud, Lovell, Lovett, Lovis, Low(e), Ludkin, Lyford, Macvarlo / Mackfarlin, Magnor, Magoon / McGoun, Maguire / McGuire, Mahoney, Malbon, Mann, Manning / Munning, Mansfield, Manuel, Marble / Marvel, Margetts, Marsh, Marshall, Martin, Mason, May / Mayes, Mayhew / Mayo, McCarty, McDermott, McDonough, McHolin, McKee, McKenna, McLeod, McNeil, Mead, Means, Mears, Melcher, Merrick, Merritt, Meservey, Miller, Minard / Minor, Mitchell, Moore, Moorfield, More, Morey, Morrissey, Morse, Morton, Mott, Mulford, Murphy, Murray, Muzzey, Nash, Neal, Nelson, Newcomb, Newhall, Nichols, Nickerson / Nicholson, Noel, Noonan, Norris, North, Norton, Noyes, Nudd, Nye / Ney, Oakes, O'Brien, O'Connell, O'Keefe, Orcutt, Orton, Osborn, Otis / Oates, Our Ourish, Overton, Packard / Parker, Page, Palmer, Papley, Parker, Patterson, Payson, Peakes, Peare, Peck, Peirce / Pearce / Perse, Penfold, Penny, Perkins, Perry, Pettingill, Phillips, Phinney, Phippen(y), Picanco, Pierce, Pike, Pitcher, Pittee, Pitts, Podyer / Podyeard, Pool(e), Poor / Pore, Porter, Powers, Pratt, Price, Prichart / Pritchard, Prince, Prouty, Puffer, Pugsley, Pullen, Pyne, Quincy, Quinn, Rafferty, Randall, Ranger, Ray, Record, Reed, Reedman, Remington, Ricard, Rice, Rich, Richards, Richardson, Ricket, Riddle, Riley, Ripley, Robbins, Roberts, Robinson, Rockett, Rogers, Rowe, Rowland, Russell, Rust, Ryan, Sanborn, Sargent, Savell, Sayer / Sawyer, Scully, Searle, Sears, Seymour, Sheffell, Sherman, Sherrow / Sharrow, Shumway, Shute, Sides, Simmons / Symonson, Sivret, Slack, Slader, Smith, Sneath, Snell, Soule, Souther, Southworth, Spalding, Spear, Spooner, Sprague, Spring, Stanton, Stearns, Steel, Stephenson, Stetson / Stutson, Stevens, Stevernson, Stewart, Stock, Stockbridge, Stockwell, Stodder / Stoddard, Stone, Stowell / Stoel, Stowers, Strange, Stratton, Strauss, Strong, Studley, Sturtevant, Sutton, Swift, Sylvester, Taylor, Teague / Tegge, Tewells / Tuels, Thaxter, Thayer, Thomas, Thompson, Thorn(e), Throop, Tidmarsh, Tilden, Tinsley, Tirrell, Todd, Torrey, Totman, Tower, Townsend, Trask, Trowbridge, Tucker, Turner, Tuttle / Tuthill, Underwood, Vickery, Vinal, Vining, Vinton, Vogle, Vose, Wade, Wakefield, Wakely, Wall, Wallace, Walton, Ward, Ware, Warren, Waterman, Waters, Watson, Webb, Welch, West, Wheaton, Wheelwright, Whitcomb, White, Whiting, Whitman, Whitmarsh, Whitney, Whiton / Witon / Whiting, Wilcutt, Wilde, Wilder, Wildes, Wilks, Willard, Williams, Wilson, Winchester, Wing, Winslow, Winter, Wolfe, Woodcock, Woods, Woodward, Worrick / Warwick, Worth, Wright, Wyborn, Wyer, Young.

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 * John J. Waters, "Hingham, Massachusetts, 1631-1661: an East Anglian Oligarchy in the New World" in the Journal of Social History, 1 [1967-1968]: 351-370. Digital version at Jstor ($ - free through public library).
 * Hingham Historical Society's digital book links.
 * Hingham Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records There are no published vital records for Hingham, but thought to be mostly included in the 1893 history in volumes 2 and 3. Top of Page
 * Hingham Town Clerk's Office 210 Central Street Hingham MA 02043 Phone 781-741-1410
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, 1635-1880, ; 1877-1899, ; Index, 1635-1899, ; 1900-1905,.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering vital records, 1635-1900, on 238 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
 * Reuben Hersey, "Hingham Vital Records" (ms., 1832-1844), New England Historic Genealogical Society, Manuscripts Dept., Mss 901, and available online ($).
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.

City Directories
Hingham was published in 1894, 1902/3, 1905/6, 1908/9, 1912/3, 1915, 1920, 1925-1930.

The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.

Other holdings:

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 * Ancestry ($) has 1894, 1908, 1912, 1915, 1920, 1925, 1928.
 * Boston Public Library has 1925-1927.
 * Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1902/3, 1905/6, 1908/9, 1912/3, 1915, 1920, 1925-1927 on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1894, 1902/3, 1905/6, 1908/9, 1912/3, 1915, 1920, 1925-1930.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1894, 1902/3, 1905/6, 1908/9, 1912/3, 1915, 1920, 1925-1930.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Hingham. Remember that the "old" town included present-day Cohasset. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject. For location of cemeteries, see PlymouthColony website. The Holbrook Research Institute (now Archive Publishing - at the bottom of the page) made 43 fiche that cover plans and indexes for several of these cemeteries.


 * Barnes and Stoddard Cemetery, 1820. (A)
 * Fort Hill Street Cemetery, 1751. (A)
 * High Street Cemetery, 1688. (A)
 * Hingham Center Cemetery, 1684. (A)
 * Liberty Plain Cemetery, 1739. (A)
 * Old Ship or Hingham Cemetery, 1657. (online site and alphabetized transcription)

St. Paul's Cemetery, 1859.

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). New England Historic Genealogical Society, in various manuscripts. Top of Page

Churches
The following is a list of churches established in town in order of organization date (if known) and condition of records in the 1889 survey if listed.


 * First Parish Unitarian Church (now Old Ship Church, First Parish in Hingham, Unitarian Universalist Church), 1635, records good (no records before 1718, but Rev. Peter Hobart's records, 1635-1745, survive).
 * Second Parish Unitarian Church (now Second parish Unitarian Universalist Church), South Hingham, 1745, records good.
 * Third Congregational Society (now New North Church), 1807, records good.
 * Methodist Episcopal Church, 1818, records good.
 * Universalist Church, 1823, no condition given, records started in 1861.
 * First Baptist Church, 1828, records good.
 * Evangelical Congregational Church, 1847, records fair.
 * St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 1872, records good.
 * St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church (now Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist), n.d., no records found in 1889.
 * Hingham Reformed Church, 1890.
 * Hingham Congregational United Church of Christ, n.d.
 * Church of the Resurrection Roman Catholic Church, n.d.
 * South Shore Baptist Church, 1947.
 * North Street Community Chapel, n.d.

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Newspapers

 * Hingham Gazette, 1833-1837.
 * Hingham Journal (sometimes and South Shore Advertiser or and Mariner), 1871-present.
 * Hingham Mariner, 1984-1993.

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Libraries and Historical Societies
The following is a list of research facilities in town:

Hingham Public Library 66 Leavitt Street Hingham MA 02043 Phone 781-741-1405

Hingham Historical Society 34 Main Street PO Box 434 Hingham MA 02043 Phone 781-749-7721 Email [mailto:info@hinghamhistorical.org info@hinghamhistorical.org]

Hingham Family History Center 379 Gardner Street Hingham MA 02043 Phone 781-749-4815