Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Plymouth  Middleborough

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of Middleborough. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries. There is a detailed guide for the town set off from Middleborough: Lakeville.

Brief History
The area was first seen by two messengers from the Plymouth settlement in 1621 to Massasoit. They lodged with their Indian guide at Namasket. It was noted that it was the site of an Indian village where many died quickly a few years ago. This was the place that almost a half century later became the first white settlement in the modern town. The sixteen families there had to evacuate during the King Philip's War in 1675. This large land mass was divided and the southwest part became the second precinct in 1719. The third precinct was designated in 1743 from the northwest part of town called Titicut. This land all first part of Plymouth Colony. The town was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the town was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. The town is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Abington at one time has been called Assowamsett Neck, Cotuckticut, Ketiticut, Middleberry, Namaskett, Quittaub, Quittaquas, and Titicut.

Village or section names include Barden Hills, Bull's Eye Crossing, Court End, East Middleborough, Eddyville, Fall Brook, Four Corners, Highlands, Mount Carmel, Muttock, North Middleborough, Namasket, Neck, Peaseville, Puddingshire, Purchade, Putnams Rock, Rocky Meadow, South Middleborough, Star Mill Village, Tack Factory, The Green, Thomastown, Titicut, Walnut Plains, Wappanucket, Waterville, and West End. Border changes Top of Page

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:

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 * Isaac Backus, "An Historical Account of Middleborough" in the Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 3 [1794]: 148-153. Digital version online at Google Books.
 * Isaac Thompson, "Bills of Mortality for Middleborough" in the Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 8 [1802]: 79; 9 [1804]: 235; 10 [1809]: 188; 2&amp;supnd; Series: 2 [1814]: 261-263.
 * "Sketches of the Early History of the Town of Middleborough, in the County of Plymouth" in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 3 [1849]: 213-220, 330-344.
 * Book of the First Church of Christ, in Middleborough, Plymouth County, Mass., with notices of other church in that town (Boston, 1852 [i.e. 1854]), 124, 53 pp. Digital versions from Internet Archive and Google Books. WorldCat (Other Libraries);
 * Israel W. Putnam, First Church in Middleborough, Mass.: Mr. Putnam's Century and Half Discourses, An Historical Account: and a Catalogue of Members (Boston, 1854), 52, 124 pp. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Hathi Trust. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Thomas Weston, History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts (Boston, 1906-1969), 2v. Digital versions for volume one online at Internet Archive and Google Books. WorldCat (Other Libraries) - vol. 1 and WorldCat (Other Libraries) - vol. 2; and.
 * George Ward Stetson, "History of Middleborough Churches" in the Middleborough Antiquarian, 11 [Dec. 1969]: 2-4. No online digital version available, but it is available electronically at the Middleborough Public Library computer.
 * Kenneth C. Leonard, The Beechwoods Confederacy 1709-1809: The Colonial History of Beechwoods: Middleboro-Taunton Precinct Massachusetts (Bowie, Md., 2003), xvii, 228 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Middleborough Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records Online records Top of Page
 * Middleborough Town Clerk's Office 20 Centre Street, 1&amp;supst; Floor Middleborough MA 02346 Phone 508-946-2415
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, Middleborough Proprietors' Records, 1661-1887 (includes some town meetings and vital records), ; Vital records and indexes, 1674-1854,, Vital records and other records, 1757-1850, , and Vital records, 1847-1905, . These records are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1666-1915, on 211 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.
 * Barbara Lambert Merrick and Alicia Crane Williams, Middleborough, Massachusetts, Vital Records (Boston, 1986-1990), 2 v. [Note: Volume One missed original v. 4, pt. 1, p. 50-61, can be found in Mayflower Descendant, 33 [1935]: 39-46. Also missing are three marriages from county court records for 1693 and 1694 published in Pilgrim Notes and Queries, 3 [1915]: 120-122 at 122] Digital version at American Ancestors ($). WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Middleborough Proprietors' Records, 1661-1887 (includes some town meetings and vital records), vital records and indexes, 1674-1854, vital records and other records, 1757-1850, and vital records, 1847-1905, are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.

City Directories
Middleborough was published in 1884, 1889, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901/2, 1904/5, 1906/7, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914/5, 1916/7, 1919, 1921-1923, 1928/9, 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 ($) has 1884, 1889, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901/2, 1904/5, 1906/7, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914/5, 1916/7, 1919, 1921, 1928/9, 1930.
 * Boston Public Library has 1889, 1892, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1904-1907, 1909, 1911, 1913-1917, 1921-1923, 1928/9, 1930.
 * Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1889, 1892, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1904-1907, 1909, 1911, 1913-1917, 1921-1923, 1928/9, 1930 on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1884, 1889, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901/2, 1904/5, 1906/7, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914/5, 1916/7, 1921-1923, 1928/9, 1930.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1884, 1889, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901/2, 1904/5, 1906/7, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914/5, 1916/7, 1921-1923, 1928/9.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Middleborough. For a map of the cemeteries, see PlymouthColony website. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject or see Friends of Middleborough Cemeteries website.


 * Benson Cemetery, n.d.
 * Central Cemetery, 1819. (A)
 * Drake Cemetery, n.d. (A)
 * East Cemetery, n.d.
 * Eaton Cemetery, n.d. (A)
 * Ewer Cemetery, n.d.
 * Fall Brook Cemetery, 1819. (A)
 * Gammons Cemetery, n.d. (A)
 * Green Cemetery, n.d.
 * Highland Cemetery, n.d.
 * Hope's Rest Cemetery, 1884. (A)
 * Indian Burial Site, n.d. William B. Taylor, "An Indian Burial Site in North Middleboro" in the Middleborough Antiquarian, 10 [Apr. 1969]: 2-4.
 * Marion Road - Neck Cemetery, 1985. (A)
 * Middleboro Infirmary Cemetery, 1933.
 * Nemansket Hill Burial Ground, 1662. (A) John W. Willard, "Records from the Nemasket Cemetery Middleborough, Mass." in the Mayflower Descendant, 15 [1913]: 1-9, 100-110.
 * Parish Burial Ground at the Green, 1717. (A) John W. Willard, "Gravestone Records from the Old Cemetery at 'The Green,' Middleborough, Mass." in the Mayflower Descendant, 12 [1910]: 65-71, 142-145, 198-202; 13 [1911]: 23-27, 117-120; 14 [1912]: 80-85, 130-136, 214-224. {Note: This supersedes Charles M. Thatcher's articles in The Genealogical Quarterly Magazine (v. 4, 1903) and The Genealogical Magazine (v. 1, 1906) by correcting 260 errors found.]
 * Gilbert Peirce Cemetery, 19th century.
 * Poor House Cemetery, 1832. (A)
 * Purchase / Alden Cemetery, 1728. (A)
 * Reed Cemetery, 1813.
 * Rock / Thomas Cemetery, 1745.
 * Sachem Street / Gammons Cemetery, 1828.
 * St. Mary's Cemetery, 1891. Diocesan Archives, Lot sales, 1891-1913, 1932.
 * Smallpox Cemetery, 1777. (A) "Small Pox Cemetery, East Middleborough" in the Mayflower Descendant, 12 [1910]: 256. "Small Pox Cemetery, Brook Street, 1777" in the Middleborough Antiquarian, 13 [Apr. 1972]: 5-6.
 * South Middleboro Cemetery, 1768. (A)
 * Tack Factory / Leonard Cemetery, 1819. (A)
 * Thomas Cemetery, n.d.
 * Thomastown Cemetery, 1806. (A)
 * Tispequin Street Cemetery, 1838.
 * Titicut Parish Cemetery, 1750. (A, B)
 * Vernon Street Smallpox Burial Ground, 1778. (A)
 * Wall Street Gravesite, n.d. (A)
 * Wappanucket Cemetery, 1832. (A)
 * Warrentown Cemetery, 1744. (A)
 * Wood / Thomas Wood Cemetery, 1796. (A)

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries); (B). New England Historic Genealogical Society, Manuscript Dept. 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. To learn more about church history, see the page of online links.


 * First Congregational Church of Middleborough, 1694, records good. See books in the history section above. "Baptismal records of the First Congregational Church, 1710-1820,.
 * North Middleborough Congregational Church (now North Congregational Church - United Church of Christ), 1748, records "complete."
 * First Baptist Church (now First Baptist Church of North Middleboro), 1756, records good.
 * United Brethren Church, later Second Baptist Church, and finally Fourth Baptist Church (extinct), n.d., records survive for 1795-1867.
 * Third Baptist Church (now Rock Village Church), 1761, records good.
 * Central Baptist Church, 1828, records incomplete.
 * Central Congregational Church, 1847, records good.
 * South Middleborough Methodist Episcopal Church (Now South Middleborough United), 1858, records good.
 * Middleborough Methodist Episcopal Church, 1865, records good.
 * Sacred Heart Parish, 1885.
 * First Unitarian Universalitst Society of Middleboro, 1889.
 * Advent Lutheran Church, n.d.
 * Church of Our Saviour Episcopal, n.d.
 * LifeHouse Church, n.d.

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Newspapers

 * Namasket Gazette, 1852-1857.
 * Middleboro Gazette (title varies), 1857-1868.
 * Middleboro Gazette, 1905-1977.
 * Nemasket River Journal, 1977-1978.
 * Villager-Journal, 1978-1980.
 * Middleboro Gazette, 1980-2006.

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

Middleborough Public Library 102 North Main Street Middleborough MA 02346 Phone 508-946-2470 Email [mailto:midlib@sailsinc.org midlib@sailsinc.org]

Middleborough Historical Association 18 Jackson Street PO Box 304 Middleborough MA 02346 Phone 508-947-1969 Email [mailto:middleboroughhistory@yahoo.com middleboroughhistory@yahoo.com]