Harwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Brief History

 * Harwich, Massachusetts at Wikipedia

Town Clerk
732 Main St, Harwich, MA 02645 Phone: (508) 430-7516 Website

Town Hall History/Records
Harwich Town Records (Vital Records): 1640-1935 : Courtesy of PlymouthColony.net

1790 Census, Harwich, Barnstable, MA: Sorted by Head of Household Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.

Town Histories
Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.

Establishment and former town name(s)
Historical data relating to counties, cities, and towns in Massachusetts (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997), [FHL book 974.4 H2h 1997].

14 September 1694: Established as a town, formerly a tract of land called "Satuckett" (Prov. Laws, Vol. 1, p. 181)

Archiac name:

Satuckett

Section/Villages within the town: East Harwich, Harwich Center, Harwichport, North Harwich, Pleasant Lake, South Harwich, West Harwich

Wikipedia:

Boundary Changes
14 Jul 1772: Part annexed to Eastham.

9 February 1803: Part established as Brewster, with a proviso that certain estates of remonstrants be allowed to remain in Harwich.

21 June 1811: The Daniel Rogers estate in Harwich annexed to Brewster.

25 April 1848: Part of Brewster annexed.

4 April 1862: Bounds between Harwich and Orleans established.

14 April 1862: Bounds between Harwich and Chatham established.

12 July 1945: Bounds between Harwich and Dennis established.

8 May 1947: Act of July 12, 1945, amended and bounds between Harwich and Dennis established.

Neighboring Towns
Brewster | Chatham | Dennis | Orleans | Nantucket Sound to the south

Cemeteries
Banks Street Burial Ground Banks St., no stone

Baptist Church Cemetery (1816) Depot St. and Rte 28 West Harwich

Chase Family Cemetery Depot St., no stones

Christ Church Episcopal Church Cremation Garden behind the Christ Church Episcopal Church Rte 28 Harwichport

East Harwich Methodist Cemetery Church St East Harwich

End of the Pond Cemetery (1825) Spruce St.

Evergreen Cemetery (1807) corner of Cemetery AVe and Rte 137

First Congregational Church cemetery (1748) Rte 124 and Main St. Harwich Center

First Methodist Cemetery (ca 1758) Queen Anne Rd

Hawks Nest Pond Cemetery (1826) off Spruce Rd East Harwich

Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery (1869) Rte 124, Pleasant Lake Ave West Harwich

Island Pond Cemetery (1778) off Main St, at end of Island Pond Rd

Kelley Street Cemetery (1834) off Kelley St.

Kildee Hill Cemetery existed nearby Kildee Hill

Mount Pleasant Cemetery (1850) 90 Forest ST, located between South and Forest Sts Harwichport

North Harwich Cemetery (1792) corner North Main and Depot Sts

Pine Grove Cemetery (1813) Pine Grove St. West Harwich

South Harwich Cemetery aka Methodist Churchyard Cemetery (1829) Old Chatham Rd South Harwich

Harding Ryder Gravesite Rte 39, near the water tower

Smith Family Cemetery (1834) Bell's Neck Rd

South Harwich Cemetery (1829) Chatham Rd

Samuel Tripp Family Cemetery (1832) Harwich

Union Cemetery (ca. 1811) Harwich St. and Queen Anne Rd, next to the Harwich United Methodist Church

Mehitable Wixon-Chase Family Cemetery (1832) off Lothrop Ave. Harwich

Maps

 * 1) USGS GNIS FID 618254
 * 2) Google
 * 3) Hometown Locator

Vital Records
The town of Harwich kept annual town reports. These reports often contained birth, marriage, and death information. Below is a list of years when Harwich kept town reports. (NOTE: Occasionally, these town reports missed vital statistic information from the end of the year. If you don't find your ancestor's vital information, check the following year's town report to see if your ancestor's information was recorded later.)