Massachusetts Church Records

United States   Massachusetts    Church Records

For detailed information about Massachusetts church research, see the Massachusetts Genealogy Guide page.

Before 1900 the major religious groups in Massachusetts were:


 * Congregationalists
 * Roman Catholics
 * Baptists
 * Methodists
 * Episcopalians

The Congregational Church was the predominant church until the end of the 18th century. Many church records were published with the town vital records.

Perry Miller's classic book The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (New York: Macmillan, 1939), provoked a great deal of interest in the religious origins of the Massachusetts colony.

1889 Church Records. There is a list of the churches in each town, the date of organization, kinds of records kept, years covered, and condition of the records as of 1889 in Wright's Report on the Custody and Condition of the Public Records (see Massachusetts Archives and Libraries).

The Family History Library has many published and manuscript records of Baptist, Congregational, and Society of Friends congregations. A useful index of marriages recorded by early churches is:


 * Bailey, Frederic W. Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800. Three Volumes in one, 1897–1914. 1968 Reprint: ; and . 1991 Reprint:  1991. This book has records of marriages for more than 111 towns. Digital versions:
 * Vol. I: Ancestry ($), Genealogy Today, Internet Archive, World Vital Records ($)
 * Vol. II: Ancestry ($), Google Books, World Vital Records ($)
 * Vol. III: Ancestry ($), World Vital Records ($)
 * Vol. IV: Ancestry ($)

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:

Baptist
American Baptist Historical Society The Library in Rochester is now closed to researchers, with interim director Betsy Dunbar working full-time, preparing collections for packing. We are not accepting any more research requests "by mail" in 2007 nor are we scheduling appointments to our Rochester Library at this time. We will also close the Valley Forge Archives Center to visitors beginning in mid-June. We are inviting researchers to plan to visit us in 2008 at our new location on the Atlanta campus of Mercer University.

An informative history is:


 * Brush, John Woolman. Baptists in Massachusetts. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1970.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Massachusetts Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the Family History Library Catalog. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. and. These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Congregational
The Congregational Library 14 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108 Phone: (617) 523–0470 Fax: (617) 523–0491 E-mail: [mailto:jsteytler@14beacon.org jsteytler@14beacon.org ]

A historical perspective is found in:


 * Goodwin, John A. The Pilgrim Republic: An Historical Review of the Colony of New Plymouth, with Sketches of Other New England Settlements, the History of Congregationalism, and the Creeds of the Period. Boston, Mass.: Tickner, 1888.

Episcopal
The Diocesan Library and Archives The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts 138 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02111 Phone: (617) 482–5800; (800) 696-6079 Fax: (617) 482–8431 E-mail: [mailto:mgardiner@diomass.org archivist@diomass.org ]

For histories of the Episcopal Church see:


 * Duffy, Mark J., ed. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts 1784-1984. [Boston, Mass.]: Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, 1984.
 * Tyng, Dudley. Massachusetts Episcopalians, 1607-1957. [Boston, Massachusetts]: Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, [1960].

Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rhode Island Historical Society 121 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 Phone: (401) 273–8107 Fax: (401) 751–7930

Informative history of Massachusetts Quakers include:


 * Bowden, James. The History of the Society of Friends in America. 2 vols. London: W. &amp; F.G. Cash, 1850-1854. Digital version of Vol. 1 at Google Books; [Volume 1 includes New England.]
 * Hallowell, Richard P. The Quaker Invasion of Massachusetts. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1883. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books. Illustrates the persecution the Quakers received from colonial authorities. Has examples of the strength and conviction of the Quakers' religious beliefs.

Jewish
American Jewish Historical Society 160 Herrick Road Newton Centre, MA 02459 Phone: (617) 559-8880 Fax: (617) 559-8881

Lutheran
Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia The Krauth Memorial Library 7301 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19119-1794 Phone: (215) 248-6383 Fax: (215) 248-6327 E-mail: [mailto:mtairyarchives@ltsp.edu mtairyarchives@ltsp.edu]

Methodist
Boston University School of Theology Library 745 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 Phone: (617) 353–3034 Fax: (617) 358–0699

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (215) 627–1852 Fax: (215) 627–0509

Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Boston 66 Brooks Drive Braintree, MA 02184-3839 Phone: (617) 254-0100

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk

Diocese of Fall River Archives 362 Highland Avenue P.O. Box 2577 Fall River, MA 02722 Phone: (508) 675-1311

The diocese includes the counties of: Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes and Nantucket

Diocese of Springfield 65 Elliott St. P.O. Box 1730 Springfield, MA 01102 Phone: (413) 732-3175

The diocese includes the counties of: Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire

Diocese of Worcester 49 Elm Street Worcester, MA 01609 Phone: (508) 791-7171

The diocese includes the county of: Worcester

The Drouin Collection Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954 ($) (Ancestry). This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from the United States in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania. It is the U.S. part of the U.S. and French-Canadian Drouin Collection. For more details see "The Drouin Collection: Six Databases"

The types of records include baptisms, marriages, and burials as well as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, and so on. They are written mainly in French, as well as English, Latin, and Italian.

Unitarian/Universalist
Andover-Harvard Theological Library Harvard Divinity School 45 Francis Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: (617) 495–5788 Fax: (617) 496–4111