Dorchester, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Norfolk  Dorchester Dorchester (1630-1870) Dorchester was  a town in Norfolk County before it was annexed to Boston in Suffolk County. This guide discusses the records created by this town and includes references to material of present-day Dorchester (the neighborhood of Boston) as well. Be careful of the time period you are researching here as the records you need may be in one of two counties or one of two towns.

Brief History
Members of the Dorchester Company set sail on the Mary and John and arrived at Mattapan in 1630 where all her 140 passengers settled. The place was soon renamed Dorchester. The settlement was granted several large tracts of land that would later become the towns of Milton in 1662 and Stoughton in 1726, but the concentration of the population was always near the shore. Many notable events happened here, including the first town meeting in America in 1633 and the introduction of chocolate in 1765. The town became a place for the Boston Elite to summer in the late nineteenth century and Columbia Point was still a pasture. The town became intertwined with Boston and was annexed in pieces until it was all one with Boston. The first to go was Dorchester Heights in 1804 and then renamed South Boston. The bulk of the town was annexed in 1870 and the remaining parts that became Hyde Park were annexed in 1912. This section of the city is home to the oldest house, the James Blake House in Edward Everett Square, built around 1650.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Dorchester at one time was called Mattapan, Mennens Moone, and Squantums Neck.

Village or section names include Commercial Point, Dorchester Heights, Dorchester Neck, Harrison Square, Hyde Park, Lower Mills, Meeting House Hill, Neponset, Pine Garden, Port Norfolk, and Upper Mills.

City neighborhoods include Adams Village, Annapolis, Ashmont Hill, Cedar Grove, Clam Point, Codman Hill, Codman Square, Columbia Point, Everett Square, Fields Corner, Five Streets, Four Corners, Franklin Field, Freeport, Harbor Point, Jones Hill, Lower Mills, Mattapan, Meeting House Hill, Melville Park, Mount Bowdoin, Neponset, Peabody Square, Pope's Hill, Port Norfolk, Savin Hill, and Uphams Corner. Border changes Top of Page

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:

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 * James Blake, Annals of the Town of Dorchester by James Blake. 1750 (Boston, 1846), being pages 7-95 of the Collections of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society, no. 2. Digital versions at Internet Archive and Google Books. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Ebenezer Clapp Jr. et al., History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts (Boston, 1851-1859; rep. Boston, 1859), xii, 672 pp. Digital versions at Internet Archive and Google Books. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society collection, 1635-1874 (bulk: 1720-1870), a manuscript collection at the New England Historic Genealogical Society that includes town records, marriage intentions, church records (First Church and Second Parish), other original and published material, 8.5 linear ft.
 * David Clapp, The Ancient Proprietors of Jones's Hill: including brief sketches of the Jones, Stoughton, Tailer, Wiswall, Moseley, Capen and Holden families, the location and boundaries of their estates, etc. (Boston, 1883), vi, 68 pp. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, Hathi Trust, and Ancestry ($). WorldCat (Other Libraries); (with digital link).
 * Maude Pinney Kuhns, The "Mary and John;" a story of the founding of Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1630 (Rutland, Vt., [1943]; rep. Rutland, Vt., 1971), xii, 254 pp. Contains the passenger list of the "Mary and John," a brief account of the passengers, and genealogical tables of their descendants. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Rodney L. Clark, "Dorchester: An English Plantation 1630-1640. A report on the first English inhabitants of Dorchester Plantation" (S.l., 2004). Manuscript at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. WorldCat (Other Libraries).
 * Dorchester Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records Top of Page THIS PAGE IS BEING POPULATED IN SECTIONS -- THE REST IS SOON TO FOLLOW
 * Boston Registry Division 1 City Hall Square Room 213 Boston MA 02201 Phone 617-635-4175 Email [mailto:Registry@cityofboston.gov Registry@cityofboston.gov]
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, Vital Records and Indexes (1631-1869),.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town vital records, 1631-1869, and First Church of Dorchester, 1729-1845, on 72 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index.
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.
 * A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, containing Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the end of 1825 (Boston, 1891), iv, 392 pp., being volume 21 of the series. This volume was microfiched by the Family History Library, and in digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Ancestry ($). In a database at American Ancestors ($) [for both volumes]. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not in book format at FHL.
 * Sanford Charles Gladden, An index to the Vital Records of Dorchester, Massachusetts through 1825 (Boulder, Colo., 1970), ii, 148 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Vital Records of the Town of Dorchester from 1826 to 1849 (Boston, 1905), [7], 288 pp., being volume 36 of the Boston Record Commissioners' series. This volume was microfiched by the Family History Library, and in digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Ancestry ($). In a database at American Ancestors ($) [for both volumes]. WorldCat (Other Libraries);  (with digital link).