Barnstable County, Massachusetts Genealogy

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History
Barnstable County is part of Cape Cod and was made an island when the Cape Cod Canal was finished in 1914. (besides the two vehicle bridges and a railroad bridge across the canal the only other other access is by boat or plane). Well there is a little piece of the county (part of Bourne) on the north side of the canal, but it is still fun to think of it as an island. In fact, some of the islanders may have advocated closing the canal bridges to vehicle traffic.

The Mayflower and its 99 passengers landed first on Cape Cod near Provincetown and then at Plymouth on 21 Nov 1620. The ship Fortune arrived in Nov 1621. The Anne and Little James followed so that by 1624 there are about 180 persons in Plymouth Colony. It is the late 1630s when we see settlements formed in what is now Barnstable co. In Sandwich there are some families led by Rev John Vincent before 1637. We find settlers in Yarmouth before 1639 and the Town of Barnstable in 1638. Eastham is the fourth area settled in Mar 1644.

Cities and Towns
Barnstable County

Barnstable County was originally part of Plymouth Colony, separated from Massachusetts Bay colony to the north by "the Old Colony Line." Plymouth Colony was initially centered on the landing place of the Pilgrims, the town of Plymouth. But since the 1620s the population and reach of the colony had grown considerable. At first, Governor Bradford had only one assistant, Isaac Allerton. By 1685 the colony was governed by a governor, a deputy governor, six assistants, deputies and constables from seventeen towns, grand jury members, and highway surveyors. The seventeen towns of Plymouth Colony at that time were governed by selectmen. So in 1685, with government rapidly growing and travel still difficult, the deputies of the General Court which made the laws for the Colony decided to divide the colony into three counties, Bristol to the south and west, Barnstable to the south and east and Plymouth to the north. These three counties would each have a government able to record deeds, operate judicial courts and more closely respond to the needs of the citizens.

Barnstable - The County, Town or Village? Town of Barnstable - founded by Rev Lothrop and his group after they left Scituate (pronoune Sit'-u-et). September 3, 1639 is the precise birthdate given to Barnstable, which really represents just the best guess of when a band of hardy colonists officially took advantage of Plymouth Colony laws passed in March, 1638 authorizing towns to send deputies to the General Court.

County Government Site
[www.BarnstableCounty.org]

Neighboring Counties
Barnstable county is bordered by *Plymouth county to the west. To the north is Cape Cod Bay. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean. Across Nantucket Sound to the south can be found the island counties of *Dukes county (comprised of Marthas Vineyard and other small islands) and the *Nantucket county comprised of the island of Nantucket.

Historical and Genealogical Societies
Falmouth Genealogical Society serves primarily Upper Cape towns.

Cape Cod Genealogical Society serves primarily Mid and Lower Cape towns. If you image Cape Cod as an arm with Provincetown as the hand then Upper Cape corresponds with upper arm and lower Cape corresponds with lower arm (even though Lower Cape town of Provincetown at the tip of the peninsula is "higher" than Falmouth which is located in the Upper Cape)

Libraries

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Genealogy and History Websites
Barnstable County USGenWeb Site