East Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Plymouth  East Bridgewater

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of East Bridgewater. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.

Brief History
The area was first settled in 1660 as the outgrowth of Duxbury and the newly created Bridgewater (in 1656). The area became defined as the East Parish of Bridgewater in 1723. During this time, the area was in Plymouth Colony. The area 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. The area set off from Bridgewater in 1823 to form the town of East Bridgewater.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Village or section names include Beaver, Brown's Crossing, Cinder Hill, Curtisville, Eastville, Elmwood (formerly Joppa), Harmony, Matfield, Northville, Satucket, West Crook, Westdale, and Westlake. Border changes Top of Page

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:

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 * William Allen, History of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts ([East Bridgewater, Mass.], 1980), [59] pp. This is a reprint from the D. Hamilton Hurd, History of Plymouth County, Massachusetts (Philadelphia, 1884). WorldCat (Other Libraries).
 * The East Bridgewater Sesquicentennial, 1823-1973 (East Bridgewater, Mass., rep. ed., 1990), 96, [4], [14] pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries).
 * Earlier Days in East Bridgewater ([East Bridgewater, Mass.], 1977), 32 p. WorldCat (Other Libraries).
 * East Bridgewater Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records
 * East Bridgewater Town Clerk's Office 175 Central Street East Bridgewater MA 02333 Phone 508-378-1606
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, misc. rec., 1769-1870, ; vital records, 1823-1905, . 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, 1754-1915, on 76 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.
 * Vital Records of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1917). This volume was microfilmed by the Family History Library, and in digital versions at Internet Archive and Googe Books. In a database at American Ancestors ($). WorldCat (Other Libraries);.


 * This includes, in part, church records from the First Church of East Bridgewater [from copies as originals are lost] (C.R.1), Union Church of East and West Bridgewater (C.R.2), and New Jerusalem Church, Elmwood (C.R.3). Deaths are included from Old Central Cem., Central St. (G.R.1), Hudson Tomb Cem. (G.R.2), Thayer Burying Ground (G.R.3), Whitman Burying Ground, Harvard St. Cem. (G.R.4), New Central Cem. off Hobart St. (G.R.5), Beaver Cem. (G.R.6), Union Congregational Cem., Pleasant St. (G.R.7), Elmwood Cem., West St. (G.R.8), and Northville Cem. (G.R.9).

Online records Top of Page
 * East Bridgewater vital records, 1823-1905 are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.

City Directories
East Bridgewater was published in 1869/70, 1872-1880, 1882, 1884-1887/8, 1889-1890, 1892, 1894/5-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931. There maybe more than the holdings listed below under Brockton that often included this town.

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 ($) has none.
 * Boston Public Library has none.
 * Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1931 on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1869/70, 1872-1880, 1882, 1884-1887, 1889-1890, 1892, 1894-1918, 1920/1, 1924/5, 1931.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1878/9, 1882, 1884, 1887/8, 1890, 1892, 1894/5, 1896, 1898-1903, 1905-1910, 1913-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day East Bridgewater. Remember that this was part of "old" Bridgewater. For location of cemeteries, see Plymouth Colony website. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.


 * Beaver Cemetery, 1809. (A)
 * Central Cemetery, 1846. (A)
 * Hill or Smallpox Cemetery, 1793, off West St., Elmwood. (A) Transcription online at bottom of page.
 * Hudson Tomb, 1819. Transcription online at bottom of page.
 * Joppa or Elmwood Cemetery, 1847. (A, B)
 * Northville Cemetery, n.d. (A)
 * Old Graveyard or Old Central Cemetery, 1685. (A, B) Transcription online after several pages of introduction.
 * Osborne Cemetery Site, at 713 Pond St., n.d.
 * Thayer Burying Ground, 1818. Transcription online
 * Union Cemetery, 1842. (A)
 * Whitman Cemetery, 1827-1879. (A, B) Transcription online.

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). Vital Records of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1917) [see links above under Vital Records]. (B). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries);. 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.


 * First Parish Church [Unitarian] (now Grace Bible Church), 1724, records good.
 * Union Congregational Church, 1826, records good.
 * New Jerusalem Church, 1838, records good.
 * Satucket Methodist Protestant Church, 1842-1850, location of records unknown in 1889 [building purchased by the Roman Catholic Church].
 * Trinitarian Congregational Church, 1849-1861, records in private hands in 1889.
 * Methodist Episcopal Church, then Baptist Church, 1850-1860, records in private hands in 1889.
 * Methodist Episcopal Church, 1857, records fair. Microfilmed records at the Family History Library,.
 * St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 1863, condition not given.
 * Universalist Church, n.d., location of records unknown in 1889. Microfilmed records at the Family History Library,.
 * Abundant Faith Family Church, n.d.
 * Community Covenant Church, n.d.
 * East Bridgewater United Methodist Church, n.d.
 * Elmwood New Church, n.d.
 * Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, n.d.

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Newspapers
No newspapers have ever been published in East Bridgewater. Top of Page

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

East Bridgewater Public Library 32 Union Street East Bridgewater MA 02333 Phone 508-378-1616

East Bridgewater Historical Society 175 Central Street East Bridgewater MA 02333 No phone or website