Hampden County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Hampden County

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

Brief History
This region was the first settled area in western Massachusetts Bay Colony centered around Springfield that was settled in 1636. It was first incorporated as the county of Hampshire. The first settlers arrived coming up the Connecticut River valley. The King Philip's War pulled settlers back from many frontier areas in 1675. Springfield has always been the center of trade and culture for this region. When Hampshire County was last divided, Springfield was made the county seat of the new county of Hampden. Realize that the old deeds for the region stayed in Springfield and the old probates moved in 1794 and stayed in Northampton. The county government was abolished on 1 July 1998, but its former jurisdiction is used for state offices as a district.

Historical Data
The basic data are from the historical county boundary series with additions from various sources.

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Towns and Cities
The following list of present-day Hampden County towns and cities links them to their individual pages. There you will find a list of other names used for the town or city and of villages and sections of the town or city. Agawam (1855) | Blandford (1741) | Brimfield (1731) Chester (1765) | Chicopee (1848) | East Longmeadow (1894) Granville (1775) | Hampden (1878) | Holland (1835) Holyoke (1850) | Longmeadow (1783) | Ludlow (1775) Monson (1775) | Montgomery (1780) | Palmer (1775) Russell (1792) | Southwick (1775) | Springfield (1636) Tolland (1810) | Wales (1775) | West Springfield (1774) Westfield (1669) | Wilbraham (1763)  Top of Page

County Histories
Works written on the county include:

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 * Biographical Review: this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Hampden County, Massachusetts (Boston, 1895), 1138 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); and . Digital versions at Hathi Trust and Ancestry ($).
 * Joseph Carvalho III, Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1855 (Boston, 1984), 211 pp.; (Boston, 2nd ed., 2011), xxiv, 400 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries) and 2nd ed.; and.
 * Alfred Minott Copeland, ed., Our County and its People: a History of Hampden County, Massachusetts (Boston, 1902), 3v. WorldCat (Other Libraries) and Index; Not at FHL. Digital versions at Internet Archive (v. 1, v. 2, and v. 3), Google Books (v. 1 and v. 3), and Ancestry ($) (2v. only).
 * Clifton Johnson, Hampden County, 1636-1936 (New York, 1936), 3v. WorldCat (Other Libraries) and Index; (1999 rep.) and.
 * Sketches of the Churches and Pastors in Hampden County, Mass. (Westfield, Mass., 1854), viii, 144 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); . Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Ancestry ($).
 * Harry Andrew Wright, ed., Indian Deeds of Hampden County, being copies of all land transfers from the Indians recorded in the county of Hampden: Massachusetts, and some deeds from other sources, together with notes and translations of Indian place names (Springfield, Mass., 1905), 194 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); . Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Ancestry ($).
 * The Hampden County MAGenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Hampden County.
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Hampden County.

Vital Records
In Massachusetts, the original vital records (of births, marriages, and deaths) have been created and maintained by the town or city in which the event occurred. In very early colonial times, copies of these records were submitted to the county, but that practice died out long before this county was established. There were marriage intentions commonly recorded in the bride's home town and additional recordings maybe found in the groom's home town and their current residence.

Massachusetts was the first state to bring a unified state-level recording of these events (but not marriage intentions) in 1841 (Boston excluded until 1850). The associated records of divorce and adoption are handled by the courts. The state has maintained a state-wide index to divorces since 1952, but adoption records will require more researching to discover.

It is easiest to start with the state vital records for events since 1841, though realize the original record is with the town or city. More details can be found on the Massachusetts Genealogy Guide page. Top of Page

Land Records
Land transfers, commonly called deeds, are recorded on the county level in Massachusetts. Not all deeds were recorded as is common practice today. The earliest transactions were charters or grants from the English Crown. Once local government was established, the colony would grant land to settlers directly or to towns to dole out. Some towns first start out as proprietorship and records were recorded there. Once towns were established, deeds were recorded on the county level.

NOTE: Hampden County holds all the original deeds of Hampshire County from its beginning in 1662 to the creation of this county in 1812.

Springfield Registry of Deeds 50 State Street Springfield MA 01103 Phone 413-755-1722 Email [mailto:hcrodsd@sec.state.ma.us hcrodsd@sec.state.ma.us]

Westfield Satellite Office 59 Court Street Westfield MA 01085 Phone 413-568-2290 Note: See registry page above for temporary location of this office (Sept. 2013).

The Registry has teamed up with the County Archives to scan and make available online many miscellaneous records. Currently (2013), there there are County Commissioners' books, Atlases, Highway Plan books, Dams, and many special projects. Original records Records are available at the Registry. Their records ONLINE are:

Original records on microfilm
 * Recorded Land [i.e. deeds], 1956-present.
 * Recorded Plans, no date.
 * Registered Land [i.e. land court], no date.
 * Registered Land Plans, no date.

Original records published
 * Deeds, v. 1-238 (1638-1867), indexes: 1636-1800, 1800-1849, 1850-1869, at FHL film 844472 (1st of 164) and New England Historic Genealogical Society.
 * Deeds, v. 239-630 (1866-1902), indexes: 1870-1889, 1890-1899, 1900-1909; also Deeds, A-Z (1738-1762); also Springfield deeds, 1634-1664), at FHL film 1480098 (1st of 182) and New England Historic Genealogical Society.

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 * Harry Andrew Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County: being copies of all land transfers from the Indians recorded in the county of Hampden, Massachusetts, and some deeds from other sources together with notes and translations of Indian place names (Springfield, Mass., 1905), 194 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.426 R2w. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Ancestry ($).

Probate Records
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Other Court Records
The court system can appear to be complex. The system was reorganized in 1686/1692, 1859, and 1978. Described below are the most commonly used records for history and genealogy, but realize that this list is incomplete. For more detailed information regarding court structure, see Understanding the Massachusetts Court System. Older records are held by: Supreme Judicial Court Archives (administration - records stored in several off-site facilities and the Mass. Archives) 16th Floor, Highrise Court House 3 Pemberton Square Boston MA 02109 Phone 617-557-1082 Email [mailto:Elizabeth.Bouvier@sjc.state.ma.us Elizabeth.Bouvier@sjc.state.ma.us] Top of Page | Top of Court

Quarterly Court of General Sessions of the Peace
This court was active from 1812 to 1827. The court heard criminal cases and had authority over county affairs that included levying taxes, reviewing town bylaws, highways, licensed liquor, regulated jails, supervised the administration of the poor laws, and appointed some county officials.

The records microfilmed:

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Inferior Court of Common Pleas
This court was active from 1812 to 1859. The court heard all civil cases over 40s unless a case involved freehold or was appealed from a justice of the peace.

The records microfilmed:

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Superior Court
The Quarterly Court of General Sessions was merged into the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 1827, and that court was reorganized in 1859 to created the Superior Court as the new lower (i.e. trial) court. It covers both criminal and civil matters.

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Supreme Judicial Court
The Supreme Judicial Court was established by the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 that combined the former Governor and Council with the Superior Court of Judicature creating the highest state court. This court hears appeals, writ of error, capital offenses, and crimes against the public good. That included divorces until that action was moved to the lower court in 1887.

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Naturalization Records
Naturalization records were created on a variety of governmental levels from the Federal down to the city at the same time. The county records for all levels are outlines below. For more information, see the Massachusetts state page for more on naturalization. Federal Naturalization Records for Hampden No federal records as yet digitized at NARA. Hampden County Naturalization Records

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Maps
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Migration
Migration routes for early European settlers to and from included:

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 * Catskill Road from Springfield, Massachusetts to Catskill, New York 1750s
 * King's Highway, also known as the upper fork of the Boston Post Road, from Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina 1650s
 * Old Connecticut Path from Boston, Massachusetts to Hartford, Connecticut 1630
 * Hampden and Berkshire Turnpike  from near Springfield, MA to the Becket Turnpike  at Becket, MA; toll booths open from 1829 to 1852; now I-90.
 * Connecticut River ancient pathway

Genealogy Societies
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