Marshfield, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Plymouth  Marshfield

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

Brief History
Marshfield was an outgrowth of the settlement at Plymouth. By 1632, precincts were formed and this area was granted at Green's Harbor as Rexhame. The precinct soon became a town in 1640. This area was Plymouth Colony in the beginning. The town 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.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Marshfield was once called Greens Harbour and Rexhame/Wrexham.

Village or section names include Brant Rock, Center Marshfield, Duxbury Beach, Ferry Hill, Fieldston, Green Harbor, Marshfield Hills (previously East Marshfield), North Marshfield, Ocean Bluff, Rehame, Sea View, and Standish. Border changes Top of Page

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:


 * Lysander S. Richards, History of Marshfield (Plymouth, Mass., 1901-1905), 2v. Digital versions at Internet Archive (v. 1 only and Google Books (v. 1, v. 2, and Ancestry ($), and transcribed only at PlymouthColony.net. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.


 * Alden, Ames (Eames), Baker, Bates, Bourne, Carver, Church, Clift, Damon, Emery, Ewell, Ford, Gardner, Hagar, Hall, Hatch, Henry, Keene, Kent, Lapham, Leonard, Little, Macomber, Nelson, Oakman, Peterson, Phillips, Porter, Richards, Rogers, Sherman, Sprague, Sylvester, Thomas, Tilden, Tolman, Trouant, Walker, Weatherbee, White, Whiting, Willard, Williamson, Winslow, and Wright.

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 * "Heads of Families in Mr. Shaw's Precinct Marshfield, Mass., October, 1765" in Pilgrims Notes and Queries, 5 [1917]: 41-43.
 * Marshfield, 70 ̊-40 ́W:42 ̊-5 ́N N; the autobiography of a Pilgrim town (Marshfield, Mass., 1940), xix, 334 pp. No digital versions online. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Cynthia Hagar Krusell, Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990 (Marshfield Hills, Mass., 1990), 234 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Marshfield Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records Online records Top of Page
 * Marshfield Town Clerk's Office 870 Moraine Street Marshfield MA 02050 Phone 781-834-5540
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, Marshfield town and vital records, 1645-1875, . These records are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering vital records, 1631-1890, on 67 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.
 * Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Warwick, R.I., 1970). These volumes were microfilmed by the Family History Library . Digital database at American Ancestors ($). WorldCat (Other Libraries); . [Missing from the published vital records is one marriage from county court records for 1692 published in Pilgrim Notes and Queries, 3 [1915]: 120-122 at 122.]
 * Donald and Rebecca Ford, "Marshfield Marriages from Town Reports" [1865-1900, alphabetically] in the Mayflower Descendants serialized from v. 35 [1985] to v. 41 [1991]. See online links from the Mayflower Descendants contents page.
 * Marshfield town and vital records, 1645-1875, are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.

City Directories
Marshfield was published in 1894, 1915, 1918, 1926, 1962, 1967, 1970.

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 ($) has 1962, 1967, 1970.
 * Boston Public Library has 1894, 1915, 1918, 1926.
 * Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1894, 1915, 1918, 1926 (with other towns) on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1894, 1915, 1918, 1926.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1894, 1915, 1918, 1926, 1962, 1967, 1970.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Marshfield. For the location of cemeteries, see PlymouthColony website. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.


 * Baker Family Cemetery, 1816.
 * Cedar Grove / Congregational Church Cemetery, 1721. (A, C, D-v.12-13, F)
 * Centre Marshfield Cemetery, 1740. (B, C, D-v.8, E, F)
 * Chapel Cemetery, 1793. (B, E, F)
 * Congregational Church Cemetery at Marshfield Hills, 18th century. (B, E, F)
 * Couch Cemetery, 1960.
 * Dingley Family Cemetery, 1809.
 * Howland Cemetery, 1797.
 * Little / Sea View Cemetery, 1718. (B, E, F)
 * Magoun Cemetery, 1840.
 * Marshfield Hills Cemetery, 1729. (A, B, C, D-v.9, E, F)
 * Plainville Cemetery, 1788. (A, B, C, D-v. 14, E, F)
 * Adam Rogers Family Tomb, 1813.
 * Two Mile Cemetery, 1801. (A,, B, D-v.10, E, F)
 * Winslow Cemetery, 1680. (A, C, D-v.10, E, F)

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). New England Historic Genealogical Society Manuscripts Dept. (B). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries);. (C). Daughters of the American Revolution GRC v. 86. (D). Mayflower Descendant (journal). (E). Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Warwick, R.I., 1970). [see above for details] (F). Christian V. G. S. Kimball, "Marshfield Cemeteries Through 1950" (typ., 1997). [Note: Computer printout - copy at the Mass. Society of Mayflower Descendants library and with editor of this page]. 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 Congregational Church, 1632, records good starting in 1696. Records on microfilm, 1696-1920, and published volume 1, 1696-1747, in Mayflower Descendant, 11 [1909]: 36-39, 121-123; 31 [1933]: 117-124, 161-171; 33 [1934]: 12-21.
 * Society of Friends, 1692, records good (part of Pembroke Monthly Meeting that was attached to the New Bedford Monthly Meeting).
 * Second Congregational Society (Unitarian), 1738-1916, records good.[Records at the Marshfield Historical Society]
 * Protestant Episcopal Church, 1775-1867, records at St. Andrew's Church.
 * Baptist Church, 1788, records good.
 * Methodist Episcopal Church, 1813, records incomplete, starting in 1825.
 * Baptist Church in North Marshfield, 1833, records good.
 * Second Congregational Church, East Marshfield, 1835, records good.
 * Grace Chapel (Unitarian), 1882, records good.
 * Our Lady of the Assumption, n.d.
 * Christian Science Church, n.d.
 * North Community Church, 1928.
 * North River Community Church, 1989.
 * St. Ann's By the Sea, n.d.
 * St. Christine's Parish, n.d.
 * Sanctuary, n.d.
 * Shirat Hayam, 1996.
 * Trinity Episcopal Church at Marshfield Hills, n.d.
 * Victory Baptist Church, n.d.

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Newspapers

 * Marshfield Mail / South Shore News, 1964-1965.
 * Marshfield Mariner, 1976-present.
 * Marshfield Reporter, 1987-present.

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

Clift Rodgers Free Library 540 Pleasant Street Marshfield MA 02051 Phone 781-834-4597 [Note: Not a research library]

Ventress Memorial Library 15 Library Plaza Marshfield MA 02050 Phone 781-834-5535 Email [mailto:malib@ocln.org malib@ocln.org]

Marshfield Historical Society 65 Webster Street PO Box 1244 Marshfield MA 02050 781-834-0100