Massachusetts, Births - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes an index to selected birth records from 1636 to 1920 and state wide births from 1921-1924, 154 volumes. See related FamilySearch Catalog below.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the child
 * The approximate date of the birth
 * Place of birth

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the birth date along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Search for the family in land and probate records in the town where they lived

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Massachusetts.
 * Massachusetts Guided Research
 * Massachusetts Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Record of births and deaths in Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, and Phelps Diary, 1795-1817
 * Newton, Middlesex County, Births and out of town births, (1865-1910), marriages (1890-1910) FS Library Film 743869 Births, A-Z, 1906
 * A report of the Record Commissioners of the city of Boston. FS Library Film 14734 v. 24
 * Newburyport. Records of births, marriage intentions, marriages, and deaths, 1740-1875. FS Library 767312 - Birth index and birth records - v. 1 1740-1849
 * Heath. Births, deaths, marriages and intentions, 1735-1900. FS Library 768340
 * Boston, Massachusetts, births and marriages, 1901-1910 FS Library598102 - Births no. 3001-4500, 1908
 * Massachusetts, birth records, 1921-1925

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915
 * Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915
 * Massachusetts Town Births Index, ca. 1630-1905
 * Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920 Births, marriages and deaths, 1916-1920
 * Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Historical Records Survey. Guide to the public vital records of Massachusetts
 * Carroll D. Wright. Report on the custody and condition of the public records of parishes, towns, and counties. Boston, Massachusetts : Wright & Potter, 1889

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.