Bristol, Bristol County, Rhode Island Genealogy

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Rhode Island were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page. To see the churches in TOWN, visit. Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of TOWN:

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of TOWN:

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of TOWN:

Probate Records
In Rhode Island, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of TOWN:

Town Records
In Rhode Island, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following: The following are TOWN town records available online:

Town Clerk
The town clerk is responsible for these records, and so most originals can be found at the town clerk's office.

Quick Facts

 * Fomerly shire town (county seat) of Bristol County, Rhode Island

Archives and Libraries

 * Town Hall Archives The Town of Bristol holds documents dating from Bristol’s earliest years; first as a town of Plymouth Colony (1680-1691), later as a Town of Massachusetts (1691-1747) and finally as a colonial Town in Rhode Island (since 1747). These archives include early birth, death, and marriage records in addition to the records of the Town Meetings (prior to 1971) and Town Council records that date back to the 17th Century. The Town Clerk’s Office is currently involved in a project to process and catalogue a set of miscellaneous documents relating to the action of the Bristol Town Council in its capacity of the head of Town government and Overseer of the Poor from the early 18th Century to about 1900. This project, funded through the State Archives and a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, should be completed and available for limited public use for educational purposes during 2007.
 * Rogers Free Library
 * Founded in 1877 525 Hope Street (Rt 114) P.O. Box 538 Bristol, RI 02809

Biographies
Church History and Records

Cemeteries

 * Genealogical collections

Congregational Church

 * Copies of inscriptions taken from gravestones in the Old East Burial Ground, Juniper Hill Cemetery, Congregational Church Yard, Walker Hill Cemetery

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Bristol #9, 300 High Street at Bradfird Street


 * Findagrave

DeWolf Family
Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Bristol #5, Woodlawn Avenue


 * Findagrave

East Burial

 * History
 * Bristol Cemeteries, 1689-1865

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Bristol #4, Wood Street


 * Findagrave

Juniper Hill

 * Copies of inscriptions taken from gravestones in the Old East Burial Ground, Juniper Hill Cemetery, Congregational Church Yard, Walker Hill Cemetery
 * The Juniper Hill Cemetery: in Bristol, R.I.

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Bristol #3, Sherry Avenue


 * Findagrave

North Burial

 * History
 * Bristol Cemeteries, 1689-1865

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Bristol #1, Hope Street


 * Findagrave

Old East Burial

 * Copies of inscriptions taken from gravestones in the Old East Burial Ground, Juniper Hill Cemetery, Congregational Church Yard, Walker Hill Cemetery

Quinn Estate

 * Findagrave Burial site of Anthony Quinn, the actor

St. Mary's Catholic

 * Findagrve

St. Michael's Episcopal

 * Findagrave

The Miery Swamp

 * Findagrave

Walker Hill

 * Copies of inscriptions taken from gravestones in the Old East Burial Ground, Juniper Hill Cemetery, Congregational Church Yard, Walker Hill Cemetery
 * Findagrave

Centennial Celebrations, etc.

 * Celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the town of Bristol, Rhode Island: September 24th, A.D. 1880

Congregational

 * Historical sketches of the First Congregational Church, Bristol, R.I., 1687-1872
 * Manual of the First Congregational Church, Bristol R. I., 1687-1872

Episcopal

 * Two hundred years of St. Michael's rectors 1721-1955

Court Records

 * The defendant's fist many blows did strike the Rev. John Usher of Bristol, RI, v. Capt Simeon Potter of Bristol, RI, 1761 ▲ FamilySearch Digital Library.

Directories

 * Bristol, Warren and Barrington (Rhode Island) city directories

Dwellings

 * Historic and architectural resources of Bristol, Rhode Island

Genealogy

 * Bristol, R. I.'s early settlers ▲  The families covered are those of the eighty-one settlers who attended the town's first meeting in 1681 as well as those who were the original proprietors of the Mount Hope Lands that became Bristol.

History

 * Settlement of Town of Bristol Genealogy Trails
 * History of Bristol Genealogy Trails
 * Blithewold: Bristol, Rhode Island
 * Bristol, Rhode Island: a town biography
 * The history of Bristol R. I. ▲  the story of the Mount Hope lands from the visit of the Northmen to the present time; containing accounts of the Indian wars, the character and lives of the early settlers in Bristol, the events of the Revolution, the privateers of the War of 1812; details of the commerce of the port; and sketches of its distinguished men
 * Mount Hope: a New England chronicle
 * Sketches of old Bristol
 * Tales of an old sea port: a general sketch of the history of Bristol, Rhode Island, including, incidentally, an account of the voyages of the norsemen, so far as they may have been connected with Narragansett Bay, and personal narratives of some notable voyages accomplished by sailors from the Mount Hope lands

Land and Property
Land records begins in 1747 and continuing to the present.


 * Bristol, Rhode Island original land records, 1690-1703 
 * Bristol (R.I.) deeds, 1690-1893  Index to Grantors and Grantees 1747-1893 Deeds 1690 to 1893
 * Bristol (R.I.) deed records (1887-1906) and indexes (1893-1926) --, 1887-1926  Deed records 1887-1905 Grantor Index 1893-1926 Grantee Index 1893-1926

Probate Records

Military Hisory and Records

 * Bristol (R.I.) militia records, early to 1920

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Bristol (R.I.) naturalization records (1890-1902) and index (1896-1998) --, 1890-1998 

Patents

 * Google Patents

Probate Records
Probate records begin in 1747, continuing to the present.


 * Deeds, wills, inventories, administrations, grand deeds, grand articles 1680-1808 
 * Books of wills and inventories, 1746-1881 
 * Inventories (1811-1885) and administrators' accounts (1811-1877) --, 1811-1885 
 * Bristol (R.I.) probate bonds, 1817-1890 
 * Bristol (R.I.) probate records (1892-1923) and index (1700-2002) --, 1892-1923  Deeds of personal estate (1909-1917) Probate Warrants (1896-1917) Inventories (1900-1918) Administrators' accounts (1892-1920) Letters of Administration (1901-1917) Bonds (1905-1912) Probate Index Probate records (1903-1918) Wills (1882-1916)
 * Bristol (R.I.) town council records, 1760-1877  Probate records (1760-1877)
 * Letters of administration, 1815-1906 

Schools

 * School accounts 1830-1870

Statistics

 * Town of Bristol: monograph 

Taxation

 * Bristol Tax List, 1695 Ancestry ($)


 * Bristol, Rhode Island 1888 Tax List DistantCousin

Vital Records

 * Vital records, 1680-1850 
 * Bristol (R.I.) birth index, 1690-2002 
 * South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1955 Has listings for Bristol, RI Ancestry ($)

Societies, Libraries and Museums

 * NSDAR Bristol Chapter
 * Bristol Historical &amp; Preservation Society 48 Court Street Bristol, RI 02809