Worcester County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Worcester County

County Courthouse
Register of Deeds  has land records; Probate Court  has probate records from 1731; Town Clerks  have birth, marriage and death records.

In 1997, the county governments of Middlesex, Berkshire, Essex, Hampden and Worcester were abolished. Their functions were turned over to state agencies. Sheriffs in these counties still administer jails but their employees are state employees. The legislation to abolish these county governments transferred Registeries of Deeds to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk county governments remain substantially unchanged. Towns Organized Before 1800: Ashburnham 1765, Athol 1762, Auburn 1778, Barre 1753, Berlin 1784, Bolton 1738, Boylston 1786, Brookfield 1673, Charlton 1754, Douglas 1746, Fitchburg, 1764, Gardner 1785, Grafton 1735, Greenwich 1754, Hardwick 1739, Harvard 1732, Hubbardston 1767, Lancaster 1653, Leicester 1714, Leominister 1740, Lunenburg 1728, Mendon 1667, Milford 1780, New Braintree 1751, Northborough 1766, Northbridge 1772, Oakham 1762, Oxford 1693, Paxton 1765, Petersham 1754, Phillipston 1786, Princeton 1759, Royalston 1765, Rutland 1714, Shrewsbury 1720, Southborough 1727, Spencer 1753, Sterling 1781, Sutton 1714, Templeton 1762, Upton 1735, Uxbridge 1742, Warren 1742, Westbourough 1717, Westminister 1759, Winchendon 1762, Worcester 1684.

Parent County

 * Created 5 April 1731 from Hampshire, Middlesex and Suffolk counties

Places / Localities
Towns

Ceded or Extinct Towns:  Dana | Enfield | Suffield | Woodstock

Neighboring Counties
Franklin | Hampden | Hampshire | Middlesex | Norfolk | Connecticut counties: Tolland | Windham | New Hampshire counties: Cheshire | Hillsborough | Providence County, Rhode Island

Cemeteries
BillionGraves:


 * Evergreen Cemetery, Leominster
 * Harvard Center Cemetery, Harvard
 * Mooreland Cemetery, Paxton
 * Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester
 * Saint Leo Cemetery, Leominster
 * St. Patricks Cemetery, Whitinsville

State Census
1855 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1855 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on FamilySearch Historical Records. This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1855, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.

1865 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1865 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on FamilySearch Historical Records. This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1865, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.

Genealogy
Moorhouse, B-Ann. A Moorhouse Family of Dublin, Carlow and Kildare. Pictures and Genealogy of Moorhouse family in Ireland, Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, with small amount in Worcester Mass. and New York, covering years 1672-1945. Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.IX, no.1, 1977, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v9.

Military

 * Names and ranks of men in the military service, 1781-1840, (microfilm of original records in Grafton, Massachusetts, Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971),.

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Boston newspapers, Fitchburg newspapers (1868-1977), and The Lowell Sun (1878-1977) that covered local news on Worcester County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Worcester Massachusetts Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Worcester County MAGenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Worcester County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Worcester County (backup site)
 * Family History Library catalog for Worcester County