Merrimack County, New Hampshire Genealogy

United States &gt; New Hampshire &gt; Merrimack County

County Courthouse
163 North Main St.

Concord, NH 03302-2880

Tel. 603-225-5501

Parent County

 * Created 1823 from Hillsborough and Rockingham counties.

Record Loss
One record source that would be helpful, but was destroyed, is the 1890 census. There was a fire in Washington, D. C. in 1921 which badly damaged the records. None of the New Hampshire population records remain. The 1890 census Civil War veterans' lists were kept in a different building and were saved. They are available on microfilms from the Family History Library, and at www.ancestry.com. You can search for veterans' or widows' names.

Populated Places
Cities:

Towns:

Villages:

Neighboring Counties
Belknap | Grafton | Hillsborough | Rockingham | Strafford | Sullivan

Cemeteries
The New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association has the most complete list of cemeteries.

The Findagrave organization provides a way for you to request that a volunteer will take a photograph of a gravestone. Often a volunteer will respond and will e-mail you the photo and add it to the web site.

Another internet site may help you find gravestone records. See www.billiongraves.com.

Church
If you know the town of residence and the ancestor's denomination, contact the town historical society, or the public library for that town. They may have information on available church records. You can also see the Church Records section in the general information for New Hampshire. That section lists archives and other record keepers for the various religious denominations.

If you do not know the denomination, search for a marriage record. This may give the name of the minister. Then you can contact a historical society and learn at which church he was the minister. Also search for an obituary, which may mention the church the person attended. The death certificate may list the name of the cemetery. You can then write to the cemetery and ask if it is affiliated with a local church. The death certificate may mention the funeral home. Their file may have the name of the church, cemetery, or a copy of the obituary. Also, relatives might know the denomination.

Different churches contain a variety of types of records. Many churches keep baptism, marriage, and burial records. Sometimes birth and death information is included. The church records of brothers and sisters, etc. may give clues.

Court
The Merrimack County courthouse is located at 163 N. Main St., Concord, NH 03301. The court records began in 1824 after the county was taken off in 1823 from Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties. The Family History Library has microfilms of these records (look under Merrimack County, New Hampshire - Court Records):

Court of Common Pleas, 1840 to 1859/1867 (staff will check on ending date). Indexes are at the beginning of most volumes in all these court records below.

Superior Court, 1840 to 1865, and an index for 1824-1888 (staff will check on dates).

Circuit Court, 1874-1875.

Supreme Judicial Court, 1856-1900, and an index for some years (staff will check on years).

For court records before 1823 you will need to determine if the town where your ancestor lived was in Hillsborough or Rockingham Counties. Ancestry's Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources, 3rd ed., Provo, Ut., 2004 (FHL book 973 D27) has a map of New Hampshire, and after the map there is a list of towns giving to which county the town belongs now, and to which county it belonged before 1823.

See the New Hampshire article in this wiki for background information about the various courts and when they began and ended.

Directories (city directories)
The Family History Library has many city directories on microfilm. See the Family History Library Catalog and look up the city or town - Directories. For example Concord, New Hampshire city directories are available on microfilms and/or microfiche for 1830 to 1935 with gaps for some years.

Many directories are also available on the internet at www.ancestry.com. Go to Ancestry's card catalog, and under Search Titles, then type New Hampshire City Directories. Then you can select the city and see for which years ancestry has digital images of the city directories.

Gazetteers
To learn about New Hampshire gazetteers, go to the New Hampshire article in this wiki. There is a section where New Hampshire gazetteers published in 1823, 1849, and 1874 are listed. Those gazetteers can be ordered on microfilms from the Family History Library. Check at your Family History Center to see if they already have the microfilm you are interested in.

Land
Deeds since 1823 are kept at the Registry of Deeds in Concord, New Hampshire. The Family History Library has microfilms of indexes to the deeds for 1823-1900, and also has microfilms of the deed volumes for 1823 to about 1919. There are indexes to grantors (sellers) and grantees (buyers).

If before 1823 your ancestors lived in the area that is now Merrimack County, you will need to look in the records of Hillsborough County, or Rockingham County.

To determine if the town where your ancestor lived was in Hillsborough or Rockingham Counties before 1823 see Ancestry's Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources, 3rd ed., Provo, Ut., 2004 (FHL book 973 D27). This book has a map of New Hampshire on page 437, and after the map there is a list of towns mentioning to which county the town belongs now, and to which county it belonged before 1823.

Local Histories
There are town histories for many of the towns in Merrimack County. In those books there is often a genealogical section with a great deal of family history information. A good place to see if there is a town history for the place your ancestor lived is the Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library has microfilmed and digitized many of those books.

To look up the books, go to familysearch.org, and see the Catalog tab. Type in the box the name of the town you are seeking. Select the reference to that town, then click the Search button. You will then see a list of items for that town. See if "History" or "Genealogy" are listed. If so, look at those items.

Maps
An interesting atlas published in 1892, with maps for most of the New Hampshire towns is The Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire (click to see digital images), published in Boston in 1892 by the D. H. Hurd Company. The maps show the locations of homes, and the map gives the name of the person living in the home. The above web site is from the University of New Hampshire Library.

A town historical society may be an excellent place to obtain a map. The Association of Historical Societies of New Hampshire has a helpful list of historical societies. Town libraries may also have good maps.

Civil War

 * History of Chichester, Merrimack County, New Hampshire - Citizens of the town who enlisted and were mustered into the service of the United States during the Rebellion
 * History of Hill, Merrimack County, New Hampshire - Volunteer soldiers from the town of Hill.
 * History of Wilmot, Merrimack County, New Hampshire - Some Wilmot residents who participated in the Civil War.


 * Civil War service men from Merrimack County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Merrimack County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies B, C, E, and H.
 * - 3rd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies B and E.
 * - 4th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies D, E, and I.
 * - 5th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Companies A, E, F, and I.

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Portsmouth,NH newspapers from the early 1900's covering local news that included residents from Merrimack County communities.

Vital Records
Certified copies of of birth, death, and marriage records are available from the State Division of Vital Records Administration or from the local city and town clerk where the event took place. Original records are kept by the city or town clerk and copies are sent to the state.

In 1905, when the state created the Bureau of Vital Records and Health, printed cards were distributed to the local clerks and earlier vital records were transcribed onto the cards and submitted to the state.

Births

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Marriages

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Deaths

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Concord New Hampshire Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Merrimack County NHGenWeb Project, an member of The NHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Merrimack County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Merrimack County (backup site)
 * Family History Library catalog for Merrimack County
 * Merrimack County, New Hampshire Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium).