Massachusetts Births - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of an index and images of state birth records from 1841-1915. The registers of births are first arranged in volumes by year. Within the volumes the birth entries are arranged by town then numerically by the number it was entered into the registers. May include a few births for 1840.

State birth registers are in bound volumes arranged by year, then by town. Entries within towns are arranged numerically. Most towns in Massachusetts began recording vital events (births, marriages, and deaths) many years before it became state law. These records up to 1850 for about 215 Massachusetts towns have been published. Beginning in 1841, the state of Massachusetts mandated that a copy of each event recorded in a town or city be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which means that two sources exist for each event after 1841 – the town or city and the state. Most towns were in compliance with the law by the late 1840s. It is estimated that by the late 1800s, most births were reported.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:


 * Date and place of birth registration
 * Full name of child
 * Gender
 * Day, month, and year of birth


 * Place of birth
 * Name of parents
 * Father's occupation
 * Residence of parents

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

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s birth record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

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
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * The parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile birth entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties

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

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Issued by Kevin H. White, Laws relating to births, marriages and deaths in Massachusetts : general laws, chapters 46 and 207 and certain sections of chapters 38, 111, 114, 190, 208 (including legislation through 1965)
 * Births, marriages (1841-1895), and deaths (1841-1899)
 * Massachusetts vital records, 1896-1897, 1899-1900
 * Register of births, marriages, deaths, 1901-1905
 * Massachusetts birth, marriage, death records, 1906-1910, from town clerks
 * Massachusetts vital records deaths, births, marriages, 1911-1915
 * Massachusetts, vital records (1916-1920)
 * Massachusetts, birth records, 1921-1924

FamilySearch Historical Records

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

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Guide to the public vital records of Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts : Historical Records Survey, 1942
 * 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.