Middlesex County, Massachusetts Genealogy

United States Massachusetts  Middlesex County

County Courthouse
City Clerks has birth records 1632-1745 marrige records 1651-1793, death records 165-1689; Divorce records from 1888 and court records from 1755 Register of Deeds 360 Gorham Street Lowell, Ma 01852 has land records from southern District for Northern District from 1855 &gt;

http://lwvma.org/govcounty.shtml


 * 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.

Quick Facts
The county was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires". Middlesex initially contained Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, and Reading.

Parent County
10 May 1643: Created from the Massachusetts Bay Colony lands.

Boundary Changes
5 April 1731: Worcester County was set off.

Places / Localities
Ceded Towns:  Brighton·Charlestown·Litchfield·Nottingham

Cemeteries
Refer to the cities and towns above for the cemeteries. There are no "rural" cemeteries in Massachusetts.


 * Lowell Cemetery, Lowell BillionGraves
 * St. Patrick Cemetery, Lowell: Courtesy of the cemetery
 * St. Mary Cemetery, Tewksbury: Courtesy of the cemetery
 * Westlawn Cemetery, Lowell BillionGraves. (location also listed in above localities box as 'Littleton Commons').

Federal
Searchable census records:

1855

 * please refers to cities and towns, too

Massachusetts 1855 State Census A free Internet index and images to the 1855 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the Historical Records Search. 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 1865 State Census A free Internet index and images to the 1865 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Historical Records Search. 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.

Church History and Records
Refer to Cities and Towns for the church history and records. There are no "rural" churches in Massachusetts.

Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Boston newspapers (early 1900's), The Lowell Sun (1878-1977), Fitchburg newspapers (1868-1977), and Portsmouth,NH newspapers (1898-2007) covering local news that included residents from Middlesex County communities.

Cambridge Public Library's Historic Cambrige Newspaper Collection courtesy of the Cambridge Public Library includes the following newspapers:


 * Cambridge Chronicle (1846-1923
 * The Cambridge Press (1887-1889)
 * The Cambridge Sentinel (1903-1912)
 * The Cambridge Tribune (1887-1923)

Family history Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Belmont Massachusetts Family History Center
 * Boston Massachusetts Family History Center
 * Cambridge Massachusetts Family History Center

Websites

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