Nantucket County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Guide to Nantucket County, Massachusetts ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The settlers on Nantucket are generally an insular group. Many surnames are uniquely identified to this island. As an island, its inhabitants moved about the coastline freely. The island is home to a large Quaker community. Its earliest history is tied to Martha's Vineyard, so research there would be important if you run into problems

The county was named for the island, perhaps meaning "faraway land or island" or "sandy, sterile soil tempting no one. It is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Nantucket County Courthouse 16 Broad Street Nantucket, MA 02544 Phone: 508-228-2559 Nantucket County Website

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
The basic data are from the historical county boundary series with additions from various sources.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * 1837-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only

Census Records

 * 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
The court system can appear to be complex. The system was reorganized in 1686/1692, 1859, and 1978. Described below are the most commonly used records for history and genealogy, but realize that this list is incomplete. For more detailed information regarding court structure, see Understanding the Massachusetts Court System. Older records are held by: Supreme Judicial Court Archives (administration - records stored in several off-site facilities and the Mass. Archives) 16th Floor, Highrise Court House 3 Pemberton Square Boston MA 02109 Phone 617-557-1082 Email [mailto:Elizabeth.Bouvier@sjc.state.ma.us Elizabeth.Bouvier@sjc.state.ma.us]

County Court This court was active from 1636 (called a quarterly court and then the county court when Suffolk was created in 1643) to 1692. The court heard all civil causes up to 10 shillings (raised to 40 shillings in 1647) and all criminal causes not concerning life, limb, or banishment. These were all jury trials. Some records can be found in the Suffolk Files.

Quarterly Court of General Sessions of the Peace This court was active from 1692 to 1827. The court heard criminal cases and had authority over county affairs that included levying taxes, reviewing town bylaws, highways, licensed liquor, regulated jails, supervised the administration of the poor laws, and appointed some county officials.

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1721-1816 (*) Nantucket County Court of General Sessions of the Peace at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Inferior Court of Common Pleas This court was active from 1692 to 1859. The court heard all civil cases over 40s unless a case involved freehold or was appealed from a justice of the peace.

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1721-1859 (*) Nantucket County Court of Common Pleas of the Peace at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Superior Court The Quarterly Court of General Sessions was merged into the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 1827, and that court was reorganized in 1859 to created the Superior Court as the new lower (i.e. trial) court. It covers both criminal and civil matters.

Supreme Judicial Court The Supreme Judicial Court was established by the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 that combined the former Governor and Council with the Superior Court of Judicature creating the highest state court. This court hears appeals, writ of error, capital offenses, and crimes against the public good. That included divorces until that action was moved to the lower court in 1887.

Land and Property Records
Land transfers, commonly called deeds, are recorded on the county level in Massachusetts. Not all deeds were recorded as is common practice today. The earliest transactions were charters or grants from the English Crown. Once local government was established, the colony would grant land to settlers directly or to towns to dole out. Some towns first start out as proprietorship and records were recorded there. Once towns were established, deeds were recorded on the county level. Nantucket County Registry of Deeds 16 Broad Street Nantucket, MA 02554 Telephone: 508-228-7250 Email: [mailto:jen.ferreira@sec.state.ma.us jen.ferreira@sec.state.ma.us]

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1620-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1657-1875 (*) Nantucket County Register of Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1716-1843 (*) Nantucket County Proprietors' Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * Recorded Land Name Search at Nantucket County Registry of Deeds - records include:
 * Recorded Land [i.e. deeds], 1967-Current
 * Recorded Plans, 1974-current
 * Registered Land [i.e. Land Court], 1958-Current
 * Registered Land Plans, 1899-Current

Local Histories
Works written on the county include:
 * Allen Coffin, "The Courts of Nantucket - the law and lawyers from an early period" in Proceedings of the Nantucket Historical Association, 1907: 30-42. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL. Digital versions at Google Books and Hathi Trust.
 * Marie M. Coffin, The History of Nantucket Island: a bibliography of source material with index and inventory (Nantucket, 1970), viii, 63 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Craig Cornish, "The Cession and Annexation of Nantucket" in Green Bay, 11 [1899]: 125-130. Not in WorldCat; Not in FHL. No digital version found.
 * Burnham N. Dell, "Quakerism on Nantucket" in Historic Nantucket, 2 [Jan. 1955]: 8-30. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL.
 * Myron Samuel Dudley, Churches and Pastors of Nantucket, Mass., from the first settlement to the present time, 1659-1902 (Boston, 1902), 21 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL. Note: Also published as "Two Centuries of Churches and Pastors in Nantucket, Mass." in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 56 [1902]: 17-26. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Ancestry ($).
 * Gerald S. Graham, "The Migrations of the Nantucket Whale Fishery: An episode in British Colonial Policy" in the New England Quarterly, 8 [1935]: 179-202. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL. Digital version at Jstor (free online).
 * Lydia Swain Mitchell Hinchman, Early Settlers of Nantucket, their associates and descendants (1896; Philadelphia, 4th ed., 1934), 330 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries) (2nd enl. ed., 1901); (with digital link) (2nd enl. ed., 1901) [see other editions]. Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($), and Ancestry ($) (2nd enl. ed., 1901).
 * Clarence King, "What Became of the First Book of Nantucket Town Records, hidden in 1677" in Historic Nantucket, 11 [Oct. 1963]: 24-27. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL.
 * Obed Macy, The History of Nantucket, being a compendious account of the first settlement of the island by the English, together with the rise and progress of the whale fishery ... (1835; Mansfield, Mass., 2nd ed., 1880), xiv, 313 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries); . Digital versions at Internet Archive (1880 ed.) and Hathi Trust.
 * William Francis Macy, "Migrations of Nantucketers to the South and West" in Proceedings of the Nantucket Historical Association, 1933: 24-27. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL.
 * Alexander Starbuck, The History of Nantucket, county, island and town, including genealogies of first settlers (Boston, 1924; rep. many times), 871 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries) (1969 ed.); (with digital link). Note: The genealogies section was reprinted separately as Nantucket Genealogies (Baltimore, 2001): WorldCat (Other Libraries); . Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * George Rogers Taylor, "Currents of Migration on Nantucket, 1760-1780" in Historic Nantucket, 22 [July 1974]: 14-20. WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL.
 * The Nantucket County MA GenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project has no section for Nantucket County.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Revolutionary War
 * 1775-1783 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1805-1845 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records were created on a variety of governmental levels from the Federal down to the city at the same time. The county records for all levels are outlines below. For more information, see the Massachusetts state page for more on naturalization.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records - Covering Multiple Courts
 * 1871-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1906-1817 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Federal Naturalization Records for Nantucket County Nantucket County Naturalization Records

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1635-1991 Massachusetts Wills and Probate Records 1635-1991 at Ancestry.com — index and images, ($)
 * 1706-1867 (*) Nantucket County Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Town Records
Nantucket County, Massachusetts Genealogy


 * 1626-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * Massachusetts Genealogy Guide - Guide to Massachusetts State-wide Records

Birth

 * 1753-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1800-1855 Rhode Island and Pawtucket, Massachusetts Birth Index, 1800-1855 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1840-1910 Massachusetts, Birth Index, 1840-1910 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1841-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Marriage

 * 1600-1961 Massachusetts, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
 * 1626-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1841-1915 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1841-1915 Massachusetts, Marriages, 1841-1915 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1841-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Death

 * 1626-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1840-1910 Massachusetts Death Index at MyHeritage - index only ($)
 * 1841-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Family History Centers

 * Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts Family History Center
 * North Dartmouth Massachusetts Family History Center
 * Dennis Public Library - Cape Cod Gen Society Library - an affiliate library
 * Eldredge Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Nantucket Historical Association Research Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
For information on additional archives and repositories, see
 * Nantucket Historical Association 15 Broad Street P.O. Box 1016 Nantucket, MA 02554 508-228-1894 Website
 * Massachusetts Archives for information on additional archives and repositories

Websites

 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * Massachusetts Genealogy Guide