Halifax, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Guide to Halifax, Plymouth County, Massachusetts ancestry, genealogy and family history, town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.

Description

 * Halifax, Massachusetts at Wikipedia

This area was first settled in 1669 part of Plymouth Colony. The area was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the area was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. The area is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was established as a town from parts of Middleborough, Pembroke, and Plympton in 1734.

Populated Places
Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities, Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Adjacent Towns
Plymouth Co: Bridgewater | East Bridgewater | Hanson | Middleborough | Pembroke | Plympton

Town Records
In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

Halifax Town Clerk
499 Plymouth St Halifax, MA 02338 Phone: 781-293-7970 Fax: 781-294-7684 Email: [mailto:bgaynor@town.halifax.ma.us bgaynor@town.halifax.ma.us] Website

Vital Records
Published records Online records
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the FamilySearch Library, Halifax town and vital records, 1734-1856, ; 1841-1905, . These records are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1703-1902, on 56 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
 * Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841: Massachusetts Archives 220 Morrissey Blvd. Boston MA 02125 Phone 617-727-2816 Email [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us] Hours and Directions See the online guide for more information.
 * Vital Records of the town of Halifax, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Boston, 1905). This volume was microfilmed by the FamilySearch Library, (with digital link) and online at Internet Archive, Ancestry ($), and abstracted online. WorldCat (Other Libraries);  (with digital link).
 * Halifax town and vital records, 1734-1856 and 1841-1905, are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on FamilySearch.

Births

 * 1636-1924 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries

 * Halifax Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Plymouth County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Halifax.


 * Map and locations of cemeteries, with links to other information, including some transcriptions - at MAGenWeb.


 * Central Cemetery, 1830. (A)
 * Drew Family Plot, 1807. (A)
 * Hudson-Briggs Family Tomb, 1819. (B - on the East Bridgewater town line)
 * Perkins Lot, 1811. (A)
 * Sturtevant / Monponsett Pond / East Cemetery, 1728. (A)
 * Thomson Cemetery, 1734. (A)

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries); (B). Vital Records of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1917). See links above under Vital Records.

Church Records
The following is a list of churches established in town in order of organization date (if known) and condition of records in the 1889 survey if listed.


 * Halifax Congregational Church, 1734, records good, but no records before 1824.
 * Baptist Church, n.d., no longer extant with some records with the Middleborough Town Clerk.
 * Calvary Baptist Church, n.d.
 * Our Lady of the Lake Church, n.d.

City Directories
Halifax was published in 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914.


 * 1902-1914 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Halifax at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.

Other holdings:


 * Ancestry ($) has 1884, 1889, 1892.
 * Boston Public Library has 1914 (under Carver).
 * FamilySearch Library (Salt Lake City) has 1906, 1910, 1914 (with Carver) on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1902/3, 1906, 1910, 1914 (with Carver.

Local Histories
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Bridgewater was once called Monponsett.

Village or section names include Halifax Station, Monoponsett, and South Halifax. Border changes

Works written on the town include:


 * Guy S. Baker, History of Halifax, Massachusetts (Halifax, Mass., 1976), 191 pp. WorldCat (Other Libraries);.
 * Halifax Wikipedia page.

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * Boundary Map of Halifax at HomeTownLocator
 * Halifax at FamilySearch Places
 * Halifax at Google Maps
 * Halifax at Mapcarta
 * Massachusetts County Map at Mass.gov
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Old Maps of Massachusetts at Old-Maps.com
 * Massachusetts Maps State Page

Military
Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:
 * Massachusetts Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
 * United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865
For more Civil War Military Records see:
 * Massachusetts Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
 * United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918
For more World War I Military Records see:
 * Massachusetts Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
 * United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945
For more World War II Military Records see:
 * Massachusetts Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers

 * 1800-Current Massachusetts, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Halifax Reporter, 1984-present.

Probate Records

 * 1686-1881 Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Libraries
Holmes Public Library 470 Plymouth Street Halifax MA 02338 Phone 781-293-2271 Email [mailto:hfxpl@sailsinc.org hfxpl@sailsinc.org]

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Franklin Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * Hingham Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * Mount Hope Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * David Allen Lambert Library - an affiliate library
 * General Society of Mayflower Descendants - an affiliate library
 * Middleborough Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Thayer Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Thomas Crane Public Library - an affiliate library