Chatham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Brief History

 * Chatham, Massachusetts at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Town Clerk
549 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 Phone: 508-945-5101 Fax: 508-945-0752 Email: [mailto:jsmith@chatham-ma.gov jsmith@chatham-ma.gov] Website

Quick Facts
English settlers first settled in Chatham in 1665, and the town was incorporated in 1712, naming it after Chatham, Kent, England. Located at the "elbow" of Cape Cod, the community became a shipping, fishing, and whaling center. Chatham's early prosperity would leave it with a considerable number of 18th century buildings, whose charm helped it develop into a popular summer resort.

Establishment and former town name(s)
Historical data relating to counties, cities, and towns in Massachusetts (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997), [FHL book 974.4 H2h 1997].

11 June 1712: Established by St 1712, c.34, formerly a village or district of Manamoit. (Prov. Laws Vol. XX1, p. 806)

Archiac name:

Manamoit Village, Monamoiet, Monomoy, Weguasset

Section/Villages within the town: Chatham Port, Mill Pond Bluff, Monomoy Island, Neck, North Chatham, Old Harbor, South Chatham, West Chatham

Wikipedia:

Boundary Changes
14 April 1862:

11 May 1995: Town charter adopted

Neighboring Towns
Harwich | Orleans | Atlantic Ocean to the east, Nantucket Sound to the south.

Cemeteries
Baptist Cemetery (1766) Old Queen Anne Rd

Bassett Family Cemetery aka Cockle Cove Road Cemetery (1847) Cockle Cove Rd and Songbird Lane

Bethel Cemetery (1780) Rte 28, Main St. South Chatham

Crowell Gravesite near East Harwich town line

Eldredge Family Cemetery (1818) Mill Creek Rd South Chatham

Eldredge Family Cemetery (1826) Rte 28, off Bay View Rd South Chatham

David Eldredge Cemetery (1840) 31 Juniper Lane South Chatham

Eldredge and Bassett Cemetery (1845) Ridgevale Rd

Doctor Lord Grave (1766) in front of 252 Training Field Rd

Methodist Cemetery Crowell and Depot Rds, in front of Seaside Cemetery

Seth Nickerson-Burgess Cemetery (1832) off Barcliff Ave

William Nickerson Cemetery (1689) 4 Ryders Cove, off Cod Lane

Old North Queen Anne Cemetery (1742) Queen Anne and George Ryders Rds, across from Old South Cemetery

Old South Queen Anne Cemetery (1718) Queen Anne and Geororge Ryders Rds, across from Old North Cemetery

Peoples Cemetery aka Universalist Cemetery (1786) Crowell and Stepping Stones Rd

Ryder, Doane, Berry, Smiths Cemetery (1766) aka Small Pox Burying Ground off Old Corners Rd, located in the woods

Sailors Cemetery (1846) Main St., next to the Lighthouse  The gravestones of over forty unknown shipwrecked sailors

Seaside Cemetery (1811) Crowell and Depot Rds, behind Methodist Cemetery

Union Cemetery (1800) Rte 28 and Heritage Lane, behind the Congregational Cemetery

Maps

 * 1) USGS GNIS FID 618250
 * 2) Google
 * 3) Hometown Locator

Town Records
No Annual Town Reports for Chatham