Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Description
'''In 1653, Freetown, Massachusetts was settled at Assonet Bay by members of the Plymouth Colony, as part of Freeman's Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683 Freetown was incorporated as a town within the colony. The southern part of what is now Fall River was incorporated as the town of Tiverton, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1694, a few years after the merger with the Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island, along with Little Compton and what is now Bristol County, Rhode Island. The state boundary was placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street. In 1703, Benjamin Church, a prominent veteran of King Philip's War, established a sawmill, a gristmill and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, including the water rights, to Richard Borden of Tiverton and his brother Joseph.'''
 * Fall River, Massachusetts at Wikipedia

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

Adjacent Towns
Bristol Co.:  Dartmouth | Freetown | Somerset | Swansea | Westport | Rhode Island: Bristol Co.:  Bristol | Warren | Newport Co.:  Portsmouth | Tiverton

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

Fall River Town Clerk
Board Of Elections 1 Government Center, RM 636 Fall River, MA 02722 Phone: 508-324-2633 Email: [mailto:lcamara@fallriverma.org lcamara@fallriverma.org] Website

Vital Records

 * [Vital records, 1762-1900 [Fall River, Massachusetts]
 * [Authors: Fall River (Massachusetts). City Clerk (Main Author) Fall River (Massachusetts). City Clerk (Repository)]
 * [Format: Manuscript/Manuscript on Film]
 * [Language:English]
 * [Publication:Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1995]
 * [Physical:6 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.]
 * [References: (Digital Collection) Massachusetts town records, ca. 1638-1961]

Births

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information John Perry, Director 765 Prospect Street, Fall River, MA 02722 T: 508-324-2750 | F: 508-324-2751 E: jperry@fallriverma.org Historical Note: burial place of Lizzie Borden (1860-1927), acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892.] Jewish Cemeteries Catholic Cemeteries
 * Fall River Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Bristol County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places
 * [The Cemeteries Division is a branch of the Department of Community Maintenance. It is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of Fall River’s two public cemeteries, Oak Grove Cemetery and North Burial Ground.  Both North Burial Ground and Oak Grove Cemeteries are registered with the National Registry of Historic Places.  The Cemeteries Division is overseen by the Board of Park Commissioners.]
 * [North Burial Ground is over 30 acres and is located on North Main St. between Brightman and Cory Streets.North Burial Ground. 1360 N. Main St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 672-3041. Established 1810.]
 * [Oak Grove Cemetery. 765 Prospect St. Fall River MA 02720. 508-324-2750. Established c. 1873. Oak Grove Cemetery is over 120 acres and is located in the historic Highlands neighborhood of Fall River. Oak Grove has been the final resting place of Fall River’s most notable citizens.
 * [Agudath Achim Jewish Cemetery. Newhall Street Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue. 508-674-9761. Go to: http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/]
 * [Beth El Cemetery. N. Main St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. Contact: Temple Beth El. (508) 674-3529.]
 * [Hebrew Cemetery. McMahon St. Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue. 508-674-9761.]
 * [Notre Dame Cemetery . 1540 Stafford Rd. Fall River, Mass. 02721. (508) 673-1561. Established 1883.http://www.interment.net/data/us/ma/bristol/notre/index.htm]
 * [Our Lady of Light Cemetery. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 672-1207. Contact: Notre Dame Cemetery.]
 * [St. John's Cemetery. 258 Brightman St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 679-2535. Burials: 1858-1891.]
 * [St. Mary's Cemetery. Amity St. Fall River, Mass. 02722. (508) 679-2535. Burials: 1875-1891.]
 * [St. Patrick's Cemetery. 2233 Robeson St. Fall River, Mass. 02720. (508) 679-2535. Established 1876.]

Church Records

 * 1789-1920 Massachusetts: (Image only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 at American Ancestors - images ($)

City Directories

 * 1905 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images,
 * [Available on microfilm (1853-1967) and in print (1967-present).]
 * [Older directories can be a valuable source of family information. Not only do they provide a list of people living in Fall River, they also list home addresses and sometimes business addresses and occupations. They may also include dates of death if someone died in the preceding year. These do have limitations, however: they list heads of household rather than complete families, and they cover the city of Fall River only, not outlying areas.]
 * [Local History Online - The Durfee High School Library has many historical images and texts available online, including photographs and postcards, high school yearbooks, books, and news articles.]
 * [Historic Atlas - Pages from an 1883 atlas of Fall River can be viewed and individually downloaded on Flickr, or the entire file (warning: a large download) is available in PDF on the Massachusetts State Library archives page.]


 * 1853-1960 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Fall River at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
 * 1893-1884 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Fall River at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Court Records

 * 1697-1801 Bristol County, MA: Extracts from Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 1697-1801 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * Boundary Map of Fall River at HomeTownLocator
 * Fall River at FamilySearch Places
 * Fall River at Google Maps
 * Fall River 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
 * Fall River, Massachusetts, records of discharges and registrations of soldiers, sailors and marines, 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

 * [Our collection of newspapers on microfilm includes the Herald News (1929-present)]
 * [ the Daily Evening News (1862-1929)]
 * [ the Daily Globe (1885-1929)]
 * [ the Daily Herald (1877-1904)]
 * [the Evening Herald (1905-1928)]
 * [There are also reels of microfilm with other early Fall River newspapers, a few dating from before the Civil War.]
 * [Recent issues of the Herald News are available in print, and online access goes back to 2000.]

Obituaries

 * [Old newspapers can be a valuable source of information as well as providing a portrait of daily life in different time periods; unfortunately, they are not indexed and often lack a table of contents, so researchers should be prepared to spend some time, especially with 19th century materials. Also note that newspaper obituaries were not standard until around the 1920s; ancestors who died in the 19th or early 20th century may not have had a printed obituary.]
 * [Obituary Index - Our staff is in the process of compiling an index to local obituaries from the Fall River Herald News. (No index is provided by the newspaper itself.) Some years are currently available in an Excel database format and can be accessed online; others are available in the library. Please ask a reference librarian for assistance.]
 * Obituary Index of the Fall River Herald News provided by the Fall River Public Library:1946-2010]

Probate Records

 * 1686-1880 Bristol County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1880 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Libraries

 * Fall River Library

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Franklin Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * Hingham Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * North Dartmouth Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
 * Providence Rhode Island FamilySearch Center
 * General Society of Mayflower Descendants - an affiliate library
 * Middleborough Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Roger Williams University Library - an affiliate library