Marion, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of Marion. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.

Town Clerk
2 Spring Street Marion, MA 02738 Phone: 508-748-3502 Fax: 508-748-3534 Email: [mailto:mbissonnette@marionma.gov mbissonnette@marionma.gov] Website

Brief History
Hanson was the west parish of Pembroke and thus the area was Plymouth Colony in the beginning. 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. When incorporated, the town was part of Plymouth County where it remains.

Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series with additions from various sources. Associated names Village or section names include Bird Island, East Marion, Gifford's Corner, Great Hill, Great Neck, Hamlin's Corner, North Marion, Old Landing, Silver Shell, Sippican, and Sprague's Cove. Border changes Top of Page

Town Histories
Works written on the town include:

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 * Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts: being a History of these Towns and also in part of Marion and a portion of Wareham ([Mattapoisett, Mass.], 3rd ed., 1950), 426 pp. Digital versions of the 1907 edition at Internet Archive and Google Books WorldCat (Other Libraries); ;.
 * Marion Wikipedia page.

Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations: Original records Published records There are no published vital records for Marion. Top of Page
 * Marion Town Clerk's Office 2 Spring Street Marion MA 02738 Phone 508-748-3502
 * Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, 1852-1905,.
 * Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering vital records, 1852-1910, on 27 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.

City Directories
Marion was published in 1903/4, 1907, 1909, 1910/1, 1916, 1919, 1924/5, 1926, 1928-1929, 1934.

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:

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 * Ancestry ($) has none.
 * Boston Public Library has 1909-1934.
 * Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1903/4, 1907, 1910/1, 1916, 1919, 1924/5, 1928-1929 on.
 * fold3 ($) has none.
 * Massachusetts State Library has 1903/4, 1907, 1910/1, 1916, 1919, 1926.
 * New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1907, 1910-1911, 1916, 1919, 1928-1929.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Marion. For location of cemeteries, see PlymouthColony website. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.


 * Blankenship Cemetery, n.d. (A, C)
 * Evergreen Cemetery, n.d. (D)
 * Handy's Corner Cemetery, 1797. (B)
 * Happy Alley / Quaker Cemetery, n.d. (A, D)
 * Little Neck Cemetery, 18th century. (A, B, D)
 * Marion Cemetery, 18th century. (B)
 * North Marion Cemetery, n.d.
 * Old Landing Cemetery, n.d. (A, D)

Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to: (A). New England Historic Genealogical Society Manuscripts Dept. (B). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries);. (C). Daughters of the American Revolution GRC v. 48. (D). Vital Records of Rochester, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, 1914). Top of Page

Churches
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.


 * Congregational Church [now First Congregational Church of Marion, 1703, records good.
 * Universalist Church, 1828, records good.
 * Methodist Episcopal Church, 1866, records good.
 * Methodist Protestant church, n.d., extinct by 1889 and records unknown [perhaps the church below].
 * St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, 1874.
 * St. Rita's Rectory, n.d.
 * Community Baptist Church of Marion, 1992.

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Newspapers

 * Marion Sentinel, 1984-present.

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Libraries and Historical Societies
The following is a list of research facilities in town:

Elizabeth Taber Library 8 Spring Street Marion MA 02738 Phone 508-748-1252

Sippican Historical Society 139 Front Street Box 541 Marion MA 02738 508-748-1116 Email [mailto:info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org]