Census Materials
There are two separate types of the Federal census of population, the original manuscript form that lists all the people's names (depending on the year taken, only heads of households are listed from 1790 to 1840) and the aggregate data drawn from the original manuscript returns. The aggregate data can tell you how many people were living in a certain area at a certain ten year period. As to how race is described, this varies from different years.
- Manuscript CensusAll indexed in Ancestry.com
- Non-Population Census, 1850-1880Agriculture, Manufacturing, Mortality 1850-1880. Use if you find your person owned a farm or a business. Only available during these years
- Aggregate Census of PopulationHistorical U.S. census guide from Princeton. Points to and lists all the difference years of the Census. For the print volumes see our Reference collection, call numbers are similar for the first 2 lines with the 3rd being .C...; also links to Readex work somewhat, we have this also. Ask me if you need help.
- Massachusett, State Census, 1855 & 1865Available in Ancestry.com
Search Ancestry's Card Catalog - Massachusetts, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890In Ancestry.com
This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; Early Census Index. - What Questions were Asked?Different census years asked different questions. Make sure they asked questions about color/race, ethnicity and where people were born! Was the street address listed?
Special Reports/Publications
- Negro Population in the United States, 1790-1915Print: Tisch Reserves HA 205 .A33 1968
- Negro Population in the United States, 1790-1915Print: Tisch Book Stacks
Original publication of title above. - Negroes in the United States, 1920-1932Print: Tisch Book Stacks HA 205 .A331
- Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830By Carter G. Woodson. (Association for the Study of Negro Life and History 1925)
Tisch Reserves: E 185 .W887 1925. Lists individuals in Massachusetts!
Online & Published Vital Records to 1850
- Massachusetts, Town Birth Records, 1620-1850From Ancestry.com
This database contains birth information from several towns included in the Massachusetts (U.S.A.) Town Vital Records Collection compiled by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Each record includes the individual's name, birth date, birthplace, and parents' names. - Vital records of Medford Massachusetts, to the year 1850From the Internet Archive
- Vital records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the year 1850Vol. 2: Marriages and deaths
- Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988From Ancestry.com.
- Massachusetts, Town Marriage Records, 1620-1850From Ancestry.com
This database contains marriage information from several towns included in the Massachusetts (U.S.A.) Town Vital Records Collection compiled by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Each record includes the names of the the bride and groom, marriage date, and marriage location. It provides the names of about 190,000 people.
Did He Serve in the Military?
Use these sources to find out if your man served in the Civil War.
- 1890 Veterans ScheduleOnly part of the 1890 Census to have survived!
This database is an index to individuals enumerated in the 1890 special census of Civil War Union veterans and widows of veterans - Civil War Soldiers and Sailors DatabaseThe Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time.
- U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934Find out if your person received a pension (solider, widow, or minor)
Guides and Sites for Local Genealogy
- Boston Massachusetts GenealogyFamilySearch Wiki
All types of records links and addresses - Dorchester, MassachusettsFamilySearch wiki
- Roxbury, Massachusetts GenealogyFamilySearch wiki
- Medford Local History and GenealogyMedford Public Library
- Cambridge History CollectionCambridge Public Library
Town and Neighborhood Histories
- History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855.Print: Tisch Book Stacks F 74.M5 B9
- History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877. With a Genealogical Register. Vol. 1.Print: Tisch Book Stacks F 74.C1 P1 (1 vol.)
- The Memorial History of Boston: Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880. Vol. 1.4 vols.
Early and Colonial Periods.
Print: Tisch Book Stacks F 73.3 .W77 - The Memorial History of Boston: Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880. Vol. 3The Revolutionary Period. The Last Hundred Years. Part. 1
- The Memorial History of Boston, including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880. Vol. 4Print: Tisch Book Stacks F 73.3 .W77.
The Last Hundred Years. Part. 2. Special Topics
Military Records
If you are lucky enough to find someone who served in the Civil War or other wars, you may luck out and discover they received a pension! A pension file can provide you with all sorts of genealogical and individual information! Unfortunately these are not available online. Some Civil War Widow's pensions are (if the soldier died in the war), however. Doing military research is another whole lecture topic of its own. If you find a soldier I can do my best to help you. Most pension and other military records on a national level are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
- National Guard Museum & ArchivesThe most significant records are documents relating to the men and units of the Massachusetts Volunteer Regiments which fought in the Civil War.
Archives holdings also include the archives of the Office of the Adjutant General as well as the military records of Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Militiamen, and National Guardsmen from 1775 - 1940.
See below for contact info. - Massachusetts Historical SocietyIncluded in their on-site collections are the Carte de Visite Album, photographs and records of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment!
See below for contact info. - Massachusetts Soliders and Sailors
Maps & City Directories
City and town borders of Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA, on a map of Suffolk County. Also shows annexed towns of Brighton, Charleston, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Roxbury, and West Roxbury.
From https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Boston_Massachusetts_genealogy
- Massachusetts Real Estate Atlas Digitization ProjectThe State Library's collection of Massachusetts real estate atlases is one of the most heavily-used resources in the Library. The volumes, most of which date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, document the development of neighborhoods over time.
The Library has digitized 167 of these volumes and has made them available in PDF form through its institutional repository, DSpace and with individual page images (jpgs) via its Flickr site. Listed on this page is the list of the statewide, county and municipal atlases available online. - Massachusetts Real Estate AtlasesAtlases for other cities that show ownership, but also streets and addresses if your people rented.
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.From the Library of Congress.
See footprints of buildings in neighborhoods and see what commercial building, such as stores, churches, etc. were in the area. - Boston: Maps, Atlases, and City (streets) DirectoriesFrom Boston University Libraries.
Many maps and city directories listed and linked to - Boston City Maps from Tufts DCA 1874-1928Part of the maps used in the Boston Streets Project
- Boston: NeighborhoodsFrom Boston University Libraries
- David Rumsey Historical Map CollectionMarvelous collection of historic maps from all over the world. Map applications, GIS, etc.
- Online: Massachusetts MapsFrom the Massachusetts Historical Society. The maps presented include twenty-four manuscript maps of local towns and counties dating from 1637-1809 and eight iconic printed maps of Massachusetts and Boston.
City Directories
Most directories started being published around the 1840's, this will vary from city or town. You will not find all city directories online! You can find them at the Boston Public Library, the State Library of Massachusetts and city and town public libraries. For towns bordering Boston, you may find them combined with the city of Boston directories.
- City Directories and Voting Lists from the Mass. State LibraryThis large collection dates from the first Boston directory of 1789 and covers most Massachusetts communities. The last Boston directory was published in 1981. Note: if they are published before 1923, check online to see if they have been digitized.
- Massachusetts City DirectoriesCollection in Ancestry.com. This database is a collection of city directories for various years and cities in Massachusetts.
- Boston City Directories and AlmanacsFrom section of Boston Massachusetts genealogy on the FamilySearch Wiki
- Boston City StreetsFrom Tufts DCA! Old technology but still searchable
History of African-Americans in Greater Boston
- Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts 1742 – 1998By Franklin Dorman, (New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 2010)
Tisch Reserves: E 185.96 .D65 1998 - The Other Brahmins: Boston’s Black Upper class 1750 – 1950by Adelaide Cromwell (University of Arkansas Press, 1994)
On Reserve F 73.9.N4 C76 1994 - In Freedom’s Birthplace: A Study of Boston Negroesby John Daniels (1914) reprinted 1969 Tisch Book Stacks F 73.9.N4 D2 1969
- Boston: African American Life and Culture in Urban America 1750 – 1860by George A. Levesque Black (Garland Publishing 1994) Tisch Book Stacks F 73.9.N4 L48 1994
- Black Migration and Poverty 1865 – 1900by Elizabeth H. Pleck (Academic Press 1979) Tisch Book Stacks F 73.9.N4 P55
- W.E.B. Du Bois The Black North 1901(Atlanta University 1901)
Tisch Reserves: F 128.9.N3 D8 1969
Local Archives
- Boston Public LibraryThis guide also includes genealogy research at BPL.
- State Library of Massachusetts: Research State & Local HistoryMain Phone: (617) 727-2590
Website: http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/oversight-agencies/lib/
The State Library has an extensive collection of materials dealing with the history of Massachusetts and its cities and towns. Resources include papers and photographs of political figures, historical newspapers, maps, and other historical documents dating back to the 1800s. - Massachusetts State Archives: African-American and Native American ResourcesAccess to these materials is provided through the Reading Room of the Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point. It is open weekdays, 8:30 – 4:30, except on legal holidays.
Take the Red Line to JFK/UMass station. Free shuttle Bus #2 stops at the Archives Building and the JFK Library. The bus runs every 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the hour and 20 minutes after and before the hour. - Massachusetts Historical Society1154 Boylston Street (directions)
Boston, MA 02215-3695
Tel: 617.536.1608
Library Hours:
9:00 AM - 4:45 PM Mon. - Fri.
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sat.
Please check their calendar for hours and closings due to holidays and other events. - Cambridge Historical Society: Library & ArchiveThe Brinkler Research Library's archival holdings include books, maps, newspapers, periodicals, broad sheets, published and unpublished documents, a photo archive and drawings. The library also contains published family and town histories, city directories and published town reports.
- National Guard Museum & ArchivesThe Museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Researchers should call at least one day in advance.
Phone: 978-369-4807
Email: ng.ma.maarng.mbx.museum@mail.mil
Location: 91 Everett St, Concord, MA 01742