Editing rights on the English Wiki are changing.
More information.

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Genealogy

From FamilySearch Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Guide to Middlesex County, Massachusetts ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Lowell, Cambridge [1]
Organized: 10 May 1643[2]
Parent County(s): one of the four original counties [3]
Neighboring Counties
Essex • Hillsborough (NH) • Norfolk • Suffolk • Worcester
See County Maps
Courthouse
Massachusetts, Middlesex County Courthouse.png
Location Map
Ma-middlesex.png

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Middlesex County was one of the four original counties when Massachusetts Bay Colony created counties in 1643. When established, it had no defined western or northern border. These borders were more clearly defined when Worcester County was created in 1731 on the west and the Province of New Hampshire in 1680 to the north, but this border remained in dispute until 1741. Early settlers in this county went north, west, and south to establish new settlements in the 1600s and 1700s. The oldest college in the United States was established in Cambridge in 1636 - Harvard College, now Harvard University. Lowell, on the Merrimack River, became one of the centers of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s that drew many immigrants to work in the mills, especially Irish and French-Canadian. The county government was abolished on 1 July 1997, but its former jurisdiction is used for state offices as a district.[4]

The county was named for Middlesex, England.[5] It is located in the North-central area of the state.[6]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Middlesex County Courthouse
200 Trade Center
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-939-2700
Middlesex County Website

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[7]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1632 1651 1651 1648 1632 1654 1779
* Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1841. General compliance year unknown. See also Town Records

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

MassachusettsNew HampshireMiddlesex CountyNorfolk CountyWorcester CountyEssex CountySuffolk CountyHillsborough CountyRockingham CountyHollistonHopkintonAshlandFraminghamMarlboroughHudsonStowBoxboroughLittletonAyerShirleyTownsendAshbyGrotonPepperellDunstableTyngsboroughWestfordActonMaynardSudburyConcordCarlisleChelmsfordLowellDracutNatickSherbornWaylandLincolnBedfordBillericaTewksburyWilmingtonBurlingtonLexingtonWalthamWestonNewtonWatertownBelmontArlingtonWinchesterWoburnWilmingtonNorth ReadingReadingStonehamMedfordSomervilleCambridgeEverettMaldenMelroseWakefieldRevereChelseaWinthropBostonSaugusLynnLynnfieldPeabodyDanversBoxfordGeorgetownGrovelandHaverhillMethuenLawrenceAndoverNorth AndoverMiddletonBellinghamFranklinMedwayMillisMedfieldDoverWellesleyNeedhamDedhamWestwoodWalpoleNorwoodCantonMiltonQuincyRudolphBraintreeHolbrookBrooklineBlackstoneMendonHopedaleMilfordUptonWestboroughSouthboroughNorthboroughBerlinBoltonHarvardLancasterLunenburgFitchburgAshburnhamWestminsterPrincetonRutlandPaxtonLeicesterCharltonDudleyWebsterDouglasUxbridgeNorthbridgeSuttonOxfordAuburnMillburyGraftonShrewsburyWorcesterHoldenWest BoylstonBoylstonClintonSterlingLeominsterSalemWindhamPelhamHudsonNashuaHollisBrooklineMasonGreenvilleNew Ipswich
Modern city and town borders in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.


For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[10]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated communities
  • North Woburn
Suburbs
Census-designated places
Historic communities


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

The basic data are from the historical county boundary series[11] with additions from various sources.

Dates Events
10 May 1643 Middlesex County created as one of the four original counties formed out of Massachusetts Bay Colony with no defined western boundary. [Mass. Rec., 2: 38]
26 May 1658 Billerica lost 15 acres to Andover, Essex Co.
10 July 1731 Worcester County created from the western portion.
29 June 1732 Land from Groton and Stow, and Lancaster, Worcester Co., taken to form the new town of Harvard in Worcester Co. that altered the border there.
14 June 1735 Small lost when Upton, Worcester Co., was created on its border.
6 Mar. 1767 Small gain when Ashby was created from Townsend with small parts of Ashburnham and Fitchburg in Worcester Co.
25 Feb. 1783 Gained when Boxborough annexed part of Harvard, Worcester Co.
16 Mar. 1784 Small lost when Berlin was created from Bolton and Northborough (all in Worcester Co.) and Marlborough.
7 Mar. 1786 Small lost when Southborough, Worcester Co., annexed from Framingham.
16 Nov. 1792 Gained large triangular piece when Ashby annexed it from Ashburnham, Worcester Co.
22 June 1797 Sizable loss when Natick and Needham, Norfolk Co., exchanged land to straighten out border.
20 June 1807 Small lost when Northborough, Worcester Co., annexed a part of Marlborough.
8 Mar. 1808 Small lost when Upton, Worcester Co., annexed a part of Hopkinton.
11 Feb. 1829 One acre lost when Bolton, Worcester Co., annexed a part of Marlborough.
27 Mar. 1835 Redefined border between Hopkinton and Holliston, and Milford, Worcester Co.
16 Mar. 1838 Redefined border between Marlborough and Bolton in Worcester Co.
23 Apr. 1838 Sizable loss when Roxbury, Norfolk Co., annexed a part of Newton.
24 Mar. 1843 Small area gained when Marlborough annexed a part of Southborough, Worcester Co.
3 Mar. 1846
25 Apr. 1848 		Redefined border between Shirley and Lunenburg, Worcester Co.
10 Apr. 1854 Reading annexed a part of Lynnfield, Essex Co.
7 Jan. 1858 North Reading annexed a part of Lynnfield, Essex Co.
1 Apr. 1859 Small lost when Milford, Worcester Co., annexed a part of Holliston.
20 Mar. 1868 Hudson annexed a small part of Bolton, Worcester Co.
5 Jan. 1874 Suffolk County annexed all of Brighton and Charlestown.
29 May 1874
1 July 1875 		Redefined border between Newton and Boston, Suffolk Co.
4 May 1891 Redefined border between Somerville and Boston, Suffolk Co.
29 Mar. 1898
16 May 1898 		Redefined border in Charles River with Cambridge and land with Newton, with Boston, Suffolk Co.
16 May 1901 Redefined border with Marlborough and Southborough, Wocester Co.
21 May 1903-
2 May 1905 		Several redefined borders with Tewksbury, North Reading, and Reading with Essex Co. towns.
1 May 1905 Redefined border between Hudson and Marlborough with Berlin, Worcester Co.
14 June 1906 Small gain when Littleton annexed a part of Harvard, Worcester Co.
28 Mar. 1907 Redefined border between Newton and Brookline, Norfolk Co.
16 May 1907 Redefined border between Hopkinton with Milford and Upton, Worcester Co.
29 Mar. 1910 Redefined border in Charles River with Cambridge with Boston, Suffolk Co.
18 Sept. 1933 Small gain when Wakefield annexed a part of Saugus, Essex Co.
10 Apr. 1947 Redefined border between Reading and Lynnfield, Essex Co.

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Middlesex County, Massachusetts online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Massachusetts Cemeteries for more information.


Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 42,769 —
1800 46,928 9.7%
1810 52,789 12.5%
1820 61,472 16.4%
1830 77,961 26.8%
1840 106,611 36.7%
1850 161,383 51.4%
1860 216,354 34.1%
1870 274,353 26.8%
1880 317,830 15.8%
1890 431,167 35.7%
1900 565,696 31.2%
1910 669,915 18.4%
1920 778,352 16.2%
1930 934,924 20.1%
1940 971,390 3.9%
1950 1,064,569 9.6%
1960 1,238,742 16.4%
1970 1,397,268 12.8%
1980 1,367,034 −2.2%
1990 1,398,468 2.3%
2000 1,465,396 4.8%
2010 1,503,085 2.6%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records[edit | edit source]

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

The court system can appear to be complex. The system was reorganized in 1686/1692, 1859, and 1978. Described below are the most commonly used records for history and genealogy, but realize that this list is incomplete. For more detailed information regarding court structure, see Understanding the Massachusetts Court System.

Older records are held by:
Supreme Judicial Court Archives
(administration - records stored in several off-site facilities and the Mass. Archives)
16th Floor, Highrise Court House
3 Pemberton Square
Boston MA 02109
Phone 617-557-1082
Email Elizabeth.Bouvier@sjc.state.ma.us

County Court
This court was active from 1636 (called a quarterly court and then the county court when Suffolk was created in 1643) to 1692. The court heard all civil causes up to 10 shillings (raised to 40 shillings in 1647) and all criminal causes not concerning life, limb, or banishment. These were all jury trials. Some records can be found in the Suffolk Files.

Online Court Indexes and Records

At the Massachusetts Archives:

  • County Court Folio Collection, card index.
  • County Court, File Papers, Folio Collection, Folios 1-303, 1649-1728; 1B-200A, 1693-1790.
  • County Court, File Papers, Folio Collection, Index.
  • County Court, File Papers, Folio Collection, Contents, Folios 1-251B, 1-4.
  • County Court, Record Books, 1649-1663, 1671-1686 (Pulsher trans.).

Derivative Records Published:

Quarterly Court of General Sessions of the Peace
This court was active from 1692 to 1827. The court heard criminal cases and had authority over county affairs that included levying taxes, reviewing town bylaws, highways, licensed liquor, regulated jails, supervised the administration of the poor laws, and appointed some county officials.

Online Court Indexes and Records

At the Massachusetts Archives:

  • Court of General Sessions, record books, 1686-1831.

Inferior Court of Common Pleas
This court was active from 1692 to 1859. The court heard all civil cases over 40s unless a case involved freehold or was appealed from a justice of the peace.

Online Court Indexes and Records

At the Massachusetts Archives:

  • Court of Common Pleas, 1686-1689, 1699-1847.

Superior Court
The Quarterly Court of General Sessions was merged into the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 1827, and that court was reorganized in 1859 to created the Superior Court as the new lower (i.e. trial) court. It covers both criminal and civil matters.

Online Court Indexes and Records

At the Massachusetts Archives:

  • Divorce Docket Books 1887-1938

Supreme Judicial Court
The Supreme Judicial Court was established by the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 that combined the former Governor and Council with the Superior Court of Judicature creating the highest state court. This court hears appeals, writ of error, capital offenses, and crimes against the public good. That included divorces until that action was moved to the lower court in 1887.

Online Court Indexes and Records

Originals at Massachusetts Archives

  • Court Records, 1797-1850
  • Court Records 1851-1887 (includes divorces)

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land transfers, commonly called deeds, are recorded on the county level in Massachusetts. Not all deeds were recorded as is common practice today. The earliest transactions were charters or grants from the English Crown. Once local government was established, the colony would grant land to settlers directly or to towns to dole out. Some towns first start out as proprietorship and records were recorded there. Once towns were established, deeds were recorded on the county level. Middlesex County is divided into two districts. The county was one district until the creation of the Northern District in 1855. The original records are held by the Registry but closed to the public.


Middlesex North Registry of Deeds
360 Gorham Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: 978-322-9000
Email: lowelldeeds@comcast.net
Website
This district includes Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tweksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford, and Wilmington.

Online Land Indexes and Records - North

  • Instructions for online record searches at Middlesex North Registry of Deeds. Select Search Criteria at top left menu, then select appropriate entry from listing; for example: Unindexed Pre-1855 Books; Pre-1976 Grantor (or Grantee) Index; various searches by Book (Books 1 through 2789 can be searched by volume and page).


Middlesex South Registry of Deeds
208 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
Phone: 617-679-6300
Email: middlesexsouth@sec.state.ma.us
Website
This district included the entire county up to 1855 and all southern towns not listed above after that.

Online Land Indexes and Records - South

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Works written on the county include:

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Suffolk CountyNorfolk CountyWorcester CountyHillsborough CountyRockingham CountyEssex CountyMA MIDDLESEX.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

There are so many published maps of interest to genealogists and historians that this list will not be recreated here. The focus is with resources you can access online.

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Naturalization records were created on a variety of governmental levels from the Federal down to the city at the same time. The county records for all levels are outlines below. For more information, see the Massachusetts state page for more on naturalization.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records - Covering Multiple Courts

Federal Naturalization Records for Middlesex County

Record Dates Original Records Online Indexes Online Records
Ct. of Common Pleas
Supreme Judicial Ct. 		1809-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
First District Court
No. Middlesex (Ayer) - Records 		1887-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
First District Court
So. Middlesex (Framingham) - Records 		1885-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
First District Court
E. Middlesex (Malden) - Records 		1885-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
First District Court
E. Middlesex (Waltham) - Records 		1885-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
Fourth District Court
E. Middlesex (Woburn) - Records 		1885-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
Lowell Police Court - Records 1836-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham
Marlborough Police Court - Records 1885-1906 NARA M1299 - National Archives - Waltham

Middlessex County Naturalization Records

Record Dates Original Records Online Indexes Online Records
Superior Court 1842-1991 Judicial Archives
Lowell
District Court 		1885-1906 Judicial Archives Docketed NO microfilm
Malden
District Court 		1885-1906 Judicial Archives Docketed NO microfilm
Newton
District Court 		1885-1906 Judicial Archives Card index NO microfilm
Somerville
District Court 		1886-1906 Judicial Archives Docketed, 1894-1906 NO microfilm
Woburn
District Court 		1894-1906 Judicial Archives Docketed, 1892-1906 NO microfilm
  • Hendrik Hartog, "The Public Law of a County Court: Judicial Government in Eighteenth Century Massachusetts" in American Journal of Legal History, 20 [1976]: 282-329.
    A study of the records of the Middlesex County Court of General Sessions, 1728-1803.
    WorldCat (Other Libraries); FS Catalog book 973 B2ajL v. 20.
    Digital version at Jstor ($).
  • Nathaniel Harris, Records of the Court of Nathaniel Harris, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace within and for the county of Middlesex, holden at Watertown from 1734 to 1761 ... (Watertown, Mass., 1938), 135 pp.
    WorldCat (Other Libraries); FS Library digital link.

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Probate and Family Court is organized on a county level in Massachusetts since the creation of the counties. The main records genealogists seek are testate (wills), intestate (administrations), guardianships, and divorces (since 1922), though there are many more that are valuable to any researcher, too. See a further discussion of the topic in general on the Massachusetts page.

Middlesex County operates one office for the entire county holding all the records. Most probates are handled by one of the four satellite offices in the county.

Middlesex County Probate and Family Court
208 Cambridge Street
East Cambridge MA 02141
Phone: 617-768-5800
Email: middlesexprobate@middlesexprobate.com

Cambridge Satellite Session
121 Third Street
Cambridge MA 02141

Concord Satellite Session
305 Walden Street
Concord MA 01742

Marlborough Satellite Session
45 Williams Street
Marlborough MA 01752

Lowell Satellite Session
360 Gorham Street
Lowell MA 01852

Online Probate Indexes and Records

Original Records on Microfilm at the Massachusetts Archives:

  • Docket books, #1-45383;
  • Record books, v. 1-609; File papers, #1-19846 through 1871
  • Miscellaneous index and records, 1659-1692

Manuscript Records:

Published Records:

School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

Town Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

It is easiest to start with the state vital records indexes (listed below) for births, marriages, and deaths since 1841. Massachusetts was the first to require a consistent recording of these events statewide. Original vital records (starting as early as 1639) are found with the clerk of the town or city where the event occurred. See the Massachusetts Genealogy Guide and Massachusetts Vital Records pages for more details.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

For state-wide and regional facilities, see Massachusetts Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Listed below are libraries in Middlesex County. For state-wide library facilities, see Massachusetts Archives and Libraries.

Woburn Public Library
36 Cummings Park
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-0148
Website

For information on additional archives and repositories, see
Massachusetts Archives for information on additional archives and repositories

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Listed below are societies in Middlesex County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Massachusetts Societies.

Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc.
P. O. Box 215
Ashland, MA 01721-0215
Website
Facebook
Bristol, Merrimack Valley, Middlesex and Worcester Counties

Websites[edit | edit source]

  • FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Massachusetts. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Massachusetts Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library; accessed on 11 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Massachusetts Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library; accessed on 11 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Abolished County Governments - Secretary of State, Acts of 1997, Ch. 48, Sect. 1.
  5. ↑ Britannica, “Middlesex County, Massachusetts, https://www.britannica.com/place/Middlesex-county-Massachusetts
  6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Middlesex, County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_County,_Massachusetts
  7. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Middlesex County, Massachusetts . Page 329-331 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 322-323.
  8. ↑ Massachusetts Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library
  9. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Massachusetts. At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  10. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Middlesex County, Massachusetts," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_County%2C_Massachusetts#Communities, accessed 8 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Massachusetts Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
v • d• e
Links to Massachusetts-related articles
Topics
Counties
Obsolete MA
Jurisdictions
Major
Repositories
Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne IN) · American Antiquarian Society · Berkshire Athenaeum · Boston Massachusetts FamilySearch Center · Boston Public Library · Dedham Historical Society Library · Harvard University Houghton Library · Haverhill Public Library · Jones Library · Massachusetts Historical Society · Massachusetts State Archives · National Archives at Boston · New England Historic Genealogical Society · New York Public Library NY · Onondaga Historical Association Library (Syracuse NY) · Peabody Essex Museum · Pittsfield Federal Records Center · Plymouth Public Library · Registry of Vital Records and Statistics · Springfield History Library and Archives · State Library of Massachusetts · University of Massachusetts Amherst Library · Vermont Historical Society (Barre VT) · Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, OH)
Migration Routes

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Due to contractual agreements, some images and/or databases on FamilySearch.org may only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Retrieved from "https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Middlesex_County,_Massachusetts_Genealogy&oldid=5714134"