Colonial Massachusetts Genealogy
Find information about Colonial
Massachusetts Genealogy to help with your genealogy research and to find your
Massachusetts surnames and ancestors.
Massachusetts Colonial Timeline
1620 - The Pilgrim Colonists
entered Cape Cod harbour, signed the Mayflower Compact and landed
fifteen or sixteen men to explore the coast.
1621 - The Pilgrims held their
first full Sunday meeting on shore, most of the town of Plymouth being built.
1621 - Death of Rose Standish,
wife of the Captain of Plymouth.
1621- A meeting at Plymouth
was held which determined the manner and division of labour in building the
town: "The germ and bud of the N. E. Town Meeting"
1630 - John Winthrop and others of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony arrived at Salem.
1631 - The ship Lyon from
Bristol, Eng., arrived at Boston, with Roger Williams, and supplies for the
Colony.
1635 - Boston Latin School
founded. Among the early pupils were Benjamin Franklin and Samuel
Adams.
1636 - The General Court
voted £400 to found a college. This was the beginning of Harvard
University.
1638 - Reverend John Harvard
left property to the college valued at £750, and gave it to his
valuable library. In honor of the gift, the College was named
Harvard College.
1639 - The citizens of
Dorchester established a free school for the town.
1673 - The first Postal
Service was established to go between New York and Boston, monthly.
1675 - King Philip's War began at
Swansea, Massachusetts
1692 - The Court of Salem, Mass.,
began its fateful trials for witchcraft
1692 - Five persons were hanged
for witchcraft at Salem, Rev. George Burroughs among them.
1699 - Treaty of Peace
ratified between Massachusetts and the Sagamores of the Maine Indians.
1704 - First issue of the Boston
News Letter, the first American newspaper.
1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born
in Boston.
1711 - The English fleet, for the
conquest of Canada, arrived in Boston harbour.
1721 - The first observance of
Thanksgiving Day, at Plymouth, begun on Thursday, closed with a state dinner
on Saturday.
1731 - The boundary line
between New York and Massachusetts was settled.
1755 - The Town Meeting of Sharon, Mass. as
the custom long had been, took action on the salary of their minister.
1770 - Battle of Golden Hill, Mass. First
blood shed in defence of American Colonial rights.
1774 - Gen Gage became the last Royal Governor
of Massachusetts
1775 - Parliament declared Massachusetts to be
in Rebellion.
Source: A Year Book of
Colonial Times Compiled by the Rev. Frederick S. Sill, D.D. Member of the
Society of Colonial Wars, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1899
Other Resources:
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New England Early Genealogy Database
Search this 73,000+ name database of ancestors from the early New
England period of 1600+/- to 1700+/- to see if your ancestors are
included. The index of this database is free and will show the names
included, however, a subscription is required for full access.
Search Revolutionary War Rolls
See images of the actual regimental
rolls from the National Archives. They are being put online
through the joint project of National Archives and Footnote.com.
Search Revolutionary War Service Records Images
 Images of the records from the National Archives.
Search the images to see if your ancestors' records have been added
yet. If they are not be sure to check back since this is an
in-process project. Footnote.com is in the process of working with
the National Archives to put images of these records online to be
searched.
Search Revolutionary War Officers
Collection of Revolutionary Officers Information
Search Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-83
This database is a collection of records kept by the National
Archives listing men who fought for the colonies during the war.
This database contains only those records available in the National
Archives and may not include all persons involved in the American
Revolutionary War. Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR)Each
volunteer soldier has one Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) for
each regiment in which he served.
Search Colonial Families in the U.S.
This database covers the families of the early
English colonies in America. Beginning with the first landing at
Jamestown this series covers families up through the start of the
American Revolutionary War and beyond into the Nineteenth Century. Many
vital records are included, as well as locations of births, marriages,
and deaths. In addition to containing family genealogies this database
also contains armorial bearings, or coats of arms, for some of the more
prominent families from England and Scotland.
Old Colony Ancestors Online
Access this database of
nearly 200,000 names with roots in Southeastern Massachusetts, complete
with citations, containing information on over 57,000 marriages, with a
total of more than 950,000 text records. Some families are followed for
only 2-3 generations, but many are traced for up to 15 generations. Once
a family moved beyond the Southeastern Massachusetts area, most reports
stop. Some are followed as they migrated westward into the Berkshires
and up into Vermont and upstate New York.
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