Hampshire County, MassachusettsEdit This Page
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United States 
Massachusetts Hampshire County
Contents |
County Courthouse
Hampshire County Courthouse
33 King Street
Northampton, Ma 01060
Phone: 413-586-8500
City Clerks have birth, marriage, and death records,
Probate Court has probate and divorce records,
District Court has court records, Register of Deeds
has land records from 1600's[1]
The legislature approved special charters to allow Hampshire and Hampshire counties to become regional councils of government.
History
Parent County
7 May 1662: Created from Massachusetts Bay Colony lands[2] from Middlesex County. As is common in large New England counties, the county had two county courthouses, Northampton in the north and Springfield in the south.[3]
Boundary Changes
- Counties were set off: [2]
Record Loss
Places / Localities
Populated Places
Cities:
Towns
Amherst | Belchertown | Chesterfield | Cummington | Goshen | Granby | Hadley | Hatfield | Huntington | Middlefield | Pelham | Plainfield | South Hadley | Southampton | Ware | Westhampton | Williamsburg | Worthington
Neighboring Counties
Berkshire | Franklin | Hampden | Worcester
Resources
Cemeteries
Census
For tips on accessing Hampshire County, Massachusetts census records online, see: Massachusetts Census.
State Census
1855 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1855 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search. This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1855, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.
1865 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1865 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1865, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.
Church
Court
Until population warranted it, criminal and civil court cases were included in the same court records. The first 24 volumes in Hampshire County include civil cases from the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and criminal court cases from the Court of General Sessions of the Peace:[4][5]
| Volume # | Vol. Letter | Date Range | FHL Film Item | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
1677-1728 |
886420 item 1 |
Includes County Court and Quarter Sessions |
| 2 |
A |
1728-1735 |
886420 item 2 |
|
| 3 |
B |
1735-1740 |
886421 |
|
| 4 |
C |
1741-1745 |
886421 |
Includes executions, 1716-1765 |
| 5 |
D |
1746-1757 |
886422 |
|
| 6 |
E |
1758-1762 |
886422 |
Includes a few marriages |
| 7 |
F |
1762-1764 |
886423 item 4 |
Includes a few marriages |
| 8 |
G |
1764-1766 |
886424 |
|
| 9 |
H |
1766-1770 |
886424 |
|
| 10 |
|
1766-1771 |
886425 item 1 |
Cataloged only under General Sessions |
| 11 |
I |
1770-1773 |
886425 item 2 |
|
| 12 |
K |
1773-1780 |
886426 |
|
| 13 |
M |
1771-1781 |
886426 |
|
| 14 |
|
May 1781-Jan 1790 |
886427 item 1 |
Cataloged only under General Sessions |
| 15 |
N |
1782-1783 |
866427 item 2 |
|
| 16 |
O |
1783-1784 |
886428 |
|
| 17 |
P |
1784-1785 |
886428 |
|
| 18 |
Q |
Aug 1785-Sep 1788 |
886429 |
|
| 19 |
R |
1790-1799 |
886429 |
|
| 20 |
A |
1715-1790, Feb 1789-Jan 1790 |
886430 item 1 |
Includes executions, 1715-1764 |
| 21 |
S |
1791-1794 |
886430 item 2 |
|
| 22 |
T |
1794-1795 |
886410 |
|
| 23 |
U-V |
1796-1797 |
886410 |
|
| 24 |
W |
1797-1798 |
886411 item 1 |
|
These volumes are completely indexed. After these 24 volumes, subsequent volumes were numbered restarting with 1. When part of Hampshire County became Hampden County in 1812, clerks copied applicable cases into the new county's records. For such cases, if you are unable to read one of the records, you may be able to read the copy in the other county.
Gazetteers
Land
Local Histories
Maps
Military
Newspapers
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Fitchburg, MA newspapers (1868-1977), Pittsfield, MA newspapers (1858-1977), and North Adams, MA newspapers (1895-1977) covering local news that included Hampshire County residents.
Probate
Taxation
Vital Records
Societies and Libraries
Web Sites
- The Hampshire County MA GenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Hampshire County
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Hampshire County (backup site)
- FamilySearch.org Family History Library catalog for Hampshire County
References
- ↑ <I>The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America</I>, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002)Hampshire County, Massachusetts, p.330.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Linda E. Brinkerhoff, "New England Research: A Matter of Jurisdiction," Arlene H Eakle's Genealogy Blog (http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2009/11/19/new-england-research-new-strategies-that-work/ : accessed 30 November 2009), para. 3.
- ↑ Linda E. Brinkerhoff, "New England Research: A Matter of Jurisdiction," Arlene H Eakle's Genealogy Blog (http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2009/11/19/new-england-research-new-strategies-that-work/ : accessed 30 November 2009), para. 3-4; citing Grace Pittman.
- ↑ Family History Library Catalog, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 November 2009).
 |
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