Worcester County, MassachusettsEdit This Page

From FamilySearch Wiki

United States Massachusetts Worcester County

Modern city and town borders in Worcester County, Massachusetts.

County Courthouse

Worcester County Courthouse
2 Main Street;
Worcester, MA 01608-1116
Phone: 508.770.0825 

Register of Deeds has land records Probate Court has
probate records from 1731; Town Clerks have birth, marriage
and death records^[1]

In 1997, the county governments of Middlesex, Berkshire, Essex, Hampden and Worcester were abolished.  Their functions were turned over to state agencies.  Sheriffs in these counties still administer jails but their employees are state employees.  The legislation to abolish these county governments transferred Registeries of Deeds to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk county governments remain substantially unchanged.

Towns Organized Before 1800:
Ashburnham 1765,
Athol 1762,
Auburn 1778,
Barre 1753,
Berlin 1784,
Bolton 1738,
Boylston 1786,
Brookfield 1673,
Charlton 1754,
Douglas 1746,
Fitchburg, 1764,
Gardner 1785,
Grafton 1735,
Greenwich 1754,
Hardwick 1739,
Harvard 1732,
Hubbardston 1767,
Lancaster 1653,
Leicester 1714,
Leominister 1740,
Lunenburg 1728,
Mendon 1667,
Milford 1780,
New Braintree 1751,
Northborough 1766,
Northbridge 1772,
Oakham 1762,
Oxford 1693,
Paxton 1765,
Petersham 1754,
Phillipston 1786,
Princeton 1759,
Royalston 1765,
Rutland 1714,
Shrewsbury 1720,
Southborough 1727,
Spencer 1753,
Sterling 1781,
Sutton 1714,
Templeton 1762,
Upton 1735,
Uxbridge 1742,
Warren 1742,
Westbourough 1717,
Westminister 1759,
Winchendon 1762,
Worcester 1684.

History

Parent County

• Created 5 April 1731 from Hampshire, Middlesex and Suffolk counties ^[2]

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Worcester, Fitchburg, Uxbridge, Mendon, Sturbridge, Milford, Uxbridge, more...

Neighboring Counties

Franklin | Hampden | Hampshire | Middlesex | Norfolk | Connecticut counties: Tolland | Windham | New Hampshire counties: Cheshire | Hillsborough | Providence County, Rhode Island

Resources

Cemeteries

BillionGraves:

• Evergreen Cemetery, Leominster
• Harvard Center Cemetery, Harvard
• Mooreland Cemetery, Paxton
• Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester
• Saint Leo Cemetery, Leominster
• St. Patricks Cemetery, Whitinsville

Census

For tips on accessing Worcester 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 FamilySearch Historical Records. 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 FamilySearch Historical Records. 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

Gazetteers

Genealogy

Moorhouse, B-Ann.  A Moorhouse Family of Dublin, Carlow and Kildare.  Pictures and Genealogy of Moorhouse family in Ireland, Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, with small amount in Worcester Mass. and New York, covering years 1672-1945.  Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.IX, no.1, 1977, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v9.

Land

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Newspapers

• Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Boston newspapers, Fitchburg newspapers (1868-1977), and The Lowell Sun (1878-1977) that covered local news on Worcester County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties.
  

Probate

Taxation

Vital Records

Societies and Libraries

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Worcester Massachusetts Family History Center

Web Sites

• The Worcester County MAGenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Worcester County
• The USGenWeb Archives Project for Worcester County (backup site)
• FamilySearch.org Family History Library catalog for Worcester County

References

1. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002)Worchester County, Massachusetts, p.331.
2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].

This Massachusetts-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. While this page is under construction, may we suggest Cyndi's List.