USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > First report of the record commissioners of the city of Boston, 1876 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
Gc 974.402 B65br v.1 1137102
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
-
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01794 1862
39.110
1.1
FIRST REPORT
OF THE -
RECORD COMMISSIONERS
OF THE
CITY OF BOSTON, Mas.
1876.
SECOND EDITION, 1881.
TRIB
DE
PA
CUT
SIBON ST
1822 -
BOSTONIA CONDITA A.D. 16 30
REGIMINE DONATA
BOSTON : ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL, CITY PRINTERS, No. 39 ARCH STREET. 1881.
م
1137102 PREFACE.
The Common Council of the present year having directed the Commissioners to reprint and stereotype their first vol- ume of reports, the present issue has been made after a care- ful revision of the text and index.
WILLIAM H. WHITMORE, WILLIAM S. APPLETON, Record Commissioners.
CITY HALL, BOSTON, December, 1881.
US
NOBIS
BOSTONIA. CONDITA AD.
D.1822
1630.
CITY OF BOSTON.
City Document No. 92.
FIRST REPORT OF THE RECORD COMMISSIONERS.
To his Honor the Mayor and the City Council of Boston : -
The ordinance * creating the office of the Record Commis- sioners defines their duties as follows : "To complete, as far as practicable, the record of births, deaths and marriages in the town and city of Boston, prior to A.D. 1849." The reasons which led to the passage of the ordinance will be found in Appendix A, being a portion of the report of a Joint Standing Committee of the City Council for 1875.
A reasonable construction of the duties of the commission- ers seems to include therein all such investigations as will directly assist in perfecting the record of the vital statistics of Boston. How great are the deficiencies in those records will be seen by the statements made in Appendix A; and although the readiest mode of supplying the information will be to copy the existing church records, the commissioners
* SECTION 1. In the month of July in the year 1875, or as soon thereafter as may be, and every fifth year thereafter, the Mayor shall appoint, subject to the approval and confirmation of the City Council, two suitable persons, to be termed Record Com- missioners, who shall hold office for the term of five years from the first Monday in May in the year of their appointment, and until their successors.shall be appointed and qual- ified. They shall have and exercise the powers and duties hereinafter designated, shall serve without compensation, and may be removed at any time by the Mayor or hy con- current vote of two-thirds of both branches of the City Council, and all vacancies occurring from any eause shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint- ments are herein directed to be made.
SECT. 2. It shall be the duty of said commissioners to complete, so far as practicable, the record of births, marriages and deaths, in the town and city of Boston, prior to A.D. 1849, and to receive and collect all documents obtainable therefor. All documents and records so collected shall become at once the property of the city of Boston, and be deposited in the office of, and be in the charge of, the City Registrar, or such other offieer as the City Council may direct.
SECT. 3. The said commissioners shall have no power to enter into any contract or agreement in behalf of the city with any person, whereby the expenditure of money, or any other obligation, shall be incurred, unless expressly authorized so to do by the City Council ; provided, however, that, unless otherwise ordered, they shall have the charge and control of the expenditure of all moneys expressly appropriated for copying any documents or records supplementary to the town or eity records.
Passed July 6, 1875.
[July 12, 1875, William H. Whitmore and William S. Appleton were nominated and confirmed as Record Commissioners.]
2
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 92.
desire at this time to report upon certain preliminary inves- tigations which they have made.
Evidently, any trustworthy information as to the names of the inhabitants of Boston during the period for which the registers are so defective, must be of the greatest value in any attempt to supplement those records. If we know the heads of families, we shall have a guide to the extent of the information yet to be obtained.
The earliest directory of the inhabitants of the town was published in 1789, and contained 1,474 names ; the second in 1796, containing 3,531 names. No earlier list of names is known to be in print, except two given in Nathaniel Dear- born's " Boston Notions " (1848), and one appended to "John Dunton's Letters from New England," published by the Prince Society in 1867.
The various writers who have treated of our local history, Pemberton, Snow, Shaw, Dearborn, Drake and Shurtleff, have apparently been unable to make any attempt at supply- ing the names of the earlier inhabitants, or, indeed, of those living here at any date prior to 1789. The very defects which have led to the appointment of this commission have so disheartened our successive historians that they have all failed to write a town history of Boston. As is well known, a great proportion of the towns in New England possess full and satisfactory histories, not only of the acts of the commu- nities, but of all families therein resident. Of Boston it may be said that much has been written about the town, and very little about the citizens.
It is with the greatest pleasure, then, that the commis- sioners announce that, very recently, documents have been recovered, which will enable those interested to gain a very satisfactory knowledge of the inhabitants of the town prior to A.D. 1700.
Although the records in charge of the city elerk, outside of the books of the town and of the selectmen, are very scanty, a number of very valuable papers have been found in the custody of the Board of Overseers of the Poor. That Board has recently had examined the papers which had accidentally come into its possession, and has kindly given the Record Commissioners every facility for examining and copying the same.
In this collection are portions of the tax lists of 1674 and 1676, and fortunately the missing parts are not parallel. There are at the State House tax lists for 1687 and 1688, and in the city clerk's office a list of inhabitants made in 1695.
Inasmuch as these lists will afford a very satisfactory
3
REPORT OF RECORD COMMISSIONERS.
account of the heads of families in Boston for one genera- tion, and as this information is at present not easily attain- able by the public, it has seemed to the commissioners best to make this report, and to advise the publication of these lists. The field to be covered by their work is so large and the results will be so diversified, that it now seems best to report whenever any particular subdivision can be completed. In the present case it seems evident that the public good will best be served by furnishing a sufficient number of printed copies of these papers to supply all of our citizens who may desire them. Such documents are not easily read in the original, and the worn and tattered condition of these papers renders it highly undesirable that they should be handled often. A printed copy, carefully made, will meet the wants of all but special investigators, and will enable us to preserve the originals for posterity.
Should the present proposition be favorably received by the city government, the commissioners will feel encouraged to pursue other subdivisions of their work, in the belief that whatever directly contributes to a knowledge of the past history of Boston will be promptly made available by its inhabitants.
The commissioners, therefore, respectfully suggest that this report and the accompanying papers be printed for distribution.
W. H. WHITMORE, W. S. APPLETON, Record Commissioners.
CITY OF BOSTON.
IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, Sept. 25, 1876.
Ordered, That the Record Commissioners be authorized to print and distribute fifteen hundred copies of their report, with the accompanying papers, at an expense not exceeding six hundred and fifty dollars, to be charged to the appropriation for Printing.
Read twice and passed : sent down for concurrence. Sept. 28; came up : concurred. Approved by the Mayor, Sept. 29, 1876.
4
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 92.
APPENDIX A.
The following extracts from a report of the Joint Committee on the Public Library (City Document No. 46 of A.D. 1875) contain some special information in regard to the deficiencies in the city records, and are, therefore, worthy of reproduction. The commit- tee reported in favor of establishing the Board of Record Commis- sioners, and, as this advice was accepted, the argumentative por- tions are omitted.
The report states as follows : -
" It appears by the statement of N. A. Apollonio, the City Registrar, hereto annexed, that the records of births, deaths and marriages in the City of Boston are now kept systematically and have been since the year 1849. This, however, is but a brief part of the period since the settlement of the town, and your commit- tee is obliged to report great and deplorable deficiencies in the earlier records.
" To explain the extent of these deficiencies the following state- ments are copied from Shattuck's Report on the census of 1845, pp. 5, 130, showing the population of the town : -
A.D. 1680, population was
4,500
1690,
7,000
1700,
6,700
1710,
9,000
1715-1724, population averaged 11,000
1725-1734,
66 66 13,000
1735-1744,
17,000
1745-1754,
6 6
66
15,731
1755-1764,
66
15,631
1767-1774,
15,520
1811-1820,
66
38,274
1821-1830,
58,281
1831-1840,
66
78,603
1841-1845,
66
102,620
" It may be assumed that the annual number of births is about 3 in every 100 inhabitants, and the deaths about the same. Let us examine the number of probable births in Boston during certain periods : -
" 1st. From 1630 to 1700, the probable average population was 3,000, giving 90 births per annum, and in 70 years 6,300 births. Our record has about 1,850 births.
" 2d. From 1700 to 1744, average population, 13,000, births, 390 per annum,* or for 44 years, 17,160 births. Our record has 20,000 for the whole period, and is therefore reasonably full.
" Shattuck's table shows in ten years, 1735-1744, there were 5,779 baptisms.
5
APPENDIX.
" 3d. From 1744 to 1807, average population, 20,000 ; births, 600 per annum ; for 63 years,* 37,800 births. Our record has about 5,000 names, or not one seventh.
"4th. From 1807 to 1849, average population, 70,000 ; births, 2,100 per annum ; for 42 years, 88,200 births. Our meagre record is for 3,500 births.
" We see then that for about a century, viz., from 1744 to 1849, the births must have amounted to at least 125,000, and our records preserve the names of but 8,500, or less than seven per cent.
" As to deaths, the record is even worse. Out of at least 60,000 deaths which have occurred in Boston between 1630 and 1810, we have a record of some 4,700 only. In fact, these statistics are almost entirely wanting. Yet at the same time we are able to fix with considerable accuracy the number of deaths, since a weekly table was published for many years in the newspapers. A copy is given in Shattuck's Report, Appendix, p. 71, showing that from 1704 to 1774 there were 35,673 deaths.t Add 35 years (1775- 1810), at 500 per annum, 17,500, and at least 10,000 for the 60 years previous to 1700, and the total is 60,000 deaths.
" As to the marriages, in any particular period, the number is rather less than half the number of births. It seems, therefore, that from 1630 to 1807 there were undoubtedly some 25,000 to 30,000 marriages. Our volumes contain about 20,000 ; and this part of the record is the best of all.
" We are forced to report, therefore, that in regard to the records of the city proper, between the years 1630 and 1849, not more than 7 per cent. of the births are preserved, about the same per- centage of the deaths, and probably about two-thirds of the mar- riages. We also see that in regard to the births the deficiencies occur mainly in the century from 1744 to 1849, and that, owing to the increase in population, the greatest number of the unrecorded deaths occurred during the eighteenth century.
" To any one familiar with the records of the towns in Massa- chusetts, and aware of the care and completeness with which records have generally been kept, this report on our Boston records will be a disappointment. It is impossible now to learn when or where the deficiencies in these records were caused. The successive town clerks may have neglected their duties, or the records may have been destroyed, or a part at least may yet be recoverable.
" It is evidently the duty of the city, now that these deficien- cies have been pointed out, to take immediate measures to fill the blanks by all the secondary evidence that can be obtained. Your committee, therefore, desire to point out the sources from which mnch important information can be at once procured.
" The church records of baptisms, burials and marriages are numerous and copious. Although their records relate mainly to church members, with their families, this class during the last two centuries embraced by far the greater part of our citizens. Prior
* Also he shows in thirty years, 1745-1774, there were 12,284 baptisms.
t See tables later in this Appendix.
6
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 92.
to 1700, at least seven churches were established here, and three or four times as many have been founded since.
" The custom of infant baptism enables us to obtain the births, therefore, of a great number of children, with an accuracy of date sufficient for all purposes. In fact, it is to be remembered that in England nothing but baptisms are recorded, and the system of town records of births, like the system of registering deeds, was practically employed in New England as a new plan.
" But inasmuch as the records of the thirty oldest churches of the city, are in private hands, and not generally accessible, and as,
[* The following list of Boston churches, which omits a few churches discontinued, may be of service in this connection. It is copied from a book entitled "Boston and its Vicinity," published in 1851.]
TWENTY CHURCHES, 1630-1804.
1. First Church,
founded in 1630. 11. Federal Street,
founded in 1727.
2. Second
1650.
12. Hollis Street,
1732.
3. Friends,
1664.
13. Trinity,
1734.
4. First Baptist, 1665.
14. West Church, 1737.
5. Old South,
1669.
15. Second Baptist,
1743.
6. Stone Chapel,
1686. 1699.
17. Ch. of the Holy Cross,
1788.
8. New North,
1714. 18. Chapel of ditto,
= 1788.
9. New South,
1719.
19. First Methodist.
1792.
10. Christ Church,
1722. 20. First Christian, 6
1804.
LATER CHURCHES.
21. African Baptist,
founded in 1805.
58. Harvard Street,
founded in 1839.
22. Second Methodist,
1806.
59. Tremont Street,
1839.
23. Third Baptist,
1807.
60. Suffolk-street Chapel,
1839.
24. Park Street, 1809.
61. German Evangelical,
1839.
25. St. Matthew's (E.),
1816.
62. Bowdoin Square,
1840.
26. Second Universalist,
1816.
63. Fifth Methodist,
. 1840.
27. New Jerusalem,
1818.
64. Sixth Methodist,
16
1840.
28. African Methodist,
1818.
65. Sixth Universalist,
1840.
29. Hawes Place,
1819.
66. German. 1840.
67. Mount Vernon, 1842.
1842.
32. St. Paul (E.),
1820.
69. Ch. of the Messiah (E.), "
1843.
33. Bulfinch Street,
1822.
70. Freewill Baptist,
1843.
34. Phillips
1823.
71. Winthrop,
1844.
35. Twelfth Congregational, " 1825.
72. St. Peter & St. Paul (C.), "
1844.
73. St. John's (C.),
1844.
37. Thirteenth Cong'l,
1825.
74. Advent (E.),
1844.
38. Pitts-street Chapel,
1826.
75. Holy Trinity (C.),
1844.
39. Salem Street,
1827.
76. St. Nicholas (C.),
1844,
40. Pine Street,
1827.
77. Synagogue,
1844.
41. South Congregational,
1827.
78. Twenty-Eighth Cong'l, =
1845.
43. Bethel,
1828
81. Second Hawes,
1845.
46. Grace (E.),
1829.
83. Baptist Bethel,
1845.
47. Fourth Universalist,
66
1830.
84. South Univeralist,
1845.
48. South Baptist,
$6
1831.
85. Seamen's Chapel,
1845.
49. Third Methodist,
1834.
87. Shawmut Church,
1845.
51. Fifth Universalist,
1835.
88. Pilgrim Congregational, "
1846.
52. Central,
1835.
89. Wesleyan Methodist,
1846.
53. St. Mary's (C.)
1836.
90. East Boston,
=
1846.
54. St. Patrick's (C.)
1837.
91. Eighth Methodist,
1846.
55. Maverick,
1837.
92. First Presbyterian,
1846.
56. Zion,
1838.
57. Fourth Methodist, =
1839.
93. St. John's (E.), 66 1846.
1845.
79. Ch. of the Saviour (U.), " 80. Union Baptist,
1845.
44. Mariners' Church,
45. St. Stephen's Chap. (E.),"
1829
82. Payson,
1845.
86. Indiana Strect €
1845.
50. Warren-street Chapel,
66
1819.
31. St. Augustine (C.),
1819.
68. Second Adventist Ch.,
36. Bowdoin Street,
1825.
42. Rowe-street Baptist,
1827
1828.
1835.
16. First Universalist,
1785.
7. Brattle Street,
30. Essex Street, =
7
APPENDIX.
moreover, they are always subject to destruction by fire or other accident, it is most desirable that carefully authenticated copies should be deposited with our other records, in the custody of the City Registrar.
" Again, as regards deaths, the tombstones of the three old graveyards in the city give much information, and that of the highest authenticity. Copies of these inscriptions have been printed. but a full and complete revision should be made, and the results placed in our city archives.
" As to marriages, the church records will supply much, and the newspapers of the day will add much more, as they will also to the record of deaths.
" Other sources of information, as deeds, family records, printed directories, etc., can also be depended upon as certain to be capa- ble of giving valuable results.
" It seems, therefore, that not only are the deficiencies evident, but the means of supplying our wants are at hand, though in daily danger of destruction.
" The work calls for no large outlay, but it does require a contin- ued and patient labor until all possible sources of information have been exhausted, and the results have been transferred to our Registry.
" Of the necessity of the work there can be no doubt. Every community recognizes the importance of preserving its records, and this city now properly expends a large sum annually for this object. It is of equal importance to collect the records of the past citizens of this city, and by prompt action a very satisfactory record can now be perfected.
" Your committee has examined chiefly the records of the city proper ; but any plan of collecting missing records will equally em- brace the archives of Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxbury, West Roxbury and Brighton, now included in our limits."
The following documents were appended to the report : -
CITY REGISTRAR'S OFFICE, March 17, 1875. .
W. H. WHITMORE, EsQ. : -
DEAR SIR, - In compliance with your request, I have the pleas- ure of furnishing you with a statement concerning the records be- longing to this office, specifying the number of volumes they embrace. and the periods which they cover, together with their gen- eral condition.
As you are already aware, this office contains full and complete records of the births. marriages and deaths, from the year 1849 to the present time. The births during this period are comprised in twelve large volumes, containing, perhaps, an average of 15,000 names in each volume. For this same period there are fifteen vol- umes of marriage records, containing, probably, not far from 100,000 marriages. The records of deaths are contained in six- teen large volumes, embracing the period between 1810 and 1875. These records are full and complete. There are no records of deaths between 1800 and 1810. Whether none were kept during
S
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 92.
that period, or whether they have been lost, it is impossible to cletermine.
In addition to the above there are, -
1. A volume of births, marriages and deaths, embracing the period between 1630 and 1666. This volume was transcribed on parchment, by order of the City Council, in 1856.
2. A volume containing over 20,000 births, during the period between 1630 and 1744. This volume has been transcribed within two years, and is believed to be full and complete.
3. A volume of 107 pages, containing births from 1744 to 1807. This record is not a complete one, and contains probably not more than 5,000 names.
4. A volume of about 70 pages, containing about 3,500 births, between 1800 and 1849. All the entries of this volume were made subsequent to 1849. The records during this period are exceed- ingly meagre, and make no pretentions to completeness.
In addition to the Marriage Records, before mentioned, are, -
1. A volume of 107 pages (lettered "A"), embracing the period from 1651 to 1662, and from 1689 to 1720, and containing about 4,300 marriages. Evidently not complete.
2. A volume of 141 pages (lettered "B"), containing about the same number of marriages as the preceding volume. The period embraced in this book is between 1720 and 1752.
3. A volume of 113 pages (lettered "C"), containing about 3,500 marriages, between 1750 and 1790.
4. A volume of 221 pages (lettered "D "), containing about 6,000 marriages. The period covered is between 1761 and 1807. There is no record of marriages between the years 1752 and 1761.
5. A volume of over 500 pages (lettered "E"), containing about 8,000 marriages. The period embraced in this book is be- tween 1807 and 1830. The record is believed to be reasonably. complete.
6. A volume of about 450 pages (lettered "F"), containing in the neighborhood of 9,000 marriages, embraces the period be- tween 1830 and 1840. This record is also a complete one.
7. A volume of about 320 pages (lettered "G "), containing about the same number of marriages as the preceding volume. It covers the period between 1840 and 1849.
In addition to the Records of Deaths, before mentioned, there are, -
1. A small volume of 39 pages, containing about 1,700 deaths. This record is a transcript of the deaths contained in the volume copied on parchment, before mentioned.
2. A volume of 79 pages, containing about 3,000 deaths, from 1700 to 1800. This record is manifestly very imperfect.
It is perhaps proper to say, that in addition to the above there is one volume containing marriages, in other towns of the State, of
9
APPENDIX.
parties residing in Boston. The marriages were prior to 1800, and were recorded in compliance with an Act of the Legislature in 1857 or 1858. The number of marriages recorded in this volume is about 1,000.
There are also about 60 volumes of Intentions of Marriage, reaching from 1707 to 1875. These are full and complete.
The Roxbury Records, to the period of annexation (1868), are comprised in nine volumes, viz. : -
Vol. 1. This book contains births, marriages and deaths, from 1630 to 1785. It is much worn and defaced, and some progress has been made towards having it transcribed.
Vol. 2 contains births from 1785 to 1844, and deaths from 1796 to 1844.
Vol. 3 covers the period between 1842 and 1849, and contains about 2,500 births, 600 marriages, and 1,500 deaths.
Vol. 4. Births from 1850 to 1864.
Vol. 5.
1864 to 1868.
Vol. 6.
Vol. 7.
Marriages from 1850 to 1868.
Vol. 8. Deaths from 1850 to 1868.
Vol. 9. Out-of-town marriages.
The Records of Dorchester to the year of annexation (1870) are contained in 8 volumes, viz. : -
Vol. 1. 113 pp. Births, Marriages and deaths, from 1531 to 1683.
Vol. 2. 206 pp. Births, Marriages and deaths, from 1684 to
1744.
Vol. 3. 646 pp. Births, marriages and deaths, from 1745 to 1825.
Vol. 4. 300 рр. Births, marriages and deaths, from 1825 to 1844.
Vol. 5. 130 pp. Births, marriages and deaths, from 1844 to 1849.
Vol. 6. Births, from 1850 to 1869.
Vol. 7. Marriages, from 1850 to 1869. Vol. 8. Deaths,
I have omitted, in the above enumeration, the indices belonging to those records which are not alphabetically arranged. These indices are very numerous, and are methodically kept.
Hoping the foregoing statement will meet your wishes,
I am, very respectfully, N. A. APOLLONIO.
WM. H. WHITMORE, EsQ. : -
DEAR SIR, - In compliance with your wishes, I would state, that Messrs. Sampson & Davenport have been employed since the crea-
10
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 92.
tion of the Registration Law, in 1839, to procure the returns of births in Boston. For this purpose they use a corps of canvassers, who commence their work on the first day of January each year, and finish it on or before the first day of February ensuing. A transcript is made of these returns on the city records, and the originals forwarded to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the law.
In collecting the births, town clerks and registrars are subject to the instructions of the Secretary of State, by whom they are directed to enter the name of every child they find born during the year, irrespective of the real place of its birth. After the returns are made from all the towns, the Secretary causes the foreign births to be eliminated from each, and assigned to their proper places. These returns, with those of marriages and deaths, which are forwarded in like manner, furnish the materials for the yearly State Registration Reports, issued by the State Department.
I desire further to say that, after twenty-one years' observation of this method of making up the records, and no little reflection on the subject, I am persuaded that there is little or no room for improvement in this direction.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.