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Genealogy Resources

The following is a list of genealogy resources. Listed first are the resources provided by the Chelmsford Public Library for its patrons, and at the bottom of the page are additional suggested resources that are freely-available on the internet.


Resources Available from the CPL

America's Obituaries & Death Notices
    Access: [ In Library ] [ At Home: ]
The largest and most comprehensive newspaper collection of obituaries and death notices. Search by name, date, residence, occupation, hobbies, family members, and more.

Ancestry Library
    Access: [ In Library ]
Contains the U.S. Census Collection; U.K. and Ireland Collection; Birth, Marriage, and Death Records; Immigration Collection; Military Collection; Court, Land, and Probate Records; and more.

Heritage Quest
    [ In Library ] [ At Home: ]
20,000+ Family and Local Histories; 1790-1930 U.S. Census; Periodical Source Index; Freedman's Bank Records; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files; and more.

New England Ancestry
    Access: [ In Library ]
The database of the oldest genealogical society in the country, helping researchers for over 150 years. Their databases contain a wide assortment of genealogical information.

NewsBank Newspapers
    Access: [ In Library ] [ At Home: ]
Full-text access to Lowell Sun (2001-present), New York Times (2000-present), Boston Globe (1980-current), Boston Herald (1997-current), The (Springfield, MA) Republican (1988-Current), and Worcester Telegram & Gazette (1989-current).

Special Collections Directory (Manuscripts and Archives of Massachusetts)
    Access: [ In Library ] [ At Home: ]
A guide and locator of collections residing in Massachusetts libraries, archives, historical societies and town clerk's offices.

Chelmsford Library's Local History Webpage
    Access: [ http://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/community_info/chelmsford_history/index.html ]
A collection of links to the websites of organizations, agencies, information and materials related to the history of Chelmsford.



Print Materials Available At The CPL

Local History Room
    Main Library, Lower Level
The Local History Room holds a valuable collection of books and other documents about the history of the Chelmsford area and people. A shelf listing of these materials is available through our catalog. These materials do not circulate, but are open for any library visitor to use. A few examples are:
  • Towns: Books of Towns - Birth, Marriage, Death up to 1849 for many MA towns; History of various towns in MA
  • General Information: How to start your genealogy; Research by country (Irish, French etc.)
  • Families: Genealogy of various families (i.e. Richardson, Foote, Spalding)
  • Early Ancestry: Examples include: Genealogy of New England Families; Genealogy of CT families; Mayflower Families
  • Colonial Life: Mill life in Lowell
  • Military: MASS Army and Navy - 1861-65 (2 vol.); MASS Soldiers and Sailors & Marines in Civil War (8 vol.); Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution War (17 vol.); various military books by towns, regiments, and time-frames
  • Chelmsford Genealogies & Cemeteries: Located in white notebooks; Jane Drury and the Chelmsford Historical Society have been working on documenting all headstones in Chelmsford Cemeteries.
  • Chelmsford High School Yearbooks: For the years 1944-1951, 1961, 1975, 1982, 1988-1992, 1996 (donations for missing years are accepted)
  • Magazine Subscriptions: Everton's Genealogy Helper (not available to check out)
Shelved just outside the Local History Room
Local information that does not fit in the Local History Room. Most of this information is less historical in nature, and is more focused on the operations of the Town of Chelmsford, but nonetheless may be of interest to researchers. A few examples are:
  • Chelmsford Annual Reports: 1878-current
  • Chelmsford Garden Club Archives: 1923-current
  • Chelmsford Organizations: sporatic years only; this publication was replaced by our website listing of Community Organizations
  • Chelmsford School Reports: mid- to late-1800s
  • Chelmsford Water District Commissioner's Report: 1921-current
  • Finance Committee Reports: 1937-current
  • List of Residents: 1975-current (the most current edition is held at the Reference Desk)

Microfilm Periodicals
    Main Library, Lower Level
For those periodicals not held in print or available electronically under NewsBank Newspapers above, the CPL has some microfilm and a microfilm reader/printer located near the Local History Room. Our current holdings are:
  • Chelmsford Newsweekly: 1940-1993
  • Chelmsford Independent: 1986-2005
  • Boston Globe: 1985-2004

Additional Print Resources
    Main Library, Lower Level
These books are not located in the Local History Room, but are available elsewhere on the lower level of the library. A few examples are:



Other Suggested Resources
  (many of these sources were identified through http://www.lauraprescott.com)


  
   
 
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