I have said it before, I just love focused databases. State and local records for births, marriages, taxes, land records, or anything else that brings results to the genealogist. Smaller databases dedicated to a single resource can provide exquisite results. That’s not to say 3.8 million records is small; rather, I find it significant. So, we can again thank the folks over at FamilySearch.org for their efforts. Yesterday, the site updated the Massachusetts Births 1841–1915 database.
The birth registers are organized by annual volumes. Each is arranged by town and then by entry number for the order in which the birth was entered into the registry. Details include: date of birth, name of child, sex and condition (often color or race), place of birth, parents’ names, birthplace of parents, and occupation of the father.
Using one of my cousins as an illustration, I ran a search for Charles F. Brigss. I thought that I had the correct birth information for Charles. I now know that I was off by a full day.
I’ve also updated all five of the GenealogyBlog Online Database Links Files. See:
- United States Birth & Christening Records Found at FamilySearch.org
- United States Marriage Documents & Indexes Found at FamilySearch.org
- United States Death & Probate Records Found at FamilySearch.org
- Canadian Vital Records Databases Posted at FamilySearch.org
- USA State & Territorial Censuses and Tax Records Found at FamilySearch.org