Massachusetts Genealogy and History Guide

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: United States

Contents 1 Massachusetts History and Genealogy Guide 1.1 Background 1.2 Resource Links 1.3 USGenWeb 1.4 Other Online Resources

Massachusetts History and Genealogy Guide

This is a locality guide to help you with your research in Massachusetts.

Background

• Biography
• Gazetteers
• History
• Maps
• Migration
• For Further Reading
• Quick Facts

Official State Name: Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Statehood: 6 February 1788 (6th)
State Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty)
State Capital: Boston
State Nickname: The Bay State, The Pilgrim State, The Puritan State, The Old Colony, The Baked Bean State
Demonym: Bay Stater (official); Massachusite (traditional); Massachusettsian
State Artist: Norman Rockwell
State Bean: Baked Navy Bean
State Berry: Cranberry
State Beverage: Cranberry Juice
State Bird: Black-Capped Chickadee
State Blues Artist: Taj Mahal
State Building Stone: Granite
State Cat: Tabby Cat
State Ceremonial March: The Road to Boston
State Children's Author & Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
State Children's Book: Make Way for Ducklings
State Colors: Blue - Green - Cranberry
State Cookie: Chocolate Chip
State Dessert: Boston Cream Pie
State Dog: Boston Terrier
State Donut: Boston Cream Donut
State Fish: Cod
State Flower: Mayflower
State Folk Hero: Johnny Appleseed
State Game Bird: Wild Turkey
State Gem: Rhodonite
State Groundhog: Ms. G.
State Heroine: Deborah Samson Gannett
State Insect: Ladybug
State Inventor: Benjamin Franklin
State Song: All Hail to Massachusetts
State Sport: Basketball
State Tree: American Elm

• Timeline

1497 - Explorer John Cabot sails up the coast of Massachusetts.
1620 - The Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth and establish the first permanent English settlement.
1621 - The Pilgrims hold the first "Thanksgiving Festival."
1629 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony is founded.
1691 - The Province of Massachusetts is formed when the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony combine.
1692 - Nineteen people are put to death for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Hysteria.
1770 - Five Boston colonists are shot by British troops in the Boston Massacre.
1773 - Colonists in Boston dump crates of tea into the harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
1775 - The Revolutionary War begins with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
1788 - Massachusetts becomes the sixth state of the United States.
1820 - Maine separates from Massachusetts to become the 23rd state.
1961 - John F. Kennedy becomes the 35th President of the United States.
1987 - The "Big Dig" construction project begins in Boston.

Resource Links

These are FamilySearch Wiki links with information to aid in your research. If you go to their page, you will also find Guided Research, Research Strategies, and Record Finder.

• Bible Records
• Cemeteries
• Census Records
• Church Records
• Correctional Institutions
• Court Records
• Directories
• Emigration and Immigration
• Genealogies
• Land and Property
• Military Records
• Naturalization and Citizenship
• Newspapers
• Obituaries
• Online Records
• Periodicals
• Probate Records
• Taxation
• Town Records
• Vital Records

Ethnicity

• African Americans
• American Indians
• Swedish Americans

Local Research Resources

• Archives and Libraries
• Societies
• Family History Centers

USGenWeb

• MA GenWeb
• MA GenWeb Archives

Other Online Resources

• Access Genealogy
• Ancestry $
• Massachusetts Genealogy and History
• Massachusetts State Library
• Massachusetts Secretary of State Index
• Genealogy Trails