West Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Genealogy
This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of West Bridgewater. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.
Contents
Town Clerk[edit | edit source]
65 North Main St
West Bridgewater, MA 02379
Phone: 508-894-1200
Fax: 508-894-1210
Email: aiannitelli@wbridgewater.com
Website
Brief History[edit | edit source]
The area was first settled in 1651 and organized at the West or First Parish of Bridgewater in 1664. The area was in Plymouth Colony. The area was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the town was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. The town is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The parish became its own town in 1822.
Historical Data[edit | edit source]
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series[1] with additions from various sources.
Village or section names include Cochesett, Eastondale, Elmville, Jerusalem, Matfield, Richard's Corner, and Westdale.
| Dates | Events |
|---|---|
| 16 Feb. 1822 | First or West Parish of Bridgewater set off as the new town of West Bridgewater. |
| 26 Jan. 1825 | Border between West Bridgewater and North Bridgewater established. |
| 8 May 1893 | Part annexed to Brockton upon their approval on 7 Nov. 1893, effective 1 Mar. 1894. |
Town Histories[edit | edit source]
Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town. Works written on the town include:
- "History of West Bridgewater" in D. Hamilton Hurd, ed., History of Plymouth County, Massachusetts ... (Philadelphia, 1884), p. 888-937.
Digital version at Internet Archive [includes graveyards condensed from Latham's work on p. 903-918]. - West Bridgewater Wikipedia page.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
The town's vital records are available in many locations:
- West Bridgewater Town Clerk's Office
65 North Main Street
West Bridgewater MA 02379
Phone 508-894-1200 - Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, 1774-1905, FHL film 2047539.
- Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1762-1908, on 56 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
- Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841:
Massachusetts Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston MA 02125
Phone 617-727-2816
Email archives@sec.state.ma.us
Hours and Directions
See the online guide for more information.
- Vital Records of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1911)
This volume was microfilmed by the Family History Library (FHL film 874035 Item 4).
Digital versions at Internet Archive and in a database at American Ancestors ($).
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/W2 V2v.
- This includes, in part, church records from the First Church in Bridgewater (now in West Bridgewater) (C.R.1) and the Baptist Church. Deaths are included from Old Grave Yard (G.R.1), Powder House Cem. (G.R.2), Jerusalem Cem. (G.R.3), Alger Cem. (G.R.4), Ames Family Burying Ground (G.R.5), Pine Hill Cem. (G.R.6), Old Cem. near Methodist Church, Cochesett (G.R.7), and Pleasant Hill Cem., Cochesett (G.R.8).
City Directories[edit | edit source]
West Bridgewater was published in 1869/70, 1872/3, 1874/5-1880, 1882, 1884-1887/8, 1889-1890, 1892, 1894/5, 1896/7-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931 (often with Brockton).
The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.
Other holdings:
- Ancestry ($) has none.
- Boston Public Library has 1878/9, 1882, 1884, 1887/8, 1890, 1892, 1894/5, 1896, 1898-1903, 1905-1910, 1913-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931.
- Family History Library (Salt Lake City) has 1874-1880, 1882, 1884-1885, 1887, 1889-1890, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1898-1919, 1921-1922, 1924-1927, 1929-1933, 1935 on FHL various film records.
- fold3 ($) has none.
- Massachusetts State Library has 1869/70, 1872/3, 1874/5-1880, 1882, 1884-1887, 1889-1890, 1892, 1894/5, 1896/7-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931.
- New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has 1878/9, 1882, 1884, 1887/8, 1890, 1892, 1894/5, 1896, 1898-1903, 1905-1910, 1913-1919, 1921, 1924/5, 1931.
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day West Bridgewater. For locations of cemeteries, see PlymouthColony. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.
- Alger Cemetery and tomb, 1801. (A, D) [Note: Most graves were re-interred at Pine Hill Cem.]
Transcription online. - Ames Family Burying Ground, n.d. (A)
- Dunbar Family or Walnut Street Cemetery, 1749.
- Jerusalem Graveyard, 1749). (A, D)
Transcription online and resurveyed in 1989 online with differences. - Methodist Church or Cochesett Cemetery, n.d. (A, C)
- Old Graveyard, 1683. (A, B, D)
Transcription online. - Pine Hill Cemetery, 1870. (A, C)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery, n.d. (A, C)
- Powder House Cemetery, 1747. (A, D)
Transcription online. - Thayer-Fish Family Cemetery, 1818. (A, B, D)
Transcription online.
- Alger Cemetery and tomb, 1801. (A, D) [Note: Most graves were re-interred at Pine Hill Cem.]
Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to:
(A). Vital Records of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1911). [See links above for various versions of this source.]
(B). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 V3.
(C). New England Historic Genealogical Society, Manuscripts Dept., Boston, Mass.
(D). William Latham, Epitaphs in Old Bridgewater, Massachusetts (Bridgewater, Mass., 1882) -- a digital version at Google Books.
Churches[edit | edit source]
The following is a list of churches established in town in order of organization date (if known) and condition of records in the 1889 survey if listed.
- First Congregational Church (Unitarian) (now The First Church), 1651, records good for 1721-1808, 1836-present.
- First Baptist Church, 1785-1833, records good. [This church was dissolved and some of its members were founders of a new Baptist Society in the same year. The records are with this new church.]
- Baptist Church (now West Bridgewater Baptist Church), 1833, records good.
- Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Paul's Episcopal Church), Cochesett, 1841, no condition given.
- The Church of Saint Ann, 1927.
- New England Baptist Church, 1973.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, n.d.
- Gift of New Life Ministries, n.d.
- Joy of Pentecost, n.d.
- Temple Baptist Church, n.d.
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
There have been no newspapers published in West Bridgewater.
Libraries and Historical Societies[edit | edit source]
The following is a list of research facilities in town:
West Bridgewater Public Library
80 Howard Street
West Bridgewater MA 02379
Phone 508-894-1255
Old Bridgewater Historical Society
162 Howard Street
PO Box 17
West Bridgewater MA 02379
Phone 508-559-1510
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ William Francis Galvin, Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities and Towns in Massachusetts (Boston, new ed., 1997), 123. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 H2h 1997
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