Revere, MassachusettsEdit This Page
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United States 
Massachusetts Suffolk Revere
This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town and city of Revere (formerly North Chelsea). You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, deeds (i.e. land records), town and city records, newspapers, maps, and libraries. There are detailed guides for the town of Winthrop set off from Revere and the parent town of Chelsea.
Contents |
Brief History
This area was settled by the Rumney Marsh Indians of the Pawtucket Tribe. English Capt. John Smith discovered it in 1614. Samuel Maverick settled here in 1624. Called Rumney Marsh, it was annexed to Boston in 1634, where its earliest history lies. Rumney Marsh was divided among twenty-one citizens of Boston, but consolidated into seven farms by 1639. The northern part of Boston was set off as Chelsea in 1739. The last divisions were the northeast side was set off as North Chelsea in 1846 and shortly after the southern portion of this new town was set off as Winthrop in 1852. The remaining part was renamed Revere in 1871. One of the earliest amusement parks, Wonderland Park, was opened in 1906, but closed five years later. This area is still called by that name and a dog track of that name now occupies some of the land. The famous area of Revere Beach was called the Coney Island of New England that met its end on the Blizzard of 1978.
Historical Data
The basic data is from the "Historical Data" publication series[1] with additions from various sources.
Revere at one time was Allotment Number Thirteen, North Chelsea, and Rumney Marsh.
Village or section names include Beachmont, Crescent Beach, Fenno's Corner, Franklin Park, North Revere, Oak Island, Point of Pines, Revere Beach, Revere Center, and Revere Highlands, Wonderland.
| Dates | Events |
|---|---|
| 19 Mar. 1846 | The northeastern two-thirds of Chelsea set off as the new town of North Chelsea. |
| 27 Mar. 1852 | The southern one-thirds was set off as the new town of Winthrop. |
| 3 Apr. 1871 | The name of the town was changed to Revere by the act of 24 Mar. 1871. |
| 3 Nov. 1914 | The town was incorporated as a city by the act of 19 June 1914. |
Town Histories
Works written on the town include:
- Mellen Chamberlain, A Documentary History of Chelsea: including the Boston precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824 (Boston, 1908), 2 vols.
This is a history of the area before it became a separate town.
Digital versions at Internet Archive (v. 1 and v. 2), Google Books (v. 1 and v. 2), and Ancestry ($).
This is a history of the area before it became a separate town.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL film 1035580 Item 4.
- Benjamin Shurtleff, comp., The History of the Town of Revere (Boston, 1938), 618 pp.
Includes short genealogies (that will be added later) and gravestones from Rumney Marsh Cem., p. 438-462.
There are many short family sketches dispersed through the book as to not make it possible to have a list of families covered here.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.46/R1 H2s or fiche 6048165.
- Revere Wikipedia page.
Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations:
- Revere City Clerk's Office
281 Broadway
Revere MA 02151
Phone 781-286-8160
- No microfilm at the Family History Library.
- Not part of the microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records.
- Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841:
Massachusetts Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston MA 02125
Phone 617-727-2816
Email archives@sec.state.ma.us
Hours and Directions
See the online guide for more information.
City Directories
Revere was published under Chelsea in 1876, 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1886-1890, 1892-1893, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1902/3, 1904, 1906, 1908 and under Revere in 1911, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1940.
The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.
Other holdings:
- Ancestry ($) under Chelsea has 1882, 1884, 1886-1890, 1892-1893, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1902/3, 1904, 1906, 1908 and under Revere has 1911, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1940.
- Boston Public Library under Chelsea has 1902/3, 1904, 1906, 1908 and under Revere has 1911, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933.
- Family History Library (Salt Lake City) under Chelsea has 1882, 1884, 1886-1890, 1892-1893, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1902/3, 1904, 1906, 1908 on FHL various film records and under Revere has 1911, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933 on FHL various film records.
- fold3 ($) has none.
- Massachusetts State Library under Chelsea has 1876, 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1886-1890, 1892-1893, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1902/3, 1904, 1906, 1908 and under Revere has 1911, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1940.
- New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston) ($) has some under Chelsea, but the years were not given.
Maps
- The Point of Pines, Revere, Mass. (Boston, 1880)
Digital version at Boston Public Library. - Map of Chelsea, Everett, Revere & Winthrop (Boston, 1897)
Digital version at Boston Public Library.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); Not at FHL.
- Atlas of the City of Chelsea and the Towns of Revere & Winthrop Massachusetts (Philadelphia, 1914).
Not in WorldCat or at FHL.
Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Revere. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.
- Rumney Marsh Burying Ground, 1693. (A)
Transcriptions of this cemetery appear in the town history (above) on pages 438-462.
- Capt. James Stoner's Family Tomb site, 1795.
This tomb was demolished in 1910 and perhaps moved to Rumney Marsh. It is mentioned in the history (above) on page 462.
- Unitarian Church Tomb site, 1805.
Sites exhumed and moved to Rumney Marsh in 1912. It is mentioned in the history (above).
"Rumney Marsh Epitaphs" (S.l., 1900) at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston ($).
- Rumney Marsh Burying Ground, 1693. (A)
Note: The book by Henry Weld Fuller, The Woodlawn Cemetery in North Chelsea and Malden (Boston, 1856), viii, 125 pp., is not in Revere as the title may suggest.
Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to:
(A). Vital Records of Chelsea, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1916) [see links above under [[Chelsea, Massachusetts#Vital Records|Chelsea Vital Records].
Churches
The following is a list of churches established in town in order of organization date (if known) before 1940 and condition of records in the 1889 survey if listed.
- First Congregational Church (later called the First Unitarian Church and finally the First Church in Revere), 1715-1776, 1783-closed bet. 1916 and 1919, records good.
Transcripts to 1850 included in the published Chelsea vital records.
James F. Cooper Jr. and Kenneth P. Minkema, eds., The Colonial Church Records of the First Church of Reading (Wakefield) and the First Church of Rumney Marsh (Revere), being v. 72 of the Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts (Boston, 2006), 371 pp.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 B4cs v. 72.
- First Congregational Church (now First Congregational Church of Revere), 1828, no record condition.
Transcripts to 1850 included in the published Chelsea vital records and called Evangelical Congregational Church.
Church records, 1828-1950 (with gaps), held by the Congregational Library, Boston.
- First Baptist Church, 1877, records good.
Current church, but without a website.
- Beachmont Congregational Church (by 1891, called the Union Evangelical Church), 1881-closed by 1904, records good.
- Church of the Unity [Unitarian], 1885-closed between 1904 and 1911, not in survey.
Records, 1880-1889, originally inside the cornerstone, held by the [Andover-Harvard Theological Library], Harvard Divinity School.
- Franklin Park Baptist Church, 1885-closed between 1904 and 1911, not in survey.
Location of records unknown.
- St. Paul's Church (Episcopal), 1886, not in survey.
Information about this church after 1940 and its records is unknown.
- Church of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic Church), 1888.
Baptisms to 1943, Marriages to 1949, First Communions to 1930, Confirmations to 1929 (records closed after 1930) held by the Archdiocese of Boston Archives.
- Temple Bnai Israel, 1890.
- First Methodist Episcopal Church, 1891.
Information about this church after 1940 and its records is unknown.
- First Evangelical Church, 1898-closed between 1911 and 1919.
Information about this church and its records is unknown.
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1905-2004.
Merged with the Church of the Immaculate Conception on 1 Sept. 2004.
Baptisms to 1924, Marriages to 1920, First Communions to 1916, Confirmations to 1919 held by the Archdiocese of Boston Archives.
- Trinity Congregational Church, bef. 1906.
Information about this church after 1940 and its records is unknown.
- Presbyterian Church, between 1906 and 1911-closed by 1919.
Information about this church and its records is unknown.
- St. Ann's Church (Episcopal), between 1906 and 1911.
Information about this church after 1940 and its records is unknown.
- Congregation Tifereth Israel, 1912.
Still active congregation without a website.
- Congregation Ahavas Achim, 1919-1998.
Location of records unknown.
- St. Anthony's Church (Catholic), by 1929-2001.
Merged with two other parishes to form the new St. Anthony's of Padua. - Bay Road Chapel, by 1940.
Still active congregation without a website.
- Christian Assembly, by 1940-extinct.
Nothing further is known about this church or its records.
- St. Lucy's Chapel (Catholic), by 1940-extinct.
Nothing further is known about this church or its records.
- St. Theresa's Church (Catholic), by 1940-2001.
Merged with two other parishes to form the new St. Anthony's of Padua.
- First Congregational Church (later called the First Unitarian Church and finally the First Church in Revere), 1715-1776, 1783-closed bet. 1916 and 1919, records good.
Town Records
There are no town or city records available online or on microfilm.
Newspapers
- Revere Journal, 1881-1996.
Libraries and Historical Societies
The following is a list of research facilities in town:
Revere Public Library
179 Beach Street
Revere MA 02151
Phone 781-286-8380
Revere Society for Cultural and Historic Preservation
108 Beach Street
Revere MA 02151
Phone 781-286-2226
Email info@reverehistory.org
References
- ↑ William Francis Galvin, Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities and Towns in Massachusetts (Boston, new ed., 1997), 97. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 H2h 1997
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- This page was last modified on 16 November 2012, at 15:57.
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