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United States
Massachusetts
Plymouth
Duxbury
Contents |
Brief History
This area was first settled in 1632 by people from Plymouth and set off from that town in 1637. During this century, the town was always in the jurisdiction of Plymouth Colony. The town 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.
Historical Data[1]
Duxbury at times has been called Ducksburrow, Green Harbor, Mattakeeset, and Namassakeesett.
Village or section names include Ashdod, Captain's Hill, Cedar Crest, Duxbury Beach, Fordsville, Gardnerville, Hall's Corner, Hatchville, Island Creek, Millbork, North Duxbury, Powder Point, South Duxbury, Tarklin, Tinertown, and West Duxbury.
| Dates | Events |
|---|---|
| 7 June 1637 | "... Ducksburrow shall become a towneship ..." [Ply. Col. Rec. 1: 62] |
| 2 Mar. 1641 | Border established. |
| 3 June 1656 | The part called "Duxburrow New Plantation" set off as the town of Bridgewater. |
| 2 Mar. 1658 | "Namassekeesett" annexed. |
| 5 Mar. 1661 | Land granted to Duxbury. |
| 5 July 1670 | Border between Duxbury and the "Major's Purchase" established. |
| 5 June 1678 | Border established. |
| 23 Feb. 1683 | Border between Duxbury and Marshfield established. |
| 21 Mar. 1712 | Part included in the new town of Pembroke. |
| 16 June 1726 | Part included in the new town of Kingston. |
| 14 June 1813 | Border between Duxbury and Marshfield established. |
| 14 Apr. 1857 | Part annexed to Kingston. |
Town Histories
Works written on the town include:- Justin Winsor, History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, with Genealogical Register (Boston, 1849) [many reprints available], viii, 360 pp.
Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and on Ancestry ($).
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 H2wj (with link to digital version) and FHL film 844947 Item 2.
- The family sketches include the families: Alden, Ames, Andrews, Armstrong, Arddaton, Arnold, Baker, Barker, Barstow, Bartin, Bartlett, Bassett, Bates, Beare, Biddle, Bisbee, Bishop, Blush, Bonney, Booth, Bosworth, Bourne, Bowers, Bowman, Bradford, Brett, Brewster, Briggs, Brown, Bryant, Bumpus, Burgess, Burne, Burton, Butler, Carver, Cary, Chamberlain, Chandler, Chapman, Church, Clark, Coe, Cole, Collier, Cooper, Corvannel, Cullifer, Curtis, Cushing, Cushman, Dammon, Darling, Davis, Davy, Dawes, Delano, Despard, Devell, Dingley, Drew, Dwelley, Eaton, Ensign, Eversor, Ferniside, Fish, Fisher, Fobes, Ford, Frazer, Freeman, Frost, Fuller, Gannett, Gardner, Glass, Godfrey, Goole, Gorham, Haden, Hales, Hall, Harlow, hanbury, Handmer, Hanks, Harding, Harlow, Harmon, Harris, Hartub, Hatch, Hathaway, Hawes, hayward, hewitt, Hicks, Hill, Hillier, Holmes, House, Howard, Howland, Hudson, Hunt, Hussey, Irish, Jackson, Joyce, Keene, Kemp, Kidbye, Knight, Lambert, Land, Latham, Lathley, Lathrop, Lawrence, Lazell, Leonard, Leurich, Leyhorne, Lindall, Loring, Louden, Macomber, Magoon, Maynard, McFarland, McLaughlin, Mendall, Mendame, Menlowe, Merrick, Mitchell, Moore, Morey, Morton, Mullins, Mynor (Minor), Nash, Neal, Nelson, Norcut, Oldham, Osborn, Pabodie, Paddock, Palmer, Parris, Partridge, Peakes, Peirce, Peterson, Phillips, Pidcock, Pollard, Pontus, Prence, Prince, Prior, Randall, Read, Reynolds, Richards, Richardson, Ripley, Robbins, Roberts, Robinson, Rogers, Rose, Rouse, Rowe, Russell, Samson, Saunders, Seabury, Shaw, Shawson, Sherman, Simmons, Smith, Snow, Soule, Southworth, Sprague, Sprout, Standish, Stanford, Starr, Stetson, Stockbridge, Switzer, Sylvester, Thacher, Thomas, Thorp, Tisdell, Tompkins, Tower, Tracy, Truant, Tubbs, Turner, Ussell, Vincent, Wadsworth, Walker, Wallis, Wanton, Washburn, Waterman, Watson, West, Weston, Weyborne, White, Williamson, Willis, Wilson, Wing, Winslow, Winsor, Witherell, and Wormall.
- The family sketches include the families: Alden, Ames, Andrews, Armstrong, Arddaton, Arnold, Baker, Barker, Barstow, Bartin, Bartlett, Bassett, Bates, Beare, Biddle, Bisbee, Bishop, Blush, Bonney, Booth, Bosworth, Bourne, Bowers, Bowman, Bradford, Brett, Brewster, Briggs, Brown, Bryant, Bumpus, Burgess, Burne, Burton, Butler, Carver, Cary, Chamberlain, Chandler, Chapman, Church, Clark, Coe, Cole, Collier, Cooper, Corvannel, Cullifer, Curtis, Cushing, Cushman, Dammon, Darling, Davis, Davy, Dawes, Delano, Despard, Devell, Dingley, Drew, Dwelley, Eaton, Ensign, Eversor, Ferniside, Fish, Fisher, Fobes, Ford, Frazer, Freeman, Frost, Fuller, Gannett, Gardner, Glass, Godfrey, Goole, Gorham, Haden, Hales, Hall, Harlow, hanbury, Handmer, Hanks, Harding, Harlow, Harmon, Harris, Hartub, Hatch, Hathaway, Hawes, hayward, hewitt, Hicks, Hill, Hillier, Holmes, House, Howard, Howland, Hudson, Hunt, Hussey, Irish, Jackson, Joyce, Keene, Kemp, Kidbye, Knight, Lambert, Land, Latham, Lathley, Lathrop, Lawrence, Lazell, Leonard, Leurich, Leyhorne, Lindall, Loring, Louden, Macomber, Magoon, Maynard, McFarland, McLaughlin, Mendall, Mendame, Menlowe, Merrick, Mitchell, Moore, Morey, Morton, Mullins, Mynor (Minor), Nash, Neal, Nelson, Norcut, Oldham, Osborn, Pabodie, Paddock, Palmer, Parris, Partridge, Peakes, Peirce, Peterson, Phillips, Pidcock, Pollard, Pontus, Prence, Prince, Prior, Randall, Read, Reynolds, Richards, Richardson, Ripley, Robbins, Roberts, Robinson, Rogers, Rose, Rouse, Rowe, Russell, Samson, Saunders, Seabury, Shaw, Shawson, Sherman, Simmons, Smith, Snow, Soule, Southworth, Sprague, Sprout, Standish, Stanford, Starr, Stetson, Stockbridge, Switzer, Sylvester, Thacher, Thomas, Thorp, Tisdell, Tompkins, Tower, Tracy, Truant, Tubbs, Turner, Ussell, Vincent, Wadsworth, Walker, Wallis, Wanton, Washburn, Waterman, Watson, West, Weston, Weyborne, White, Williamson, Willis, Wilson, Wing, Winslow, Winsor, Witherell, and Wormall.
- Copy of the Old Records of the Town of Duxbury, Mass., from 1642 to 1770, made in the year 1892 (Plymouth, Mass., 1893), 348 pp.
Digital versions at Internet Archive, Google Books, and on Ancestry ($).
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 N2e (with link to digital version) and FHL film 417931.
- E. J. V. Huiginn, The Graves of Myles Standish and other Pilgrims (Beverly, Mass., rev. and enl. ed., 1914), 218 pp.
Digital versions at Internet Archive and Google Books.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 H2wj.
- Ellesley Waldo Long, ed.The Story of Duxbury, 1637-1937 (Duxbury, Mass., [1937]), xiv, + 237 pp.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 H2L. - Dorothy Wentworth, Settlement and Growth of Duxbury, 1628-1870 (Duxbury, Mass., 1973), xiv, 144 pp.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 H2we. - Duxbury Wikipedia page.
Vital Records
The town's vital records are available in many locations:
- Duxbury Town Clerk's Office
878 Tremont Street
Duxbury MA 02332
Phone 781-934-1100 ext. 150
Email Town-Clerk@Town.Duxbury.MA.US - Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, Town and vital records, 1645-1826, FHL films 417933-417934; Births by family, 1702-1771, FHL film 417932; Births, 1774-1849, FHL film 416800.
- Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1661-1907, on 52 fiche. Part of Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988 at Ancestry ($); Index
- Official state copy of vital records started in 1841. See the guide to the state for more information here.
- Vital Records of Duxbury, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1911).
This volume was microfilmed by the Family History Library, FHL film 481072 Item 3; abstracted online at PlymouthColony.net; and in digital versions at Internet Archive and Google Books.
WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.482/D1 V2v.
- This includes, in part, church records from the First Church and Parish of Duxbury (C.R.1), First Society of Methodists (C.R.2), Pilgrim Church (C.R.3), and the Society of Friends of Pembroke [now (1911) with the Society at New Bedford] (C.R.4). Deaths are included from Old Cem., Chestnut Street, South Duxbury (G.R.1), Dingley Cem., Crooked Lane (G.R.2), Large Cem. (G.R.3), Ashdod Cem. (G.R.4), and the cemetery in back of the present [1911] Episcopal Church, formerly the Methodist Church (G.R.5).
- This includes, in part, church records from the First Church and Parish of Duxbury (C.R.1), First Society of Methodists (C.R.2), Pilgrim Church (C.R.3), and the Society of Friends of Pembroke [now (1911) with the Society at New Bedford] (C.R.4). Deaths are included from Old Cem., Chestnut Street, South Duxbury (G.R.1), Dingley Cem., Crooked Lane (G.R.2), Large Cem. (G.R.3), Ashdod Cem. (G.R.4), and the cemetery in back of the present [1911] Episcopal Church, formerly the Methodist Church (G.R.5).
Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Duxbury. Remember that the "old" town included present-day Bridgewater, Kingston, and Pembroke. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject. The town cemetery department has created a cemetery history for the town.
- Ashdod Cemetery, 1811. (A, B)
- Cemetery behind old Methodist Church [now (1911) Episcopal Church], n.d. (A, B)
- Crooked Lane / Dingley Cemetery, 18th Century. (A, B)
- First Church, n.d. (B)
- Large Cemetery, n.d. (A)
- Old Burying Ground / Standish Cemetery, 17th Century. (A, B)
- Orthodox Church Cemetery, South Duxbury, n.d.
- Unitarian Church Cemetery, 1788. (B)
- Walker Cemetery, n.d.
Abstracts of the cemeteries above are marked and keyed to:
(A). Vital Records of Duxbury, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, 1911) [see links above under Vital Records].
(B). Charles M. Thatcher, Old Cemeteries of Southeastern Massachusetts (Middleborough, Mass., 1995). WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 V3.
Churches
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 Unitarian Church (now First Parish Church), 1632, records lost before 1739.
- Society of Friends, 1702 [attached to the Pembroke Monthly Meeting, and by 1876 to the New Bedford Monthly Meeting].
- Pilgrim [Congregational] Church (now Pilgrim Church of Duxbury) [United Church of Christ], 1843, no condition given.
- Methodist Episcopal Church, 1868, no condition given
- Christian Science Church, n.d.
- First Baptist Church of Duxbury, n.d.
- High Street United Methodist Church, n.d.
- Holy Family Parish [Catholic], n.d.
- St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, n.d.
- St. Paul's Church of the Nazarene, n.d.
Newspapers
- Duxbury Clipper, 1969-present.
- Duxbury Reporter, 1987-present.
- Duxbury Mariner, 1996-present.
Libraries and Historical Societies
The following is list of research facilities in town:
Duxubry Free Library
77 Alden Street
Duxbury MA 02332
Phone 781-934-2721
The Duxbury Rural & Historical Society
479 Washington Street
Duxbury MA 02331
Phone 781-934-6106
Email: info@duxburyhistory.org
Alden Kindred of America
105 Alden Street
Duxbury MA 02331
Phone 781-934-9092
Email: aldenhouse@comcast.net
References
- ↑ William Francis Galvin, Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities and Towns in Massachusetts (Boston, new ed., 1997), 43. WorldCat (Other Libraries); FHL book 974.4 H2h 1997
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