Hampshire County, Massachusetts

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United States Massachusetts Hampshire County

Modern town and city borders in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Map
Map of Massachusetts highlighting Hampshire County Location in the state of Massachusetts
Location of Massachusetts in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	May 7, 1662
County Seat	Northampton
Courthouse
Address	Hampshire County Courthouse [http:// Hampshire County Website]

County Courthouse

	Massachusetts Online Records

Hampshire County Courthouse
33 King Street
Northampton, Ma 01060
Phone: 413-586-8500

City Clerks have birth, marriage, and death records,
Probate Court has probate and divorce records,
District Court has court records, Register of Deeds
has land records from 1600's^[1]

The legislature approved special charters to allow Hampshire and Hampshire counties to become regional councils of government.

History

Parent County

7 May 1662: Created from Massachusetts Bay Colony lands^[2] from Middlesex County. As is common in large New England counties, the county had two county courthouses, Northampton in the north and Springfield in the south.^[3]

Boundary Changes

Counties were set off: ^[2]
- Worcester County 5 Apr 1731
- Berkshire County 28 May 1760
- Franklin County 24 June 1811
- Hampden County 25 Feb 1812. Created from the southern part of Hampshire with Springfield as the county seat.^[3]

Record Loss

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Cities:

Easthampton | Northampton

Towns

Neighboring Counties

Berkshire | Franklin | Hampden | Worcester

Resources

Cemeteries

Census

For tips on accessing Hampshire County, Massachusetts census records online, see: Massachusetts Census.

State Census

1855 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1855 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search. This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1855, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.

1865 Massachusetts State Census—A free Internet index and images to the 1865 Massachusetts State Census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search This index includes every name listed on the census and is linked to an image including information about each person’s residence and age in 1865, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.

Church

Court

Until population warranted it, criminal and civil court cases were included in the same court records. The first 24 volumes in Hampshire County include civil cases from the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and criminal court cases from the Court of General Sessions of the Peace:^[4]^[5]

Volume #	Vol. Letter	Date Range	FHL Film Item	Notes
1		1677-1728	886420 item 1	Includes County Court and Quarter Sessions
2	A	1728-1735	886420 item 2
3	B	1735-1740	886421
4	C	1741-1745	886421	Includes executions, 1716-1765
5	D	1746-1757	886422
6	E	1758-1762	886422	Includes a few marriages
7	F	1762-1764	886423 item 4	Includes a few marriages
8	G	1764-1766	886424
9	H	1766-1770	886424
10		1766-1771	886425 item 1	Cataloged only under General Sessions
11	I	1770-1773	886425 item 2
12	K	1773-1780	886426
13	M	1771-1781	886426
14		May 1781-Jan 1790	886427 item 1	Cataloged only under General Sessions
15	N	1782-1783	866427 item 2
16	O	1783-1784	886428
17	P	1784-1785	886428
18	Q	Aug 1785-Sep 1788	886429
19	R	1790-1799	886429
20	A	1715-1790, Feb 1789-Jan 1790	886430 item 1	Includes executions, 1715-1764
21	S	1791-1794	886430 item 2
22	T	1794-1795	886410
23	U-V	1796-1797	886410
24	W	1797-1798	886411 item 1

These volumes are completely indexed. After these 24 volumes, subsequent volumes were numbered restarting with 1. When part of Hampshire County became Hampden County in 1812, clerks copied applicable cases into the new county's records. For such cases, if you are unable to read one of the records, you may be able to read the copy in the other county.

Gazetteers

Land

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Newspapers

Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Fitchburg, MA newspapers (1868-1977), Pittsfield, MA newspapers (1858-1977), and North Adams, MA newspapers (1895-1977) covering local news that included Hampshire County residents.

Probate

Taxation

Vital Records

Societies and Libraries

Web Sites

The Hampshire County MA GenWeb Project, an member of The MAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
The USGenWeb Archives Project for Hampshire County
The USGenWeb Archives Project for Hampshire County (backup site)
FamilySearch.org Family History Library catalog for Hampshire County

References

↑ &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Handybook for Genealogists&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;: United States of America&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002)Hampshire County, Massachusetts, p.330.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Linda E. Brinkerhoff, "New England Research: A Matter of Jurisdiction," Arlene H Eakle's Genealogy Blog (http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2009/11/19/new-england-research-new-strategies-that-work/ : accessed 30 November 2009), para. 3.
↑ Linda E. Brinkerhoff, "New England Research: A Matter of Jurisdiction," Arlene H Eakle's Genealogy Blog (http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2009/11/19/new-england-research-new-strategies-that-work/ : accessed 30 November 2009), para. 3-4; citing Grace Pittman.
↑ Family History Library Catalog, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 November 2009).

v • d • e Links to Massachusetts-related articles

Topics	Introduction · American Indians · Archives and Libraries · Bible Records · Biography · Cemeteries · Census · Church Records · Court Records · Directories · Emigration and Immigration · Gazetteers · Genealogy · History · Land and Property · Maps · Military Records · Naturalization and Citizenship · Newspapers · Obituaries · Online Records · Periodicals · Probate Records · Societies · Taxation · Town Records · Vital Records · For Further Reading

Counties	Barnstable · Berkshire · Bristol · Dukes · Essex · Franklin · Hampden · Hampshire · Middlesex · Nantucket · Norfolk · Plymouth · Suffolk · Worcester

Obsolete MA Jurisdictions	Cornwall (ME) · Devonshire (ME) · Dominion of New England · Dukes (NY) · Maine · Massachusetts Bay Colony · New Hampshire · New Netherland · Norfolk (old) · Plymouth Colony · Yorkshire (ME)

Major Repositories	New England Historic Genealogical Society · Massachusetts State Archives · Massachusetts State Library · Massachusetts Historical Society · Boston Public Library · Connecticut Valley Historical Museum · Berkshire Athenaeum · Peabody Essex Museum · American Antiquarian Society · National Archives Northeast Region (Boston) · New York Public Library

Migration Routes	Bay Road · Catskill Road · Coastal Path · Greenwood Road · Kennebunk Road · King's Highway or Boston Post Road · Massachusetts Turnpike · Mohawk Trail · Old Connecticut Path · Old Roebuck Road · Connecticut River · Atlantic Coast Ports

This Massachusetts-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
While this page is under construction, may we suggest Cyndi's List.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ''[[United States|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]'' '''Hampshire County'''
-{{MAHampshireTowns}}[[Image:Ma-hampshire.png|right|350px|Ma-hampshire.png]]
+{{MAHampshireTowns}}
+{{Infobox U.S. County
+| county = Hampshire County
+| county_map = Image:Ma-hampshire.png
+| state = Massachusetts
+| state_map = Massachusetts.png
+| latd =
+| longd =
+| founded year = 1662
+| founded date = May 7
+| seat wl = Northampton
+| building image =
+| building address = Hampshire County Courthouse<br> <br>[http:// '''Hampshire County Website'''] }}
 === County Courthouse  ===
-{{MADC}}[http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/MA_Hampden.htm Hampshire County Courthouse]<br>33 King Street<br>Northampton, Ma 01060<br>Phone:&nbsp; 413-586-8500<br><br>City Clerks have birth, marriage, and death records,&nbsp; <br>Probate Court has probate and divorce records,<br>District Court has court records, Register of Deeds<br>has land records from 1600's<ref>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Handybook for Genealogists&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;: United States of America&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002)Hampshire County, Massachusetts, p.330.</ref>
+{{MADC}}[http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/MA_Hampden.htm Hampshire County Courthouse]<br>33 King Street<br>Northampton, Ma 01060<br>Phone:&nbsp; 413-586-8500<br><br>City Clerks have birth, marriage, and death records,&nbsp; <br>Probate Court has probate and divorce records,<br>District Court has court records, Register of Deeds<br>has land records from 1600's<ref>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Handybook for Genealogists&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;: United States of America&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;, 10th ed., (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002)Hampshire County, Massachusetts, p.330.</ref>
 The legislature approved special charters to allow Hampshire and Hampshire counties to become regional councils of government.
@@ Line 61: / Line 74: @@
 Until population warranted it, criminal and civil court cases were included in the same court records. The first 24 volumes in Hampshire County include civil cases from the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and criminal court cases from the Court of General Sessions of the Peace:<ref>Linda E. Brinkerhoff, "New England Research: A Matter of Jurisdiction," Arlene H Eakle's Genealogy Blog (http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2009/11/19/new-england-research-new-strategies-that-work/ : accessed 30 November 2009), para. 3-4; citing Grace Pittman.</ref><ref name="FHLC">Family History Library Catalog, ''FamilySearch'' (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 November 2009).</ref>
-{| width="100%" align="left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" border="1"
+{| width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" border="1" align="left"
 |-
 ! scope="col" | Volume #