Massachusetts Colonial Records

History
The Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were the first permanent European settlements. The Bay Colony originally included parts of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Southern Maine.

Statewide Records and Resources
Under the Charter of 1629, all official meeting notes were listed as "courts." General Court (1620-1684, 1692-1825).
 * Years 1628-1777 are on film 0954385, Digitized but not indexed.

Court of Assistants (1630-1686, 1689-1692) This was the appellate court for county and inferior courts. It also was the jurisdiction for capital crimes and divorces. For a short time in the 1680s the Court of Assistants was under the Governor and Council appointed by the Crown.
 * Records of the court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630-1692. 3 Vols. (Boston: County of Suffolk, 1901-1928, film 046679).

County Courts (1636-1392) and Quarter Courts (1692-1827). These courts handled probate, orphan dockets, allegiance oaths, and bastardy proceedings. Divorce and capital crimes were not kept at this level.