Chelmsford Genealogy Resources:
Annual Reports 1875 and up
Cemetery Records search
Directories and Lists 1896 and up
Fire Department History 1900 and up
Genealogy Books in our library
High School Yearbooks starting in 1925
Newspaper search
Obituary Index 1940-2017 by newspaper, date, and name
Property Research practical tips
Select Board members since 1658
Vital Records search to 1849
Notes on some of Chelmsford's earliest families:
| Henry Adams | WikiTree.com website information on Henry Adams and his descendants. Henry Adams was the progenitor of the Adams family in America. He was born in Barton David, England and died October 6, 1646 in Braintree, Massachusetts. Henry married Edith Squire and they had nine children. Three of his sons also emigrated, and later moved to Chelmsford: Thomas (1612-1688), Samuel (1616/17-1690), and John (1622-1706). The Adams obelisk stands at the top of the hill in the center of the burying ground and numerous descendants of Henry Adams are buried in the Forefathers Burying Ground. |
| Thomas Barrett | WikiTree.com website information on Thomas Barrett and his descendants was contributed by Brian S. Barrett. |
| Thomas Barrett | Notebook (174 pages) containing genealogy of Thomas Barrett and his descendants from our Library collection. |
| Thomas Barrett | Chart showing genealogy of Thomas Barrett and his descendants, from the Barrett notebook. |
| Richard Brackett | The Brackett family was said to be from Wales. Capt. Richard Bracket, born 1610, was a member of the Boston Church in 1631/2, dismissed to the Braintree Church, Oct. 5, 1641. He is also mentioned in the petition for land, Oct. 1, 1645, along with Edward Spalding. Richard's brother, Peter, born in 1612, Deputy & Magistrate, also lived in Braintree. See also, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, Pope, 1900 and the Brackett Genealogy, by H. I. Brackett. |
| George Byam | Book (499 pages) "Descendants of George Byam" By Edwin Colby Byam, Ph.D, 1975. Scanned by permission of his niece Pamela Byam Rivard. There is also extensive information on the business enterprises of Ezekiel Byam, including his manufacture of the first practical matches in the United States. |
| Samuel Fletcher | WikiTree.com website information on Samuel Fletcher and his descendants. |
| Samuel Fletcher | Notebook (192 pages) on the Fletcher family from our Library collection. Samuel Fletcher was the son of William Fletcher and Lydia Bates, and was born in 1656 in Chelmsford. His father William was one of the proprietors of the town and the first town meeting was held at his house on Crosby Lane, Nov. 22, 1654. The two histories of Chelmsford, available in searchable PDF format in our Library page, also contain considerable information on the early Fletchers. |
| Richard Hildreth | WikiTree.com website information on Richard Hildreth and his descendants. |
| Richard Hildreth | Notebook (72 pages) on the Hildreth family from our Library collection. Richard Hildreth, the ancestor of the New England Hildreths, was born in the north of England in 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot, a date fixed by the inscription on his gravestone in Chelmsford, Mass. He was therefore fifteen years old at the sailing of the Mayflower. He died at Chelmsford on February 23, 1693. The Early Hildreths of New England, written by Arthur Hildreth, was originally privately printed in 1894. It was read before the reunion of the Hildreth family at Chelmsford on June 16th, 1894, and is included in this notebook. |
| John Kidder II | WikiTree.com website information on John Kidder's son John Kidder II of Chelmsford, MA |
| John Kidder | John Kidder of Chelmsford, MA, was born in Cambridge, MA in 1655/6 and died at Chelmsford before Oct. 7, 1731. Additional information was provide by members of this family. |
| Parker Genealogy | Searchable genealogy notes on the Parker family. |
| Jacob Parker | Hand-written notes on Jacob Parker and descendants. |
| Parkhurst Family | Newsletters (86 pages) published from 1993 to 1997. |
| George Parkhurst | Notebook (124 pages) with Family Group Record sheets from our Library collection. |
| George Parkhurst | Notebook (50 pages) Selected descendants of the first generation George Parkhurst from our Library collection. |
| Ezekiel Richardson | Ezekial Richardson was a follower of Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright in 1637 along with many members of the Boston Church during the Antinonmian Controversy. His name was included on the remonstrances in Wheelwright's favor, but was later "erased" when the Court found him guilty of sedition. His son Josiah settled in Chelmsford circa 1659. |
| Ezekiel Richardson | WikiTree.com website information on Ezekiel Richardson, father of Josiah |
| Josiah Richardson | WikiTree.com website information on Josiah Richardson and children of Chelmsford, MA |
| Sarah | Mary | Josiah | Jonathan | John | Samuel | Susanna | Remembrance |
| George Robbins | WikiTree.com website information on George Robbins and his descendants. George Robbins was one of the first settlers of Chelmsford. His farm was in the southern part of Chelmsford near Great Brook Farm. He owned a mill on Curve Street in Carlisle, MA. |
| Edward Spalding | WikiTree.com website information on Edward Spalding and his descendants. Edward Spalding was progenitor of this family and was residing in Braintree on May 13, 1640. On this day, he became a freeman, meaning he was a member of the established church, entitling him to serve in some governmental capacity, to be a magistrate, to receive land grants, and to serve on a jury. In 1645, his name appeared on the petition for the Chelmsford land grant and he was present at the first town meeting on Nov. 22, 1654. |
| Warren Family | Book (59 pages) "A Genealogy of one branch of the Warren Family with its Intermarriages 1637-1890" compiled for Moses Conant Warren by Mary Parker Warren, edited by Emily Wilder Leavitt, 1890. |
| Warren and Jackson Families |
Book (207 pages) "The Warren, Jackson, and Allied Families" by Betsey Warren Davis, 1903. |
Please feel free to contribute your family information!