Source Information

Halvorsen, Alice, comp.. Barnstable County Massachusetts 1855 Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
Original data: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Census 1855. Massachusetts, USA: 1855. LDS Film #0953973.

About Barnstable County Massachusetts 1855 Census

The peninsula forming the southeastern extremity of Massachusetts is known as Cape Cod. Its position earned it the name "the right arm of Massachusetts" because it has its shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand symbolically poised over the deep, as if beckoning the disputed pilgrims to cross over and rest safely under the palm.

Barnstable County covers the entire peninsula. The early settlers were initially farmers, but they later turned to the sea for its bounty. From farmers to sea captains, the population changed as the people found other livelihoods. This database includes the names, ages, occupations, genders, races, places of birth, and addresses for the inhabitants of Barnstable County in 1855, including the towns of Barnstable, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Provincetown, Orleans, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, and Yarmouth.