This is a collection of free vital records books, otherwise known as “Tan Books” for Massachusetts towns. Generally, these records go up to 1849/1850 at which, the genealogist can use the census records to assist in identifying the family connections further. Included with this article is an account of why and how these manuscripts were published along with links to all 198 books which can be freely read or downloaded.
A gentleman of education, refinement and culture, an Easterner who came to Rock Island in the early days, and who spent a busy and useful lifetime in this community, was George Mixter, deceased, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, April 28, 1835, and died in Rock Island April 20, 1897. He was of English extraction. The first Mixter who came to America was an English sea captain of that name, who came to this country and settled in Plymouth in 1630, and from him the Mixter family, so well known throughout Rock Island County, trace … Read more
Edward Franklin Warner (1844-1911), a prominent dealer in farm implements and caretaker of a 300-acre ancestral farm in Cummington, Massachusetts, was born and died on the family homestead. He was the son of Franklin John Marvin and Vesta Wales (Reed) Warner. The Warner family, with roots in England, has had numerous distinguished members in both England and America. Edward, who was active in town affairs, married Ellen Lovell in 1869, and they had one daughter, Ethel Susie Warner, who was also deeply involved in community and church activities.
The Massachusetts Tax Valuation List of 1771 contains the names and descriptions of taxable property of nearly 38,000 individuals who resided in 152 Massachusetts towns in 1771