This manuscript adheres to certain conventions to ensure accuracy and clarity. While it primarily focuses on records from Greenfield, Massachusetts, it acknowledges that some events may have occurred elsewhere. When the original records specify a different location, this information is included in the printed copy.
To maintain authenticity, the manuscript retains the original spelling found in town records, even if errors are present. Readers should be aware of variations in spelling, as these inconsistencies may affect how information about the same family or individual is presented.
Baptismal records are generally omitted if they closely follow a corresponding birth record. However, any differences noted in the baptismal record are added to the birth entry.
Birth records for married women ideally appear under their maiden names. When this information is unavailable, the entry is listed under the husband’s name with a bracketed dash indicating the missing maiden name. If marital status is uncertain, “? m.” is added after the first name.
Both parties are included in marriage and intention of marriage records. In cases where both are recorded, only the marriage record is printed.
Finally, any additional information not found in the original record, such as explanations or inferences, is enclosed in brackets. Parentheses are used to indicate spelling variations within an entry, clarify a wife’s maiden name, highlight incomplete portions of the original text, and separate clauses.
Abbreviations
a.—-age
abt.—-about
b.—born
bp —-baptized
Bur. —-buried
ch. —-child
chn. —-children
C.R.1. —-church record, Second Congregational Church
C.R.2. —-church record, St. James’s Episcopal Church of Greenfield, including baptisms (with births), Marriages, and burials performed by the rector of St. James’s Church in Ashfield, Montague, and various other towns, previous to the stated employment of ministers in these places.
C.R.3. —-church record, Methodist Episcopal Church.
Co. —-county
d. —-daughter; day; died
Dea. —-deacon
dec’d —-deceased
dup. —-duplicate entry
Eld. —-Elder
Ens. —-Ensign
G.R.1. —-gravestone record, Federal Street Cemetery
G.R.2. —-gravestone record, cemetery in the rear of “Old Sage Place”
G.R.3. —-gravestone record, Log Plain Cemetery, Bernardston Road
G.R.4 —–gravestone record, High Street Cemetery
G.R.5. —-gravestone record, Upper Meadows Cemetery, Colrain Road
G.R.6. —-gravestone record, Lower Meadows Cemetery, Colrain Road
G.R.7. —-gravestone record, Green River Cemetery
G.R.8. —-gravestone record, Old Catholic Cemetery
G.R.9. —-gravestone record, Calvary Cemetery, Wisdom Way
h. —-husband
hrs. —-hours
inf. —-infant
int. —-publishment of intention of Marriage
Jr. —-junior
Lt. —-Lieutenant
m. —-Married; month
min. —-minutes
P.C.R. —-Probate Court Records
P.R.1. —-private record, from the diary of Rev. Roger Newton, D.D., of Greenfield, communicated by Hon. Francis M. Thompson of Greenfield
P.R.2. —-private record, from the Thomas Nims family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Charles Thomas Nims of Greenfield Meadows.
P.R.3. —-private record, from a Wells family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Mary P. Wells Smith of Greenfield
P.R.4. —-private record, from a Coleman family record on a slip of paper, now in the possession of Mrs. Mary P. Wells Smith of Greenfield
P.R.5. —-private record, from the Jesse Smead family Bible, now in the possession of Henry S. Smead of Greenfield
P.R.6. —-private record, from an Allen family register, now in the possession of Henry S. Smead of Greenfield
P.R.7. —-private record, from the William Henry Allen family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Charles H. Keith of Greenfield
P.R.8. —-private record, from the Alexander Keith family Bible, now in the possession of Charles H. Keith of Greenfield
P.R.9. —-private record, from the Theodore Martindale family Bible, now in the possession of the Greenfield Historical Society as a loan from the Misses Martindale
P.R.10. —-private record, from the Dr. Levi Stiles family Bible, now in the possession of the Greenfield Historical Society
P.R.11. —-private record, from the William Grinnell family Bible, now in the possession of the Greenfield Historical Society
P.R.12. —-private record, from the Hervey C. Newton farnTly Bible, now in the possession of Miss Delia Nims of Greenfield
P.R.13. —-private record, from the Bible of Lucius Nims Sr., now in the possession of Mrs. F. M. Thompson of Greenfield
P.R.14 —-private record, from the Eliel Amadon family Bile, now in the possession of Mrs. F. M. Thompson of Greenfield
P.R.15. —-private record, from the Henry Wells Clapp family Bible, now in the possession of the Estate of Isabella Clapp Russell of Greenfield
P.R.16. —-private record, from the Bible of Franklin Ripley Allen, now in the possession of Mrs. Franklin Ripley Allen of Greenfield
P.R.17. —-private record, from the Thomas Rockwood family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Kate Field Beals of Greenfield
P.R.18. —-private record, from the Horatio O. Rockwood family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Kate Field Beals of Greenfield
P.R.19. —-private record, from the Pliny Martindale family Bible, now in the possession of Miss Jane M. Lamb of Greenfield
P.R.20. —-private record, from the Franklin Nash family Bible, now the possession of Henry F. Nash of Greenfield
P.R.21. —-private record, from the Amos Pond family Bible, now in the possession of Franklin A. Pond of Greenfield
P.R.22. —-private record, from the Elijah Smith family Bible, now in the possession of Charles L. Smith of Philadelphia, Pa.
P.R.23. —-private record, from the Orin Smith family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Lathrop T. Smith of Greenfield
P.R.24. —-private record, from a Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. Lathrop T. Smith of Greenfield
P.R.25. —-private record, from the Elihu Goodman family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. G. H. Kaulback of Greenfield
P.R.26. —-private record, from the Chester Arms family Bible, now in the possession of Mrs. G. H. Kaulback of Greenfield
P.R.27. —-private record, from the Moses Chandler family record, now in the possession of Mrs. G. H. Kaulback of Greenfield
P.R.28. —-private record, from the Andrew Adams family record, now in the possession of the Misses Ruth and Elizabeth Adams of Greenfield
P.R.29. —-private record, from a record in the possession of the Overseers of the Poor, Greenfield
P.R.30. —-private record, from an inscription on a stone erected by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association on a crossroad between the Green River10ad and the Leyden Road, Greenfield
P.R.31. —-private record, Marriages communicated by Hon. Francis M. Thompson in his “History of Greenfield”
q.v. —-which see; whom see
rec. —-recorded
s. —-son
Sr. —-senior
w. —-week; wife;
wid. —-widow
widr. —-widower
y. —-year
Surnames Mentioned in Vital Records
Abbot, Abercrombie, Ackerman, Adair, Adams, Ahlborn, Aiken, Albert, Alden, Aldrich, Alexander, Alger, Allard, Allen, Allice, Allis, Allyn, Altner, Alvard, Alverson, Alvord, Amadon, Ames, Amidon, Ammidon, Amsden, Anderson, Andrews, Andrus, Angel, Apfel, Arams, Arms, Aseman, Ashley, Ashmun, Atherton, Atwater, Austin, Averill, Avery, Ayres, Babino, Bacon, Baily, Baird, Baker, Baldwin, Ball, Ballard, Ballou, Bangs, Bannmeyer, Barber, Barclay, Bardwell, Barker, Barnard, Barnes, Barrett, Barry, Bartlett, Barton, Bascom, Bascomb, Bascome, Bass, Bastian, Batchelder, Bates, Battis, Beals, Bearnie, Bebee, Bechtold, Beeddla, Belding, Bell, Bellamy, Bement, Benjamin, Bennet, Bennett, Benson, Benton, Bernard, Betton, Billens, Billing, Billings, Bird, Birge, Birnard, Bissel, Bissell, Bitzer, Blackley, Blake, Blakely, Bliss, Blucher, Boehm, Boice, Boies, Bolsover, Bolton, Bond, Boomer, Booth, Bordwell, Bosworth, Botler, Bouker, Bowers, Bowker, Boyden, Boyington, Boylston, Boynton, Brackett, Brady, Brainard, Bray, Brewer, Brewster, Bridge, Bridges, Briggs, Brigham, Brooks, Brown, Browning, Bryant, Buckingham, Buckminster, Buddington, Buffaloe, Buffum, Bull, Bullard, Bullock, Burdick, Burg, Burke, Burnham, Burns, Burrington, Burroughs, Burrows, Burt, Burton, Bush, Bushnel, Butler, Buxton, Caldwell, Calender, Calhoon, Callender, Campbell, Canerdy, Carbee, Carey, Carlton, Carpenter, Carpentor, Carrier, Carson, Cary, Cately, Catlin, Chadwick, Chaise, Challoner, Chamberlain, Chambers, Chandler, Chanley, Chapen, Chapin, Chapman, Chase, Chatfield, Chelenor, Childs, Christie, Church, Clap, Clapp, Clark, Clarke, Clary, Class, Clay, Clement, Clerk, Cloutier, Coates, Coats, Cobb, Coe, Coffin, Cofran, Cohoon, Coleman, Collins, Colman, Colt, Colton, Combes, Combs, Comins, Commons, Conant, Cone, Coney, Connable, Conners, Connolly, Connors, Convarce, Convers, Coob, Cook, Cooke, Cooley, Coolidge, Coombs, Corbett, Corfiran, Corless, Corliss, Cornel, Cornwell, Cors, Corse, Corss, Cowan, Cowl, Cox, Coxsion, Crandal, Crane, Craven, Craw, Cronie, Crosby, Crosset, Crossett, Crowley, Cushing, Cushman, Cutler, Cutter, Damon, Dana, Danaher, Daniels, Darby, Darling, Davis, Davison, Daviss, Dawes, Day, Dean, Deane, Death, Deckinson, Deming, Demontett, Denio, Denison, Dennis, Dennison, Derby, Deumonlit, Devens, Dewey, Dewolf, Dexter, Dick, Dickenson, Dickinson, Dickman, Divoll, Dix, Dobbie, Dodge, Dole, Donahue, Doty, Douglas, Downs, Draper, Drenning, Drew, Driscoll, Dunn, Dunne, Dunnell, Dunton, Durkee, Dwight, Dwyer, Earle, Earley, Eason, Eastman, Eaton, Eddy, Edgcom, Edson, Edwards, Eginton, Eldredge, Ellice, Elliot, Elliott, Ellis, Ellison, Ellson, Elsheimer, Emerson, Eppler, Erhard, Esen, Eustus, Evans, Ewers, Fairchild, Fairfield, Fairman, Farley, Farnham, Farnsworth, Farrand, Farrell, Farren, Fay, Fellows, Ferrell, Field, Filley, Fineman, Finemin, Fish, Fisher, Fisk, Fiske, Fissher, Fitch, Fitts, Fitzgerald, Flag, Flagg, Fleming, Flint, Foot, Foote, Forbes, Ford, Forristall, Forster, Foster, Fowler, Fox, Frary, Frazer, Frazier, Freedom, Freeman, French, Frickenhaus, Frink, Fritz, Frizzell, Frost, Fuller, Fulton, Furkey, Furst, Gaines, Gains, Galvin, Gamell, Gammell, Gardner, Garfield, Garrett, Gascoigne, Gates, Gaut, Gear, George, Gepperson, Gerrett, Gerry, Gibb, Gibbens, Gibbs, Gilbert, Giles, Gilet, Gilligan, Gilmore, Gleason, Goland, Goldthwaite, Goodale, Goodell, Goodenough, Goodhue, Goodman, Goodnow, Goodrich, Goodsill, Gorey, Goss, Gould, Granell, Granger, Grant, Graves, Green, Gregory, Grenell, Grennell, Grenolds, Grew, Griebau, Griesbach, Griffin, Grinell, Grinnell, Griswold, Griswould, Grossteeck, Groute, Grover, Grovesnor, Guellow, Guild, Guilde, Guillow, Guillows, Gullo, Gunn, Gwelloe, Gwellow, H—-, Hadley, Haigis, Hale, Haley, Hall, Halligan, Hamelton, Hamilton, Hancock, Handforth, Hanly, Hannum, Hansborough, Hanson, Haradon, Harington, Harmon, Harrington, Harris, Hart, Harwood, Haskell, Haskins, Hasting, Hastings, Hauser, Hawkins, Hawks, Hawley, Hayden, Hayes, Hayley, Haynes, Hazleton, Heart, Helbig, Hellman, Hemingway, Henderson, Henneman, Henry, Hensdale, Herdin, Herre, Herridon, Herrington, Heywood, Hibbard, Hickok, Hicks, Hillard, Hillebrand, Hilliard, Hillman, Hills, Hindsdale, Hinsdale, Hinsdell, Hitchcock, Hitchcok, Hoar, Hodges, Hoit, Holden, Hollan, Holland, Hollen, Hollister, Holton, Hooker, Hopewell, Hopkins, Horley, Horn, Horr, Horsely, Horsford, Horsley, Horton, Hosley, Hosmer, Houghton, House, Houston, Hovey, Howard, Howe, Howland, Howskins, Hoxe, Hoxse, Hoyt, Hubbard, Hudson, Humes, Humphreys, Hunt, Hunter, Hussey, Hutchinson, Hutson, Hyde, Ingell, Ingersoll, Ingraham, Ingram, Irving, Jackson, Jacobs, Jacobus, Janes, Jefferson, Jenison, Jenkins, Jenks, Jennings, Jepperson, Jewett, Johnson, Joice, Joiner, Jones, Joslyn, Joyce, Judah, Judd, Kathan, Keegan, Keeney, Kehr, Keith, Kelleher, Kelley, Kellog, Kellogg, Kemp, Kendal, Kendall, Kendrick, Keney, Kennedy, Kenney, Keough, Kerber, Kilburn, Kimball, King, Kingsbury, Kingsley, Kingsly, Kinney, Kinsley, Kinsman, Knap, Kneeland, Knights, Knoll, Knox, Koch, Kolle, Koonz, Kragur, Kraiger, Ladd, Lahey, Lake, Lamb, Lambert, Lander, Lane, Lanfair, Langstroth, Larabee, Larnard, Larnerd, Larrabee, Latham, Lathrop, Lathum, Lawrance, Lawrence, Lawson, Leach, Leavitt, Lee, Leighton, Leland, Leonard, Leroy, Lester, Lewis, Lilly, Lincoln, Livermore, Livingston, Logain, Logan, Lombard, Long, Loomis, Lord, Lothrop, Loveland, Loveman, Lovemon, Loveridge, Lucas, Luey, Luippold, Lutolf, Lyman, Lynch, Lynde, Lyon, Lyons, M’gee, Macherd, Macker, Magrath, Mahaney, Mahoney, Mahony, Makepeace, Mallery, Malsch, Mannin, Marcy, Markle, Marland, Marsh, Marshall, Martin, Martindale, Mason, Mather, Matthai, Mattoon, Mawl, Mawley, Maxwell, May, Mayer, Mayhew, McAllen, McBurney, McCarthy, McClallen, McCrillis, McDowell, McFarland, McGee, McHard, McHeard, McKee, McKinsey, Mecreles, Megee, Megrath, Mellen, Mellis, Meriam, Merill, Merriam, Merrill, Merz, Metcalf, Meyer, Michel, Miles, Milke, Millard, Miller, Millis, Mills, Milne, Miner, Minor, Mirick, Mitchel, Mitchell, Moffett, Mohoney, Moir, Monnier, Monrose, Montgomery, Moody, Moore, Moors, Morgan, Morley, Morris, Morrissey, Morse, Morton, Mory, Mot, Mott, Moulton, Mowley, Mowry, Moynihan, Mudge, Mun, Munn, Munsell, Munson, Murdock, Murphy, Murray, Myers, Myrick, Nash, Nelson, Nettleton, Newcomb, Newell, Newton, Nichols, Nickerson, Nicols, Nims, Noble, Norton, Nutten, Nutter, Nutting, O’Brien, O’Donoghue, O’Keefe, O’Keeffe, O’Reely, O’Rourke, Olds, Ortt, Osbon, Osborn, Osborne, Osgood, Osterhout, Otis, Oviatt, Owen, Packard, Page, Painter, Palmer, Parker, Parkhurst, Parmenter, Parmetor, Parsons, Parteinheimer, Partell, Partenheimer, Partridge, Paterson, Patterson, Peabody, Pearce, Peckett, Perkins, Permenter, Perry, Person, Persons, Pervere, Petermann, Peters, Pfeffer, Pfersich, Phelps, Philips, Phillips, Pickett, Pierce, Pinks, Pith, Platt, Plumb, Plumley, Pond, Pool, Poor, Portal, Porter, Post, Potter, Poulter, Powars, Powers, Pratt, Prentiss, Preston, Proctor, Puffer, Pulsifer, Purple, Putman, Putnam, Putney, Pynchon, Ragan, Rand, Randall, Rankin, Ranney, Ransom, Rau, Redfield, Reed, Reibeld, Remington, Reniff, Reum, Reuth, Reynolds, Rice, Richard, Richards, Richardson, Richmond, Richter, Riddell, Riddle, Ripley, Riseley, Risley, Robbins, Roberts, Robertson, Robinson, Roche, Rochford, Rockwood, Rode, Rogers, Root, Rose, Ross, Rosseter, Roudenbush, Rowe, Rowland, Rowley, Rugg, Rundle, Russell, Russull, Rust, Ryan, Ryther, Sage, Sanderson, Sanford, Sargent, Sartwell, Saunders, Sauter, Sautter, Sawteel, Sawtell, Sawtelle, Sawyer, Saxton, Scanlan, Schatz, Scheidler, Schempp, Scherle, Schick, Schiebel, Schieding, Schiedler, Schlagenhauf, Schlenker, Schneider, Schrader, Schuler, Schultz, Schunk, Schwarz, Schweitzer, Scobey, Scoby, Scott, Scranton, Searls, Sears, Seaton, Seaver, Seibert, Seils, Seley, Sessler, Severance, Severence, Seymour, Shattuck, Shaw, Sheahan, Sheehan, Sheehy, Shehy, Shelden, Sheldens, Sheldon, Shepard, Shepherd, Sherman, Shiebel, Short, Shrigley, Shumway, Simons, Simpson, Skiner, Skinner, Slate, Slattery, Smalle, Smalley, Smally, Smart, Smead, Smith, Snow, Southword, Spalding, Sparhawk, Spath, Spaulding, Spear, Spelman, Spencer, Sprague, Spurr, Square, Squires, Stacy, Stales, Stanhope, Stanley, Stark, Starks, Starr, Stearns, Stebbens, Stebbins, Stebins, Steel, Steigarwalts, Stempel, Stephens, Sterling, Stevens, Stewart, Stibens, Stieler, Stiles, Stocking, Stockwell, Stone, Stonehill, Stoten, Stoughton, Stratton, Straub, Street, Streeter, Strickland, Stricklen, Striclin, Stroebel, Stroehle, Strong, Styles, Sullivan, Sumner, Swan, Sweeny, Swinaton, Symons, Syrtle, Taft, Taintor, Talbot, Tanner, Tayler, Taylor, Temple, Thayer, Thomas, Thompson, Thorndike, Thorniley, Thornton, Thurston, Thwing, Tileston, Tompson, Torry, Town, Townsend, Townsley, Train, Trask, Triebel, Trumbull, Tryon, Tubb, Tubbs, Tucker, Tuckerman, Tufts, Turner, Twing, Tyler, Ulrich, Upham, Upton, Usher, Vale, Van Bibber, Van Tyne, Vantine, Vantyne, Vendorus, Vetterling, Voetsch, Vosburgh, Vose, Votsch, Wade, Wagner, Wait, Walker, Wallace, Walsh, Walton, Ward, Warner, Washborn, Washburn, Washington, Waters, Watkins, Weatherbee, Webster, Weeks, Weissenborn, Weld, Well, Wellman, Wells, Wenzel, Weston, Wetmore, Wheating, Wheeler, Wheelock, Whetten, Whipel, Whipple, Whitcomb, White, Whitman, Whitmore, Whitne, Whitney, Whittemore, Whittin, Wilbur, Wilcox, Wild, Wilder, Wilds, Wiley, Wilkinson, Willard, Williams, Williard, Willis, Willman, Wilmarth, Wilson, Winchester, Wing, Winslow, Wise, Wissman, Witherell, Withey, Withington, Witt, Woehler, Wolcott, Wolfskeil, Wolles, Wood, Woodard, Woodlock, Woods, Woodward, Workman, Worthington, Wright, Wrisley, Wunsch, Yetter, Young, Zabriskie, Zimerman, Zimmerman.
Source
Scott, Henry Edwards, Vital records of Greenfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1915.