Genealogy

Library Archives * Town Cemeteries * Genealogy Links * Massachusetts Resources * Digital Treasures

With so many people researching their family history the Athol Public Library does it's best to help in any way possible. We are of course limited in staff and time but we do accept request by mail or email. The library will do limited research for genealogical requests. Requests should be mailed to the library or emailed to info@athollibrary.org

If copies are requested please make sure your mailing address is complete.

Research fees begin at $5.00 for a simple request to a maximum of $15.00 for very involved research. It all depends on time spent. Copies are 25 cents per page. All fees go to the Friends of the Library and checks should be made out to the same.

Athol Cemeteries:

Old Pleasant Street Cemetery, behind 96 Pleasant St. -- Origins for this burial place are vague. It was probably laid out between 1776 and 1773. For 60 years it was the principal cemetery of the town.

Ellinwood Cemetery, Doe Valley Road -- Land obtained in 1870 for use as a burial ground. There were 74 gravestones counted hers in 1978, about 40 of which were topples over and damaged by vandals several years earlier.

Calvary Cemetery, Vine Street -- Money raised by the Catholic Church, after the town voted not to provide land in 1867, purchased land on Vine Street for their own cemetery. The town did assist in roadway and other structural necessities. Burial records are sparse from 1881 to 1887. The cemetery operated until 1911, with the opening of Gethsemane Cemetery.

Highland Cemetery, Hillside Terrace -- Deeded to the town in 1843 after the Old Pleasant St. Cemetery began to get crowded. The oldest stone is that of Calvin Humphrey, who died in 1773 and was reinterred alongside his father. A major expansion in 1949 provided for another 144 plots.

First Settlers' Cemetery, "Old Indian Cemetery", Hapgood Street -- Some of the first settlers of Pequoig (Athol) were buried here but only a few names are known. It was in regular use from 1741 for about 30 years, with Indians all around. It is unclear if any Indians were ever buried in this cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Athol.

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Mount Pleasant St. -- This land was donated in 1745, to be used as a cemetery. It is the second oldest cemetery in town. There were 466 gravestones counted in 1978, the earliest being 1752.

Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Chestnut Hill Ave. -- This land was yielded a portion of Capt. Jonathan Kendall's land, in 1778, to serve use as a burial place for the northeastern part of town. He reserved the right to graze sheep there. In 1844, his grandson gave the town the entire tract of land plus more. The earliest death date is 1786.

Stratton Cemetery, Off Adams Road -- This is a private burial ground for the Stratton family. There are 80 marked graves and 20 unidentified. The earliest is dated 1840.

Fay Cemetery, Conant Road -- Although the large Fay family lived in the southern part of town, their earlier burials were in the Pleasant Street Cemetery. Around 1830 some arrangement was mad by Joseph Fay for a small tract of land to be used as a place of interment and , 1844, The plot was deeded to the town. The first grave in this miniature burial ground was in 1834.

Silver Lake Cemetery, Silver Lake Street -- One of the most used cemeteries, this land was purchased from Mersylvia Twitchell and Asa Hill in 1870 and was formally dedicated in 1877, two years after the burial of Elias Walker. There were many expansions to this cemetery over the years. The number of graves exceeded 1,500 in 1986. There are far more at this date.

Gethsemane Cemetery, Brookside Road -- This Catholic Cemetery was created due to the ever growing Catholic population. Purchased from Joseph E. Waite in 1909. It was opened in 1911 with the burial of John Venette. There have been periodic expansions over the years.

Major Sites to check out:

Cyndi'sList -- over 50,000 links to genealogy sites
The LDS Family Search -- Search the Church of Latter Day Saints
Family Tree Maker -- Start with a surname search and see results.
Ancestry.com -- The #1 source of family history online -- fee required for many databases.
USGenWeb -- Volunteer website with loads of information for each state and county.
USGenWeb Kidz -- Help kids learn about genealogy.
RootsWeb.com -- Free databases
Family Genealogy and History Internet Education Directory

Franklin County (MA) Publication Archive Index - Indexed articles from 1870 to 1873.

Ellis Island
GenealogySpot
Genealogy Home Page
National Archives and Records Administration
National Genealogical Society
New England Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
Vital Records Information (U.S. and links to foreign)
African American Resources: Christine’s Genealogy Website
Genuki: U.K. and Ireland Genealogy
German: Genealogy.net
Irish Ancestral Research Association
Irish Genealogy Research
Italian Genealogy Homepage
JewishGen: the Home of Jewish Genealogy
Scottish Genealogy

MASSACHUSETTS RESOURCES

Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street, Boston 02117 617-536-5400, ext. 261
Social Sciences Collection
Hours Mon.-Thurs. 9am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm (Oct.-May)
New England local history; New England Genealogies; coats-of-arms index; Obituary index 1709-; passenger lists; Boston town/city records and documents, 1634 to 1914; Boston Evening Transcript genealogy columns index, 1901 to1936

Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
150 Brown Street, Weston
781-235-2164
Hours Wed.-Thurs. 7-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-3pm, Tues. 7-9pm for members only, closed summers
microfilmed copies of Salt Lake City Family History Library holdings; Veterans of Vietnam and Korean Wars; International Genealogical Index; Social Security Index; European Census.

Massachusetts Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125
617-727-2816
Hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. 9am-3pm (closed Saturdays preceding Monday holidays)
MA vital records, 1841-1895; MA census 1855, 1865 (federal); Boston Passenger lists, 1848-1891

Mass Historical Society4 l1154treet
1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215-3695
617-536-1608
Hours: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 9:00 am–4:45 pm; Thurs. 9:00 am–8:00 pm
Closed Weekends.
The Massachusetts Historical Society, established in January 1791, is the first historical society in the western hemisphere and the first institution of any description devoted primarily to collecting Americana and publishing in American history.

Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records & Statistics
150 Mt. Vernon St., 1st Floor, Dorchester 02125
617-740-2600
Hours Mon.-Fri. - 8:45am-4:45pm (for record copies) & 9am-12pm, 2pm-4:30pm (for research)
Birth, Death, Marriage certificates 1910-present

National Archives and Records Administration, New England Region
380 Trapelo Road, Waltham 02154
781-647-8100
Hours Mon.-Fri. and 1st and 3rd Saturday each month 8am-4:30pm, Wed. 8am-9pm, Thurs. 8am-9pm
(no original records pulled after 4pm)
U.S. Census 1790-1910; New England Naturalization records, 1790-1906 (state and federal); Federal Naturalization records 1906-; Boston Passenger lists, 1820-1930; Some passenger lists - Providence, Portland, etc.; Revolutionary war records for all U.S.; Census of Civil War veterans and widows, 1890, from Kentucky through end of alphabet.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury Street, Boston 02116
617-536-5740 or 888-906-3447
Hours T, F, S 9am-4:45pm W, Th. 9am-8:45pm (closed Saturdays preceding Monday holidays)
$10 daily fee for non-members
200,000 volumes of family histories, vital records, town histories, etc.; circulating collection available to members; rare book collection - European and local history; manuscript collection - over one million documents, records, unpublished works

Association of Professional Genealogists
3421 M Street N. W. Suite 236 Washington, D.C. 2007-3552
an organization whose members promote genealogy as a profession and encourage professionalism in genealogy. APG members conduct research or serve in related fields.