Births, Marriages, and Deaths 1729 to 1843

We are very pleased to present a collation of Births, Marriages, and Deaths from 1729 to 1843. These records have been assembled by Mr. Paul LeBeau of Holliston, who has generously allowed us to post his work on our website. Additionally, he has included information regarding his resources and presentation of the data. These documents are presented as-is.

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NOTES REGARDING BIRTH INDICES

The birth indices are drawn from the book Births Vol. 1 1725-1844 Holliston on file in the Town Clerk’s office.
The first page of that book contains the following entry:
The names in this Book were transcribed from Original Records of Births Vol 1-2 + 3, which were in a defaced and mutilated condition, by order of the Board of Selectmen of Holliston for 1864-5. The original documents have been placed on file in the office of the Town Clerk of said Town.
– John M. Batchelder, Town Clerk
Holliston, March 1st 1865
The book contains only one entry for 1844. That entry has been omitted from the indices. It will be included in any subsequent indices covering the year 1844. There is one entry from 1724 in the book and it has been included in the indices.
The entries in the indices were transcribed from the original handwritten cursive records in the referenced book. Best efforts were made to discern the spelling of each entry and faithfully record them in the indices. However, in some few cases, guesses or assumptions were made.
The book contains column headings for Number, Date of Birth, Name of the Child, Sex, Color, Condition, Place of Birth, Names of Parents, Residence of Parents, Occupation of Father, Birthplace of Father, Birthplace of Mother, Informant, and Date of Record. The book has entries for Date of Birth, Name of the Child, Place of Birth, Names of Parents, and Residence of Parents. The names of parents are not recorded separately; they are recorded as one entry with first names and one last name, e.g. “William & Sarah Fisk.” The book reveals that all but three of the children were born to parents living in Holliston and that all but 57 of the births took place in Holliston. In a few cases, “Illegitimate” is indicated in the Condition column. There are only two entries in the Occupation of Father, Birthplace of Father, and Birthplace of Mother columns. There are no entries in the Informant and Date of Record columns. In the interest of time and space, the indices include the information for Date of Birth, Name of the Child, and Names of Parents.
The indices are set up with columns for Child Last Names, Child First Name, Child Middle Name, Birth Year, Birth Month, Birth Day, Father’s First Name, Mother’s First Name. In all but two cases, the Child Last Name matches the last name shown for the parents. The two exceptions indicate that the Child Last Name matches the Father’s last name. Where twins were noted in the book, they are also noted in the indices (in the Child Middle Name column). The few notations of “Illegitimate” were also recorded in the indices (again in the Child Middle Name Column).
 

NOTES REGARDING MARRIAGE INDICES

The marriage indices are drawn from the book Marriages Vol. 1A 1729-1900 Holliston on file in the Town Clerk’s office.
The entries in the indices were transcribed from the original handwritten cursive records in the above referenced book. Best efforts were made to discern the spelling of each entry and faithfully record them in the indices. However, in some few cases, guesses or assumptions were made.
The book contains column headings for Number, Date of Marriage, Names of the Groom and Bride, Color, Place of Marriage, Residence of Each at Time of Marriage, Age of Each, What Marriage, Occupation, Birthplace of Each, Names of Parents, Person by Whom Married, and Date of Record. The book has entries for Number, Date of Marriage, Names of the Groom and Bride, Place of Marriage, Residence of Each at Time of Marriage, and Person by Whom Married for the period 1729 to 1843. In the interest of time and space, the indices include the information for Date of Marriage, Names of the Groom and Bride, Residence of Each at Time of Marriage. The Place of Marriage is assumed to be Holliston; the Residence of Each at Time of Marriage is Holliston unless otherwise noted. The entries in the book are numbered sequentially but the entries are not in strict chronological order. There are several numbered entries in the book that are blank.
The indices are set up with columns for Number, Groom Surname, Groom First Name, Groom Middle Name, Bride Surname, Bride First Name, Bride Middle Name, Marriage Year, Marriage Month, Marriage Day, Groom Residence, and Bride Residence. In a few cases, a notation such as Widfor Widow appears in italics in the middle name column.
The Town of Holliston was incorporated in December 1724. The first church building was erected in 1728 and the first church minister was ordained in November 1728. It appears that marriages were not recorded in Holliston until after the arrival of the first minister.

NOTES REGARDING DEATH INDICES

The birth indices are drawn from the book Deaths Vol. 1 1725-1843 Holliston on file in the Town Clerk’s office.
The first page of that book contains the following entry:
Record of Deaths in Holliston Transcribed from original Town Records by order of Selectmen of Holliston
Per J M Batchelder, Town Clerk
Holliston, March 1st 1865
The book contains only one entry each for 1725 and 1727 and no entries for 1726 or 1728.
The entries in the indices were transcribed from the original handwritten cursive records in the referenced book. Best efforts were made to discern the spelling of each entry and faithfully record them in the indices. However, in some few cases, guesses or assumptions were made.
The book contains column headings for Number, Date of Death, Name of Deceased, Sex, Color, Condition, Age, Disease or Cause of Death (Names of Parents), Residence, Occupation, Place of Death, Place of Birth, Name and Birthplace of Father, Name and Birthplace of Mother, Place of Burial, and Date of Record. The book has entries for Date of Death, Name of Deceased, Sex, and Names of Parents. The column heading “Disease or Cause of Death” is crossed out and “Names of Parents” is handwritten. The names of parents are not recorded separately; they are recorded as one entry with first names and one last name, e.g. “William & Sarah Fisk.” There are very few entries for Place of Death and the rest of the columns are blank.
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