Extracted From
Vital Records of Colrain, Massachusetts
To the End of the Year 1849
Salem, Mass., 1934 (no copyright statement)

[transcribed by Dave Swerdfeger]








EXPLANATIONS

The following notes of births, marriages and deaths include all entries to be found in the books of record kept by the town clerks; in the church records; in the cemetery inscriptions, and in private records. These records are printed in a condensed from in which every particular has been preserved. All duplication of the town clerk's record has been eliminated, but differences in entry and other explanatory matter appear in brackets. Parentheses are used when they occur in the original record; also to indicate the maiden name of a married woman, and to show variations in the spelling of a name in the same entry. When places other than Colrain and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy. Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties. When both the marriage and intention of marriage are recorded, only the marriage record is printed; and when a marriage appears without the intention being recorded, it is designated by an asterisk. In all records the original spelling of names is followed, and the various forms of family names have been placed in one alphabetical arrangement.

The records of Colrain being few, it has been thought well to include the information contained in the Direct Tax records and those of the United States Census.

June 30, 1761, the new plantation called Colrain. April 22, 1772, grant to Colrain. Dec. 2, 1779, part of Bernardston annexed. April 24, 1911, bounds between Colrain and Leyden established.

The population of Colrain at different periods was as follows :

1765, 297
1790, 1,417
1800, 2,014
1810, 2,016
1820, 1,961
1830, 1,877
1840, 1,971
1850, 1,785
1860, 1,798
1870, 1,742
1880, 1,777
1890, 1,671
1900, 1,749
1910, 1,74
1920, 1,607
1930, 1,391

ABBREVIATIONS
  • a.- age.
  • abt.--about.
  • b.---born.
  • bef.--before.
  • bet.--between.
  • bp.-baptized.
  • bur.----buried.
  • C.--Colrain.
  • Capt.--Captain.
  • C. R. 1.--church record, Congregational Church.
  • C. R. 2.-church record, Baptist Church.
  • certif.-certificate.
  • ch.--chiid.
  • chn.---children.
  • Co.-county.
  • d.-daughter; day; died.
  • D. T.-Direct Tax of 1798.
  • Dea.--deacon.
  • dec.-deceased.
  • dup.---duplicate entry.
  • Ens.---ensign.
  • grandd.--granddaughter
  • grands.---grandson.
  • G. R. 1.-gravestone record, Branch Cemetery.
  • G. R. 2.-gravestone record, Chandler Hill Cemetery.
  • G. R. 3.-gravestone record, North River Cemetery.
  • G. R. 4.-gravestone record, Christian Hill Cemetery.
  • G. R. 5.-gravestone record, Fulton Cemetery, Franklin Hill.
  • G. R. 6:--gravestone record, Pennell Hill Cemetery.
  • G. R. 7.-gravestone record, East Colrain Cemetery.
  • G. R. 8.--gravestone record, Cemetery in pasture near Pickett and Elwell's, East Colrain.
  • G. R. 9.-gravestone record, Farley burial ground, Catamount Hill.
  • h.---husband ; hour.
  • inf.-infant.
  • int.-intention of marriage.
  • jr.--junior
  • Lt.--lientenant.
  • m.--male; married ; month.
  • N. R. 1.---newspaper records, Greenfield Gazette and Courier.
  • N. R. 2.-newspaper record, Boston Transcript, issue of Feb. 5, 1930.
  • P. R. 1.-record of Colrain marriages communicated by George Sheldon of Deerfield to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1898.
  • P. R. 2.-family record in possession of William G. Hawks of Greenfield.
  • P. R. 3.-genealogical notes culled from Vital Records of Leicester, Pelham, Palmer, Shelburne, Heath, and Charlemont, collected by W. O. Taylor and deposited in Arms Librarr, Shelburne Falls.
  • P. R. 4.-Bible record in possession of Mrs. Albert Stetson.
  • P. R. 5.-record in possession of Mrs. Lucy Cutler Kellogg of Greenfield.
  • P. R. 6.-family record in possession of H. A. Abell of Rochester, N. Y.
  • P. R. 7.-family record in possession of Miss Orie Lawrence Barrett of Bernardston.
  • P. R. 8.-unpublished genealogy of Taylor family by W. O. Taylor.
  • P. R. 9.-Bible record deposited in P. V. M. A., Deerfield.
  • P. R. 10.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Ward Genealogy.
  • P. R. 11.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Greenfield.
  • P. R. 12.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Heath.
  • P. R. 13.---Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Gill.
  • P. R. 14.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Sheldon's History of Deerfield.
  • P. R. 15.-Colrain records from "Pen Pictures of Early Settlers of the Wilson Family" by B. F. Severance preserved among W. D. Taylor's Collections.
  • P. R. 16.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in "Churches and Ministers of Franklin County."
  • P. R. 17.---Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in "Connecticut Valley History."
  • P. R. 18.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Deerfield.
  • P. R. 19.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in "Biographical Review."
  • P. R. 20.-Colrain Vital Statistics recorded in Charlemont.
  • P. R. 21.--family record in possession of Bertha B. Morton of Bernardston.
  • P. R. 22.-copy of gravestone inscriptions in possession of New England Historical and Genealogical Society.
  • P. R. 23.-record of St. James Episcopal Church of Greenfield in possession of New England Historical and Genealogical Society.
  • P. R. 24.-family Bible in possession of Mrs. Fred Starkey of Griswoldville.
  • P. R. 25.-family Bible in possession of Miss Nellie Pierce of Greenfield.
  • P. R. 26.-record from Western Massachusetts History.
  • P. R. 27.-record from History of Whately.
  • P. R. 28.-record from History of Hawley.
  • P. R. 29.-record from Nash Genealogy.
  • P. R. 30.-Colrain marriage intentions recorded among those of Buckland published in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 75.
  • P. R. 31.-record of First Congregational Church (Unitarian) of Deerfield.
  • P. R. 32.-records in County Clerk's office, Franklin County.
  • P. R. 33.-Bible records published in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 84.
  • rec.-recorded.
  • rem.-removed.
  • s.-Son.
  • sr.--senior.
  • U. G. C.--United States Census of 1790.
  • unm --unmarried.
  • w.-wife; week.
  • wid.--widow.
  • widr.-widower.
  • y.-year.

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