This volume, though in the
main compiled from the original manuscript records of
births, marriages and deaths found in the town books of
Lexington, contains some entries derived from other
sources. The first volume of these records
embraces a period ending with the year 1843, and
beginning - one can hardly say when. Entries
do not appear to have been made regularly and with much
regard to system until the time of the incorporation of
the town in 1713, or even later than that time; but the
earlier pages of the volume show entries made throughout
the existence of the settlement as an incorporated
precinct or parish (part of Cambridge), 1692-1713, and a
few scattered ones of births, marriages and deaths which
occurred at "Cambridge Farms" even before the
establishment of the separate parish. Many of
these earlier entries were evidently made long after the
events which they record, for there is found in them a
lack of chronological order; for example, deaths of some
persons are recorded lower on a page than the deaths of
others who survived them.
In order to make the record as complete as possible,
the committee having the preparation of this publication
in charge thought it desirable to consult not only the
register of the First Parish Church of Lexington,
but also the church and municipal records in Cambridge,
the two latter being read for a considerable period
prior to 1692 with an eye for family name known or
believed to have been identified with the settlement at
the "Farms."
The collateral research, besides revealing names and
dates found found in the town books, with reference to
persons whose births, marriages or deaths, as the case
might be, one may suppose to have occurred here,
disclosed entries which substantially duplicate many of
the earlier ones in those books.
[iv]
A useful comparison was in this way made possible, one
record often removing obscurities appearing in the
other.
The sources, then, of the data from which this volume
has been prepared are: -
1. The original record of births, marriages and
deaths (in the custody of the town clerk of Lexington),
Vol. 1 dating from (about) 1692 to 1843; Vols. 2, 3, 4
and 5 from 1844 to 1898. In Vol. 1, appear sundry
scattered entries (obviously not contemporaneously made)
of an earlier date.
2. The original "Records of the Church of the First
Congregational Society in Lexington," dating from
1690 to 1844. In addition to the original of this
book, there exists an excellent copy, which is in the
hands of the pastor, the Rev. C. A. Staples.
Entries in this register were not made contemporaneously
until 1691 or 1692. From this time on they are in
good form, with the following exceptions. There is
no record of a marriage until Jan. 3, 1734. This
entry was by the Rev. Ebenezer Hancock, then
colleague pastor with his father, the Rev. John
Hancock. Ebenezer continues the record of
marriages until his death in 1739. Strange to say,
however, there is no entry made by his father of any
marriage until Jan. 4, 1750, although he was minister of
the church for fifty-five years, dying in 1752. He
appears to have entered all marriages solemnized by him
during the years 1750, 1751, and 1752. In the
interval between his death and the installation of his
successor, Aug. 5, 1755, there is an irregular record of
deaths (about seventy in number) with no specific dates
given. Baptisms are given throughout the entire
period covered by the book, and deaths are regularly
recorded, save as above noted. Hudson
thinks that the Rev. Mr. Hancock, senior, must
have kept a record of marriages from the beginning of
his ministry, and that the book has been lost.
3. The original "Records of the Church of Christ in
Cambridge," which date back to 1658.
4. A copy, made by the late Rev. Lucius R. Paige, of
the original Cambridge records, contained in several
volumes now lodged in the office of the clerk of courts
at East Cambridge. The copy, which may be found at
the Cambridge city hall, has an excellent index.
[v]
It seldom happens, in these volumes, that there is
anything of interest in the particular form or language
in which the original entry of a birth, marriage or
death is entered. For this reason, and because an
exact reproduction of the originals would not only add
materially to the bulk of the printed book, but
necessitate an elaborate index, thereby adding very
largely to the cost, we readily decided to follow the
plan adopted at Woburn; namely, the grouping of surnames
in alphabetical order, with the Christian names placed
under them according to chronology, each surname being
printed but once, and in bold-faced type. In this
way the need of an index practically disappears.
Our scheme will be found to have broadened somewhat in
Part II. (where the more complete data of the
modern records makes this possible) so as to include
collateral information regarding names of parents,
places of birth, etc.
In the earlier years the dates of baptisms (taken from
the church register) are given sometimes in connection
with the birth dates, and sometimes without them.
In the latter case the dates of birth cannot be found in
any of the records which furnish the basis of this work.
For illustration, it may be noted (see page 58 hereof)
that Theodore Parker, with two of his sisters and
two of his brothers, was baptized Feb. 26, 1812.
None of the birthdays of these children of John and
Hannah Parker are to be found in the public records.
Hudson, who gathered them from some private source,
gives the date of Theodore's birth Aug. 24, 1810.
Where, as is sometimes the case, a birth appears on the
town book as of a later date than the date of the same
child's baptism, the baptismal date may be presumed to
be correct, because it comes from the church register,
which was kept with more system and by men who were
witnesses of the facts recorded.
Whenever any one shall
desire to see the original of any entry in the town book
prior to 1854 we have, by the figures given at the left
hand, next to the margin of the page, made easy a task
that otherwise would have required in most cases a long
and tedious search, and would in some instances have
been well-nigh impossible.
[vi]EXPLANATION OF SIGNS.
A figure, then,
at the left shows the number of the page on which the
original entry is found in the first volume of the town
book (births, marriages and deaths); except that the
added information as to baptism, if any, is taken from
the church register.
A dagger (†)
shows that the entry came from the Cambridge book
(Paige's copy mentioned above). In numerous cases
a dagger and a number at the left both occur in the same
line. (See, for example, the birth of Elizabeth
Bridge, page 9.)
The marks referred to show that her birth is recorded
both in the Cambridge book and in the Lexington book,
the number of the page where the entry appears in the
latter being 7.
A double dagger (‡) marks
an entry from the records of the Church of Christ in
Cambridge, above referred to. A single and a
double dagger will in a few cases be found in
conjunction. (See, e.g., under Robbins,
page 65.) The names preceded by both these signs
were found in both the municipal and church register at
Cambridge. The dates here recorded being so late
as 1709-12 (i.e., subsequent to the organization of the
separate parish at the "Farms" or Lexington), the births
should probably be taken as having occurred at
Cambridge, and possibly as having nothing to do with a
Lexington family. In making the search in
Cambridge we believed it best to err on the side of a
too broad rather than a too narrow inquiry; and so all
family names known to have had Lexington associations
were incorporated.
All entries throughout Part I. (i. e., those prior to
1854) not marked by any sign are taken from
the Lexington First Parish Church Register (i. E.,
source of information No. 2 referred to above).
The initials "P. R." (parish register) are used in a few
instances in the text to denote this source; and "T. R."
to denote the town record.
A star (*), which sign will be found only among the
marriages in Part I., indicates that the ceremony
was performed in some place other than Lexington.
The data for which these items were found in letters
from the town clerks of the places
[vii]
where the marriages occurred. In Part II. also
there are some records of marriages which took place
elsewhere of persons at the time having associations
with Lexington through residence, birth or parentage.
An interrogation mark(?) after a date or name does not
mean that there is any doubt as to the accuracy of the
copy, but denotes that there is reason to question
whether the date or name copied is correctly given in
the original.
Brackets [ ] among births and deaths in Part II.
enclose the birthplace of the person named immediately
before them.
Parentheses ( ) enclose maiden names.
The meanings of abbreviations employed is believed to
be in all cases obvious, when viewed in the light of the
context.
For born is used "b.;"
for baptized, "bp.;"
for married, "m.;"
for died, and also for daughter, d.;"
for son, "s.;"
for child, ch.;"
for father, "f.;"
for husband, "hus.;"
for wife, "wf.;"
for widow or widower, "wid.;"
for received into the church, "r."
Thus it will be seen that the following entry under the
surname BABB, in the death record, on page 409, "Charles
H., 41y. 1m. 5d. [Conway, N. H.], s. of Dan'l &
Elizabeth (CJild), m., May 29, 1893," means: "Charles H.
Babb (a married man), born in Conway, N. H., the son of
Daniel Babb and Elizabeth Babb (whose maiden name was
Child), died May 29, 1893, aged 41 years, 1 month and 5
days."
(SHARON WICK'S NOTE: I think it
actually meant he was either married on May 29, 1893 or
the initial "m" should have been "d." Most likely
the "m" should have been a "d")
Similarly, the following is the meaning to be given to
the marriage record under the surname WETHERN, on page
400: Wethern, married Nov. 1, 1863, Emeline F.
Harris, aged 24 years, of Lexington, who was born in
Boston, the daughter of Henry Harris and Emeline Harris
(whose maiden name was Bryant)."
With reference to chronology, it is to be observed that
we have printed all dates exactly as they are found in
the original, reproducing "double dates" wherever the
record gives them. All is well known, an act of
Parliament in England was passed in 1751, directing that
the new year begin Jan. 1, 1752, accord-
[viii]
ing to the custom which had long prevailed in Catholic
countries. Before this, the year, in England and
her colonies, ended Mar. 24. By the new style it
was to end Dec. 31. It was also ordered that
eleven days be dropped, Sept. 3, 1752, to be reckoned
Sept. 14. Prior to Jan. 1, 1752, it was customary
to double date the year as to any day occurring in
January, February and March, to and including March 24.
For example, Jan. 10 of the year which, according to the
modern system would be 1704, would be written in the old
records "Jan. 10, 1703-4.
Our town record contains the following entry: "Note
that after the 28th of June, 1746, double dating will be
laid aside, and the year begin[s] with the almanack."
From this it would seem that Lexington attempted to
adopt the new style, so far as the beginning of the year
was concerned, in advance of the formal act of
Parliament. Whether a date like that mentioned in
the above example appears in the original Lexington
records as "Jan. 10, 1703-4" or as simply "Jan. 10,
1703," it ought probably to be regarded as one occurring
in 1704, new style. Usually, but not uniformly,
the old Lexington records double date dates in January,
February and March, and sometimes this was done as to
the twenty-fifth of twenty-sixth days of March, although
it should properly have ceased on March 24.
It is our understanding that in order to reduce to the
new style dates appearing in our records as prior to
Sept. 3, 1752, it is necessary to add eleven days; while
if the date occurs between Dec. 31 and March 25 of any
year written as 1745 or earlier, the year number also
should be increased by 1, or, in case of a double date,
the last figure should be taken as explained above.
The laborious and painstaking task of copying, collating and
arranging the subject-matter, as well as the reading of
the proof, for this book has been performed by Mr. N.
A. Sparkhawk of Boston, under the direction of the
committee; and we desire to make public acknowledgment
of the thanks due him for the intelligent and
conscientious manner in which he has done his work.
Though an undertaking of this kind cannot be expected to
be carried through without errors occurring, we believe
that the finished worked now delivered from our hands to
the town will be found to exhibit accuracy to a high
degree, and we trust that it will prove to be
correspondingly useful.
Any one who finds a name or date incorrect should not
hastily conclude that the mistake is due to the compiler
rather than to the person who originally furnished or
recorded the item. A similar remark may be made
with regard to the omission of names altogether.
We have found a number of cases, even in recent years,
where a missing birth or death is not contained in the
original record.
The volume is published in obedience to a vote of the
town, and in furtherance of a general purpose, expressed
at the annual meeting in 1896, to preserve in some
imperishable form the original manuscript records, and
to print them for public use, beginning with the record
of births, marriages and deaths.
|
BIRTHS
- Part I |
DEATHS -
Part I |
MARRIAGES
- Part I |
|
BIRTHS - Part
II. |
DEATHS - Part
II |
MARRIAGES - Part II. |
|
