1.   WHEN places other than Duxbury and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy.

    2.   In all items from town records the original spelling is followed, and no attempt is made to correct errors appearing in the records or to harmonize conflicting names or dates.

    3.   The various spellings of a name should be examined, as items about the same family or individual might be found under different spellings.

    4.   Marriages and intentions of marriages 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 where a marriage appears without the intention recorded, it is designated with an asterisk.   There are no intentions of marriage recorded in Duxbury.

    5.   Additional information which does not appear in the original text of an item, i.e. any explanation, query, inference, or difference shown in other entries of the record, is bracketed.   Parentheses are used to show the difference in the spelling of a name in the same entry, to indicate the maiden name of a wife, to enclose an imperfect portion of the original text, and to separate clauses in the original text — such as the birthplace of a parent in late records.

    6.   In 1851 a copy of some town, church, and miscellaneous records was made by Ichabod Alden, and now forms a part of the town records.   This book contains many duplicate items and is not wholly accurate, but some of the town records appearing in it cannot now be found elsewhere.