The majority of my genealogical research concerns early Plymouth Colony families, and much of that concerns Old Bridgewater families.  Among my published and online works about old southeastern Massachusetts families are a few articles that have been published in genealogical periodicals.  As I obtain permission to place electronic copies of those articles online I will provide links to those copies.  I have also edited electronic editions of some genealogical reference works, and written some articles which are only available on the internet.  Links to those are posted below.

     An error concerning the death date of Abigail (Tomson) Packard, a Francis Cooke descendant, has often been repeated since it was first published in the late 19th century, and is corrected in this short article.  Some of the information in this article can be found online in a previously posted note to Abigail's gravestone in the electronic edition of Latham's Epitaphs In Old Bridgewater.

     Isaac was my great-great grandfather, and this article concerns three generations of my Packard ancestors in Brockton.  It is undocumented, but I would be glad to provide source citations upon request.

     Only two Packards appear in this curious 1851 book, and that information is extracted here.  Those interested in seeing the whole book can find scans of it elsewhere.

     This is a short article containing information from the published 1790 census.

     Williams Latham, Epitaphs in Old Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Illustrated with Plans and Views (Bridgewater: Henry T. Pratt, printer, 1882; repr. Middleboro, MA: Plymouth County Chapter, Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, 1976; Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, n.d.; Pittsfield, MA: Berkshire Family History Association, Inc., 2001).

     These gravestone transcriptions are from the oldest graveyards in Bridgewater, East Bridgewater and West Bridgewater.  Eleven principal cemeteries are transcribed, and several small family burying-grounds and smallpox cemeteries are also transcribed.  They total some 2,500 gravestones.

     Nahum Mitchell, History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, including an extensive Family Register (Boston: Printed for the author by Kidder and Wright, 1840; repr. Bridgewater: Henry T. Pratt, 1897; Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1970; Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1983; Salem, MA: Higginson Books, 1992).

     Although a number of errors have been discovered in this work, especially concerning the seventeeth century members of Bridgewater families, it is still a very useful starting point for research on early Bridgewater families.  Mitchell is on much firmer ground with the 18th and 19th century families.  His work is especially useful where he indicates that a family branch has removed from Bridgewater and then indicates where they settled.

     Moses Cary, A Genealogy of the Families Who Have Settled in the North Parish of Bridgewater, To Which is Added an Historical Sketch of North Bridgewater (Boston: Printed by Bannister and Marvin, 1824; repr. Wakefield MA: 1903).

     This little book of 48 pages was published three years after North Bridgewater became a town.  It is an interesting introduction to the early families and history of Brockton.  The transcription is from an original copy of the 1903 facsimile reprint.  This transcription was begun by the late C. J. McNew, and has been completed by the current author.

     Abner Forbes and J. W. Greene, The Rich Men of Massachusetts (Boston: W. V. Spencer, 1851).

     As stated on the title page, this unusual little book contains "A Statement of the Reputed Wealth of About Fifteen Hundred Persons, with Brief Sketches of More than One Thousand Characters."  Those listed in the book had fortunes in 1851 estimated at $50,000 or more.  The "brief sketches" range from a single word to more than a page.  Not all of those listed herein were men - a small number of widows and spinster heiresses are included.  The online edition contains images of the 208 pages, and notes in pencil with revised estimates of worth for some individuals, added to my copy around 1870.

     These are files listing contents of a few publications.  For years I have used files like these to track original publication and reprint information about some of the articles cited in my genealogical database or otherwise used in my research.  They include the consolidated contents of all issues of The Mayflower Descendant from January, 1899, to the present; selected contents of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register; and New England Publications of the Historical Records Survey, which published some useful contemporary sources.

     CDs sometimes contain errors, and sometimes are missing pages.  Here you will find updates for some CDs, including scans of some missing pages.

     Those who are new to genealogical research may be puzzled by some of the abbreviations used for major sources.  This is a guide to some of those abbreviations, including links to publishers of CD-ROM editions of some sources.