Also visit the Mass Archives at USGenWeb Project Massachusetts Archives and collecting and sharing genealogical and historical information for many years.   His Sears Family Association site contains information about immigrant Richard Sears of Yarmouth and his descendants, a Cape Cod Gazetteer, and other information about the Sears family and allied early Cape Cod families.

and don't forget the other County Pages for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Top  

Top  

Books About Barnstable County

You can find copies of books for sale by using the search engine at Bookfinder.com.

History of Barnstable County, by Simeon Deyo (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1912).

The Enduring Shore-A History of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, by Paul Schneider (ISBN 0-8050-6734-5).

My Own Cape Cod, by Gladys Taber (ISBN 0-940160-10-2).

The Cape Cod Lighter- 23 Short Stories, by John O'Hara (Random House, 1962).

And This Is Cape Cod!, by Eleanor Early (Houghton Mifflin Co, 1936).

Cape Cod's Way - An Informal History of Cape Cod, by Scott Corbett (NY: Thomas Y Crowell Co, 1955).

We Chose Cape Cod, by Scott Corbet (NY: Thomas Y Crowell Co, 1953).

Cape Cod, by William Martin (ISBN 0-44651510-8) Fiction.

A Cape Cod Sketchbook, by Jack Frost (NY: Coward-McCann Inc, 1939).

The Outermost House, by Henry Beston (Penguin Books, 1928 ISBN 0-14-017012-x ).

The Salt House - A Summer on the Dunes of the Cape, by Cynthia Huntington (Hanover, NH:Univ Press of New England, 1999 ISBN 1-58465-294-2).

Tall Tales of Cape Cod, by Marillis Bittingen (Plymouth: The Memorial Press, 1948).

Your Cape Cod, ed. by Paul Bittingen (Plymouth: The Memorial Press, 1947).

In The Footsteps of Thoreau - 25 History & Nature Walks on Cape Cod, by Adam Gamble (ISBN 0-9653283-0-9).

Reflections of Cape Cod - Stories of the People, Towns and Times, by Ruth M Weissberger (ISBN 0-9728582-0-2).

The Cape Cod Conundrum, by Margot Arnold (ISBN 0-88150-244-8). Mystery

Cape Cod in the Sun, by Samuel Chamberlain (1937 ). Photos

The House on Nauset Marsh, by Wyman Richardson (NY: W W Norton, 1947).

Newspapers

Books Online

Journey to Provincetown from Travels in New England and New York. 4 volumes, by Timothy Dwight Volumes I and II were published in 1821, volumes III and IV in 1822. New Haven Connecticut

The New England Gazetteer, by John Hayward.—Boyd & White, Concord, N.H. 1839

A Comprehensive History, Ecclesiastical and Civil, of Eastham, Wellfleet and Orleans, from 1644 to 1844 by Rev Enoch Pratt, Yarmouth Massachusetts:W. S. Fisher and Co

The History of Barnstable County, ed. Simeon L. Deyo, NY, 1890

• Bourne Biographies
• Brewster Biographies
• Eastham Biographies
• Orleans Biographies
• Truro Biographies
• Wellfleet Biographies

Cape Cod, by Henry David Thoreau (NY: Thomas Y Crowell & Co, 1908)

Cape Cod Folks, by Sally Pratt McLean (London: Griffith and Farran, 1884)

History of Cape Cod: The Annals of the Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County - Vol II, by Frederick Freeman (Boston, 1862)

From Cape Cod to Dixie and the Tropics, by J. Milton Mackie (NY: G P Putnam, 1864)

Cape Cod and the Old Colony, by Albert Perry Brigham (NY: Grosett and Dunlap, )

Cape Cod New & Old, by Agnes Edwards (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1918)

Cape Cod Stories (formerly The Old Home House), by Joseph C. Lincoln (NY: A L Burt, Co, 1907)

Cape Cod, The Right Arm of Massachusetts, An Historical Narrative, By Charles F. Swift, (Yarmouth: Register Publishing Co, 1897)

Top  

Vital Records

Massachusetts Vital Records Information from Ancestry.com

Deeds and Probate

Barnstable County Registry of Deeds
3195 Main St.
P.O. Box 368
Barnstable, MA 02630
508-362-7733
Fax: 508-362-5065
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Barnstable Probate and Family Court
3195 Main St.
P.O. Box 346
Barnstable, MA 02630
508-375-6725
Fax: 508-362-3662
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Order Probate Records Online

Top  

Top  

Genealogical and Historical Societies and Libraries

Cape Cod Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 1394
Harwich, MA 02645
The Society's Genealogical Library is located at the Dennis Public Library, 5 Hall Street, Dennisport, MA, and is attended on Tuesdays from noon to 4 pm, Wednesdays from 1 pm to 3 pm, Thursdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Fridays from 10 am to 2 pm.

Questions to the Society's Genealogical Library can be addressed to Betsy Ferris.

The Society's publication, The Bulletin, is issued three times each year, in April, August and December.

The Society includes a number of special interest groups which meet on a regular schedule, and information about those groups, as well as about other activities and details of Society membership, can be found on the Society's web site.

Falmouth Genealogical Society
FGS was started in 1983 and has been ongoing ever since. They have about 125 members and service primarily Falmouth and the Upper Cape. The Society meets on the second Saturday of each month, currently at the Falmouth Senior Center at 10 AM.

The society also provides genealogical research assistance at the Falmouth Public Library every Tuesday from 2 to 4 PM and publishes a quarterly newsletter.

Much more info is available at the link to the website above www.falgen.org Their mailing address is PO Box 2107 Teaticket, MA 02536

Cape & Islands Historical Association
359 Main St.
N. Harwich, MA 02645
P.O. Box 50
Bourne, MA 02559-0050
508-888-3300, Ext. 103

Bourne Historical Society

Brewster Historical Society

Chatham Historical Society

The Dennis Historical Society

Osterville Historical Society

Sandwich Glass Museum

The Historical Society of Old Yarmouth

West Barnstable Historical Society
P.O. Box 3
West Barnstable, MA 02668
Telephone: 508-362-3332

Sturgis Library, Barnstable Village

Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS) Card Catalog

Cape Cod Community College, Wilkens Library, Nickerson Room

Eldredge Public Library, Chatham

Brewster Ladie's Library

Brooks Free Library, Harwich

Eastham Public Library

Jacob Sears Memorial Library, East Dennis

Dennis Public Library, Dennisport

Falmouth Public Library

Jonathan Bourne Public Library

Yarmouth Town Libraries

Hyannis Public Library

Osterville Free Library

Centerville Public Library

Whelden Memorial Library, West Barnstable

Marstons Mills Public Library

Cotuit Library

Cape Cod Maritime Historical Association
P.O. Box 176, Yarmouthport, MA 02675
508-362-1222

Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215-3695
617-536-1608
Hours: Mon. - Weds. 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thurs. 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Fri. 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Closed weekends.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116-3007
617-536-5740
Fax: 617-536-7307
Email: nehgs@nehgs.org
Library Hours: Tues. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Weds. - Thurs. 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Fri. - Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Winter Hours (Dec. - Mar.): Tues. - Weds. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thurs. 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Fri. - Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The library is closed for some holidays - call or see the website for details.
For non-members there is a daily admisssion fee for the research library.

NEHGS is nation's oldest genealogical society, founded in 1845. It offers unsurpassed resources for New England research including the Boston research library of over 200,000 volumes. Members not in the Boston area appreciate the circulating library of more than 30,000 volumes and online resources including all issues of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the nation's oldest genealogical journal, published quarterly since 1847.

Genealogical and Historical Locations

Top  

Barnstable County was formed on 2 June 1685 when Plymouth Colony was divided into three counties. The county seat is the Town of Barnstable. Bristol and Plymouth counties were also named after their county seats.

Detailed History of Barnstable County

Geologic History of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Maps

Photographs

Top  

Top  

Local History

Top  

Town Records of Barnstable County - USGenWeb

Massachusetts Genealogy - USGenWeb

The USGenWeb Project - Home Page

Top