USGenWeb Genealogical Site for the Town of
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West Newbury Massachusetts (Formerly Parsons; Originally the West Parish of Newbury) Essex County |
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Including the Village of Rock's Bridge
See also the site for the parent town of Newbury
Moses Poore Farmhouse, West Newbury
Photograhed about 1898
March 16, 2008 — We have a new address! Many USGenWeb sites have relocated, and we have, too. Please bookmark our new address.
April 28, 2007 — Welcome to the brand new West Newbury USGenWeb page. I'll be posting notices here as new resources are added to the site.
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If you have any West Newbury material and would like to volunteer for lookups please send email to Dale H. Cook.
When requesting a lookup please use the email link following the listing for that book, limit your request to one or two specific names on separate lines, and please thank the volunteer for their time and effort.
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Books, Newspapers and Records
You can find copies of books for sale by using the search engine at Bookfinder.com.
Books that are no longer in copyright can often be found online at Internet Archive Text Archive, Family History Books or Google Books. Additional books are available through two sites that many libraries offer access to - Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest Online.
Vital Records of West Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1918).
Joshua Coffin, A Sketch of the History of Newbury, Newburyport, and West Newbury (Boston: Samuel G. Drake, 1845; Reprinted Hampton, NH: P. E. Randall for the Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury, Mass., 1977).
Ann S. Lainhart, 1855 and 1865 Massachusetts State Censuses for West Newbury (Boston: The Author, 1987).
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A newspaper often had a succession of titles on its masthead during the course of its publication. Some libraries list newspapers by the last title used, followed by previous titles. Other libraries list all holdings under the most common, most familiar or most recent title. For each title the library's holdings are given.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester - Titles on Microfilm
Newburyport
Boston Public Library - Historical Massachusetts Newspapers - Microfilm West Newbury
Newburyport
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Town Records Images:
Images of the town record books are online at FamilySearch.org.
SPECIAL NOTE: You need a free login to to view the images at FamilySearch.
Published Vital Records to 1819 to 1849:
Vital Records of West Newbury Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1918).
Vital Records 1819 to present:
Town Clerk
1910 Office Building
381 Main St.
West Newbury, MA 01985
978-363-1100, Ext. 110
Fax: 978-363-1117
Hours: Mon. - Thu. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon
Vital Records 1841-1920:
Massachusetts Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
617-727-2816
Fax: 617-288-8429
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Vital Records 1921 to present:
Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records
150 Mount Vernon St., 1st Floor
Dorchester, MA 02125-3105
617-740-2600
Or order online:
Births
Marriages
Deaths
Massachusetts Vital Records Information from Ancestry.com
Deeds and Probate
Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds
Shetland Park
45 Congress St., Suite 4100
Salem, MA 01970
978-741-0201
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Images of the Essex County deeds are online at FamilySearch.org.
SPECIAL NOTE: You need a free login to to view the images at FamilySearch.
Essex Probate and Family Court
36 Federal St.
Salem, MA 01970
978-744-1020 Ext. 383
Fax: 978-741-2957
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Images of the Essex County probate records are online at FamilySearch.org in two groups of image sets, one consisting mainly of case files and one consisting mainly of record books.
SPECIAL NOTE: You need a free login to to view the images at FamilySearch.
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G. A. R. Memorial Library
490 Main St.
West Newbury, MA 01985
978-363-1105
Mon. - Thurs. 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Fri. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Closed Saturdays in the summer)
West Newbury Historical Society on Facebook
P.O. Box 332
West Newbury, MA 01985
978-465-8046
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
161 Essex St.
Salem, MA 01970-3783
978-745-9500
Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day
Formed in 1992 from the merger of the Peabody Museum of Salem with the Essex Institute.
Essex Society of Genealogists, Inc.
P.O. Box 313
Lynnfield, MA 01940-0313
Meetings are held the third Saturday of each month, except January, June, July and August, at Centre Congregational Church, Lynnfield Center, MA. 12 Noon - social hour; bring your own lunch, desserts and coffee will be provided by the society. 1:00 p.m. - business meeting, followed by program.
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 7:45 p.m.; Fri. 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Closed Sunday.
New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116-3007
617-536-5740
Fax: 617-536-7307
Library Hours: Tues. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Weds. 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Thurs. - Sat. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Closed Sun. and Mon.
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 their extensive online resources including all issues of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the nation's oldest genealogical journal, published quarterly since 1847. Online resources also include member access to vital records through 1915, an ever-growing collection of online books, and databases derived from some of the Society's immense manuscript holdings.
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The territory which comprises this town was originally a part of Newbury until Feb. 18, 1819, when it was set off as the town of Parsons. This name was changed on June 14, 1820, to West Newbury.
| 1820 | (U.S.) | 1,279 | 1830 | (U.S.) | 1,586 | 1840 | (U.S.) | 1,560 | 1850 | (U.S.) | 1,746 | |||
| 1855 | (State) | 2,094 | 1860 | (U.S.) | 2,202 | 1865 | (State) | 2,087 | 1870 | (U.S.) | 2,006 | |||
| 1875 | (State) | 2,021; | 1880 | (U.S.) | 1,989 | 1885 | (State) | 1,899 | 1890 | (U.S.) | 1,796 | |||
| 1895 | (State) | 1,643 | 1900 | (U.S.) | 1,558 | 1905 | (State) | 1,405 | 1910 | (U.S.) | 1,473 | |||
| 1915 | (State) | 1,529 | 1920 | (U.S.) | 1,492 | 1925 | (State) | 1,337 | 1930 | (U.S.) | 1,549 | |||
| 1935 | (State) | 1,475 | 1940 | (U.S.) | 1,515 | 1945 | (State) | 1,503 | 1950 | (U.S.) | 1,598 | |||
| 1955 | (State) | 1,621 | 1960 | (U.S.) | 1,844 | 1965 | (State) | 2,049 | 1970 | (U.S.) | 2,254 | |||
| 1975 | (State) | 2,626 | 1980 | (U.S.) | 2,861 | 1990 | (U.S.) | 3,421 | 2000 | (U.S.) | 4,149 |
Inhabitants of the West Parish of Newbury in 1729 from John J. Currier, Ould Newbury: Historical and Biographical Sketches (Boston: Damrell and Upham, 1896)
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Pentucket Regional School District
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See also the site for the parent town of Newbury
Commonwealth Communities page for West Newbury
West Newbury News from the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune
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Massachusetts Genealogy - USGenWeb
The USGenWeb Project - Home Page
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Please note that although I was born and raised about 50 miles from West Newbury
I now live hundreds of miles away and do not have easy access to the town.
Email comments to Dale H. Cook.
Please visit the Plymouth Colony Pages
USGenWeb West Newbury, MA, commenced 28-Apr-2007.
Created and maintained by Dale H. Cook.
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Copyright © 2007-2021 by Dale H. Cook. All rights reserved.