In at various times took action to secure such record. September, 1639, the General Court ordered, "That there bee records kept of all wills, administrations, & inventories, as also of the dayes of every marriage, birth, & death of every person within this jurisdiction." In June, 1642, we read that "Whereas, at the Generall Cort the 4th 7th mo. 1639 there was provision made for the recording of severall particulers, amongst which it is observed that birthes, deathes, & marriages are much neglected in many townes, "It is therefore ordered, that hearafter the clarks of the writts in severall townes shall take especially care to record all birthes & deathes of persons in their townes; & for every birth & death they so record they are to have alowed them the summe of 3a, & are to deliver in yearely to the recorder of the Cort belonging to the jurisdiction where they live a transcript thereof, togeather with so many pence as there are births & deaths recorded, & this under the penalty of 20 for every neglect; & for time past it is ordered, they shall do their utmost indeavor to find out in their severall townes who hath bene borne, & who hath died, since the first founding of their townes, & to record the same as aforesaid. "Also the magistrates & other persons appointed to marry shall yearely deliver to the recorder of that Cort that is nearest to the place of their habitation the names of such persons as they have married, with the dayes, months, & yeares of the same; & the said recorders are faithfully & carefully to inrolle such birthes, deathes, & marriages as shall thus bee committed to their trust."1 In May, 1657, it was found necessary to go farther, and "This Court, taking into theire consideračon the great damage that will unavoydeably acrue to the posteritie of this common wealth by the generall neglect of observing the lawe injoyning a record of all births, deaths & marriages within this collony, doe therefore order, that, hencforth the clarks of the writts in each towne respectively take due care for effecting the same according to the intent of the aforesaid lawe: and in case any person or persons shall neglect theire duty required by the said lawe more then one month after any birth, death, or marriage, the clarke of the writts shall demand the same, with twelve pence a name for his care and paynes; and in case any shall refuse to sattisfy him, he shall then retourne the names of such person or persons to the next magistrate or commissioners of the toune where such person dwells, who shall send for the party so refusing, and in case he shall persist therein, shall 1 The action of the Selectmen of Boston upon this order may be seen on page 71 of the second volume of the Record Commissioners. give order to the counstable to levy the same. And if any clarke of the writts shall neglect his duty hereby injoyned him, he shall pay the following penalty; i.e., for neglect of a yearly retourne to the County Court, five pounds, and for neglect of retourning the name of any person retourneable by this lawe, whither borne, married, or dead, more then thirty daies before his retourne to the County Court, five shillings. And that no future neglect may be heerein, the recorder of each County Court is hereby injoyned from time to time to certify the County Courts respectively the names of all such clarks as shall neglect to make their yearely retourne according to this lawe, who, uppon notice given, shall send for such clarke, and deale in the case according as lawe requireth.” ee A For most of the years before 1700 the record of births seems to be quite full and complete; but sometimes, as in 1675, nearly all was lost by some chance. The years 164750 are also evidently imperfect. The deaths and marriages are less regularly recorded, and there is a long break in each. No deaths were recorded 1665-88, and no marriages 1663-79. The contents of this volume are found in five volumes of manuscript. In the first volume are the following, viz. : register of the Births & Deaths in Boston from the yeare 1630 untill the first of the first month 1644," sixteen pages and a half in one general alphabetical arrangement; "Boston Register from (8) 1643 unto the (1) 1646," three pages and a half in one general alphabetical arrangement; "Boston births and burialls," 1646-50, four pages in the same form; "Boston Birthes" 1651-57, forty pages and a half, "by Jonathan Negus Clarke of the Writts in Boston, 28. 8. 1657;" Deaths," 1651-57, nine pages also by Jonathan Negus; "Boston Marriages," 1651-57, fourteen pages also by Jonathan Negus 28 December 1657; "Boston Birthes" 1658-62, twenty-seven pages, "Boston Deathes" 1658-62, nine pages, "Boston Marriages" 1658-62, ten pages and a half, all by Jonathan Negus; "Boston Births" 1657-66, seventeen pages and a half, and "Boston Deathes" 1567-64, six pages. Probably a leaf at the end is missing. ९९ The second volume contains a copy of all the births recorded in the first, and the births 1666-89, those of each year being arranged alphabetically. The third volume contains Births 1689-92, in one alphabetical arrangement, with the following statement, "Whereas the Births within the Town of Boston entered by Mr. Joseph Webb deceaced dureing the time of his being Clerk of the Writts for the County of Suffolke have since his deceace been misslayd so as that they came not to hand untill this present year the which Births being then found contained in severall wast Books on file with the Records of the sd. County Are now digested into Alphabetticall Order and in this and the sixteen foregoing pages are recorded being with the said wast Bookes carefully compared & Exam". in the year 1709 p. Joseph Prout Town Clerk;" "Sundry Births Recorded outt of Season," half a page; "Sundry more Births as entered in the Townes waste Book kept by Capt. Ephraim Savage when he was Clerk," half a page; Births from March 1693 to 1696, eighteen pages in one arrangement; "Boston Births being transferr'd out of a Waste book kept by Mr. William Griggs while he was Town Clerk being such Births then brought in to him & belonging to preceeding years," one page and a half; Births for 1697, 98, 99, each year alphabetically. The fourth volume contains Marriages 1689-95, twenty pages in one arrangement, (Webb's record), with statement by Joseph Prout similar to the first in third volume; Marriages 1693, 94, 95, 96, three pages, (Savage's record), with statement nearly as in third volume; Marriages for 1697, 98, 99. The fifth volume contains Deaths 1689, 90, 91, 92, seven pages in one arrangement (Webb's record), with statement by Prout similar to first in third volume; Deaths for 1696, one page; Deaths 1693, 94, 95, 96, three pages and a half in one arrangement; and Deaths for 1697, 98, 99. The number of misplaced entries in every class is very great in each volume. Every entry on Town Records and Church Records has been compared with the original, and it is believed that the exact meaning is expressed in the printed copy, though the wording has been often changed for the sake of brevity. The editing Commissioner claims no infallibility in reading old manuscript, but has had the advantage of long experience. In some cases an equally practised person might read the name differently, at least in one or two letters; but most of the mistakes were made by the writer of the original manuscript. No exact rule has been followed as to duplicate entries, but generally only one has been printed; in some cases intentionally, and in a few accidentally, both entries appear in this volume. It is hoped that the Index will be approved. The various spellings, evidently intended for the same name, have been generally grouped under the form most often or most correctly used; but sometimes it has been thought best to do otherwise, especially when it is not easy to say which is the standard or correct form. Readers will kindly note these two marriages as belonging to 1699, and accidentally omitted: Joseph Shaw & Mercy Cross were married by Mr. Cotton Mather Feb. 22. Richard Smith & Mary Clay were married by Mr. Cotton Mather Feb. 9. The charge of this volume, since it was put in the printer's hands, has been entirely with the junior Commissioner, who alone is responsible for all mistakes since the preparation of copy. Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM H. WHITMORE, Record Commissioners. BOSTON, October, 1883. |