Local History & Genealogy

Research

The library has a local history/genealogy collection covering Marlborough history, genealogies of some prominent local families, and the Marlborough Enterprise on microfilm from 1889 to the present.

Please contact our Reference Department at (508) 624-6900 ext 3 or by email to make an appointment to access our archives or to determine if our collection can help you in your search.


Archival Materials

Below is a list of just some of the items of interest that we have in our archives collection. Please contact the reference department if you would like to view any of these materials or to see what else we might have in our collection.

History of the Town of Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, From Its First Settlement in 1657 to 1861 by Charles Hudson (ARC 974.44 HUD): Charles Hudson was a Marlborough native, a writer, and a United States Representative from Massachusetts.

Historical Reminiscences of the Early Times in Marlborough, Massachusetts by Ella Bigelow (ARC 974.44 BIG): Provides information about the people and places of early Marlborough. The original book did not have an index, but one was compiled by Marlborough Historical Society member Gene Schneider and is available in the archive collection.

Cemetery Transcriptions prepared by Ginny and Katie Chung in 2001 (ARC 974.44 CEM): 

  • Vol. 1, Marlborough: Brigham, Old Common, Robin Hill, Rock Lawn, Spring Hill, Weeks and Wilson
  • Vol. 2, Sudbury, Wayland: 1st Cemetery, Revolutionary, Mt. Pleasant, Old Town, North Sudbury Old, North Sudbury New, Wayland South, Natick, Wadsworth
  • Vol. 3, Hudson: Hudson Main

Marlborough, Massachusetts, Burial Ground Inscriptions: Old Common, Spring Hill, and Brigham Cemeteries by Franklin P. Rice (ARC 974.44 RIC): Published 1908.

Vital Records to 1850 (ARC 310): Provides birth, death and marriage data for area town including Marlborough, Framingham, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sudbuty, and Westborough.

Genealogies of Individual Families (ARC 9929 ALL to 929 WOO): Provides information about a number of local families.

Marlborough City Directories (ARC 974.44 MAR): Provides a list of inhabitants and businesses. Cover 1867 to 1961 with some missing volumes.

Voter Lists – Marlborough Ward Lists (ARC 974.44 MAR): Organized by Ward address.

Marlborough List of Residents (ARC 974.44 MAR): Organized alphabetically by last name.

High School Yearbooks:

  • Marlborough High School (ARC 974.44 MAR). Also archived online here
  • Assabet Regional Vocational High School (ARC 974.44 ASS)

The Marlborough Enterprise: This local paper is an excellent source of regional news and obituaries.

  • On microfilm: December 1889 to 2022.
  • Online: August 2005 to July 2021

Online Resources

Below are just some of the online services that can help you get started with your family history.

Ancestry: Ancestry is a great way to discover your family history and start your family tree. Access billions of names inside the more than 7,000 available databases of Ancestry® Library Edition, including Census and Vital Records, birth, marriage and death notices, the Social Security Death Index, Passenger lists and naturalizations, Military and Holocaust Records, City Directories, New York Emigrant Savings Bank Records, and African American and Native American Records.   *ONLY AVAILABLE AT MARLBOROUGH PUBLIC LIBRARY*

Cyndi’s List: A categorized list of online genealogical resources. A great place to start!

Digital Commonwealth: Digital Commonwealth is a non-profit collaborative organization that provides resources and services to support the creation, management, and dissemination of cultural heritage materials held by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. Digital Commonwealth currently has over 130 member institutions from across the state.

FamilySearch: Offers free access to billions of records including birth, marriage, death, probate, and more. This site also provides guidance for genealogical searching. Click on “Learn” at the top of the home page to access the Research Wiki.

Genealogy.com: Offers a variety of tools, resources and software to support your historical research.

National Archives: The National Archives provides access to a variety of information online. The local headquarters in Waltham is a great place to visit for more information and classes.

New England Historic Genealogical Society: A free account here provides access to some very useful databases. For a fee, you can join the Society, and have access to hundreds of additional resources.