Massachusetts Deaths, 1844: Vol. 8, Barnstable to Hampshire; Volume 9, Middlesex to Worcester

Massachusetts kept vital statistics records since the earliest days, with statewide registration beginning in 1841. In the early decades, the records were kept on a twelve-month year that ran from 1 May to 30 April.

This database includes deaths in Massachusetts reported for 1844 (exclusive of Boston), from 1 May 1843 to 30 April 1844. The records have been transcribed from a microfilm of the original registers held in the Massachusetts State Archives, Boston: "3rd Registration 1844 Deaths Vol. 8 Barnstable to Hampshire" and "3rd Registration 1844 Deaths Vol. 9 Middlesex to Worcester" produced by the Genealogical Society of Utah for the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.

Several problems have kept the early records from staying complete: difficulties encountered by local town clerks assigned to make the returns to the state authorities, damaged pages, erratic spelling, and erratic handwriting of the time. Patrons using the search index should try varieties of spellings -- the more imaginative, the better -- when searching for a family name. Also, it could be useful to follow up on a miss on a search of this database with a search of specific town records for the same year. Town clerks registered deaths as they received information form sextons or other parish officials, sometimes using their own memories to fill out their reports.

Despite gaps in these early records, the information contained in the Massachusetts death records is unusually helpful to the genealogical researcher. As well as the name, date, and place of death the records include the age at death, and frequently the cause of death, place of birth, name of father and mother, and sometimes the parents' place of birth. For married women, the husband's name is generally given in place of father, though sometimes both are included. If no notation follows the name in the "Fathers/Husband's Name" column, the name is that of the father. In all cases of personal names, the exact spelling of the records has been kept, however, since spelling was frequently phonetic and since, in some cases, the ink has faded or the handwriting is barely legible, the researcher should use the general practice of "imaginative" spelling to search the database. A question mark following a name indicates this is the transcribers best understanding of the name. Square brackets indicate the transcriber's insertion. Spelling of diseases and other comments by town clerks have been corrected to match modern conventions when the meaning might otherwise be lost; in most cases, the meaning is clear and the original spelling has been kept to retain the flavor of the past.