Vital Records of
New Ashford, Massachusetts
To the Year 1850
Published by the New-England Historic Genealogical Society,
At the Charge of
The Eddy Town-Record Fund.
Boston, Mass.,
1916
This publication is issued under the authority of a vote passed by the NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, November 6, 1901, as follows:
Voted: That the sum of $20,000, from the bequest of the late Robert Henry Eddy, be set aside as a special fund to be called the Eddy Town-Record Fund, for the sole purpose of publishing the Vital Records of the towns of Massachusetts, and that the Council be authorized and instructed to make such arrangements as may be necessary for such publication. And the treasurer is hereby instructed to honor such drafts as shall be authorized by the Council for this purpose.
Committee on Publications
JAMES PARKER PARMENTER
G. ANDREWS MORIARTY JR.
ALFRED JOHNSON
HOSEA STARR BALLOU
JOHN WALLACE SUTER
GEORGE RITCHIE MARVIN
HENRY EDWARDS SCOTT, Editor
Starthope Press
P.R. Gilson Company
Boston, U.S.A.
The Town ofNew Ashford, Berk shire County, was established as a district February 26, 1781, from land called New Ashford, lying between Adams, Hancock, Lanesborough, and Williamstown.
March 14, 1793, part of the district of New Ashford was included in the new town of Cheshire.
February 6, 1798, another part of the district of New Ashford was annexed to Cheshire.
June 26, 1798, part of Hancock was annexed to the district of New Ashford.
November 4, 1835, the district was made a town by chapter 15 of the Revised Statutes.
May 20, 1851, bounds were established between New Ashford and Hancock.
May 28, 1912, bounds were established between New Ashford and Cheshire.
Population by Census: 1776 (Prov.), 215;
1790 (U.S.), 460; 1800 (U.S.), 390;
1810 (U.S.), 411; 1820 (U.S.), 258;
1830 (U.S.), 285; 1840 (U.S.), 227;
1850 (U.S.), 186; 1855 (State), 195;
1860 (U.S.), 239; 1865 (State), 178;
1870 (U.S.), 208;1875 (State), 160;
1880 (U.S.), 203; 1885 (State), 163;
1890 (U.S.), 125; 1895 (State), 116;
1900 (U.S.), 107; 1905 (State), 100;
1910 (U.S.), 92; 1915 (State), 92.
EXPLANATIONS
1. The fact that a birth, marriage, or death is recorded in New Ashford does not prove that it occurred in this town; but when places other than New Ashford and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy.
2. In all items from town records the original spelling is followed, and no attempt is made to correct errors appearing in the records.
3. The various spellings of a name should be examined, as items about the same family or individual may be found under different spellings.
4. A baptism is not printed, if ii occurs within one year after the recorded date of birth of a child of the same name and parents or if it is clear that the child baptized is identical with the child of the birth record; but variations found in the baptismal record are added to the birth record.
5. The birth of a married woman is recorded under her maiden name, if it is known. But if the maiden name cannot be determined, the entry appears under the husband's name, with a dash enclosed in brackets, i.e., [______], to signify that the maiden name is unknown. If it is not known whether the surname is that of a married or unmarried woman, ? m. is placed in brackets after the Christian name.
6. Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties. When both the marriage and intention of marriage are recorded, only the marriage record is printed; and where a marriage appears without the intention being recorded, it is designated with an asterisk.
7. Additional information which does not appear in the original text of an item, i.e., any explanation, query, inference, or difference shown in other entries of the record, is bracketed. Parentheses are used to show variations in the spelling of a name in the same entry, to indicate the maiden name of a wife, to enclose an imperfect portion of the original text, and to separate clauses in the original text.
ABBREVIATIONS
a. — age
abt. — about
b. — born
bp. — baptized
bur. — buried
ch. — child
chn. — children
Co. — county
d. — daughter; day; died
Dea. — deacon
dee'd — deceased
dup. — duplicate entry
Eld. — Elder
enrl. — enrolled
Ens. — Ensign
G.R. — gravestone record, New Ashford Cemetery
h. — husband
inf. — infant
int. — publishment of intention of marriage
Jr. — junior
Lt. — Lieutenant
m. — married; month
P.R. — private record, from a Goodell family record, now in
the possession of Darius N. Goodell of New Ashford
R.R. — Rebellion Record
rec. — recorded
s. — son
Sr. — senior
W. — week; wife
Wid. — widow
widr. — widower
y. — year
Transcribed by Laurel O'Donnell.
hese pages are © Laurel O'Donnell, 2005, all rights reserved
Copying these pages without written permission for the purpose of republishing
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This page was last updated on
24 Sep 2005
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