Suffolk County Archives – Massachusetts Genealogy

The Flora of Boston and Its Vicinity

The article by Asa Gray discusses the historical progression of vegetation in Massachusetts, particularly around Boston, from the pre-glacial period to European colonization. It highlights significant climatic changes that transformed the region’s flora, replacing warm-temperate species with northern counterparts as the ice-sheet retreated. The indigenous vegetation was largely forested, minimally altered by Native American agriculture. In contrast, European settlers introduced numerous plant species, some beneficial and others invasive, significantly modifying the landscape. Despite this change, many native plants have persisted, illustrating the complexity of Boston’s flora and the impact of human activities over time.

The Fauna of Eastern Massachusetts: Forms Brought in and Expelled by Civilization

By Joel A. Allen,Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University The changes in the fauna of the region immediately surrounding Boston, wrought by civilization, are merely such as would be expected to occur in the transformation of a forest wilderness into a thickly populated district, namely, the extirpation of all the larger indigenous mammals and birds, the partial extinction of many others, and the great reduction in numbers of nearly all forms of animal life, both terrestrial and aquatic, as well as the introduction of various domesticated species and those universal pests of civilization the house rats and mice. The only … Read more

Outline of the Geology of Boston and Its Environs

Memorial History of Boston vol 1 title page

By Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, S. D.Professor of Palæontology in Harvard University The topography, the soils, and other physical conditions of the region about Boston depend in a very intimate way upon the geological history of the district in which they lie. The physical history of this district is closely bound up with that of all eastern New England, so that it is necessary at the outset to premise some general statements concerning the geological conditions of the larger field before we can proceed to the description of the very limited one that particularly concerns us. In this statement we shall … Read more

Medfield, Massachusetts Vital Records Research

The Medfield, Massachusetts vital records are readily available online for genealogists for the years of 1651 and ending in 1918 for marriages, 1928 for births, and 1925 for deaths. There is no reason to pay for such records but users of the printed index of records should be aware that it does include errors, and that the 1878 scanned copies include supplements that may not be found in the printed copy. There are also scanned copies of the actual registers up to 1900 and returns and certificates up to 1929. The original town records are lost to modern day genealogists. … Read more

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