Greenfield Massachusetts Genealogy

Greenfield, the shire town of Franklin County, is located west of the Connecticut River.

Land records show Nathaniel Brooks as the likely original settler in 1686, with a 20-acre grant near Green River. In 1687, land on West Main Street was divided, with Ebenezer Wells taking the first lot (where the “Coombs house” or “Wells house” later stood). Other landowners included David Hoyt, William Brooks, and Edward Allyn, whose grave is the oldest in the town’s original cemetery. Samuel Smead, Josiah and Robert Goddard, John Severance, Jeremiah Hall, and John Allen acquired land on the north side of Main Street.

In 1723, Green River land was further divided, with Judah Wright receiving the first lot. By 1753, the “Green River district” held its first town meeting, moderated by Benjamin Hastings, at James Corse’s house. This meeting focused on church location and lacked the tax and road discussions common in later years.

Shifting Jurisdictions

1. The Town of Greenfield, Franklin County, was established as a district June 9, 1753, from a part of Deerfield.
2. August 23, 1775, the district was made a town by general act.
3. September 28, 1793, part was established as Gill.
4. April 14, 1838, part was annexed to Bernardston.
5. May 2, 1896, part of Deerfield was annexed to Greenfield.

Greenfield MA Genealogy Records Online

• Greenfield Massachusetts Vital Records
  Alphabetical indexes to the vital records of Greenfield, Massachusetts, up to the year 1850, supplemented by information from bible records, church registers, cemetery inscriptions and other sources.
• List of persons resident in Greenfield and assessed for poll taxes in 1900
  together with their age, occupation, and residence for 1900 and 1899
• Greenfield High School graduating classes, 1858-1921
• Manual of the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield
  Contains a brief history of this church along with a list of officers and membership up to 1858.
• Records of Proceedings in the parish of St. James’ Church, Greenfield
• One hundred years in Greenfield, 1822-1922
  issued to commemorate a century of banking, the First national bank
• Records extracted from the diary of Rev. Roger Newton, 1762-1812
  This diary contains a record of personal and church affairs; also some records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths.
• Vital records extracted from the records of Rev. Roger Newton, 1761 to 1814
• Record of the Service of Greenfield Men in the Revolutionary War
  • A-M
  • N-Z
• Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1839-1859
• Supreme Judicial Court, naturalization records, 1858-1872
• Superior Court, naturalization records, 1859-1896
• District Court of Franklin, naturalization records, 1898

Greenfield MA City Directories

• Greenfield City Directory, 1877-8
• Greenfield City Directory, 1880
• Greenfield City Directory, 1885
• Greenfield City Directory, 1887
• Greenfield City Directory, 1889
• Greenfield City Directory, 1892
• Manning’s Greenfield and Turners Falls Directory, 1930
• Greenfield District Telephone Directory
  Includes: Ashfield, Bernardston, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Greenfield, Heath, Jacksonville, Vt., Millers Falls, Northfield, Readsboro, Vt., Shelburne Falls, South Deerfield, Turners Falls, Wilmington, Vt.
• Leading business men of Greenfield and vicinity
  embracing also Turners Falls, Orange, and Athol. Contains brief biographical and busness sketches in 1889.

Greenfield MA Genealogy

• Ancestry and descendants of Colonel Daniel Wells (1760-1815) of Greenfield, Massachusetts

Greenfield MA History

• History of Greenfield : shire town of Franklin county, Massachusetts
  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
• Hearth stone tales: a condensed history of Greenfield, Massachusetts
• Greenfield, one hundred and fifty years old, 1753-1903
• In and about Greenfield, Mass
• Greenfield gazette
  Their 172 page centennial special edition full of history and genealogy of Greenfield and Franklin County.
• Willard’s history of Greenfield