Boston – 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.

Biography of John Baylies LeBaron of Middleboro, Massachusetts

History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable Counties Massachusetts vol 3 title page

Recollection of the death, in 1918, of John Baylies LeBaron, brings to mind the fact that this prominent Middleboro business man was not only descended from a famous man who was characterized within the pages of fiction, but was also, through many intermarriages among his forebears, the inheritor of distinguished Colonial blood of the “Mayflower” voyagers and of some of the first families of old Plymouth, among them those of Warren, Griswold, Bradford, Cushman, Bartlett and DeWolf. The records of the town of Plymouth reveal that Francis LeBaron, first known American ancestor, happened upon the shores of this country in … Read more

Biography of Elwyn B. Lynde of Middleboro, Massachusetts

Among the well known residents of Middleboro, Massachusetts, is Elwyn B. Lynde, former treasurer of the Middleborough National Bank, who has been a resident of Middleboro since 1912. Mr. Lynde is a direct descendant of Thomas Lynde, who was born in England in 1593-4, and came to this country at the age of forty years. He settled first at Wollaston, later known as Quincy, Massachusetts, and then at Charlestown, where he was made a free man in 1634-5, and died in 1671. He was prominent in the affairs of Church and State, and served as a deacon in the church. … Read more

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

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