{"id":14313,"date":"2019-01-14T18:49:56","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T23:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/?p=14313"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:08:41","slug":"local-history-and-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/local-history-and-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Local History and Genealogy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Springfield MA Local History Collection<\/h6>\n

The Central Library<\/a> maintains a collection of published works on Springfield area history<\/a>, including local publications such as the Springfield Planning Department’s neighborhood studies<\/a>. These items can be used at the library, but most cannot be checked out.<\/p>\n

All local history titles in our collection are catalogued and searchable in the online catalog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(For a more comprehensive local history collection, including archival material, please contact the Springfield History Library & Archives <\/a> at the Wood Museum of Springfield History.)<\/p>\n

Springfield City Directories and Springfield High School Yearbooks<\/h6>\n

The Central Library maintains a near-complete collection of City Directories from 1866 through 1989, some digitized online<\/a>, and a limited collection of Springfield college and public high school yearbooks dating from the early 1900s to the late 1980s<\/a>, many of which are also digitized online.<\/p>\n

Please contact the Central Library reference desk with inquiries about these resources at 413-263-6828 ext 213 or use our Ask a Librarian reference form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Springfield MA Newspapers<\/h6>\n

The library offers access to Springfield newspapers from 1844 to the present online through the Republican Historical and Current collection<\/a>. The collection is available to browse at all library locations, and is available remotely to CW Mars cardholders. See the “Newspapers” tab below for more information.<\/p>\n

The Central Library holds Springfield newspapers on microfilm from 1900 to the present. (Springfield newspapers prior to 1900 are held at the Springfield History Library & Archives<\/a>.) Microfilm readers are available for self-service use. Librarians are available for assistance.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Resources<\/h6>\n

The library offers in-library access<\/strong> to the genealogical databases, Ancestry.com<\/a> and American Ancestors<\/a>, and remote access\u00a0for Springfield\u00a0 City Library cardholders<\/strong> to Fold3<\/a> (military records), and HeritageHub<\/a> (obituaries). You can make an appointment for genealogical assistance from a librarian – please click here for more information<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More Free Online Resources<\/h4>\n
\n
Local and National Resources for Genealogical Research<\/div>
\n
Newspapers<\/span>Vital Records<\/span>Archives<\/span>Historical Organizations<\/span>Genealogy Resources<\/span><\/div>
\n

Springfield City Library<\/strong> – Available on Microfilm at Central Library<\/a>. Holdings listed below:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Springfield Weekly Republican:<\/em> Jan 1900 – Sep 26, 1946<\/li>\n
  2. Springfield Weekly Union:<\/em> Jan 1900 – Jan 1901<\/li>\n
  3. Springfield Evening Union:<\/em> Jan 1900 – Sep 25, 1946<\/li>\n
  4. Springfield Daily and Sunday Republican:<\/em> Jan 1900 – Sep 26, 1946<\/li>\n
  5. Springfield Daily News:<\/em> Jan 1905 – May 1987<\/li>\n
  6. Springfield Union News (PM edition):<\/em> Jun 1987 – Jun 19, 1992<\/li>\n
  7. Springfield Morning and Sunday Union:<\/em> Jan 1900 – Jan 1926<\/li>\n
  8. Springfield Morning Union:<\/em> Feb 1926 – Sep 26, 1946; Mar 6, 1947 – Aug 1947<\/li>\n
  9. Springfield Morning Union and Sunday Republican:<\/em> Sep 1947 – May 1987<\/li>\n
  10. Springfield Union News (AM edition):<\/em> Jun 1987 – Apr 6, 2003<\/li>\n
  11. Springfield Republican:<\/em> Apr 7, 2003 to current<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    (Yes, there were big problems in September 1946. A massive strike shut down the city’s presses for months, and several of the city’s papers never recovered.)<\/p>\n

    Springfield Republican Digital Archive<\/a><\/strong> – Explore Springfield history through local news, events, and people with Republican Collection Historical and Current Collection. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Also available remotely 24\/7 on any device. Remote Access for CW Mars Cardholders<\/a><\/p>\n

    Boston Public Library<\/strong> – 19th Century US Newspapers<\/a> – Searchable full-page and article reproductions of newspapers from across the country. Massachusetts Coverage: Boston: Atlas<\/em>, Congregationalist<\/em>, Courier<\/em>, Daily Advertiser<\/em>, Emancipator & Republican<\/em>, Investigator<\/em>, Liberator<\/em>; Lowell<\/em>: Lowell Daily Citizen<\/em>. New York Times (1851-2015)<\/a><\/em> – Searchable full-page and article reproductions back to the first issue on Sept 18, 1851.<\/p>\n

    Obituary Database<\/a> – The Obituary Database indexes obituaries appearing in the Boston Evening Transcript (BET), Boston Globe (BG), and the Boston Herald\/Herald American (BH) from 1932\u20131941 and 1953\u20132010.<\/p>\n

    The above resources are a<\/em>vailable with a BPL eCard – If you are a Massachusetts resident and don’t already have a Boston Public Library card, you can register for one online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Library of Congress<\/strong> – Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Census Records – National Archives<\/strong> – The first Federal Population Census was taken in 1790, and has been taken every ten years since. Because of a 72-year restriction on access to the Census, the most recent year available is 1950. In-library access<\/strong> to the census is available through the\u00a0 genealogical database, Ancestry.com<\/a><\/p>\n

    City of Springfield, Massachusetts<\/strong> – How to obtain copies of Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n

    Commonwealth of Massachusetts – <\/strong>
    \n    Vital Records<\/a> – Search Records of birth, marriage, and death (1841 – 1910)
    \n    Passenger Manifest Lists<\/a> – Search for passengers arriving in the Port of Boston (1848 – 1891)
    \n    How to obtain copies of Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n

    The Ellis Island Foundation<\/strong> – Passenger Search<\/a> – Ship Search<\/a><\/p>\n

    Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991<\/a> – Ancestry.org<\/strong><\/p>\n

    United States Social Security Death Index<\/a> – FamilySearch.org<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Commonwealth of Massachusetts<\/strong> –\u00a0Archives Collection<\/a> – (1629 – 1799)<\/p>\n

    DigitalCommonwealth.org<\/a> <\/strong>– Explore historical collections from libraries, museums, and archives across Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    New England Historic Genealogical Society<\/strong> – AmericanAncestors.org<\/a> – Database Search<\/a><\/p>\n

    The National Genealogical Society<\/strong> – a good list of resources that are kept up to date: https:\/\/www.ngsgenealogy.org\/free-resources\/websites\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, Inc.<\/a><\/strong> – 8 Lyle Road
    \nNew Britain, CT – Library and Resource Center<\/p>\n

    The Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts <\/a><\/strong> – 33 South Street, Chicopee, MA – Research Library<\/p>\n

    Polish Genealogical Society of America<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society<\/strong> – Resources<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    FamilySearch.org<\/strong><\/a> – Free Family History and Genealogy Records<\/p>\n

    National Archives<\/a> <\/strong>– Resources for Genealogists<\/p>\n

    Boston Public Library <\/strong>– online resources listed here- https:\/\/guides.bpl.org\/genealogymain\/databases<\/a><\/p>\n

    Smithsonian Genealogical Research Guide\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0https:\/\/library.si.edu\/research\/genealogy<\/a><\/p>\n

    Library of Congress Genealogy Guides<\/strong> –\u00a0https:\/\/guides.loc.gov\/genealogy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Searching for Springfield Massachusetts local history and genealogy resources? We can help!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adult-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14313"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38173,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14313\/revisions\/38173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}