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Borden Family Plot, Oak Grove Cemetery


Fall River Cemeteries
and Genealogical Resources

Looking for Ancestors?

If you're searching for relatives who lived or died in Fall River, here are some places to start and tips for searching.

Newspapers - Our collection of newspapers on microfilm includes the Herald News (1929-present), the Daily Evening News (1868-1926), the Daily Globe (1889-1929), the Daily Herald (1877-1904) and the Evening Herald (1905-1928). There are also reels of microfilm with other early Fall River newspapers, a few dating from before the Civil War. Recent issues of the Herald News are available in print.

Old newspapers can be a valuable source of information as well as providing a portrait of daily life in different time periods; unfortunately, they are not indexed and often lack a table of contents, so researchers should be prepared to spend some time, especially with 19th century materials. Also note that newspaper obituaries were not standard until around the 1920s; ancestors who died in the 19th or early 20th century may not have had a printed obituary.

Obituary Index - Our staff is in the process of compiling an index to local obituaries from the Fall River Herald News. (No index is provided by the newspaper itself.) Some years are currently available in an Excel database format and can be accessed online; others are available in the library. Please ask a reference librarian for assistance.

City Directories - Available on microfilm (1853-1967) and in print (1967-present). Older directories can be a valuable source of family information. Not only do they provide a list of people living in Fall River, they also list home addresses and sometimes business addresses and occupations. They may also include dates of death if someone died in the preceding year. These do have limitations, however: they list heads of household rather than complete families, and they cover the city of Fall River only, not outlying areas.



Resources for Research

Other sources available for genealogy research at the Fall River Library include the following.

Vital Records - Various city demographic records, such as births, marriage intentions and deaths, are available in microfiche for the years 1803-1889. These are not indexed and are arranged by date, not name, so searching can be a challenge.

Census Records - Microfilm copies of the Fall River Federal Census are available for the years 1850, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930.

Draft Registration Cards - World War I draft registration cards are available on microfiche.

Local Histories and Genealogies - Many books of Fall River, Massachusetts and New England history are available in the Fall River Room. There are also genealogical and biographical works, including some individual family histories.

Church Records - A limited number of church records have been transcribed and are available in the Fall River Room.

RootsWeb - A free database offered through Ancestry.com, this allows searching the United States Social Security Death Index. Here you can find dates of death for ancestors who lived and worked during the time when Social Security was in effect, around the mid-20th century to the present. This free service can be used at home or in the library.

Ancestry Plus - We subscribe to the library edition of the popular online genealogical database, Ancestry.com. Thousands of census, directory, immigration and other records are available and searchable, some going back to the 19th century. Ancestry is available for use, free of charge, in the reference room only. This fee-based service is not available for home use unless you purchase a subscription.


Cemeteries in Fall River

Agudath Achim Jewish Cemetery
Newhall Street
Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue
508-674-9761

Beth El Cemetery
N. Main St.

Fall River, Mass. 02722
Contact: Temple Beth El
(508) 674-3529
Hebrew Cemetery
McMahon St.
Contact: Adas Israel Synagogue
508-674-9761

North Burial Ground
1360 N. Main St.

Fall River, Mass. 02722
(508) 672-3041
Established 1810

Notre Dame Cemetery
1540 Stafford Rd.
Fall River, Mass. 02721
(508) 673-1561
Established 1883

 

 

Oak Grove Cemetery
765 Prospect St.
Fall River MA 02720
508-324-2750
Established c. 1873
Historical Note: burial place of Lizzie Borden
(1860-1927), acquitted of murdering her father
and stepmother in 1892.

Our Lady of Light Cemetery
Fall River, Mass. 02722
(508) 672-1207
Contact: Notre Dame Cemetery

St. John's Cemetery
258 Brightman St.

Fall River, Mass. 02722
(508) 679-2535
Burials: 1858-1891
St. Mary's Cemetery
Amity St.

Fall River, Mass. 02722
(508) 679-2535
Burials: 1875-1891
St. Patrick's Cemetery
2233 Robeson St.

Fall River, Mass. 02720
(508) 679-2535
Established 1876

This link
will take you to a comprehensive list of cemeteries in Bristol County.

Other Genealogical Links
Massachusetts Genealogy Forum
Online list of links to Massachusetts state and local Genealogical Societies.
New England Historic Genealogical Society
99-101 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116-3087
Phone: (617) 536-5740 or (888) AT-NEHGS
Email: nehgs@nehgs.org
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston St.
Boston, Mass. 02215
(617) 536-1608
Fax: (617) 859-0074
Email: Use their contact page.
Massachusetts State Archives
McCormack Building
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-2816
Fax: (617) 288-8429
Email: archives@sec.state.ma.us

Massachusetts Vital Records
c/o Mass Document Retrieval Services,
PO Box 529, North Easton, MA 02356-0529
( 617) 249-0323 
Email: services@mass-doc.com

Fall River City Clerk
(for Fall River vital records)
1 Government Center - 2nd Floor
Fall River, MA  02722
(508
) 324-2220
Email: city_council@fallriverma.org
National Archives - Northeast Region
Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center
380 Trapelo Road
Waltham, Massachusetts 02452-6399
(781) 663-0130
Fax: (781) 663-0154
Email: waltham.archives@nara.gov
New England Archivists
Links to historical archives in Massachusetts.
George C. Gordon Library
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609


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