Beverly History and Genealogy

Beverly Vital Records to 1849
We have print copies of Beverly Vital Records to 1849, and they are scanned in full-text below.

• Vital Records of Beverly to the End of 1849: Volume 1: Births
• Vital Records of Beverly to the End of 1849: Volume 2: Marriages and Deaths

Beverly Historical Newspapers

• The Beverly Public Library has digitized issues of the Beverly Citizen, Beverly Evening Times, and Saturday Morning Citizen from 1850 to 1919. Newspapers are indexed and searchable by keyword, title, and date.

Newspaper Holdings on Microfilm

• You are welcome to visit the library and search our newspaper holdings.

Beverly Historic Postcard Collection

• Historic postcard images are available in NOBLE’s Digital Heritage Collection.

Massachusetts Vital Records from 1600-1850

• The library contains vital records for several North Shore towns in print in our Beverly Room. You may find additional Massachusetts Vital Records online here.

Beverly Cemetery Data

Open cemeteries:

• • • Beverly Farms Burying Ground at Haskell and Hart Streets
    • Central Cemetery (Municipal) at Dane and Butman Streets
    • Dodge’s Row Burying Ground in North Beverly
    • North Beverly Cemetery (Municipal) at Conant and Cabot Streets

Closed Cemeteries:

• • • Abbott at Abbot and Hale Streets (Ancient Burying Ground)
    • Conant between Cabot and Dodge Streets (Ancient North Beverly Cemetery)
    • Green Family Burying Ground at Ryal Side

Resources for locating specific graves:

• • Cemetery Maps
  • Find-A-Grave
  • Beverly Cemetery Index
  • Interesting Burials in Beverly Cemeteries

Request an Obituary

• Request an obituary by emailing bev@noblenet.org. Please provide as much information as possible, including full name, any alternate spellings, and the location and date of death. Obituary requests may take up to 2 weeks to fill.

Beverly City Directories

• Beverly City Directories dating from 1886-present are available for use in the Beverly Room. These directories provide a listing of residents, streets, businesses, and organizations, and give their location in Beverly at the time of publication.

Beverly Municipal Documents

• The Beverly Room retains Town Documents in print from 1880-1971. Some Beverly Municipal Documents are also available in digital format from 1668-1893.

Beverly High School Yearbooks

• Beverly High School Yearbooks are located in the Beverly Room and on archive.org. The collection covers yearbooks from 1937 to the present.

Family Genealogies in the Beverly Room

• The Beverly Room contains several print family genealogies and histories about founding Beverly and North Shore families. Some of these families include the Cabot, Conant, Dodge, and Balch families.

Beverly’s Digital Heritage Collection

• Part of NOBLE’s Digital Heritage Collection contains historical photographs and postcards.

The following are subscription based resources provided by the library.

• • American Ancestors – AVAILABLE ONLY AT THE MAIN LIBRARY
    Conduct genealogical research, take online seminars, and search their online library catalog of books, 19th century newspapers, periodicals, microform materials, and manuscripts.
  • Ancestry Library Edition – AVAILABLE ONLY AT THE LIBRARY
    This collection has coverage of the U.S. and the U.K., including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas.
  • Fold3 Library Edition – AVAILABLE FOR BEVERLY RESIDENTS ONLY
    Provides access to a growing collection of US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served so you are able to search your family’s military past.
  • HeritageQuest Online – AVAILABLE FOR BEVERLY RESIDENTS ONLY
    Searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular UMI® Genealogy & Local History collection and other valuable content. This online database is an essential collection of unique material for both genealogical hobbyists and professionals. Includes the complete U.S. Federal Census from 1790-1940. More than 20,000 book titles, including nearly 8,000 family histories and over 12,000 local histories. Includes more than 250 primary-source documents such as tax lists, city directories, probate records, and more.
  • MyHeritage – AVAILABLE FOR BEVERLY RESIDENTS ONLY
    Features over 8 billion primary historical records from the United States, Europe, and other regions, with coverage starting from the 16th century.

The following is a librarian curated list of resources.

• • • Cyndi’s List: categorized and cross-reference index to genealogical resources
    • Digital Collections of Massachusetts libraries
    • FamilySearch: a free site sponsored by the Church of the Latter-Day Saints
    • Findagrave.com: research your ancestors, look up cemeteries, or add burial records
    • Geni: create a family tree
    • Massachusetts Historical Society: lists holdings, policies, and publications; links to New England sites
    • Massachusetts Special Collections, Archives, and Manuscripts Directory: a guide and locator of collections in Massachusetts libraries, archives, historical societies, and town clerk’s offices
    • National Archives and Records Administration: Congressional records, the Federal Register, and historic documents
    • RootsWeb: links to online genealogy resources, including passenger lists
    • Searching the Social Security Death Index: search the SSDI in one step using Steve Morse’s search engine

Beverly Historical Society