Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts to the Year 1850

Worcester, Massachusetts
Systematic History Fund
Published by Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Fund
1904.

Stanhope press
P.H.Gilson Company
Boston, U.S.A.

Publisher's Note.
The list of Petersham Births, Marriages and Deaths comprised in this volume includes all found in the Town Books covering the period from the earliest date there recorded to the end of the year 1849. Some additions and corrections have been made from other sources, these being indicated in each instance by proper reference.

All of the records are condensed in print as much as is consistent with intelligibility, accuracy, and completeness of information. Differences in duplicates, and explanatory or other
matter which seemed necessary or desirable, appear in brackets.

Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties, but the full information concerning each person is given only under his or her name. An asterisk after a
marriage indicates that the intention was not found recorded, and in many cases this is accounted for by the fact that neither party belonged in Petersham, and consequently publishment was made elsewhere.

The double date is used in the months of January, February and March prior to 1752 only when it so appears in the original, and instances of the modern form after 1725 are not uncommon.

When places other than Petersham and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy.


ABBREVIATIONS.
a. - age
abt. - about
b. - born
ch. - child
chn, - children
co. - county
C.R. - church record
d. - daughter; day; died
Dea. - deacon
D.R. - death record
dup. - duplicate entry
f. - female
G.s. - gravestone record
h. - husband
inf. - infant
int. - publishment of intention of marriage
Jr. - junior
m. - male; married; month
P.R. - private record
rec. - recorded
s. - son
Sr. - senior
w. - wife
wid. - widow
widr. - widower
y. - year
2d. - second

The age given in the Deaths is in years unless otherwise indicated.


Petersham.
This township was an original grant made by the General Court in 1732, as a compensation to certain soldiers in the Indian wars. The place was called Nichewaug until the town was incorporated in 1754. In 1801 the town of Dana was formed of parts of Greenwich, Hard wick and Petersham, and in 1842 another portion of Petersham was annexed to Dana.

Population at different periods: 1765, 707; 1790,
1,560; 1800, 1,794; 1810, 1,490; 1820, 1,623; 1830,
1,696; 1840, 1,775 ; 1850, 1,543.
Population in 1900, 853.

Number of Births printed ......1,975
          Marriages ....              1,572= 3,144 names
          Deaths    .............          744
                                             5,863 total