Research Links
Sutton Historical Society is always willing to help with any local history or genealogy questions you may have. Please get in touch. The resources below may be useful for your own research.
History of Sutton
Sutton is fortunate to have two expansive published town histories. The first, covering the period from the earliest times to 1876, and the second, which includes updated information about the area before colonial settlement, as well as history to 1950.
Compiled births, marriages and deaths from the earliest records to 1849. Archive.org, a free online library gives you access to all the "tan books" (vital records published for Massachusetts' towns)
This map, produced by two of our members, gives an idea about the size of the settlement of Sutton in its earliest years.
Another Historical Society project, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, this booklet provides biographies of all the men from Sutton who served in that conflict.
Digitized versions of Sutton High School year books are available on the Sutton Public Library website, from 1934 to 2008 (incomplete series).
Sutton is promoting the National Park Service's initiative to transcribe all the pension files for men who served during the Revolutionary War. A list of Sutton's patriots who applied for pensions can be found at the link above. If you can read cursive, you can help! If you can't read cursive, we can teach you! Please get in touch for more information.
This is a digital version of the first catalogue produced for Sutton Free Public Library. It includes 717 books donated by local people and those who shared a love for books and Sutton.
Resources for researching the history of your property
Researching the history of your home can be very rewarding. Even if the building you live in is new, the land it stands on will have had many owners over time, and tracing those people can lead to fascinating discoveries. A brief resource list is below, a full guide is in preparation.
Click "Worcester" on the map to go to the local office if you are researching a Sutton property. Indexes are available back to 1731, when Worcester County was established. Before that, you will need to search Suffolk County indexes.
Includes property cards for homes in Sutton.
A map of Massachusetts with many layers of information available. You may click on any parcel of land to get more information. I love using the "Elevation and Shaded Relief from Lidar" layer to see what is hiding beneath the trees on my property. You can see stone walls, old cellars, roads and more.
Useful for precisely identifying the location of a property
General family history resources
A great place to start for free family history research. It can be overwhelming, so get in touch if you need advice.
It is vital to get the next generation engaged with history, and researching your own family is a great place to start.
From books, to digitized newspapers, to photographs and maps, the Library of Congress has a wealth of information available.