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History of Worcester, Massachusetts by William Lincoln & Charles Hersey
History of Worcester Massachusetts, from its earliest settlement to September 1836: with various notes relating to the history of Worcester County was first published in 1837. After William Lincoln’s death in 1842, Charles Hersey supplemented Lincoln’s writing for the years 1836 to 1861; he published the final edition in 1862. William Lincoln (1801-1843) was the authority on the history of Worcester. His work was so thorough that very little was left for other historians. Many of the general histories of the town and city written after 1862 were adopted or adapted from Mr. Lincoln’s work.
Records of the Proprietors 1665-1788
History of Worcester and its People by Charles Nutt
Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4
This comprehensive history of Worcester, Massachusetts, provides a fascinating look at the development of a major American city from its founding in 1722 to the early 20th century. Nutt covers all aspects of Worcester’s history, from its economy and politics to its social and cultural life. He also weaves in the stories of individual Worcester residents, giving the reader a sense of the human drama that makes up any city’s history. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of New England or American cities in general.
Industrial Worcester
An important book describing Worcester’s industrial enterprises, organized by type of industry and including profiles on the histories of individual manufacturers. Provides an overview of industry in Worcester from its earliest beginnings to 1917 and the technologies and products made in Worcester. Washburn originally published his manuscript in the of History of Worcester County by D Hamilton, 1889; (p1592 – 1658)
Historic Homes, Institutions, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts by Ellery Bicknell Crane
Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4
Written by local genealogist and historian Ellery Bicknell Crane, this four-volume, extensively illustrated series includes biographies of prominent citizens of Worcester along with descriptions and illustrations of their houses and the institutions they established and supported.
History of the Department of Police Service in Worcester Mass
from 1674 to 1900, Historical and Biographical: Illustrating and Describing the Economy, Equipment and Effectiveness of the Police Force of Today, with Reminiscences of the Past, Containing Information from Official Sources
Carl’s Tour in Main St
Carl’s Tour in Main Street was a joint production of John Stocker Coffin Knowlton and Clarendon Wheelock. The stories were published in the Worcester Palladium Newspaper from March 21 to Oct 31, 1855. The stories were popular for about twenty years, which demanded reprinting. The stories of Old time Worcester were printed again in 1857-1858 and again in 1874. Eventually, published into a book in 1889 by Franklin P Rice, who did a little fact checking and applied corrections where needed. Carl was not a real person. The stories were Wheelock’s remembrances and recollections of the early life of Worcester men, localities and affairs, and embellishment was applied, courtesy of Mr Knowlton, the founder and editor of the Worcester Palladium.
Know Your Street by Ivan Sandrof
This is the story of the streets of Worcester; how, why and when they were named. It is also a history of Worcester – with a new presentation of significant events and important citizens, now dead, who made a great city.
Rural Retrospect a Parallel History of Worcester and Its Rural Cemetery by Mildred McClary Tymeson.
William Blackstone Where the river got its name.
Worcester in 1898 Dedication of the New City Hall
Eastern Worcester 1891 by Caleb Wall
Reminiscences of Worcester by Caleb Wall
Scots-Irish Emigration 1718 by Charles Bolton
Autobiography of Ichabod Washburn Father of the Wire Industry in Worcester
GaTill America – Worcester’s Swedish Story
Dictionary of Worcester
1893 publication listing names of people, places and events significant to the city’s history from A-Z, with brief descriptions. It includes local organizations, buildings, churches, ethnic groups, and parks; lists of local businesses and industry; and population statistics.
Narratives of the Indian Wars 1675-1699 by Charles H Lincoln
316 pp. A compilation of seven publications:
A relacion of the Indyan warre, by John Easton, 1675
The present state of New-England with respect to the Indian war, by N. S., 1675
A continuation of the state of New-England, by N. S., 1676
A new and further narrative of the state of New-England, by N. S., 1676
The war in New-England visibly ended, by R. H., 1677
Narrative of the captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682
Decennium luctuosum, by Cotton Mather, 1699
Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation 1606-1646 edited by William T Davis
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford is a journal that chronicles the history of the Plymouth Colony, from the 1600s to the 1640s. It is considered a primary source of early American history and one of the most important works of early American literature.
A Photographic History of the Civil War from the original negatives in the famous Brady collection
Rare Reproductions from Photographs Selected from Seven Thousand Original Negatives Taken under Most Hazardous Conditions in the Midst of One of the Most Terrific Conflicts of Men that the World Has Ever Known, and in the Earliest Days of Photography-These Negatives Have Been in Storage Vaults for More than Forty Years. 1910. This book is in our library.
History of the Names of the Towns in Worcester County
by William B Harding Esq. 1883. Recounts the stories behind the name of each town and village in Worcester County and their respective histories.
Worcester in 1850
The greater part of the material for this sketch is taken from Lincoln’s History of Worcester. It describes the history of the incorporation of the town and provides a brief overview of its educational institutions, churches, public buildings, burial grounds, businesses, and local organizations. It also describes the landscape of Worcester as it appeared in 1850.
The Worcester Book: A Diary of Noteworthy Events
A chronological collection of significant events in the city’s history from 1657 to 1883. Includes details on military history, abolitionism, prominent citizens, and local organizations, and describes historical events.
Worcester Records 1722-1848
Transcriptions of town meetings including descriptions of local elections, lists of jurors, taxes and valuations, school committees, maintenance of highways and roads, passage of laws, etc.
Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity
Descriptions of the meetings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, the predecessor of the Worcester Historical Museum. Includes historical research undertaken by members, biographies of prominent figures, and transcriptions of early records and documents relating to the history of Worcester.
History of Worcester in the War of the Rebellion
A narrative of Worcester’s involvement in the Civil War, published in 1870. Each year of the war is described in detail, including the actions of individual regiments from Worcester. Also describes the activities of local organizations on the Worcester home front, celebrations at the end of the war, and biographical notices of servicemen.
The City of Worcester, Massachusetts: Its Public Buildings and Its Business
Illustrated guide to the institutions of Worcester, including churches, schools, city hall, courthouse, Mechanics Hall, library, county jail, railroad station, Antiquarian Hall, etc. Describes local businesses and industry. Includes quotations from Nathaniel Paine’s “Random Recollections of Worcester” and local historical stories. Its pages are interspersed with the advertisements of local businesses from the time of its publication (1886).
The First Schoolhouse in Worcester
In 1903, the Timothy Bigelow chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) placed a tablet to mark the location of the first schoolhouse in Worcester, where John Adams taught from 1755-1758. This pamphlet was published to mark the dedication and describe the historical research on the schoolhouse that was used to determine its location.
The Worcester Pulpit; with Notices Historical and Biographical
A history of the different churches of Worcester and their ministries, beginning with the first meetinghouse established in the 18th century. Includes the Baptist, Calvinist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Union, Universalist, Episcopal, and Scotch Presbyterian Churches, as well as a description of the chapel at the State Lunatic Hospital.
Records of the Proprietors of Worcester, Massachusetts
Describes how the land that would become Worcester was divided and granted to the first proprietors in 1667, and how it was further rearranged and transferred to subsequent owners. Provides detailed descriptions of individual tracts of land and the geography of Worcester.
Indian Place Names in Worcester County
An early 20th-century antiquarian’s interpretation of the American Indian place names of Worcester County, arranged alphabetically, along with descriptions of the sites with which they are associated.
Bibliography of Worcester: A List of Books, Pamphlets, Newspapers, and Broadsides, Printed in the Town of Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1775 to 1848
A guide to printed sources, intended to aid those interested in researching the history of Worcester. Includes a chronology of different print publications and descriptions of their contents.