Resources

Every Bouseblog post is extensively researched. I have included many of my most frequently used sources below. These links contain a wealth of information on the history of Somerville and its surrounding communities.

Newspapers:

  • Microfilm copies of the Somerville Journal dating back as far as 1876 can be found at the main branch of the Somerville Public Library. A guide to the library’s collection can be found online.
  • The Cambridge Public Library has searchable digital copies of the Cambridge Chronicle (1846-1923), Cambridge Press (1887-1889), Cambridge Sentinel (1903-1947) and Cambridge Tribune (1887-1923) available online.
  • Boston Globe subscribers can access the newspaper’s archives, which date back to 1872.
  • TimesMachine provides New York Times subscribers with access to articles from 1851 to 2002.

Books and Articles:

Several late 1800s/early 1900s books on Somerville are available through the Internet Archive. Titles include:

The genealogist William Richard Cutter published several catalogs of New England family histories, including:

  • Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published in 1908: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4
  • Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, published in 1908: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4
  • Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, published in 1910: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4
  • New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, published in 1913: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4

The Somerville Historical Society published the journal Historic Leaves from 1902 to 1915. The Somerville Public Library has an index of the journals articles available online and copies of the publication in its Local History Room. All nine volumes are also available digitally through the Internet Archive:

The Somerville Public Library has made the City of Somerville’s Annual Reports available online through the Internet Archive. The reports cover the years 1843 through 1925. Hard copies of the city’s annual reports from 1925 through the current year are available at the library.

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission has published several brochures and self-guided walking tour guides that highlight historic buildings, places and events. These materials can be found on the Commission’s website in the right-hand column under Brochures and Self-Guided Tours.

The Theatre Historical Society of America publishes the quarterly journal Marquee. In 2006, they published an article called “Lost Theatres of Somerville.”

Photos:

  • The City of Somerville Archives runs a Tumblr account featuring historic photos of the city.
  • The Boston Public Library’s Flickr account has several albums of photos from the Boston-area and elsewhere.
  • The City of Boston Archives also runs a Flickr account with historic photos.
  • The Tufts Digital Library has digitized thousands of photographs from the University’s history. Their local history page also includes books and documents on the history of the school and its neighboring communities.
  • The Digital Public Library of America catalogs millions of images, texts and other resources from across the country. Its collection can be searched or browsed in many ways, including by date and by place.

Databases:

  • MACRIS (the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System) contains information on historic areas, buildings and burial grounds in Massachusetts.
  • The National Register of Historic Places can be searched through the National Park Service’s website.
  • The National Park Service houses the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS), a database containing information on the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.

Other Collections:

  • Digital Commonwealth provides access to images, documents and recordings from over 130 member institutions in Massachusetts.
  • Historic New England’s collection of over 110,000 objects and one million archival materials can be searched or browsed on their website. Collections include art, furniture, ephemera and much more.
  • The Bostonian Society’s Online Catalog contains books, manuscripts, photographs, postcards and other historic objects.
  • The Massachusetts Historical Society’s collections include manuscripts, photographs, maps and other items.
  • The NSCDA (National Society of Colonial Dames of America) maintains a Register of Ancestors, with biographies of over 9,900 individuals. They also have collections of portraits and needlework samplers.
  • The Perseus Collection at Tufts University contains publications from the Somerville Historical Society and Medford Historical Society as well as many other writings on 19th Century America.
  • The MIT Libraries digital collections contain historic documents and images from Somerville and elsewhere.
  • The National Archives makes records, photographs, recordings and other resources available online through its website.
  • The New England Historic Genealogical Society has several databases available online. Additional resources are available at their library in Boston.
  • FamilySearch provides many databases, including immigration records, census information and birth, marriage and death records, for free on its website.

Arts:

  • The Somerville Arts Council has created a map of public art pieces in Somerville.
  • The Davis Square Tiles Project catalogs information on the decorative tiles in the Davis Square T station.
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