Explanations of the Vital Records of Topsfield

EXPLANATIONS

The following records of births, marriages, and deaths include all entries to be found in the books of record kept by the town clerks; the church records now in the custody of the town clerk; the returns made to the Salem Quarterly Court; cemetery inscriptions; and a private record of deaths, covering the period of 1790-1853, now in the possession of Mrs. George Warren Towne, of Danvers, Mass. These records are printed in a condensed form in which every essential particular has been retained. All duplication of the town clerk's record has been eliminated, but differences in entry and other explanatory matter appear in brackets. Parentheses are used only when they occur in the original record, usually enclosing the maiden name of a wife.

When places other than Topsfield and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy. Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties. Double-dating is used in the months of January, February and March, prior to 1752, whenever it appears in the original and also whenever from the sequence of entry in the original the date may be easily determined. In all records the original spelling of names is followed and in the alphabetical arrangement the various forms should be examined, as items about the same family may be found under different spellings.

**ABBREVIATIONS**
a	age	inf	infant
abt	about	int	intention of marriage
b	born	jr	junior
bef	before	m	male; married; month
bp	baptized	s	son
ch	child	sr	senior
Co	county	unm	unmarried
CTR	court record, Essex Co. Quarterly Court	w	wife
d	daughter; day; died	wid	widow
Dea	deacon	widr	widower
h	husband

**CHURCH RECORDS**
CR	church record

**CEMETERY RECORDS**
GR1	Pine Grove Cemetery
GR2	South Side Cemetery

**PRIVATE RECORDS**
(Bible records, Family records, Etc.)
PR1	private record of deaths, 1790-1853, now in the possession of Mrs. George Warren Towne
PR2	Henry Lake's account book, now in the possession of George Francis Dow