Explanations of the Vital Records of Westford, MA

EXPLANATIONS

The following records of births, marriages and deaths include all entries to be found in the books of record kept by the town clerk; in the church records; in the cemetery inscriptions; in the returns made to the Middlesex Co. Quarterly Court; and in private records found in family Bibles, etc. These records are printed in a condenses form in which every essential particular has been preserved. All duplication of the town clerks' record has been eliminated, but differences in entry and other explanatory matter appear in brackets. Parenetheses are used when they occur in the original record; also to indicate the maiden name of a married woman.

When places other than Westford 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 when 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. When additions to the original record have been made in different ink or in pencil it is so indicated within brackets.

**ABBREVIATIONS**
a	age	h	husband; hour
abb	abbreviation	inf	infant
abt	about	int	intention of marriage
b	born	jr	junior
bef	before	m	male; married; month
bet	between	rec	recorded
bp	baptized	s	son
bur	buried	sr	senior
ch	child	TC	town copy
chn	children	TR	town record
Co	county	unm	unmarried
CTR	court record, Middlesex Co. Quarterly Court	w	wife;week
d	daughter; day; died	wid	widow
Dea	deacon	widr	widower
dup	duplicate entry	y	year

CR1	First Congregation Church
CR2	Union Church

**CEMETERY RECORDS**
GR1	Fairview Cemetery
GR2	Westlawn Cemetery
GR3	Hillside Cemetery
GR4	Wright private burial ground

**PRIVATE RECORDS**
(Bibles, Family Records, Etc.)
PR1	Register of burials in the East Burying Ground (Fairview Cemetery), kept by Levi Snow, 2d, now in possession of the Commissioner of Public Burial Grounds
PR2	Church record kept by Rev. Leonard Luce, now in possession of the J.V. Fletcher Library
PR3	Copy of a record of deaths kept by Dea. Reuben Leighton
PR4	Copy of diary of Rev. Ebenezer Bridge of Chelmsford, now in possession of Rev. Wilson Waters of Chelmsford
PR5	Bible record now in possession of Mrs. James Hildreth
PR6	Note book record now in possession of Mrs. E.J. Whitney
PR7	Note book record now in possession of Mis Louise Blodgett
PR8	Bible record now in possession of Mrs. Lucy Keyes
PR9	Bible record now in possession of Mrs. Otis Adams of Chelmsford
PR10	Note book record now in possession of Miss Louise Blodgett
PR11	Bible record now in possession of Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher
PR12	Bible record now in possession of Mrs. Frances Prescott
PR13	Sampler record now in possession of Fred Blodgett
PR14	Bible record now in possession of Fred Blodgett
PR15	Bible record now in possession of Samuel L. Taylor
PR16	Bible record now in possession of Abiel Abbott
PR17	Bible record now in possession of Mrs. George Drew
PR18	Framed record now in possession of George E. Gould
PR19	Bible record now in possession of Miss Ida Leighton
PR20	Bible record now in possession of John M. Fletcher
PR21	Bible record now in possession of Charles O. Prescott
PR22	Family record now in possession of Mrs. Sydney B. Wright
PR23	Bible record now in possession of Samuel L. Taylor
PR24	Family record now in possession of John C. Abbot
PR25	Family record now in possession of Miss Mary L. Hutchin of Billerica