EXPLANATIONS
1. When places other than Bedford and Massachusetts are named in the original records, they are given in the printed copy.
2. In all records the original spelling is followed.
3. The various spellings of a name should be examined, as items about the same family or individual might be found under different spellings.
4. Marriages are printed under the names of both parties, but the full information concerning each party is only given in the entry under his or her name. Prior to 1850, there are no records of indentions of marriage found in Bedford.
5. Additional information which does not appear in the original text of an item, i.e., any explanation, query, inference, or difference show in other entries of the record, is bracketed. Parentheses are used only when they occur in the original text, or to separate clauses found there &emdash; such as the birth-place of parents, in late marriage records.
6. The records are printed from a copy made, and legally attested, by the Town Clerk of Bedford.
ABBREVIATIONS
| a |
abe |
|
m |
married; month |
| abt |
about |
|
min |
minutes |
| b |
born |
|
MR |
Middlesex County record (East Cambridge) |
| ch |
child |
|
prob |
probably |
| chn |
children |
|
rec |
recorded |
| Co |
county |
|
s |
son |
| CR |
church record (First Parish) |
|
Sr |
senior |
| d |
daughter; died; day |
|
w |
wife; week |
| Dea |
deacon |
|
wid |
widow |
| dup |
duplicated entry |
|
widr |
widower |
| GR |
gravestone record |
|
y |
year |
| h |
husband |
|
1st |
first |
| hrs |
hours |
|
2d |
second |
| inf |
infant |
|
3d |
third |
| Jr |
junior |
|
|
|
|