EXPLANATIONS
1. The fact that a birth, marriage, or death is recorded in Shirley does not prove that it occurred in this town; but when places other than Shirley and Massachusetts are named in the original record, they are given in the printed copy.
2. In all items from town records, the original spelling is followed, and no attempt is made to correct errors appearing in the records.
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. A baptism is not printed, if it occurs within one year after the recorded date of birth of a child of the same name and parents or if it is clear that the child baptized is identical with the child of the births record; but variations found in the baptismal record are added to the birth record.
5. The birth of a married woman is recorded under her married name, if it is known. If it is not known, whether the surname is that of a married or unmarried woman, ? m. is placed in brackets after the Christian name.
6. Marriages and intentions of marriages are printed under the name of both parties, but the full information concerning each party is given only in the entry under his or her name. When both the marriage and intention of marriage are recorded, only the marriage record is printed, it is designated with an asterisk.
7. Additional information which does not appear in the original text of an item, i.e., any explanation, query, inference, or difference shown in other entries of the record, is bracketed. Parentheses are used to show variations in the spelling of a name in the same entry, to indicate the maiden name of a wife, to enclose an imperfect portion of the original text, and to separate clauses in the original text.
ABBREVIATIONS
| a |
age |
|
dup |
duplicate entry |
| abt |
about |
|
Eld |
elder |
| b |
born |
|
Ens |
Ensign |
| BR |
Bolton Record, from a compilation by Mrs. Charles Knowles Bolton of Brookline, now in her possession. It contains material some of which is not now obtainable elsewhere, and includes church records, doctor's records, diaries, and Bible records. |
|
h |
hours; husband |
| bp |
baptized |
|
inf |
infant |
| bur |
buried |
|
int |
publishment of intention of marriage |
| ch |
child |
|
jr |
junior |
| chn |
children |
|
Lt. |
Lieutenant |
| Co |
county |
|
m |
marriage; married; month |
| d |
daughter; day; died |
|
min |
minutes |
| Dea |
deacon |
|
q.v. |
which see; whom see |
| dec'd |
deceased |
|
|
|
CEMETERY RECORDS
| GR1 |
Shirley Centre Cemetery |
| GR2 |
Shirley Village Cemetery |
| GR3 |
Shaker Cemetery, Lancaster, near the Shirley boundary |
| GR4 |
French Cemetery |
|