Franklin Public Library
118 Main Street
Franklin, Massachusetts 02038
508-520-4941
For local history & genealogy questions, send us an email:
​vearls@franklinma.gov
Franklin Genealogy & Local History Research online
(For more detailed and direct access to the records below,
click on the tab above, "Index to Digital Collections​")
​
Franklin Town Reports, 2004-Current
The reports include births, marriages and deaths in Franklin for each year.
​
Franklin High School Oskey Yearbooks
For the years: 1928-1930, 1933-2017
​
Franklin Public Library Digital Collection at the Internet Archive
Historic manuscripts of Franklin, Mass. including Sanborn maps, resident directories, judicial records, social club records, school records, diaries and much more. Hosted at Archives.org.
​
Franklin Historical Museum Digital Collection at the Internet Archive
Great collection! Annual Franklin town reports, School Committee reports, resident & business directories, Franklin Sentinel for the year 1900. Hosted at Archives.org.
​
​
Franklin Federated Church Digital Collection at the Internet Archive
​Very early documents of the town and the Congregational Church, many are pre-Franklin, when what is now the Town of Franklin was Wrentham's "Second Precinct".
​
Franklin, Mass. First Congregational Church. Marriages & Baptisms 1737-1827
The First Congregational Church, now the Franklin Federated Church, was both the governing body and the only ecclesiastical institution in Franklin until the early 19th century. These vital records were digitized by Boston's Congregational Library & Archives.
​
Franklin Real Property Assessment Data & Valuations
This site can provide some basic information on homes in Franklin, including year built, previous owner, etc. A good starting point for researching the history of an ancestral home.
​
Record of births, marriages and deaths in the Town of Franklin, from 1778 to 1872
(these records are also included in the online vital records collection - see Franklin Sentinel)
​
Sanborn map collection from the Library of Congress
For all of the U.S. - includes Franklin maps for the years 1884, 1889, 1894, and 1899.
​
Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School Yearbooks
For the years 1978-2018
​
History of the Town of Franklin, Mass. (2nd March 1878) by Mortimer Blake
A history of the town written for the Centennial Celebration of 1878. Includes "genealogical notices" for the founding families of Franklin.
​
Woonsocket Call 1899-1960
Digitized by the Woonsocket Harris Public Library. Database includes the Woonsocket Call and Evening Reporter, 1908-1960; the Evening Call, 1899-1908; the Evening Reporter, 1906; Providence County Times, 1928. Excellent source for Franklin news & obituaries.
Digital records of the Massachusetts State Archive​
Massachusetts census records, vital records, military records, passenger lists, as well as court and legislative records, mostly from the 18th & 19th centuries.
​
MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System
Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth, National
Register of Historic Places nominations, State Register of Historic Places listings, and local historic district study reports. Hundreds of Franklin homes, churches and public buildings have been researched and added to MACRIS.
______________________________________________
​
​
Born June 30, 1891 in Franklin, Massachusetts, Stanley Grant Chilson became the official Fire Department photographer for Franklin, as well as Nofolk, Millis, Medway, Foxboro and Medfield. Stanley's love for photography naturally inspired him to pick up a movie camera, and he began to film scenes of everyday life in Franklin and other neighboring towns. This collection also includes 2 movies not filmed by Chilson, Franklin's celebration the U.S. Bicentennial of 1976, and the Town of Franklin's own bicentennial celebration in 1978
Other Research Materials
(ask Librarian for assistance)
Newspapers on Microfilm (in storage)
Country Gazette: 1992, 1999 - 4/29/2022
Franklin Times: 3/24/2006 - 7/28/2006
Milford Daily News: 1993 - 1998
​
Town Reports
Bound 1869 - current
List of Residents (some available online at the Internet Archive)
1954 – 1961 (Bound)
1964 - 1971 (Bound)
1972 – 1978 (Bound)
1984 – 1988 (Bound)
1989 – 1992 (Bound)
1993 – 1996 (Bound)
1997 – 2000 (Bound)
2000 – 2003 (Bound)
2005 – 2008 (Bound - no 2004)
2009 – 2012 (Bound)
1884, 1890, 1893, 1899, 1905, 1909, 1913, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 2013-2021(Individual Books)
Real Estate Valuations (Bound)
1859, 1868, 1879, 1889, 1896, 1900, 1906, 1911, 1914, 1919, 1924, 1929, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1963
Franklin Zoning Maps
1963, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Abington
Acton
Alford
Amesbury
Andover
Arlington
Ashburnham
Ashford
Athol
Attleboro
Auburn
Barre
Becket
Bedford
Bellingham
Beverly
Billerica
Bolton
Boylston
Boxboro
Bradford
Braintree
Brewster
Bridgewater
Brimfield
Brockton
Brookfield
Brookline
Burlington
Cambridge
Canton
Carlisle
Carver
Charlemont
Charlton
Chelmsford
Chelsea
Chester
Chilmark
Cohasset
Concord
Conway
Cummington
Dalton
Dana
Danvers
Dartmouth
Deerfield
Dorchester
Douglas
Dover
Dracut
Dudley
Dunstable
Duxbury
East Bridgewater
Edgartown
Essex
Foxborough
Framingham
Gardner
Georgetown
Gill
Gloucester
Grafton
Granville
Great Barrington
Greenfield
Groton
Hamilton
Hanover
Hanson
Hardwick
Harvard
Haverhill
Heath
Hinsdale
Holden
Holliston
Hopkinton
Hubberd
Hull
Ipswich
Kingston
Lawrence
Lee
Leicester
Leominster
Lexington
Lincoln
Lowell
Lynn
Lynnfield
Malden
Manchester
Marblehead
Marlborough
Medfield
Medford
Mendon
Methuen
Middlefield
Milbury
Milford
Nantucket
Natick
New Ashford
New Bedford
New Braintree
Newbury
Newburyport
Newton
Northbridge
Norton
Oakham
Oxford
Otis
Palmer
Pelham
Pembroke
Plympton
Princeton
Reading
Rehoboth
Richmond
Rochester
Rowley
Roxbury
Rutland
Salem
Salisbury
Saugus
Scituate
Shrewsbury
Sharon
Shelburne
Sherborn
Shirley
Shrewsbury
Southborough
Stoneham
Stoughton
Stow
Sturbridge
Sudbury
Sutton
Taunton
Templeton
Tewksbury
Tisbury
Topsfield
Tyngsborough
Tyringham
Upton
Uxbridge
Wakefield
Walpole
Waltham
Warren
Washington
Wayland
Wenham
West Boylston
West Bridgewater
West Newbury
West Springfield
West Stockbridge
Westford
Westminster
Weston
Westport
Weymouth
Williamstown
Wilmington
Winchendon
Windsor
Woburn
Wrentham
Worcester
Worthington