Records from Lynn, Massachusetts, 1638-1918, undated

Collection

Identifier: EC 15

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Contents

This is an artificial collection of materials from the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. Some of it is official city records; however, the majority of the materials are church, club, and company records. This collection has been divided into two series.

Series I. City and Vital Records contains vital records such as information about births, marriages, and deaths of Lynn residents. It also contains city records relating to the school, library, land, and tax records.

Series II. Church, Club, and Company Records contains records of some of the city's churches, clubs, and companies. Church records include the First Church and a Methodist Church. Company records include the H. Pitman and Co. (later Ira J. Patch), Mineral Spring Company, and Chattell Mortgage. Club records include the Natural History Society, West Lynn Yacht Club, and Free Masons.

Dates

Creation: 1638-1918, undated

Language of Materials

These materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

The city of Lynn, Massachusetts, which sits north of Boston, was orginally made up of what is now the individual towns of Swampscott, Nahant, Saugus and Lynnfield. In 1630, that land was incorporated as the Town of Saugus, one year after it was founded. When the first official minister Samuel Whiting arrived from King’s Lynn, England, the new settlers were so excited that they changed the name of their community to Lynn in 1637, in honor of him.

Originally a farming and fishing community, Lynn became a large shoe and leather tanning center in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Additionally, in 1892, the Lynn-based Thomson-Houston Electric Company merged with the Edison general Electric Company to form the General Electric Company. As of 2020, Lynn is the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and is densely populated and culturally diverse ("Brief History of Lynn").

Extent

2.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes, 1 flat file)

Additional Description

Series List

SERIES I. City and Vital Records

SERIES II. Church, Company, and Club Records

Provenance

The materials in this collection came from a number of different sources. The school account book was purchased by the Essex Institute on November 12, 1931, with the Martha G. Wheatland Bequest. A warrant dated 1755, and a legal document dated 1774, were purchased from Robert W. Lull on January 13, 1950. A blank tax receipt book dated 1867, was donated by Henry F. Waters in 1902. The Chattell mortgage book dated 1836-1839, was purchased from Robert W. Lull on September 21, 1931, with the Thomas Cole Bequest.

Bibliography and Related Collections

Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. "Brief History of Lynn." Accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.lynnma.gov/about/history/shtml