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Boston's Annexed Towns and Some Neighborhood Resources: Roxbury

Boston is a city of neighborhoods, owing mostly to the fact the Boston as we know it today is an amalgamation of towns that were annexed in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Introduction

The Town of Roxbury was one of the first towns founded in Massachusetts in 1630.  In 1846 it was incorporated as a city.  In 1851, the western part of the city, roughly the current neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and West Roxbury, left Roxbury to become the Town of West Roxbury.  In 1868 the city was annexed by the City of Boston.  Below are links to documents produced by the City of Roxbury.

City Documents

1851

1852

1853

1854

1855

1856

1857

1858

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

- volume unable to be digitized

  • 1- Address of the Hon. George Lewis, Mayor, to the City Council of Roxbury, Delivered before the Two Branches in Convention, January 2, 1865
  • 2- Report Relative to Sewerage
  • 3- Regulations of the School Committee of the City of Roxbury
  • 4- Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Roxbury for the Year 1865
  • 5- An Address Delivered before the City Government, and Citizens of Roxbury on the Occasion of the Death of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, April 19, 1865, by George Putnam, D.D.
  • 6-Nineteenth Annual Report of the Committee on Accounts on the Receipts and Expenditures of the City of Roxbury for the Year Ending January 31st, 1865
  • 7-Municipal Register...1865

1866

1867

Other Government Documents

This is by no means an exhaustive list of government information available on Roxbury.  For example, the Boston Redevelopment Authority produced many documents on the Washington Park project.

Roxbury Land and Church Records (from the Record Commissioner's Reports, covers the period 1639-1717 for land records, 1630-1673 for church records.)

Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, volume 1, volume 2.

Roxbury District Profiles, 1978 and 1979 editions.

Roxbury Newspapers on Microfilm

AN2.M4R87 Bay State/Boston Banner                 Weekly, Black Sep 25, 1965-Mar 27, 2008;       Apr 3, 2008--
AN2.M4D55x Dorchester-Roxbury Record Weekly Feb 27, 1941-May 15, 1969; [1941-43]; [1946-49]
AN2.M4R88 Mutual Advertiser   Apr 4- Aug 8, 1846
AN2.M4B639 Norfolk County Journal (with Boston Home Journal) Weekly Oct 6, 1849-Jan 4, 1868
AN2.M4R92 Roxbury Advertiser Weekly Mar 18, 1848- Mar 10, 1849;   Nov 3- Dec 29, 1849
AN2.M4R925 Roxbury Advocate Weekly Dec 9, 1882- Nov 27, 1886
AN2.M4R933 Roxbury Citizen (and South End Citizen) Weekly Mar 26, 1936- Dec 30, 1963
AN2.M4R949 Roxbury Gazette Weekly [Aug 14, 1847- May 11, 1850]
AN2.M4R95 Roxbury Gazette (and South End Advertiser) Weekly May 1, 1861- Dec 30, 1905;     Jan 7- Dec 30, 1911;              Jan 4- Dec 27, 1913;              Jan 4, 1919- Dec 25, 1920;             Jan 7- Dec 30, 1922;                Jan 5, 1924- Dec 31, 1926;               Jan 6, 1939- Dec 26, 1946;             Jul 2, 1948- Dec 29, 1960
AN2.M4B6533 Mission Hill Gazette   April 1993-Oct 2006
AN2.M4B6535 Mission Hill Good News Weekly 1971-1983