The city of Lowell first hit a population of little over 106,000 people in 1910 and we have a few more thousand in population now, so there have been a lot of people born here or just passed through. So, where are the records kept? I wasn't born here, nor do I have relatives, except for my born and bred Lowellian husband. Therefore, even though I spend a lot of time on my genealogy, I have often been confused as to where people doing research should go for reference material.
During the past week, I've spent time in the Lowell Library, also known as the Pollard Memorial Library, and at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center. It is the later that has always puzzled me...does this belong to the Lowell National Historical Park? The city of Lowell? University of Massachusetts? I've seen park rangers in the building a lot, but knew there was a university connection, so what it this place all about?
If you are doing Lowell research, I believe you have two options, first the Lowell / Pollard Library and second is the Cultural center. I did a Lowell Library blog post in 2012 and just updated it. In a nutshell, it has a typical reading room, with a section for genealogies, reference materials, computers, and a separate room for looking at microfilm, mostly newspapers. Parking can be limited (since it's next to the city hall), but they do have a free small parking lot next to the library (in the back).
For all parking, either the Lowell Library free parking lot or on the street using meters, the limit is two hours. Parking garages aren't too far away and you can stay much longer, but the cost is rather high.
One nice thing about the library is if you discover you need a vital record, you could easily walk next door to the city hall and have them type one up for a fee. My link for the Lowell Library is HERE.
The remainder of this post is about the Center for Lowell History (located in the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center) and is maintained by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The building is owned by the Lowell National Historical Park. In the building are also office space, restrooms, and the entrance to the Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit (see 3rd picture for a full picture of the building). There is no close parking, but a block away there is on-street parking with meters and a full-sized parking garage. During the summer and class breaks is the very best time to use this library because school is out (a 4,000 student high school is a block away), and parking could be tight.
This is where you enter.
The Boarding House Park is on the right side (see below photo).
Boarding House Park
The Center for Lowell History at 40 French St, Lowell, MA 01852
web page for Genealogy Resources may be found at
Phone: 978-934-4997
I selected a few of the links from above to give you an idea of what is located in this facility. City directors, which aren't online, provides useful information. The Lowell's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors has over 3,000 names and was a project which I participated in along with a few other people. The entire list is alphabetical. The third section regarding Vital records, taken from newspapers.
CITY DIRECTORIES: LOWELL
Lowell Directories are available from 1832 to 1990. They include Resident Directory arranged by name, listing work address, occupation, and home address; Business Directory arranged by-product; and Advertisements. In 1836 they had a Female Supplement City Directory. After 1881, dates of death are noted. Beginning in 1883, most directories contain a ward and street map. Beginning in 1917, wives' names are listed and there is a section arranged by street address.
| LOWELL’S CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS |
A small group of volunteers have transcribed the 4 volumes that
contain the 3,525 names of the Soldiers and Sailors mustered from Lowell
that served in the Civil War (1861-1865). Many of these men were from
Lowell and the surrounding towns. They are listed alphabetically.
| LOWELL - VITAL RECORDS 1865-1970 |
As part of an ongoing effort to document the City's History, a small
but determined group of volunteers in conjunction with the Center
for Lowell History staff are gathering Lowell Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death)
from local newspapers. The indexes are far from complete but new
information is added frequently.
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As you can see, there are plenty of tables, and a copy machine.
The file cabinets contain reels of film, a lot of early Lowell newspapers (Lowell Advertiser dated 1838, and Lowell Sun papers), early census film (1790-1855 (for all states), and Massachusetts birth records from 1841-1891, and the index from 1841-1905. Maps and other materials are located in the long drawers shown below on the right side.
Some archived material is located here, some upstairs.
The majority of the books are about Lowell, and yearbooks are also here, as well as a selection of the Massachusetts Vital Record books to 1850.
Six of these old city directories are being replaced because I had copies stored in my cellar for 15 years. A genealogy club member got them when a library was tossing them, so several of us took them to store at home. Our club disbanded and after various discussions about them, we just kept them. Because I decided to write this post, I figured it was a good time to get rid of some of my books. There are two sets of city directories in Lowell; one here at this location and the other in the Lowell / Pollard Library. The dates are circa 1892 - 1987, more or less and depending where you look.
