House History Guide for Sterling, Massachusetts

Sterling, MA view of war monument and church

This page contains most of the resources you will need to research the history of your house. If you are new to house history research, please visit the Get Started section. For a quick overview of the process visit 10 Steps to Researching the History of Your House.

Establishment

Sterling was formed in 1781 from the town of Lancaster. The area was originally settled in 1720.

Land Records / Deed Research

Deeds are found at the county level in Massachusetts. Sterling is in Worcester County. Deeds for Sterling, Massachusetts are available online in two places:

  1. The Worcester County, Massachusetts Registry of Deeds (1731 – present)
  2. FamilySearch.org (1731-1865) [access with free account]

All Worcester County deeds are available online. If you visit the Worcester Registry of Deeds in person, you will only have access to the deeds on computers. They no longer provide access to the deed books.

Worcester County Registry of Deeds
90 Front Street, Worcester, MA 01608, Suite C201
(508) 368-7000

Worcester County was formed in 1731. If your house was built before 1731, then you will need to look for the older deeds in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds or the Middlesex County Registry of Deeds.

Census Records (and MA State Census Records)

The most common census records are the US Federal Census Records but Massachusetts also has state census records. Census records help you discover the families that lived in your house. Federal census records are available every 10 years from 1790 to 1950 with the exception of 1890.

U.S Federal Census Records (1790-1950)

Available from:

Massachusetts State Census Records (1855 & 1865)

Available from:

Street view of old house in Sterling, MA

Vital Records

Vital records provide the details about births, marriages and deaths for the people who previously lived in your house.

Find Sterling, MA Vital Records Online:

Probate Records

Probate records for the town of Sterling are found in Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court records (1731-present) which are available both online and in-person.

In-person
Worcester County Probate Court
225 Main Street, Worcester, MA 02021 01608
(508) 831-2200
Check website for hours

Online

Preservation Publications

The Massachusetts Historical Commission provides access to historic building surveys at is website MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS). Once at the site, search specifically by town. You can refine by address and historic name.

Maps

Sterling specific maps:

Maps are also available online from many website such as:

City Directories & Residents Lists

City Directories were typically published every year. Because of that they are great for filling in the gaps between the 10 year spread of census records. They are also helpful to identify when people move from place to place.

City Directories are available online at the major database sites like Ancestry.com ($), MyHeritage.com ($) and FamilySearch.org. They are also found in local libraries and archives.

Tax Records

Tax records provide the value of property through the years. These can be a great indicator of when changes were made to a property. Check your local library, Town Hall or Archive.org for Town Annual Reports which contain the tax records.

Newspapers

Many old newspapers are available online through Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, AmericanAncestors.org, GenealogyBank.com, Newspapers.com, OldNews.com, the Boston Public Library, the American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, MA), Community History Archives. The Ancestor Hunt website is also great for finding more newspaper resources.

View of historic Gothic Revival house in Sterling, MA

Cemetery Information

Sterling, Massachusetts cemeteries:

  • Chocksett Burial Ground
  • Cookshire Cemetery
  • Fairbanks Burial Ground
  • Hillside Cemetery
  • Legg Cemetery
  • Oakhill Cemetery
  • West Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Local Resources

Sterling, MA annual report displayed on a shelf
Sterling Annual Reports (with lots of great historical information) are available
in the local history section of the Conant Library

Further Reading

Crane, Frederick Turner. A Brief History of Sterling, Massachusetts, from its earliest days to the present, 1931. Sterling MA: 1931.

Hurd, D. Hamilton, History of Worcester County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men.. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1889. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historyofworcest02hurd/page/n3/mode/2up

Nason, Rev. Elias. A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts. Boston: B. Russell, 1890. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofstate00naso/page/n5/mode/2up

Nourse, Henry S. The Military Annals of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1740-1865. Including lists of soldiers serving in the colonial and revolutionary wars, for the Lancastrian towns: Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Leominster, and Sterling. Lancaster: 1889. Available on Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/militaryannalsof00nour/page/n7/mode/2up

One Hundredth Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Sterling, Massachusetts. Sterling, Mass.: Miss Mary E. Butterick, 1931. Available on Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/onehundredthfift00unse/mode/2up

Sterling Historical Society. Sterling, Massachusetts: A Pictorial History Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Incorporation, 1781-1981. Sterling, MA: The Sterling Historical Society, 1981.

Schumach-Hardy, John C. Local Lore: a tapestry of tales from regional history – Lancaster, Leominster, Clinton, Bolton, West Boylston, Boylston, Berlin, Harvard, Sterling, etc. South Lancaster, MA: John C. Schumacher-Hardy, 2014.

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