Dukes County Genealogy Records

Dukes County genealogy records cover Martha's Vineyard, an island off the southwest coast of Cape Cod with a distinct history separate from mainland Massachusetts. Land records, probate files, vital records, and maritime documents for the seven Vineyard towns are held at the Dukes County Registry of Deeds in Edgartown, the county probate court, and through each town's individual clerk office. Researchers tracing Vineyard ancestors will also want to check the Dukes County Historical Society, which holds many records and collections not found in official county offices.

Dukes County Registry of Deeds

The Dukes County Registry of Deeds is at 81 Main Street, Edgartown, MA 02539. The phone is 508-627-4025 and fax is 508-627-7821. Email contact is registry@dukescounty.org. Free online searching is available through MassLandRecords, the statewide land records portal. The site lets you search by name, book and page, document number, or property, and document images are available for the online collection.

Land records are a primary source for tracing Vineyard families. They show when an ancestor bought or sold property, where the land was located on the island, and who witnessed the transaction. Estate deeds, recorded when heirs sold property after a death, often name all the children and their spouses. This is especially useful on Martha's Vineyard, where families tended to stay on the island for generations and property passed through the same surnames repeatedly.

Island geography made Dukes County records somewhat self-contained. Families that lived on the Vineyard tended to record their deeds there, with less crossing over to mainland registries than you might see in border towns on the mainland. This makes the Dukes County registry a relatively complete source for land research, though you should still check Barnstable County on Cape Cod if an ancestor had mainland property connections.

The state makes it easy to order certified vital record copies online. The Massachusetts ordering portal covers births, marriages, and deaths for the full state, including Dukes County records.

Certified copies of Dukes County birth, marriage, and death records can be ordered through the Massachusetts vital records ordering system, covering events registered from the mid-1800s forward.

Dukes County Probate Records

Probate records for Dukes County cover wills, estate inventories, administration papers, and guardianship files for Martha's Vineyard residents. These are held at the Dukes County Probate and Family Court in Edgartown. Wills are particularly useful for island research, since they often name all children by name, sometimes with their married names, and can help you trace family lines forward and backward across generations.

For earlier probate records, FamilySearch at familysearch.org has a county wiki page listing available digitized collections for Dukes County. Many historical Massachusetts probate records have been microfilmed and digitized, and FamilySearch is the best free starting point for checking what is available before making a trip to Edgartown or requesting records by mail.

The island's small, tight-knit population means that probate records are relatively well preserved and documented for Dukes County. Estates were often settled among a small community of neighbors and relatives, which created good paper trails. For researchers with Vineyard ancestry, probate records combined with deed records often provide a near-complete picture of a family's property and relationships over multiple generations.

Vital Records for Dukes County Genealogy

Vital records for Dukes County are held in two main places depending on the time period. For records from 1841 to 1925, the Massachusetts State Archives at 220 Morrissey Boulevard in Boston holds the statewide collection. In-person copies cost $3 each. For records from 1926 to the present, contact the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics in Dorchester.

There is a key structural point for Dukes County vital records. Each of the seven towns on Martha's Vineyard keeps its own vital records at the town clerk's office. The towns are Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Gosnold, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury. Gosnold, which covers the Elizabeth Islands, is technically part of Dukes County but is geographically separate from Martha's Vineyard itself. For events before 1841, the town clerk records are the primary source, and they must be requested from each individual town.

Many early Dukes County vital records have been published. Researchers should check the published vital record series before writing to individual town clerks, since the published versions are often faster to access and are available at libraries and through FamilySearch. Certified copies can be ordered through the state at mass.gov. Access rules are set under M.G.L. Chapter 46.

Dukes County Research: Island Context

Martha's Vineyard has a research environment unlike any mainland county in Massachusetts. The island's history includes significant Wampanoag Native American heritage, particularly in Aquinnah (formerly Gay Head) and Christiantown. For researchers with Wampanoag ancestry, records at the Dukes County Historical Society and at state archives can be especially important. Tribal records, mission records, and early colonial documents relating to the Wampanoag communities of the Vineyard are separate from typical county genealogy sources and require specialized research approaches.

Maritime and whaling history is deeply woven into Dukes County records. The island's involvement in the whaling industry brought sailors, merchants, and ship captains from around the world into contact with Vineyard families. Crew lists, ship logs, and maritime records can document ancestors who appear in no other source. The Nantucket Historical Association (on nearby Nantucket) also holds whaling records that intersect with Vineyard families.

Island isolation created some record-keeping patterns that differ from the mainland. Some early records were kept separately from the standard county system. The Dukes County Historical Society, located in Edgartown, holds manuscript collections, family papers, photographs, and genealogy materials that are not found in official county offices. Anyone doing serious Vineyard research should plan to check there.

American Ancestors holds New England genealogy collections that include Dukes County and Martha's Vineyard materials. Their databases and Boston research library complement the official Edgartown records and are worth checking for compiled genealogies and church records that may not be easily accessible elsewhere.

Note: Gosnold is a town within Dukes County that covers the Elizabeth Islands, a chain of small islands between Martha's Vineyard and the mainland. Its records are part of Dukes County, but its geographic separation from the Vineyard means its history is somewhat distinct. Researchers with Gosnold ancestry may need to look in both Dukes County and mainland sources.

Towns in Dukes County

Dukes County has no cities that meet the population threshold for individual pages on this site. The county consists of seven towns on Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands: Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Gosnold, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury. Edgartown serves as the county seat and is the location of the Registry of Deeds and Probate Court.

Nearby Counties

Dukes County is an island county with no land borders. The nearest Massachusetts county on the mainland is Barnstable County, which covers Cape Cod. For ancestors who had connections to both the Vineyard and the Cape, checking Barnstable County records is worth doing.