Find Genealogy Records in Norfolk County

Norfolk County genealogy records are split between the Registry of Deeds in Dedham, the Probate and Family Court in Canton, and the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston. The county was formed in 1793 from parts of Suffolk County, so researchers tracing ancestors before that year need to check both sets of records. This page explains where to search, what records each office holds, and how to get copies of documents for family history research across all 28 towns in Norfolk County.

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds handles all land records for the county's 28 towns. The registry is at 649 High Street in Dedham. You can reach the office by phone at 781-461-6101. Free online deed searches are available through the registry's own site at norfolkdeeds.org and through the statewide portal at masslandrecords.com. Both systems let you search by grantor or grantee name, book and page, property address, or date range. Document images are available online back to September 1793, when the first deed was recorded.

Deeds are valuable for genealogy because they name the parties to each transaction, give property descriptions, and often list spouses, heirs, or other relatives as co-owners or witnesses. Mortgage discharges and releases can help you date events in an ancestor's life. Deeds of partition, where heirs divided an estate after a death, name all the children or grandchildren involved and frequently mention the deceased parent directly. If you are tracing a Norfolk County family from the mid-1800s or later, the deed index is often the fastest way to find a chain of ownership and identify family members.

American Ancestors at americanancestors.org holds genealogy databases covering Norfolk County probate and vital records, accessible with a membership or free in person at their Boston library.

Norfolk County researchers can find wills, estate inventories, and probate files through American Ancestors that complement the deeds and vital records held at the county level.

The registry also offers a free Consumer Notification Service. You can sign up to get alerts whenever a deed or title document is recorded in your name. This is mainly for fraud prevention, but it can also alert family members when estate-related documents are filed after a death.

Note: Norfolk County was formed from Suffolk County in 1793. Any deed for property in modern Norfolk County that was recorded before September 1793 will be in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds in Boston, not in Dedham.

Norfolk County Probate Genealogy Records

The Norfolk County Probate and Family Court holds probate records from 1793 to the present. The court is at 35 Shawmut Road in Canton. The phone number is 781-830-1700. Probate records include wills, estate inventories, administration files, trusts, and guardianship appointments. Wills often name every child and grandchild, sometimes including married daughters with their husbands' surnames. Estate files can run to many pages and contain detailed information that is hard to find anywhere else. Guardianship records name minor children and their parents, which helps establish family structure when other records are thin.

Online case searching is available through the Massachusetts Trial Court Case Access system. This lets you look up a probate case by name and see the docket entries. For older records, you may need to visit the court in person or send a written request. Pre-1793 probate records for families who lived in what is now Norfolk County will be in Suffolk County, since the county did not exist before that year. It is worth checking both counties if your ancestor's family spanned the 1793 boundary.

FamilySearch has digitized a large portion of Norfolk County probate records, and many are free to view at familysearch.org. Their Norfolk County wiki page lists what is available and links to digitized collections. This is a good first stop before contacting the courthouse directly.

Vital Records for Norfolk County Genealogy Research

Norfolk County vital records follow the same structure as the rest of Massachusetts. The state began registering births, marriages, and deaths centrally in 1841. Records from 1841 to 1925 are held at the Massachusetts State Archives at 220 Morrissey Boulevard in Boston. Copies cost $3 each in person. Records from 1926 to the present are at the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics in Dorchester. You can order these online for $54 for the first copy, by mail for $32, or in person for $20. Official copies can also be ordered through the state's portal at mass.gov.

For records before 1841, the town clerk in each Norfolk County town is the primary source. Many of the county's towns published their early vital records in the Massachusetts "Systematic Series," a set of printed books compiled in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These books cover births, marriages, and deaths recorded by town clerks going back to colonial times. Copies are available at the Boston Public Library, American Ancestors, and through FamilySearch, which has scanned many volumes. Dedham is particularly well-documented. The town kept early records carefully, and researchers often find detailed entries going back to the 1600s.

Under M.G.L. Chapter 46, Massachusetts law sets the rules for vital record registration, storage, and public access. Most records more than a few decades old are available without restriction for genealogy purposes. More recent records, especially those involving living people, may require a relationship to the subject or other documentation before copies are released.

FamilySearch offers free access to Massachusetts Town Clerk records from 1626 to 2001 and state vital records from 1841 to 1920. American Ancestors holds additional databases covering Norfolk County families that go beyond what is in official state collections. Combining these sources with the town clerk records and State Archives holdings covers most genealogy needs for this county.

Researching Norfolk County Ancestors Before 1793

Norfolk County did not exist before 1793. The towns that now make up the county were part of Suffolk County. This means that any genealogy record created before September 1793 for a family living in modern Norfolk County will be found in Suffolk County's archives, not in Dedham. Deeds, probate files, and court records all follow this rule. If your ancestor owned land in what is now Quincy or Dedham before 1793, the deed is in Boston, not at the Norfolk Registry.

This also affects probate research. An ancestor who died in 1785 in what is now Weymouth would have had their estate probated in Suffolk County. The will, inventory, and administration papers would be in Boston. After 1793, those same towns filed in Norfolk County. Researchers who ignore this split often miss critical documents. When you have an ancestor in this county going back to the colonial period, always check both sets of records. The Suffolk County probate records on FamilySearch go back to 1636 and are fully searchable.

Note: The Massachusetts Public Records Division oversees access to government records statewide and can help if you have trouble getting records from a specific town or county office.

Online Genealogy Resources for Norfolk County

Several major online platforms have strong Norfolk County collections. FamilySearch at familysearch.org is the best free starting point. They have digitized probate records, town clerk vital records, and some deed indexes for Norfolk County. You do not need an account to search most collections, though an account is free and lets you save your findings. The Norfolk County wiki page on FamilySearch lists every available collection and explains what time periods each one covers.

American Ancestors at americanancestors.org holds databases that go beyond what you can find through state agencies. Their New England vital records collection, manuscript indexes, and published genealogy library are particularly useful for Norfolk County families. A membership costs money, but the in-person library in Boston is free for anyone to use during business hours. For many researchers, one visit to the NEHGS library can replace weeks of correspondence with county offices.

The Norfolk Registry of Deeds also provides a direct online portal at norfolkdeeds.org, and the statewide masslandrecords.com portal covers all counties. Both are free with no login required. Search by name, date, or property address. Images load quickly and can be saved or printed. This is one of the most user-friendly deed search systems in Massachusetts.

Cities in Norfolk County

Norfolk County includes 28 towns and cities. The three largest qualifying cities with dedicated genealogy pages are listed below.

Other cities and towns in Norfolk County include Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Needham, Wellesley, Norwood, Walpole, Franklin, and others. Genealogy records for all of these communities are held at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds and the Probate and Family Court in Canton.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Norfolk County. Families often crossed county lines, so check neighboring registries if your ancestor lived near a boundary.