The Rockport Room, which is located on the lower level, contains the library's local history collection. Items of interest include:
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books, maps, and articles about people and places in Rockport
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a collection of books by local authors
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genealogies of local families
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vital records and other genealogical resources
The Rockport Room is staffed by volunteers and is open on Mondays from 1:00 - 8:00 p.m. Resource materials must be used in the Rockport Room only. The following is a sampling of what this collection contains:
Histories
Commonwealth History of Massachusetts, Albert Bushnell Hart, ed., 1927
Dogtown a village lost in time, Thomas Dresser, 1995
Essex County Census 1790
Finnish Genealogy Research,T. Vincent, R. Tapio, 1995
Genealogical Guide to Early Settlers of America,Henry Whitimore
Heart of Cape Ann, Story of Dogtown,Charles Edward Mann, 1896
History of Essex County, Massachusetts, C. Tracy, W. Graves, H. Batchelder, 1878
History of Essex, Mass., D. Hamilton Hurd, 1888
History of Gloucester, James R. Pringle, 1892 and other editions
History of Massachusetts in the Civil War, William Schouler, 1871
History of Massachusetts, the Commonwealth Period, John Stetson Barry, 1857
History of Massachusetts, the Provincial Period, John Stetson Barry, 1856
History of Middlesex County, Mass., Vol. 1 & 2, Samuel Adams Drake, 1880
History of Saugus, Massachusetts, Edith Rutledge Atherton, 1915
History of the 26th Yankee Division 1917-19 & 1941-45
History of the Granite Industry of New England, Vol. 1 & 2,Arthur W. Brayley, 1913
History of the Town of Gloucester, John J. Babson, 1860 and other editions
History of the Town of Rockport, Lemuel Gott, M.D., 1888
Ipswich and the Mass. Bay Colony, 1633-1700 and 1700-1917,Thomas Franklin Waters, 1917
John Howland, Vol. 1 & 2, Elizabeth Pearson White, 1990
Mass. Militia Companies and Officers, Stowe-Hambrick, 1976
Mass. Officers and Soldiers in the 1755-1756 (French & Indian War),D. K. Goss, D. Zarowin, 1985
Mass. Officers and Soldiers in the 17th Century Conflicts,Carole Doreski, 1982
Mass. Officers and Soldiers, 1702-1722 and 1723-1743, Mary E. Donahue, 1982
Mass. Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War,1896
Mass. Soldiers in the French/Indian Wars, 1748-1763,Robert E. MacKay, 1978
Mass. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines in the Civil War, 1931- 1937
Massachusetts on the Sea, 1630-1930, 1930
Minutemen and Mariners, true tales of New England, Charles F. Haywood, 1963
Municipal History of Essex County Mass., Vol. 1-4,Benjamin F. Arrington, 1922
Old Castle - Pigeon Cove, Mass., A. Chamberlain, T. Williams, 1939
Old Marblehead Sea Captains &the Ships They Sailed, Benjamin J. Lindsey, 1915
Old Paths and Legends of New England by Katharine M. Abbott, 1903
Old Seaport Towns of New England, Hildegarde Hawthorne, 1916
Pigeon Cove - Its Early Settlers and Their Farms, Allen Chamberlain, 1940
Pigeon Cove and Vicinity,Henry C. Leonard, 1873
Planters of the Commonwealth, Charles E. Banks, 1930
Polk's Directories for Gloucester and Rockport
Rockport Town Reports
Rockport, Town Centennial Committee, 1940
Rocks and Pebbles, Rockport High School Yearbooks
Role of Finnish Immigrants - Lanesville, 1870-1957, David F. Hayes, 1958
Ships Registers of Gloucester, 1789-1875, Stephen Willard Phillips, 1944
Sylvester Ahola, the Gloucester Gabriel, Dick Hill, 1993
Town Proprietors of the New England Colonies by Roy Hidemichi Akagi, 1924
Whos Who in America,1980-2004
Genealogies
Allings Ancestors Descendants & Close Relations, Robert Babson Alling, 1959
Avery, Raymond, Elwood James Thacher, 1984
Babson Genealogy, George W. Chamberlain, 1934
Beyea Genealogy,Maurice E. Peck, 1981
Bishop/Burroughs Families,Evelyn C. Lane, 1991
Carrier/Currier Families,Evelyn C. Lane, 1991
DAR Patriot Index and DAR Patriot Index to Spouses of DAR Patriots
Descendants of John Porter of Windsor, Conn. - Vol. 2,Henry Porter Andrews, 1893
Descendants of Michael Gaffney, Mary H. Sibbalds, 1998
Dictionary of American Family Names, Vol, 1-3, Patrick Hanks, 2003
Divided Hearts - Mass. Loyalists, 1765-1790,David E. Maas, ed., 1980
Erasmus Stevens, Eugene R. Stevens, 1914
First Settlers of New England, James Savage, 1990
Founders of Early American Families, Meredith B. Colket, Jr., 2002
Great Migration - Immigrants to New England 1634 - 1635, Robert Charles Anderson, 2003
Great Migration Begins, Robert Charles Anderson, 1995 - 2001
Heads of Family, 1st Maine Census, 1790, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1998
Heads of Family, 1st Massachusetts Census, 1790, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1998
Heads of Family, 1st New Hampshire Census, 1790, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1998
Lane Genealogies, Vol. 1, J. Chapman, J. Fitts, 1891
Lane Genealogies, Vol. 2 & 3,James Fitts, 1897, 1902
Maine Families in 1790, Vol. 1-8
Mass. And Maine Families, Walter Goodwin Davis, 1996
Mayflower Families
Milham's Family Reunion, Elwood James Thacher, 1977
New England Marriages prior to 1700,Clarence Almon Torrey
New Loyalist Index 1 & 3,Paul J. Bunnell, 1989
Nurse/Esty Families,Evelyn C. Lane, 1991
Physicians of Essex Cty.,Russell L. Jackson, 1948
Pioneer Voices - The Peabody Family over Eleven Generations, Cynthia Peabody Anderson, 1999
Proctor Family in Early Massachusetts,Evelyn C. Lane, 1991
Progeny of William Cleaves, Eleanor Spiller, 1987
Putnams of Salem Village, Harold Putnam, 1997
Research in Rowe Search, Kenneth Allyn Rowe, 1980
Rockport, Mass. Baptisms, 1755-1808, 5th Parish, Essex Antiquarian, 1898
Sons of the American Revolution, 1962-1982, Harry L. Walen, ed., 1985
Supplement and 2nd Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages prior to 1700, Melinde Lutz Sanborn
Tarr Family Genealogy, 1985
Thacher Families, Elwood James Thacher, 1979
Thacher Quarterly, Elwood James Thacher
Thacher, Anthony, Elwood James Thacher, 1986
Thacher, Moses, Samuel, Elwood James Thacher, 1976
Thacher, Thomas, Elwood James Thacher, 1978
Town Proprietors of the New England Colonies by Roy Hidemichi Akagi, 1924
Vital Records to 1850 for all Massachusetts cities and towns
Who's Who in America,1980-2004
Maps
Bedrock Geologic Map - Gloucester & Rockport, Ipswich, Marblehead, 1991
Insurance Map of Rockport, Mass., Sanborn Map Co.
Periodicals
DAR Magazine 1995-present
Early American Life 1973-1986
Essex Genealogist 1982?-
Essex Life 1981-1985
Genealogical Quarterly Magazine, Salem Press, 1990
Genealogy Bulletin 1996-1998
Gloucester Magazine 1978-1981
Heritage Quest 1990-
Historic New England
Historical Journal of Mass. 1984-1994
Mayflower Quarterly 1989-1998
New England Ancestors
New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1903 - present
New England Living 1990-1991
New England Monthly 1985-1990
North Shore Life 1985-1991
Old House Journal 1991-1998
Pinellas Genealogist 1994-1999
Rockport Anchor 1950-