As professional genealogists, Massachusetts provides a relative gold mine of free and available information for genealogical research services. Websites such as http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Online_Vital_Records_Research_Guide provide free indexes for vital records in all towns to include birth, marriage, and death that can then be researched in more detail with the local townships and jurisdictions. Due to privacy laws these records are available into the late 1800s in order to protect the privacy of those still living. Having these free indexes available is a great starting point for professional genealogists providing genealogical research services. While this link provides indexes to all towns in Massachusetts, there are many instances where individual towns also make their vital record indexes available through websites such as http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Ipswich/BirthsR.shtml for Ipswich, Massachusetts. In many instances the index will also tell you the volume and page number where the vital record can be found in that particular town. Providing sound citations is still paramount and requires some leg work to view and copy the original documents, but having the indexes available is a tremendous help. Melick Genealogists’ professional genealogists in Massachusetts have provided genealogical research services for hundreds of families and has direct access to vital records in Massachusetts through town records, cemetery records, church records and archives.
