Buckland Public Library

The Buckland Public Library has several family genealogies in its holdings, including books documenting the surnames Ellis, Fellows, Fiske-Fisk, Hallock, Hosmer, Johnson, Jones, Pratt, Purrington, Rugg-Holt, Scott, Shedd, and Spear, among others.

Our collection includes several town, state and regional historical volumes, many of which include genealogies. We have several copies of The History of Buckland 1779-1935 by Fannie Shaw Kendrick with Genealogies by Lucy Cutler Kellogg. Published in 1937, the Buckland history includes over 400 pages of family genealogies with a decent surname index of the entire work.

We are fortunate to have in our holdings a record complied by William Othniel Taylor (1855-1923). In Kendrick’s Buckland History she writes, “Mr. W. O. Taylor most painstakingly gathered and recorded a vast amount of material on local history which has been of inestimable value in the preparation of this work in both the historical and genealogical sections.” Gifted to the Library by H. E. Ward, this work is hand written with very legible penmanship and includes an every name index. Here’s Mr. Taylor’s own description of this work, and his listing of the contents (with page numbers omitted):

Buckland Mass
Historical and Genealogical Data, Relating to the Town of Buckland, collected and arranged from Town and Church Records, Cemeteries, Town Histories, Genealogies, Account Books and other sources, by a great grandson of Capt Samuel Taylor, Esq. who was the first Town Clerk and served in that Office for over forty years and was succeeded by his son Samuel, who held the same Office for many years. This volume is a valuable one to all who may be interested in Buckland’s history, and should not be taken from the Town Clerk’s Office, as it can not be replaced.
A slight tribute to the home of my parents.
[signed] W O Taylor Dec 26 1896

Contents
Inscriptions from Tombstones
Deaths, copied from newspapers
Deaths of former Residents
Some Births in Buckland, mostly from Gazette a Courier
Cong Church Records copied from the original
Cong Church Records Deaths
Cong Church Records Marriages
Marriages from newspapers, and other sources
Publishments of Marriage intentions
A List of Voters in Buckland 1806 1822
Valuation 1785
Extracts from Major Griswold’s Account Book
Baptist Societies and members
Deed of Samuel and Lemuel Taylor 1780
Soldiers furnished by Buckland 1861-1865, from State records
Odd Notes of People, etc.
Fragments of genealogies
Index of Persons

For those who live a distance from Buckland, we have a volunteer who is willing to help you with your research. Send your email request to: heylady@mapinternet.com . Be sure to put “Buckland” in the subject line. You may also mail your request to the Library.

-Tina Peters, 2009

In the year 1889 the late LeBaron D. Ruddock of Buckland died, leaving a legacy for the nucleus of a church library fund. Reverend Alpheus C. Hodges, a man of vision, saw here an opportunity to stress the need for a public library building. He therefore offered to give one thousand dollars if the people in town would raise a like amount. A committee consisting of Messrs. E. C. Maynard and A. C. Hawks soon secured the required sum and the lot whereon the Methodist church stood [this is the library’s current location on Upper Street, Buckland Center] was decided upon as the most central location for the building. As the Methodist society was greatly depleted in numbers, and the church no longer used for services, the Methodist conference sold the property to the citizens for use as a public hall, and it was moved to the rear of the Congregational church [where it stands today known at the Buckland Public Hall available to rent for private and public functions]. The ground thus cleared, was purchased of Josiah Griswold’s estate for the site of the new library. The building committee was Sumner J. Ward, James D. Avery and Charles E. Ward. The committee on plans and specifications, Reverend Alpheus C. Hodges, secured the services of Gardner, Payne and Gardner, who prepared and submitted the same for approval.

For twenty years the church bore the expenses of the Free Public Library.

[The summary above is excerpted from The History of Buckland 1779-1935 by Fannie Shaw Kendrick with Genealogies by Lucy Cutler Kellogg – Buckland Mass 1937 (pages 291 & 292.)]

The members of the Congregational church voted on December 26, 1911 to give the library committee the authority “to place the library in charge of the town of Buckland.” An agreement was finalized on August 31, 1912 between the town and the church with conditions that included that the books remained the property of the church but the town had free use of the books and the building, and that the town pay for ordinary repairs and all maintenance expenses. The Library remained under the ownership of the church, with trustees appointed by the church and the town, until September 2002 when the church membership voted to convey the library building, land and all its assets and funds to a new nonprofit secular organization, The Buckland Public Library, Inc.

-Tina Peters 2009