Scope and Contents This collection includes listings of Southborough residents who were eligible to vote or serve on a jury from 1771-1947. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Massachusetts Law required the Selectmen in each town to prepare lists of persons who were qualified and eligible for Jury duty. In 1784 the legislature directed that these persons should be “of good moral character and qualified as the constitution directs, to vote”. In 1808 it was further stipulated that men over the age of seventy should...

Scope and Contents This collection contains lists of paupers and petitions for aid and support from impoverished townspeople, correspondence relating to the disposition of paupers, updates on their care, and the names of their benefactors. Expense books also document accounts of the Overseers of the Poor with various local merchants to purchase supplies necessary for the care of paupers, such as medicine, food, clothing, and equipment. Some statewide statistics relating to the care of the poor are also...