New Hampshire Room

Research Bedford's history and your family history in the New Hampshire Room and online.  The New Hampshire Room resources include:

  • All editions of The History of Bedford, NH (1851, 1903, 1971)
  • The Diary of Matthew Patten (1754-1788)
  • Bedford cemetery directories (The NH Historical Society has a paper copy of Cemetery inscriptions of Bedford, New Hampshire / copied by Works Progress Administration.)
  • Historic photographs and maps
  • Town Reports from 1848 to the present
  • Bedford Bulletin issues from 1979 to the present (print, microfilm, and digital)
  • Bedford Journal issues from 1999-2020 (print and some digital)
  • Bedford High School Yearbooks from 2007 to the present

You may access the following resources online:

Town Documents and Vital Records

  • Inventory of the Town Archives of New Hampshire No. 6 Hillsborough County Vol. 3 Town of Bedford (a WPA project which identified the locations of town records in the 1930s) has been digitized by the University of Kentucky and may be viewed online in the University's digital archive.  A print copy is also available in the New Hampshire Room.
  • Bedford Town Reports from 1770 to 1833 as well as vital records from 1844-1918 are available at familysearch.org (you must create a free account to access records)
  • Bedford Town Reports from 1850 to present are available in the UNH Scholars Repository
  • New Hampshire state annual reports from 1878 to 1916 are also available at the UNH Scholars Repository
  • Familysearch.org provides a robust list of genealogical resources relating to Bedford.

Newspapers

  • The Bedford-Merrimack Bulletin (1970-2008) and the Bedford Journal (1999-2015) are available in the Community History Archive. (Password required--please call or email the Reference Desk to request the password).
  • The Bedford Bulletin from 2009 to the present is available via the Newsbank database (library card number and password required).

Historic Homes

Cemetery Records

Town History Books and Other Publications

  • The 1851 and 1903 editions of The History of Bedford, NH and The Diary of Matthew Patten are available in Heritage Quest
  • Centennial Historical Discourse of the Presbyterian Church, Bedford, N. H. : Delivered Sabbath July 2, 1876 by Ira Charles Taylor is available in the Internet Archive
  • An oration delivered at Bedford, New-Hampshire, February 22, 1815, at the request of the Washington benevolent society
    by Moore, Humphrey, 1778-1871; Washington Benevolent Society (Bedford, N.H.) is available at the Internet Archive
  • Dissolving Boundaries: Toward an Integrative Curriculum by Edward Brazee and Jody Capelluti is a 1995 National Middle School Association study that includes a profile of McKelvie Middle School (available at the Internet Archive)