Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Bristol County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Newspapers
- Bristol County Register (Warren, R.I.)1809-181?
- Bristol Gazette (Bristol, R.I.)1833-1834
- Bristol Gazette and Family Companion (Bristol, R.I.)1834-1837
- Bristol Phenix (Bristol, R.I.)1840-Current
- Fall River Patriot and Tiverton Freeman (Fall River, Mass.)1838-1840
- Herald of the United States (Warren, R.I.)1792-181?
- Northern Star, and Warren and Bristol Gazette (Warren [R.I.])1826-1830
- Rhode Island Telegraph (Warren [R.I.])1855-1857
- The Bristol County Item (Warren, R.I.)1906-191?
- The Clarion, Or, Bristol County Advertiser (Warren, R.I.)1823-182?
- The Columbian Post-Boy (Warren, R.I.)1812-181?
- The Gleaner (Barrington, R.I.)1871-187?
- The Mount Hope Eagle (Bristol, R.I.)1807-1808
- The Northern Star (Warren, R.I.)1849-1855
- The Northern Star, and Constitutionalist (Warren, R.I.)1834-1837
- The Northern Star, and Farmers' and Mechanics' Advocate (Warren, R.I.)1830-1834
- The Northern Star, and Farmers' and Mechanics' Advocate (Warren, R.I.)1837-1849
- The Phenix (Bristol, R.I.)1837-1840
- The Telegraph (Warren, R.I.)1825-1826
- The Telescope (Warren, R.I.)1813-181?
- The Warren Gazette (Warren, R.I.)1866-1907
- The Warren Gazette and Barrington Call (Warren, R.I.)1907-1907
- Warren and Barrington Gazette (Warren, R.I.)1907-1963
- Warren Telegraph (Warren, R.I.)1857-1861
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles cataloged by the Library of Congress with explicit county geography. Priority is given to titles beginning by 1950; up to five later titles are included where no earlier dated title is listed for that county. Dates describe publication history, not the issues available at a library. Multiple format records with the same title, place and dates are grouped. The catalog may describe paper, microfilm or online resources. Open ends and the word Current reflect the catalog description; confirm present availability and exact holdings with the libraries listed on the linked record.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Bristol County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the town or city clerk.
- The town or city clerk
In Rhode Island, land evidence, probate and births, marriages and deaths are kept by each town, not the county.
- The Rhode Island State Archives
In Providence: colonial and state records, state censuses and older vital records. Historic court records are at the Supreme Court Judicial Records Center in Pawtucket.
- Rhode Island State Archivesfree
The state archives in Providence, with colonial and state records, state censuses and older vital records.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Rhode Island, Bristol" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Land not yet in any county
The Atlas data for Bristol County begins in 1747, later than the 1685 date above, so this is the earliest boundary on file, not its original one.
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1685, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Rhode Island's counties have no government; town clerks keep land, probate and vital records. James N. Arnold's published Vital Record of Rhode Island transcribes town records from 1636 to 1850.