The Report on the Custody and Condition of the Public Records of Parishes, Towns, and Counties (Boston: Wright and Potter, 1899), by Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of Public Records, is an inventory of town, church, and county records–showing what was available on the cusp of the 20th century. The book is available on GoogleBooks. I learned about the Report in Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, 5th edition, edited by Michael J. Leclerc–one of the reference books on my bookshelf.