I sometimes get inquiries from folks who are stumped by the abbreviation used for a source in a reference that they have been consulting.  This page was prompted by an inquiry about "Rec. Com." in the Bowman Files.  It referred to a series of volumes often called Reports of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, which I abbreviate as "BRCxx" in my notes (where "xx" is the volume number).  These thirty-nine volumes were published by the City of Boston between 1876 and 1908.  They include volumes of Boston and Dorchester vital records, Roxbury church records, Charlestown and Roxbury land records, and the Aspinwall notarial records.  Here is a listing of the volumes, each preceded by my abbreviation for it.

BRC01
First Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1876 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1876; Reprinted Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1881) [Contains lists of taxpayers in the Town of Boston, 1674-1695]

BRC02
Second Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1877, Containing the Boston Records, 1634-1660, and the Book of Possessions (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1877; Reprinted Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1905)

BRC03
A Report of the Record Commissioners Containing Charlestown Land Records, 1638-1802 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883)

BRC04
Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1880, Dorchester Town Records (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883)

BRC05
Fifth Report of the Record Commissioners, 1880 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1884; Revised edition Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1887) [Contains a series of articles relating to the history of estates lying on or around Beacon Hill]

BRC06
A Report of the Record Commissioners Containing the Roxbury Land and Church Records (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1884)

BRC07
A Report of the Record Commissioners Containing the Boston Records from 1660 to 1701 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1881)

BRC08
A Report of the Record Commissioners Containing the Boston Records from 1700 to 1728 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883)

BRC09
A Report of the Record Commissioners Containing Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, 1630-1699 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883; Reprinted Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1908; Reprinted w/ BRC24 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978)

BRC10
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing Miscellaneous Papers (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1886)

BRC11
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Records of Boston Selectmen, 1701 to 1715 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1884)

BRC12
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Records from 1729 to 1742 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1885)

BRC13
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Records of Boston Selectmen, 1716 to 1736 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1885)

BRC14
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Town Records, 1742 to 1757 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1885)

BRC15
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Records of Boston Selectmen, 1736 to 1742 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1886)

BRC16
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Town Records, 1758 to 1769 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1886)

BRC17
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1742-3 to 1753 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1887)

BRC18
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Town Records, 1770 Through 1777 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1887)

BRC19
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1754 Through 1763 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1887)

BRC20
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1764 Through 1768 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1889)

BRC21
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1890; Second Impression 1891)

BRC22
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Statistics of the United States' Direct Tax of 1798, as Assesed on Boston; and the Names of the Inhabitants of Boston in 1790, as Collected for the First National Census (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1890)

BRC23
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1769 Through April, 1775 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1893)

BRC24
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing Boston Births from A.D. 1700 to A.D. 1800 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1894; Reprinted w/ BRC09 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978)

BRC25
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1776 Through 1786 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1894)

BRC26
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Town Records, 1778 to 1783 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1895)

BRC27
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Selectmen's Minutes from 1787 Through 1798 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1896)

BRC28
A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Marriages from 1700 to 1751 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1898; Reprinted w/ BRC30 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977; Baltimore: Clearfield Co. 1997)

BRC29
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston, Containing Miscellaneous Papers (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1900)

BRC30
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston, Containing Boston Marriages from 1752 to 1809 (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1883; Reprinted Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1903; Reprinted w/ BRC28 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977; Baltimore: Clearfield Co. 1997)

BRC31
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Boston Town Records, 1784 to 1796 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1903)

BRC32
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing the Aspinwall Notarial Records from 1644 to 1651 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1903)

BRC33
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings, 1799 to, and including, 1810 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1904)

BRC34
Francis S. Drake, The Town of Roxbury: Its Memorable Persons and Places, Its History and Antiquities, with Numerous Illustrations of its Old Landmarks and Noted Personages (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1905) [Originally published 1878]

BRC35
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Boston Town Records, 1796 to 1813 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1905)

BRC36
Vital Records of the Town of Dorchester from 1826 to 1849 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1905)

BRC37
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Boston Town Records, 1814 to 1822 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1906)

BRC38
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings, 1811-1817 and Part of 1818 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1908)

BRC39
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings from September 1, 1818, to April 24, 1822 (Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1904)