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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Danvers (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Danvers. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

A Few Details for Danvers ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Danvers was settled in 1636.
  • It was incorporated in 1775.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Danvers is located in Essex County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Essex County: Middlesex, Suffolk & Rockingham (NH).

Below are the counties that are near Danvers. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Danvers:

  • Essex County     (The home county of Danvers)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Hathorne
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hathorne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hathorne
      • Hathorne is located in Essex County
    • Beverly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • South Hamilton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hamilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hamilton
      • South Hamilton is located in Essex County
    • Wenham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Howe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Howe
      • From Danvers to Howe
    • Peabody
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Centerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Essex County
    • Topsfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Asbury Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Middleton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Salem
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Brigadoon Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brigadoon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village
      • Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County
    • Prides Crossing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prides Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Crossing
      • Prides Crossing is located in Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Montrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montrose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montrose
      • From Danvers to Montrose
    • North Reading
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wakefield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Reading
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Reading is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
    • West Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Village
      • West Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Melrose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Stoneham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyoming
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyoming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyoming
      • From Danvers to Wyoming
    • Mishawum ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Montvale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montvale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montvale
      • Montvale is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montvale
      • From Danvers to Montvale
    • Everett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Malden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Brookline
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Montclair
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • North Cohasset
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Wollaston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Milton Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
    • North Weymouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weymouth
      • North Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • Quincy Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Quincy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • West Quincy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Cohasset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
      • Cohasset is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,529 people
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Hull
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Hingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Minot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
    • North Scituate
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Accord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Greenbush
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenbush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
    • Scituate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • Norwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Marshfield Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshfield Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Hills
      • Marshfield Hills is located in Plymouth County
    • North Abington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • North Marshfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Marshfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
      • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
    • Rockland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Revere
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Chelsea
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Winthrop
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • East Boston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Point Shirley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Charlestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Boston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bay Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
      • Bay Village is located in Suffolk County
    • South Boston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Allston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
      • Allston is located in Suffolk County
    • Brighton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jamaica Plain
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.
    • Pelham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <3>
    • Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashua
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rockingham County (NH)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Danvers, see our County-by-County Page for Danvers.

Cemeteries Near Danvers ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Danvers.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Danvers covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Danvers had a population of 7,454 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Danvers had a population of 27,571 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Danvers, with the one closest to Danvers listed first.

  • Tapleyville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tapleyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tapleyville
    • Tapleyville is located in Essex County
  • Danversport
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danversport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danversport
    • Danversport is located in Essex County
  • Putnamville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Putnamville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
    • Putnamville is located in Essex County
  • Beaver Brook ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Brook
    • Beaver Brook is located in Essex County
  • Danvers Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danvers Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers Center
    • Danvers Center is located in Essex County
  • Proctor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
    • Proctor is located in Essex County
  • North Beverly
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Beverly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Beverly
    • North Beverly is located in Essex County
  • West Peabody
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Peabody have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peabody
    • West Peabody is located in Essex County
  • Peabody
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Beverly
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Montserrat
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montserrat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montserrat
    • Montserrat is located in Essex County
  • Wenham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Howe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Howe
      • From Danvers to Howe
    • Salem
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Asbury Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Danvers. See our List of 1890's Communities around Danvers.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Danvers ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 224 newspapers that have been published in the area around Danvers.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Danvers. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Danvers and those printed in the larger area surrounding Danvers.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<7> of Danvers.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Danvers:

The official website for Danvers: www.danvers-ma.org/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Danvers, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Danvers) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Danvers. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5703, Longitude: -70.9374    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025