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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 Howe (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 Howe. 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.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Howe 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 Howe. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Howe:

  • Essex County     (The home county of Howe)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Middleton
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hathorne
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Brigadoon Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Topsfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Danvers
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford
      • Boxford is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,331 people
    • Lynnfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wenham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Asbury Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • South Hamilton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Beverly
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Peabody
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Salem
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • North Reading
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Montrose
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Howe to Montrose
    • Reading
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (6 miles [9.7 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
    • Wakefield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mishawum ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stoneham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilmington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Melrose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Wyoming
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • 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 Howe to Wyoming
    • Montvale
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Howe to Montvale
    • Burlington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Montclair
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wollaston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Milton Village
      (23 miles [37 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
    • Quincy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • West Quincy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Milton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Babson Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babson Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
    • Needham Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
    • Needham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Hull
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
      • Hull is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hull
      • From Howe to Hull
    • Hingham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Minot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Scituate
      (30 miles [48.3 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
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Revere
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Chelsea
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Charlestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • East Boston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Winthrop
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Boston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Point Shirley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Allston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Bay Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Brighton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorchester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jamaica Plain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Shaker Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
    • Harvard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe listed first.
    • Pelham
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashua
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Litchfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollis Depot
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hollis Depot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot
      • Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hollis Depot
      • From Howe to Hollis Depot
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Howe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howe.

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 Howe covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Howe, with the one closest to Howe 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 Howe had a population of 100 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Middleton
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Danvers Center
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Beaver Brook ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • West Peabody
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Tapleyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Danvers
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnamville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Topsfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • North Reading
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lynnfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Proctor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Boxford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford
    • Boxford is located in Essex County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,331 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Boxford Station
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxford Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford Station
      • Boxford Station is located in Essex County
    • Danversport
      (5 miles [8 km] 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
    • North Beverly
      (5 miles [8 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

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

Newspapers Published in Howe ...

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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howe.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Howe, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Howe.

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 either 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 Howe:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Howe. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 Howe, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Howe) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Howe. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5959, Longitude: -70.9974       In this case, the coordinates for Howe have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025