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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 Lawrence (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 Lawrence. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Lawrence is located in Essex County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may 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 Lawrence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lawrence:

  • Essex County     (The home county of Lawrence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • North Andover
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • North Andover is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
    • Methuen
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Methuen is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
    • Shawsheen Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village
    • Tozier Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Andover
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • West Andover
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • West Andover is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
    • West Boxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • West Boxford is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boxford
    • Ward Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Haggetts
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ayers Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Ayers Village is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
    • Bradford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Haverhill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • Tewksbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dracut
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • West Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • West Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Village
    • North Reading
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ayres City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ayres City is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
    • Lowell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Collinsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Middlesex Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
    • North Billerica
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wilmington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Billerica
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Princeton Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Princeton Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Village
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
    • Brookline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wellesley Farms
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
    • Wellesley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Babson Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
    • Needham Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Wellesley Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
    • Westbrook Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Needham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Milton Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
    • Montclair
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Plymouth County
    • Hull
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • Shaker Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Harvard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Still River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lunenburg Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
    • Lunenburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • North Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • North Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Merrimack County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • South Hooksett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
    • Martin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Martin is located in Merrimack County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Rockingham County (NH)
  • Strafford County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence listed first.
    • Glenmere Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lee is located in Strafford County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,597 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Lawrence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lawrence.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Lawrence - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lawrence, with the one closest to Lawrence 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lawrence had a population of 44,654 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lawrence had a population of 80,007 people.

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

  • South Lawrence
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • South Lawrence is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lawrence
  • North Andover
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • North Andover is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
  • Methuen
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Methuen is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
  • West Andover
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • West Andover is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
  • Andover
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Haggetts
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • West Boxford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Boxford is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boxford
  • Ward Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ayers Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Ayers Village is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
  • Lowell Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Salem
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Boxford Station
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Boxford Station is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford Station
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • South Groveland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • South Groveland is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Groveland
    • Salem Depot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Salem Depot is located in Rockingham County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Depot
    • Bradford
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Lawrence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lawrence.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lawrence ...

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 Lawrence.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lawrence. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lawrence and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lawrence.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5> of Lawrence.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Lawrence:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<3>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.

<4>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 Lawrence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Lawrence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.