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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 Nahant (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 Nahant. 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 Nahant ...

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

  • Nahant was settled in 1630.
  • It was incorporated in 1853.

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.

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

  • Essex County     (The home county of Nahant)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • East Lynn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
      • East Lynn is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Lynn
      • From Nahant to East Lynn
    • Swampscott
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clifton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Nahant to Clifton
    • West Lynn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Saugus
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Peabody
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Salem
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • West Town Landing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Town Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
    • Marblehead
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marblehead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Beverly
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Danvers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • North Easton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • South Easton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Easton Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
    • East Mansfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • Everett
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Malden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Melrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wyoming
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyoming
      • From Nahant to Wyoming
    • Wellington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Montrose
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montrose
      • From Nahant to Montrose
    • Wakefield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Medford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Somerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Stoneham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Cambridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • West Medford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Medford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford
      • West Medford is located in Middlesex County
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Norfolk Downs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Cohasset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • North Weymouth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weymouth
      • North Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • Quincy Point
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Quincy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Brookline
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Montclair
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Wollaston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cohasset
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cohasset have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Milton Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
    • West Quincy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • Hull
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Minot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
    • North Scituate
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Accord
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Scituate
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Greenbush
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenbush have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
    • North Abington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • North Marshfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Marshfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
      • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
    • Rockland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Marshfield Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshfield Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Hills
      • Marshfield Hills is located in Plymouth County
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant listed first.
    • Winthrop
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Revere
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Point Shirley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chelsea
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Charlestown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • East Boston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Boston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bay Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
      • Bay Village is located in Suffolk County
    • South Boston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Allston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
      • Allston is located in Suffolk County
    • Dorchester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Roxbury
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Pelham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Nahant ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nahant.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nahant, with the one closest to Nahant 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 Nahant had a population of 756 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Nahant had a population of 3,506 people.

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

  • Crescent Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
    • Crescent Beach is located in Suffolk County
  • Lynn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Swampscott
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • East Lynn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
    • East Lynn is located in Essex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to East Lynn
    • From Nahant to East Lynn
  • Oak Island
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Island
    • Oak Island is located in Suffolk County
  • Revere
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Beachmont
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beachmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachmont
    • Beachmont is located in Suffolk County
  • Winthrop
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Winthrop Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winthrop Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Beach
    • Winthrop Beach is located in Suffolk County
  • Clifton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Clifton is located in Essex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Clifton
    • From Nahant to Clifton
  • Beach Bluff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Bluff
    • Beach Bluff is located in Essex County
  • West Lynn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Cliftondale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cliftondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftondale
      • Cliftondale is located in Essex County
    • Saugus
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
      • Pleasant Hills 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 Nahant. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nahant.

Newspapers Published in Nahant ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nahant.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nahant, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nahant.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Nahant:

The official website for Nahant: www.nahant.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 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.

<5>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.
<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 Nahant, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nahant) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nahant. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4255, Longitude: -70.9182    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025