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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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 doctors 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.

Salem is located in Essex County and is the County Seat.

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

  • Essex County     (The home county of Salem)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • West Town Landing
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
    • Peabody
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Beverly
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Marblehead
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Swampscott
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • East Lynn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Prides Crossing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Prides Crossing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Crossing
    • Danvers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Beverly Farms
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Centerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Centerville is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Beaver Brook ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaver Brook is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Brook
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Montrose
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Wakefield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Melrose
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyoming
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Reading
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Malden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Reading
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Reading is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
    • Stoneham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Edgeworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Everett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lindenwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Lindenwood is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindenwood
    • Walnut Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • West Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • West Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Village
  • Norfolk County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Hull
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bayside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Kenberma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • Hingham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • West Hingham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Minot
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
    • North Scituate
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
    • Accord
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Scituate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • Greenbush
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
    • Norwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Marshfield Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Marshfield Hills is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Hills
    • North Abington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Franklin Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park
    • Revere
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Winthrop
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Point Shirley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Chelsea
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlestown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • East Boston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Boston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bay Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bay Village is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
    • South Boston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Allston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Allston is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
    • Savin Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Savin Hill is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savin Hill
    • Brighton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Pelham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <1>
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Salem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.

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 Salem - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem 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 Salem had a population of 30,801 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Salem had a population of 43,581 people.

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

  • Peabody
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Beach Bluff
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Beach Bluff is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Bluff
  • Clifton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Marblehead
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Marblehead is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
  • Danversport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Danversport is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danversport
  • Beverly
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • East Lynn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Swampscott
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Montserrat
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Montserrat is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montserrat
  • Tapleyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tapleyville is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tapleyville
  • Proctor
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Proctor is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
  • Lynn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Prides Crossing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Prides Crossing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Crossing
    • Danvers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • North Beverly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • North Beverly is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Beverly

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Salem ...

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 198 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Salem. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Salem and those printed in the larger area surrounding Salem.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> of Salem.

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 Salem:

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 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.

<3>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.
<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 Salem, 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- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.