Welcome to the Genealogy Trails site for Essex County, Massachusetts Our goal at Genealogy Trails is to transcribe and post genealogical source data so that family researchers can track their ancestors through time, throughout the country. This county website needs a dedicated host to make this site the best that it can be! If you think that you may be interested in volunteering to host a county or state please view our Volunteer Information page and email Kim. (A desire to transcribe data and the know-how to make a basic webpage is required) Join our mailing lists for researchers looking to connect and share information. You never know who you might meet and what family data they may share with you -- it could start a whole new branch of the family! We also use the mailing lists to announce our website updates. Remember to look around at the other states and consider donating your source information -- every little bit helps someone. Please contact Kim if you have any questions or comments.  Essex County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999.
Cities and Towns in Essex County Amesbury Andover Shawsheen Village Beverly Boxford Bradford Danvers Essex Georgetown Gloucester Groveland Hamilton Haverhill Ipswich Lawrence Lynn Lynnfield Manchester-by-the-Sea Marblehead Merrimac Methuen Middleton Nahant Newbury Newburyport North Andover Peabody Rockport Rowley Salem Salisbury Saugus Swampscott Topsfield Wenham West Newbury Off-site Links Salem Registry of Deeds Salem Historic Deeds (Actual pictures of deed book) Native American Deeds National Register of Historic Places for Essex Co. Gazeteer of Massachusetts	Brief History Discovered by Europeans in 1692; the first who are known to have set foot in the county were Edward Harlie and Nicholas Hobson, who landed at Ipswich in 1611. The earliest settlers were the Cape Ann colonists, led by Roger Conant, in 1624. Endicott's colony arrived September 6, 1628. On May10, 1643, eight towns Salem, Lynn, Wenham, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Gloucester, and Andover were set apart and incorporated as Essex County. Indian disturbances affected the inhabitants but little until the breaking out of King Philip's War; in which brave soldiers and good leaders from Essex County distinguished themselves at various points. Theirs were the troops so mercilessly slaughtered at "Bloody Brook," in Deerfield, a body of ninety picked, well-disciplined, courageous soldiers known as "the Flower of Essex," under Captain Lothrop, where they were surprised by a large body of Philip's savage warriors. The history of this county is disfigured by the woeful delusion of witchcraft which raged here in the latter part of the 17th century; and which, originating in that part of Salem which is now included in Danvers, extended to neighboring towns, until not less than 20 persons had actually been executed, while 8 more had been condemned, 150 were in prison awaiting trial, and 200 others had been accused. It is acknowledged that most of those who suffered and many others of the accused were persons of excellent character. In consequence of the trials and the expenses, the rapacious confiscations, and the universal alarm, business was utterly prostrated, and hundreds impoverished. Long years of toil and sorrow elapsed before the county recovered fully from this terrible blow. During the Revolution, Essex County effectively sustained her part on the side of freedom and nationality. (Source: Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890)
	Online Data Biographies  Births Marriages   Cemeteries Census Data Military Data   Newspaper Data Deaths Obituaries  Updated! Map of Essex Schools    History Directories Name Changes   Website Updates:                      5/01/09 - Obituary of Sam'l Pilsbury                    3/27/09 - History of the Longley Family 5/7/2008: Biography of Roger Conant 3/4 /08: Thomas Gardner Bio; SALTONSTALL; CROWNINSHIELD; DERBY; HOLTON; SAWYER; ORNE death notice 11/09/07: GOULD death notice 9/30/2007: 1851 Salem Directory 9/28/2007: Updated Newspaper articles 9/24/2207: Name changes for Essex Co. 9/20/2007: 6 new death notices/obituaries 9/18/2007: Obituary for Irene Kerr 9/16/2007: 1894 Rowley City Directory; A piece about Salem Witches; Biography for Amos Abbott 7/10/07: Lynnfield Birth Records 6/25/07: 1823 Fire of Joel Bowker building; 1823 Fire of Gen. Gideon Foster's Chocolate Mill; Lynnfield Deaths to 1849 4/18/07: SIMPSON and DOW death notices 4/11/07: Underwood death listing 3/19/07: Rabies Death, STORY census data 3/1/07: War of 1812 pension data for GRIMES, obituary for Desmazes. Newspaper story 11/30/2006: Schools, Biographies, Cemeteries, History of Lynn, Map, Military Page with 1957 Air Show Crash Story 11/25/2006: Obituaries from the Essex Register, 1823 11/11/2006: Site started. Newspaper story Join our North-Eastern Coastal State Mailing List to be notified when this website is updated.
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