Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Genealogy

Modern town borders of Salem in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Town Information

Description

Salem, Massachusetts at Wikipedia
Salem, Massachusetts Historical Background
Historical data relating to counties, cities, and towns in Massachusetts (Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997), [FS Library book 974.4 H2h 1997]

Parent Towns

1620: A patent was granted by King James to the Duke of Lenox and a council of about forty men to rule, govern and plant this area.
1626: Founded at the mouth of Naumkeag (a Wampanoag Indian name).
1629: Roger Conant directed a company of Fisherman to start a beach community on the shores of Salem. The town was incorporated in 1629.
23 August 1630: Mentioned "...Mattapan and Salem only exempted". (Mass. Bay Rec. Vol. I, p. 73)
23 March 1836: Incorporated as a city.
4 April 1836: Act of March 23, 1836, accepted by the town.
Archiac name: Fort Mary, Naumkeag, Nehume, Sholom Naumkeag.

Populated Places

Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities,
Districts, and Census-Designated Places: Atlantic, Baker's Island, Blubber Hollow, Buffum's Corner, Carltonville, Castle Hill, Forest River, Gallows Hill, Juniper Point, Misery Island, Navon, North Salem, Salem Neck, Salem Willows, South Salem, The Point, Turnpike, Winter Island.

Boundary Changes

4 March 1634: Bounds established between Marble Harbor and Salem.
4 March 1635: Bounds established between Salem and Saugus, and Salem and Marblehead.
20 November 1637: Bounds between Salem and Saugus certified.
13 March 1639: Bounds between Salem and Lynn established.
5 November 1639: Land granted to inhabitants of Salem establish Salem Village. Marginal note reads: "Land granted to Salem Village, now Wenham"
13 May 1640: Grant of land to inhabitants of Salem for a village at "Jeffryes Creeke" and the bounds of the said village referred to certain men to settle.
3 May 1642: Bounds between Jeffryes Creeke, Cape Ann and Ipswich, established
14 May 1645: Part called "Jeffreyes Creek established as Manchester.
2 May 1649: Part established as Marblehead
19 October 1658: Bounds between Salem and Topsfield established.
16 October 1660: Certain islands known by name of the "Miserjes & Bakers island", granted to Salem.
29 May 1664: Bounds between Salem and Topsfield established.
7 November 1668: Port called "Bass River" established as Beverly.
20 June 1728: Part included in new town of Middleton.
11 September 1753: Part annexed to Beverly.
17 March 1840: Bounds between Salem and Danvers established
30 April 1856: Bounds between Salem and South Danvers established and part of each place annexed to the other place.
3 April 1867: Part annexed to Swampscott.
27 March 1882: Part of Peabody annexed.

Adjacent Towns

Town Records

In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

Salem Town Clerk

93 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
Phone: 978-745-9595 x 5610
Fax: 978-740-9209
Website

Vital Records

Births

1636-1924 Massachusetts, Births, 1636-1924 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Marriages

Deaths

1916-1919 Massachusetts Deaths, 1916-1919 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Divorce

Town Reports

Resources

For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

Cemeteries

Salem Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
Salem Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
Essex County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
Essex County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places
Broad Street Cemetery
5 Broad St.
Charter Street Cemetery
51 Charter St.
Friends Cemetery
396 1/2 Essex St.
Greenlawn Cemetery
57 Orne St.
Harmony Grove Cemetery
30 Grove St.
Howard Street Cemetery
29 Howard St.
St. Mary's Cemetery
226 North St.
St. Peter's Cemetery
22-24 St. Peter St

Census

1810 Salem, MA: United States 1810 Census at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Church Records

1702-1816 Salem, MA: Eighteenth Century Baptisms, 1702-1816 at American Ancestors — index ($)
1771-1827 Salem, MA: A Catalogue of the Members of the North Church, 1771-1827 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

City Directories

Various Dates The Salem Directory(*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images
1887-1964 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Salem at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
1837-1962 Massachusetts, U.S., City Directories, Salem at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Compiled Genealogies

Court Records

1636-1695 Court records, 1638-1692 : indexes to court records/papers, 1636-1695(*); Essex County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Immigration

Land Records

Local Histories

Maps

This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps

Boundary Map of Salem at HomeTownLocator
Massachusetts County Map at Mass.gov
McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
Old Maps of Massachusetts at Old-Maps.com
Salem at FamilySearch Places
Salem at Google Maps
Salem at Mapcarta
Massachusetts Maps State Page

GNIS ID # 619453

Migration

Vessels sailing from Salem, Massachusetts between 1799 and 1879 made over 7900 voyages to foreign ports. A Crew List was required to be filed stating the vessel's destination and its crew. An Index to those Lists, containing 75,770 names, may be found at http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/CrIndex.cfm. The Index may provide the following information: • Name
• Age
• Birth Place
• Residence
• Complexion
• Voyage (Name of ship and date)

Military

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:

Civil War, 1861-1865

For more Civil War Military Records see:

World War I, 1917-1918

For more World War I Military Records see:

World War II, 1941-1945

For more World War II Military Records see:

Newspapers

1800-Current Massachusetts, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

Other Town Records

1799-1870 Salem, MA: Members of the East India Marine Society, 1799-1870 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)
Massachusetts sailor's crew lists at Mysticseaport.org. Between 1799 and 1879 over 7900 voyages to foreign ports sailed from Salem, Massachusetts. Prior to sailing the shipmaster or captain of each vessel was required to file a crew list containing information about the vessel's destination and its crew. This website provides an index to those crew lists. Containing over 75,770 names, it also provides access to crew members based upon age, complexion, birthplace, and residence place

The Great Salem Fire greatly impacted the industrial area of Salem. The Phillips Library digitalized collection presents a detailed account of the global nature of commercial outreach by Essex County residents in the 18th and 19th centuries.Great Salem Fire, June 25, 1914

Probate Records

School Records

Tax Records

Websites

Research Facilities

Libraries

Phillips Library
A documentation and research division of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. They have both physical and digital collections available for research.

Museums

Peabody Essex Museum
161 Essex St
Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
Phone: 978-745-1876
Call ahead for hours

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Boston Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
Exeter New Hampshire FamilySearch Center
Hingham Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
Lynnfield Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
Mount Hope Massachusetts FamilySearch Center
Derry Public Library - an affiliate library
Halton Hills Public Library - an affiliate library
Memorial Hall Library - an affiliate library
Newburyport Public Library - an affiliate library
North Hampton Public Library and Cultural Center - an affiliate library
Parker Memorial Library - an affiliate library

Lynnfield Massachusetts
400 E Essex St
Lynnfield, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
Phone: 781-334-5586
Call ahead for hours
Closed: The month of August

Societies

New England Historic Genealogical Society
99 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116-3007
Phone: (1-617) 536-5740

(See Archives and Libraries under Essex County, Massachusetts for hours and library collections) This library holds the many of the early colonial collections for Salem and Salem Village now Danvers, Massachusetts.