HAVERHILL, ESSEX, MASSACHUSETTS

FAMILIES:

Ayer,Bradley,Crawford,Davis,Heath,Hutchins,Kingsbury,Peaseley,Williams

LOCATION:

Haverhill is located on the Merrimack River in Essex County in northeast Massachusetts. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the north, Metheun to the west, Groveland and Boxford to the south and West Newbury to the east. About a third of the land in the original Haverhill is now in New Hampshire and a portion was taken for Metheun.

HISTORY:

Haverhill, then called Pentucket, was first settled by Europeans in 1640. In 1643, the Massachusetts Bay Colony established the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Norfolk, which is not the same as the current county of that name, then included Haverhill, Salisbury, Amesbury and some towns that are now in New Hampshire.

Betwen 17 Nov 1735 and 31 Dec 1737 Haverhill was devastated by "throat distemper" (possibly diptheria), which killed 256 children.

LINKS:

The US GenWeb project site for Haverhill is particularly good.

REFERENCES:

Wright, Lin, "Early Settlers of Haverhill," US GenWeb project site for Haverhill.

Send comments and corrections to anneb0704@yahoo.co.uk