Place:Essex, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

Alt namesChebaccosource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25007492
Chebacco Parishsource: Wikipedia
Coordinates42.632617°N 70.780452°W
Located inEssex, Massachusetts, United States
Also located inIpswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States     (1634 - 1819)
Contained Places
Old Graveyard

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Essex is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, north of Boston. The population was 3,504 at the 2010 census.

The central village areas of Essex and South Essex make up the census-designated place of Essex.


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Essex was incorporated as a town in 1819. It was previously a part of the town of Ipswich and was then called Chebacco Parish. The first European settlers arrived in 1634. At that time, the land formed part of an area inhabited by Native Americans of the Agawam tribe. The name Chebacco is Agawam in origin and refers to a large lake whose waters extend into neighboring Hamilton. Conomo Point, the easternmost part of the town, is named for the Sagamore or Chief of the Agawams, Masconomo, the leader of the tribe in the late 17th century. Early on, Chebacco Parish lobbied for status as an independent town, asking for permission to build a meeting house. In colonial times, the existence of a meeting house in a settlement conferred de facto autonomy, so Chebacco Parish was denied permission to build such a structure. Popular history tells that one written dictate was issued stating that "no man shall raise a meeting house", so the residents of the settlement interpreted it as to mean that women would be allowed to do so. It is reported that a local woman, Madam Varney, assembled the town's women and construction of a meeting house was carried out by them while the men looked on.

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