5 Beck Street – It’s Still There

Thomas Jay Kemp

5 years ago

Photo: 5 Beck Street, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Source: Google Streetview.

I have been verifying the family history entries in the Amos and Olive (Petingel) Clark family Bible.

Recently, I worked on one of the entries from their Bible for their daughter Ellen Amanda (Clark) Johnson (1842-1884).

Photo: entry for Ellen Amanda Clark Johnson from the Amos and Olive Clark family Bible. Source: Thomas Jay Kemp.

I easily found her and her family in the 1880 Census, living in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She was married to William Johnson, and they had a daughter, Elizabeth.

Source: GenealogyBank, “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, GenealogyBank (https://genealogybank.com/#), Ellen A. Johnson, Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. (Original index: United States Census, 1880, FamilySearch, 2014.)

Looking closely at the first two columns, I found that they were then living at 5 Beck Street in Newburyport. She died in Newburyport just four years later.

Using Google Streetview, I found that their home is still standing. Having this modern photograph of their home gives me a sense of their life and surroundings.

With their family Bible in hand, I am able to use GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, Google Streetview, and other sources to gather the details of their lives.