Amesbury, a town of Essex county, Mass., about 40 m. N. of Boston, and 6 m. N. W. of Newburyport, extending from the N. bank of the Merrimack river to the New Hampshire line; pop. in 1870, 5,581. A branch of the Eastern railroad extends from Salisbury to this point. Manufacturing is extensively pursued. The town contains 5 woollen mills, with 46 sets of machinery, using annually $1,257,500 worth of stock, and employing 270 males and 372 females; 1 brickyard, 2 manufactories of hats and caps, 18 of carriages, 1 of carriage wheels, 3 of harnesses, 3 saw mills, and 21 blacksmith shops. There are several churches, good schools, and a weekly newspaper. It is the home of the poet John G. Whittier, who is frequently called the bard of Amesbury. Josiah Bartlett, M. D., one of the signers of the declaration of independence, was born here in 1729.