{Excerpt from Candlewood, an Ancient Neighborhood in Ipswich, Massachusetts, written by Thomas Franklin Waters, with genealogies of John Brown, William Fellows, and Robert Kinsman)
“Why and when the name was given is largely a matter of conjecture. Pastor Higginson of Salem wrote to friends in England of the primitive way in which the earliest settlers often lighted their houses by burning thin strips of the pitch pine trees. The suggestion is natural that this fine farming country was originally covered with a pine forest and that it was of so clear grain and so rich in pitch that it furnished the light for many homes.
“The more prosaic name “The South Eighth” prevailed years ago. Strictly speaking, the ancient neighborhood to which the name was originally applied centered about the corner where the Essex road and the Candlewood road divide, but for convenience sake, its bounds will be stretched and it will be taken as including the whole region east of the Old Bay road and south of the road to Argilla.
“On the east side of the Bay Road, the great tract of pasture, tillage land, meadow and swamp, bounded by the Bay Road, Essex Road, the Candlewood Road, Fellows Lane and Lakeman’s Lane was a part of the Common land of the Town, and when the great area of Common lands was divided into Eighths in 1709, it became part of the division known as the South Eighth and was known as the Inner Common of the South Eighth. About 1720, the proprietors of the Inner Common apportioned individual shares, division lines were run and individual titles were then established.
Further reading
- The Descendants of Robert Kinsman of Ipswich, Massachusetts
- William Israel Fellows
- Fellows Families of Onondoga County NY and their Ancestors” written by Erwin Fellows
- Genealogical Record of the Dscendants of Robert Kinsman of Ipswich Massachusetts
- Robert Kinsman
- A Genealogy of the Descendants of John Brown of Ipswich
- Candlewood, an Ancient Neighborhood, by Thomas Franklin Waters,
Candlewood Road
3 Candlewood Rd., the Brown-Whipple House (1812) – Joseph Brown built this house in 1812 as a dwelling for his son, James, and sold him the house and 3 acres, Dec. 23, 1817. The entire estate of Joseph Brown eventually was inherited by James. In 1852, D. F. Brown and the other heirs sold their interest to Hervey Whipple, who had married Martha P., daughter of James Brown, July 3, 1852. The heirs of Hervey Whipple still occupied into the 21st Century.
14 Candlewood Road, the Joseph and Elizabeth Perkins Brown House (1779) – Elizabeth Brown, descendant of the early Candlewood settler John Brown, was the wife of Captain Perkins. In December, 1779, their daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of Joseph Brown, of the same family line, who built this house.
30 Candlewood Rd., the Ephraim Brown House (1825) – A home of the Brown family in Ipswich
36 Candlewood Road, the Martin Keith House (1807, moved 1995) – The Martin Keith House (1807) is a fine Federal era specimen that stood for two centuries in Middleborough MA. by 1990 it was barely salvageable with rotted sills and interior damage. In 1995 buyers from Ipswich agreed to have it restored on their property.
41 Candlewood Road, the Boardman House (c. 1730) – Bryan Townsend completely restored this second-period 1750 home built by Captain John Boardman or his son Thomas. The barn that Townsend restored received the 2009 Mary Conley award for historic preservation of an Ipswich property.
49 Candlewood Road, the Robert Kinsman House (b. 1714) – Robert Kinsman constructed this First Period house before 1714, and the home has been greatly expanded over the years. Stephen Kinsman inherited the house in 1726, and with his wife Elizabeth Russell brought up a family of twelve children. They dwelt in the old Robert Kinsman homestead until 1767 when he sold his farm, 47 acres and buildings to Samuel Patch.
59 Candlewood Road, the Jeremiah Kinsman House (1752) – Stephen Kinsman built the house at 59 Candlewood Rd. in 1752. He bequeathed to his son Jeremiah “all my lands in Walker’s Swamp with the dwelling house and buildings thereon, recorded Dec.27, 1756.
65 Candlewood Road, the Rhoda Kinsman House (1776/1818) – Jeremiah Kinsman died in 1818, and his will bequeathed the “Walker’s Island farm” to his sons Jeremiah and William in equal parts. William or his son William Jr. built this house next door, which was known as the “cottage.” It came to be occupied by Rhoda Kinsman, daughter of William Jr.
Fellows Road
16 Fellows Road, the Ruth Fellows House (1714, altered) – Joseph Fellows acquired the farm by inheritance and purchase. He served in the King Philip war and married Ruth Fraile on April 19 1675. He died before 1693, and Mrs. Ruth Fellows died on April 14 1729.
44 Fellows Road, the Joseph Fellows Jr. House (1734) – The corner of Upland Road was known in early days as Fellows Lane, and it was near this corner, perhaps on this lot, that William Fellows, who settled in Ipswich in 1635, is believed to be buried. This house was constructed in 1734 by Joseph Fellows Jr.
56 Fellows Road, the Josiah Brown House (1812) – The pasture land along Fellows and Candlewood Roads was purchased in the mid-17th Century by John Brown. His descendant Josiah Brown built this house in 1812. For over two hundred and forty years after John Brown bought the farm, it remained by inheritance in the Brown family through successive generations.
Lakeman’s Lane
21 Lakemans Lane, the John Manning Farm (c. 1825) – The house and barn at 21 Lakeman’s Lane were constructed by John Manning 3rd who inherited the farm from his father. The barn features hand-hewn post and beam framing with gunstock corner posts, and may predate the house.
27 Lakeman’s Lane, the Benjamin Fellows House (c. 1719) – Benjamin Fellows’ son Ephraim Fellows was a private in Captain Thomas Burnham’s Company which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775 toward the battle at Lexington.
34 Lakeman’s Lane, the Wade-Kinsman-Cameron House (c. 1860) – Deed searches suggest that Asa Wade’s barn may have been converted into a residence by Mary or William Kinsman., expanded and modernized in 1939.
Historic Ipswich 