John Chapman, a “leather breeches maker,” married Joanna Perkins on Oct. 21, 1769, and in the same year purchased a lot from Isaac Dodge on the corner of Annable’s Lane, which is now Summer Street. (126: 68). The couple had six children. Joanna Chapman grew up three doors away in a house that sat at the corner of Meeting House Green, on a lot which John Chapman’s grandfather, Samuel Chapman, had sold to Jeremiah and Joseph Perkins in 1715. Joanna’s sister, Sarah Perkins, married Col. Joseph Hodgkins, whose cobbler shop was nearby. The letters that Joseph and Sarah Perkins Hodgkins wrote to each other during the Revolutionary War are preserved and recorded on this site.
John and Joanna moved to Londonderry, N. H., where he died in 1793, at age 78. He sold this house and land to Capt. Thomas Dodge on Sept. 15, 1773 (132:130). Dodge lived in the house for 26 years, then in 1797, sold it to Captain Ephraim Kendall (162: 74). Kendall and his wife housed several students from the Ipswich Female Academy. In 1822, Captain Kendall sold the house to Ebenezer and Daniel Russell. Throughout the rest of the 19th Century, the house stayed in the Russell family.
Architectural highlights of the John Chapman house at 49 North Main Street include original woodwork, a divided cupboard, and original 6-pane doors in the left and right-hand chambers.
Sources:
- Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Thomas Franklin Waters
- MACRIS
- Genealogy of Edward Chapman of Ipswich
- Vital Records
Historic Ipswich 
Gordon, I believe Johnny Appleseed’s name was John Chapman. Is he the one who built this house? Thanks! Terri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed