Early History of the Lot
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The following information is from Candlewood, published in 1908, by Thomas Franklin Waters. The land on which this house sits was originally granted to Nathaniel Rogers and Thomas Low. John Low, son of Thomas Low, was in possession of the lot in 1690, and he conveyed the homestead and 8 acres to his brother, Thorndike, May 5, 1708 (36: 218). Under the will of Thorndike (proved Oct. 17, 1750; Pro. Rec. 336: 425), the real estate passed to his son, Nathaniel, and his daughter, Elizabeth. The inventory lists a house, barn, and 6 acres (Pro. Rec. 338: 496).
Kinsman and Burnham Ownership
Daniel Low, a joiner, sold to Capt. John Kinsman, two-thirds of the Nathaniel Low homestead and 10 acres, April 22, 1761 (131:75); and Sarah Foster, widow, Dr. Nathaniel Low, and others conveyed to him half a dwelling and 6 acres, March 25, 1779 (138:166). Samuel Kinsman sold 79 acres and buildings to Isaac Burnham, “reserving liberty to the heirs of Dr. Joshua Burnham to pass and repass as usual, likewise a way for myself from Mr. Bragg’s farm (his neighbor to the south) with my cattle and team to the country road which leads to Chebacco,” Feb. 15, 1790 (152: 96).
1832: Levi Brown, Builder of this House
Aaron Burnham sold to John Heard, with cider mill, press, etc., Feb. 2, 1814 (201: 282). Mr. Heard also bought 6 acres of Asa Andrews, July 7, 1819 (221: 213). John Heard sold half an acre to Levi Brown, a cordwainer, for $55.00 on September 5, 1826 (244:38). No buildings are mentioned in John Heard’s deed. Mr. George W. Heard sold an acre and a half to Levi Brown, who had bought a half acre from his father, on March 21, 1832. (The deed for George Heard’s sale to Levi Brown is not available. Two purchases by Levi Brown are shown on Sept. 7, 1832 on the Salem Deeds site, but the name of the seller and the book and page numbers are not listed.) Brown purchased a half acre from his father on March 21, 1832. Levi Brown, the son of Benjamin Brown Jr., married Susan Mears of Essex in 1826. He died on Oct. 7, 1840; his widow died March 28, 1857, aged 55 years.
Willard B. Kinsman
Waters wrote that Levi Brown built a dwelling and other buildings. He quitclaimed to his brother, Francis, who sold to Henry S. Holmes, 2 acres and buildings on March 9, 1842 (330: 18); Holmes sold to Willard Benaiah Kinsman, April 1, 1851 (456: 112), who enlarged the 1832 house by building a connected new house facing the road.
Patch Ownership
Williard B. Kinsman sold to Margaret A. G. Patch, wife of John Patch, in December 1883, “with a house and a large barn and a shed connecting the house and barn” (1119:257). She deeded property with a building thereon to Emily Patch in 1897. The 1910 Ipswich map shows a house just to the east of 68 Essex Road occupied by “Miss Patch.” Emily G. Patch, a single woman, acquired the property from her mother Margaret Patch in 1897, and appears to have lived in the house for her entire life.
The Front of the House is Moved
The property was willed to Anne Bell Burrage by the will of Emily G. Patch in 1950. The front addition, which had been constructed by Willard B. Kinsman, was moved in 1953 to the adjoining empty lot at 74 Essex Rd. When John Updike and his wife, Mary, moved to Ipswich in 1957, they rented this small house for 10 months before purchasing the so-called Polly Dole House on East Street (Salem Deeds 4442:64). Updike sold the house on East St. in 1970 (5686:151) when he moved from Ipswich.
Present-day Ownership
Neil and Ben Raymond of the Buttonwood Trust sold 68 Essex Road to Alice Dietrich on August 14, 2026, for $430,000. A demolition request has been submitted by Larry Graham for the construction of a single-family dwelling.
Sources:
- Candlewood, by Thomas Franklin Waters
- Genealogy of the Descendants of John Brown of Ipswich MA
- Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Thomas Franklin Waters
- Kinsman Family
- Vital Records of Ipswich to 1850
- Map of Candlewood
- The 1832 Ipswich map shows the owner as Levi Brown.
- The 1856 map shows the owner as W. B. Kinsman.
- The 1910 Ipswich map shows the owner as “Miss Patch.”
- Conveyance by Holmes sold to Willard B. Kinsman, April 1, 1851 (456: 112)
- Conveyance by Margaret A. Patch to Emily G. Patch in 1897: Salem Deeds 1504, page 577.
- “Patch Trust 1949”: Conveyance by Emily G. Patch to Anne B. Burrage, (3719, 187) “being the same premises conveyed to Emily G. Patch by Margaret A. G. Patch in 1897.”
