"It was the schooner Hesperus, That sailed the wintry sea; And the skipper had taken his little daughtèr, To bear him company."
Wreck of the Hesperus, Dec. 15, 1839
Author: Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris is a local historian living in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and publisher of the Historic Ipswich site. Follow him at https://gordonharris.bsky.social/
Ipswich, Slavery and the Civil War
In 1765, Jenny Slew, a slave in Ipswich, successfully sued John Whipple Jr. for her freedom. In the mid-19th Century, divisions between ardent abolitionists, moderate anti-slavery people and those who avoided the discussion divided families, churches and the town of Ipswich.
Lucretia Brown and the Last Witchcraft Trial in America, May 14, 1878
Lucretia Brown, an invalid living on the South Green in Ipswich was a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy,. When she suffered a “relapse” in 1875, Mrs. Eddy convinced her that Daniel Spofford was exercising mesmeric powers upon her.
Colonial New England Funerals
In 17th Century Ipswich, funeral services were without eulogies, but extravagant outlays were often made for mourning garments, gloves, rings, wine, refreshments and the coffin. In the 18th Century, public opinion turned against such excesses.
Ipswich Caring
In early December, volunteers visit hundreds of Ipswich senior citizens over the age of 80 and distribute Christmas presents for approximately 100 Ipswich families.
The Lord-Ellsworth Farm
The Ipswich Public Safety Facility Committee has reached an agreement with the Boston Catholic diocese to purchase four to five acres of church-owned land at the intersection of Pine Swamp and Linebrook roads that was originally a hay field across from the old Eben Lord farm.
Crocker Snow, Aviation Pioneer
A grassy strip near the intersection of Topsfield and Mill Roads belonged to Crocker Snow, an aviation pioneer. He received Massachusetts Pilot License No. 5 in 1927, signed by Orville Wright.
Ipswich, the Brookfield Massacre and King Philip’s War
In 1660, a group of Ipswich families settled in Quaboag which they renamed Brookfield. Indian attacks in 1675 resulted in its destruction.
Arrival of the English
Within three years of the arrival of the Winthrop fleet to New England, so many immigrants had arrived in Massachusetts Bay that Boston Neck could not hold them all. Perceiving a threat from the French, thirteen men arrived in 1633 to establish the town that would be named Ipswich a year later.
The Middle Circumferential Highway (That Never Happened)
In1968, Mass DPW proposed an additional beltway around Boston that would have cut through the Ipswich River Sanctuary, Bradley Palmer State Park, Appleton Farms, the Pingree Reservation and Manchester-Essex Woods. Plans were eventually abandoned because of resistance from communities that would have been affected.
The Amazing Story of Hannah Duston, March 14, 1697
Hannah Duston was born in Ipswich in 1657 while her mother was visiting her relatives the Shatswells. A bronze statue in Haverhill honors her daring escape, killing and scalping a dozen Abanaki captors.
Descendants of John and Judith Gator Perkins of Ipswich
John Perkins, who identified himself as "the Elder," and his wife Judith Gator were the immigrant ancestors of the Ipswich Perkins family from the mother country.
The Lord-Harris House, 52 High Street
In 1660, Henry Kingsbury, who arrived with John Winthrop in 1630 on the ship Arbella, sold a house lot at today’s 52 High Street to Robert Lord, the son of early Ipswich settlers Robert and Mary Waite Lord. Architectural details indicate, however, that the oldest part of this double house dates to after 1716, when… Continue reading The Lord-Harris House, 52 High Street
41 Turkey Shore, the William Howard House
William Howard was born in 1634 and is believed to have married Tabitha, the daughter of his neighbor Robert Kinsman, about 1673. Nothing more is known about him, other than that his profession was making felt and felt hats. In 1679, he bought this lot from Daniel Rindge, with the 1638 home of Thomas Emerson… Continue reading 41 Turkey Shore, the William Howard House
The Reginald Foster House, 6 Water St.
In 1657, Roger Preston sold this lot with a house on it to Reginald Foster, who arrived in Ipswich in 1638 with his wife Judith Wignol, five sons, and two daughters. The existing house was once attributed to Preston, but the oldest part was likely constructed by Reginald Foster's son Deacon Jacob Foster after 1681,… Continue reading The Reginald Foster House, 6 Water St.
The 1735 Benjamin & Ann Grant House, 47 County St.
The land on which this house sits was part of a large grant to John Proctor and was divided into lots after Proctor moved to Chebacco. In 1735, Joseph Burnham sold an empty corner of his homestead to Benjamin Grant, and Grant soon constructed the first section of the house. The front façade is asymmetrical,… Continue reading The 1735 Benjamin & Ann Grant House, 47 County St.
Historic Ipswich 