We received the sad news today of the death of Mary Ellen Lepionka on October 7, 2024. Mary Ellen wrote prolifically about the Native Americans who lived in our area before European colonization and their descendants. In her professional career, Mary Ellen Lepionka taught social sciences at the college and high school levels, after which… Continue reading Remembering Mary Ellen Lepionka
Category: People
Col. Doctor Thomas Berry, “Last of the Ipswich Aristocracy”
In the first half of the Eighteenth Century, Col. Thomas Berry was the most conspicuous citizen of the Town, "Autocrat of his time, Magistrate, Military leader, Physician and Statesman."
Joseph Stockwell Manning, a Civil War Hero from Ipswich
Private Joseph Stockwell Manning grew up in Ipswich, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on December 1, 1864, a year and two days after an incredible act of bravery at Fort Sanders, Tennessee. in November, 1863.
To Secure a Competence
Remarks by Ipswich Historical Commission chairman John Fiske, on accepting the 2014 Community Service Award from the Ipswich Democratic Town Committee to the Historical Commission on January 31, 2015
Christopher and Sarah Bidlake
Christopher and Sarah Bidlake, who married in Ipswich, Massachusetts, were the common ancestors of the Bidlack family of Windham County, Connecticut. The above sketch of Windham Center in the 1830s is by John Warner Barber. Sarah Bidlake was the daughter of John Fuller and Elizabeth (Emerson) Perrin, and a granddaughter of Thomas Emerson who was born… Continue reading Christopher and Sarah Bidlake
Homes of the Manning Family of Ipswich
Nicholas Manning immigrated from England to Salem, MA, as early as 1662. He was later joined by his youngest brother Thomas, who became the common ancestor of the prominent Manning family of Ipswich.
President Washington Visits Ipswich, October 30, 1789
On October 30, 1789, Washington passed through Ipswich on his ten-day tour of Massachusetts. Adoring crowds greeted the President at Swasey’s Tavern (still standing at the corner of Popular and County Streets) where he stopped for food and drink.
Portraits from Ipswich a Century Ago
Many of these glass plate negatives taken by George Dexter (1862-1927) and Edward Darling (1874 - 1962), were stored away for a century.
Charles Wendell Townsend, Ipswich Naturalist
Charles Wendell Townsend, M.D. was attracted by the natural beauty of Ipswich. He built a summer house overlooking a wide expanse of salt marsh with open sea to the east. From here he wrote a number of books, including Beach Grass, Sand Dunes and Salt Marshes, and the Birds of Essex County.
How the Irish Made Their Mark in New England
From the New England Historical Society: Over 50,000 men, women, and children of Irish descent were forcibly transported to British imperial colonies to serve as indentured labor. By 1790, there were 400,000 Americans of Irish birth or ancestry out of a population of 3.9 million.
Nathan Dane
Nathan Dane, a native of Ipwich was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, where he helped draft the Northwest Ordinance, which was enacted in 1787. Dane’s amendment banning slavery in the territory, which would become five new states was accepted into the Ordinance. His amendments to the Articles of Confederation helped lead to adoption of the United States Constitution and a Bill of Rights.
Ipswich Mob Attacks Loyalist Representative Dr. John Calef
Dr. John Calef was among a handful of members of the Massachusetts Assembly who voted to retract the "Massachusetts Circular Letter" which was adopted in response to the 1767 Townshend Acts. Ipswich citizens' anger at Calef lingered as war with England approached.
Rachel Haffield Clinton Arrested for Witchcraft, May 28, 1692
Everything about Rachel Clinton's life went wrong, and in her old age she was an easy target for the witchcraft hysteria that spread from Salem throughout Essex County.
Madame Shatswell’s Cup of Tea
Madame Shatswell loved her cup of tea, and as a large store had been stored for family use before the hated tax was imposed, she saw no harm in using it as usual. News of the treason spread throughout the town.
John Updike, the Ipswich years
In 1957, John Updike moved to Ipswich, where he and his family lived in the Polly Dole house on East Street for seventeen years. Updike's 1968 novel Couples and several of his short stories were based in the fictional community Tarbox, which everyone knew was really Ipswich.
Hill’s Men’s Shop
Howard R."Taffy Hill "was a familiar sight at his iconic store on Market Street, in operation since 1929 when it was opened by his father as Hill’s Men’s Store.
