In 1742, the 26-year-old king’s collector visited Marblehead, and fell in love with the young tavern maid, a poor fisherman's daughter ten years younger than himself.
The Story of Agnes Surriage, the Marblehead Tavern Maid
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The Revolutionary War Letters of Joseph Hodgkins and Sarah Perkins
Throughout the Revolutionary War, Joseph Hodgkins sent letters home from the battlefronts to his wife, Sarah Perkins Hodgkins.
Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776
The above painting by Louis S. Glanzman is courtesy of the National Park Service. The siege of Boston by Patriot forces began on April 19, 1775, in the aftermath of the battles at Lexington and Concord. In June the British technically won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but suffered heavier casualties, with no effect on the Continental… Continue reading Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776
Ipswich Museum Sunday Strolls, April – May, 2026
The Ipswich Museum, 54 S. Main Street Mark your calendars for the return of the Ipswich Museum Sunday Strolls this April and May. Led by experienced guides, Stephanie Gaskins and Scott Jewel, topics range from the life and art of Arthur Wesley Dow to pivotal moments of Ipswich history. Tours will begin at 2 PM, starting… Continue reading Ipswich Museum Sunday Strolls, April – May, 2026
Ipswich Town Meeting Resolution Calling Upon Congress to Oversee the President: May 2026
RESOLVED: That this duly assembled Town Meeting, as the legislative body of the Town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, respectfully calls upon the Congress of the United States to fully exercise its constitutional duty of oversight and authority, including, but not limited to, the power to impeach and remove the sitting President of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln’s Brush with Essex County
By David J. Kent Abraham Lincoln toured New England twice. He never made it to Ipswich, but he did have some brushes with Essex County that influenced his development as a politician and his rise to the presidency. The first trip was as a sitting congressman in 1848, during which he gave ten speeches in… Continue reading Abraham Lincoln’s Brush with Essex County
To the Inhabitants of Ipswich from Thomas Jefferson
The Embargo Act of 1807 put New England ports at a standstill and its towns into a depression. The Ipswich Town Meeting petitioned the President to relieve "the people of this once prosperous country from their present embarrassed and distressed condition." The town found Jefferson's answer "Not Satisfactory."
The 1641 Massachusetts Body of Liberties
At the Massachusetts General Court, May 13, 1640, it was voted that the elders of the churches and other freemen of the Commonwealth gather their thoughts and counsels about a body of laws for the Colony and present them to the general court within eight months. Two schemes were proposed, but Governor Winthrop assigned the… Continue reading The 1641 Massachusetts Body of Liberties
“Vindidation of the Government of New England Churches,” by Rev. John Wise
""It is certainly a great truth, namely, that man's original liberty after it is resigned (yet under due restrictions) ought to be cherished in all wise governments; or otherwise, a man in making himself a subject, he alters himself from a freeman into a slave, which to do is repugnant to the law of nature. "
Women in Ipswich History
Stories on this site about women in local history from the early days of the settlement through the Twentieth Century.
Ipswich and the American Revolution, Part 2: The Revolutionary War
On June 10th, 1776, the men of Ipswich, in Town-meeting assembled, instructed their Representatives, that if the Continental Congress should for the safety of the said Colonies Declare them Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, they will solemnly engage with their lives and Fortunes to support them in the Measure.
Ipswich and the American Revolution: The Breach with Britain
In John Adams’ 1765 opposition to the Stamp Act, he referenced the citizens of Ipswich who resisted a tax imposed by the Crown in 1687. An Ipswich town meeting on August 11, 1768 approved of "the Conduct of those Gentlemen of the late House of Representatives...when it was required of them at the Peril of their Political Existence." The Town meeting on Dec. 28, 1772 supported the rights of the Colonists as British subjects, and established a Committee of Correspondence to communicate resistance with the Committees of other towns. Delegates from throughout Essex County arrived in Ipswich on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1774, and by unanimous vote, bound themselves together in establishment of the Provincial Congress for the common safety.
The Ipswich Revolt of 1687
On August 23, 1687, the citizens of Ipswich, led by the Reverend John Wise, denounced the levy of taxes by the arbitrary government of Sir Edmund Andros, and from their protest sprang the American Revolution of 1689.
Historic Ipswich 