Ipswich
The Old North Church has always symbolized Ipswich for me. Sitting proudly on Town Hill, it represented the history and center of the Town. When it burned in 1965, it was like a death in the family. Since I had married and moved away from Ipswich, it was also like the breaking of the tie to the Town. However, sometimes you can go home again.
This site has been established by me, because my family has had a long (365 years) connection to Ipswich. I have over the years accumulated many items that may be of interest to persons interested in the town and I have nothing else to do with them. I may be contacted at bwlord11@comcast.net .
This is a very mixed site. My interests are varied. There is, of course, my family. I provide a view of the present and the past with a large helping of genealogy. Robert Lord was the first of my family to arrive in the new world in 1634, therefore, I have devoted space to him and his family.
I spent the early years of my youth (through college) in Ipswich, Massachusetts and I have always retained an interest in its history and its legends. My grandfather was a storyteller and I was always eager to hear his tales. Unfortunately few of the stories were ever written down. I have added some I remember and a few that I have found over the years. There are also several poems and many photos. He always wanted to write but the closest he came was as a printer, running his own shop for over 50 years. At age 80 he finally published (and printed himself) his first book. It can be read at Grandfather Bowen. My Uncle Harold continued his work with his own stories which he published weekly in a newspaper column which was later consolidated in three books, Tales of Olde Ipswich.
Ipswich was founded in 1633 by John Winthrop, Jr, son of John Winthrop, the Governor. the Lord Family arrived in the person of Robert Lord in late 1634 or early 1635. There is no record of his arrival except that he took the freeman's oath in March 1635. Because of the early arrival of my forebears, I have the distinct privilege of being related to most all of New England and a good portion of the United States.
The story of Ipswich is covered very well in many areas in books and even on the web. What I hope to add through this page are some of the stories that were told to me by my grandfather and a few that I have picked up since that time and other information that may not be as readily available from the more popular sources. The history of my family in Ipswich is also covered in a little detail (See section Robert Lord).
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Stories -- Some are true, some are maybe true and some are less than that |
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Thomas Franklin Waters -- Booklets and Items from his books |
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Places -- Stories and photos of Ipswich locations, buildings and structures |
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Poems -- Some are very good and some are very bad but all are about Ipswich |
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Maps -- Ipswich in 1640 and thereafter |
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Photos -- Sampling of the town and items I had no where else to place |
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Postcards -- A sampling of my collection of nearly 400 different cards of Ipswich |
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Taverns -- A couple of stories of the early houses for the thirsty and the traveler. |
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Ipswich Books & Pamphlets -- (Some Old, Some Newer) |
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Bibliography -- A list of my library and the books published by the Ipswich Historical Society |
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Ipswich in South Carolina or not--Research materials on emigrants to South Carolina |
This site was created and is administered by Bruce Lord. I may be contacted at: mailto:bwlord11@comcast.net
