The History of the John Whipple House

John Whipple: 1625-1685 (Ninth Great-Granduncle)

I love historic homes—and when I find one that has a connection to an ancestor, I’m delighted. When I first read about Ipswich Massachusetts’ John Whipple House, I assumed it was originally built by my 10^th Great-grandfather John Whipple. He was an Ipswich resident, and several other trees on Ancestry attached photos of the house to his records. I pulled up the Wikipedia page on the house, and immediately realized my mistake. The article said the first iteration of the house was built in 1677—eight years after my tenth great-grandfather had died. But John Whipple had a son also named John, born in 1625. Research showed he was the probable builder and original owner of the home. So although the house wasn’t built by my direct ancestor, it still holds ancestral ties—John was my ninth great-grandmother Susannah Whipple Worth’s brother, so my ninth-great granduncle.

Photo from National Archives of John Whipple House

So who was John Whipple, and where is his house? John was born in Bocking, Essex, England on December 21, 1625 to parents John Whipple and Susan Clarke. At some point in his teens, John emigrated with his parents to the Massachusetts Colony, where the family settled in the town of Ipswich around 1637-38. His father was sworn as a freeman in 1640 and became a respected businessman, and upon his death in 1669, he left a sizable estate, most of which John inherited after the distribution of specific bequests to his father’s widowed second wife and John’s sisters. [2]

Transcript of John Whipple Sr. will leaving most of estate to son John

John married Martha Reynor around 1656. [1] The couple had eight children, including three sons who survived to adulthood. According to Carol Clark Johnson’s A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families [4], John was a “maltster in 1665 and in 1673 built at the lower falls a fulling-mill for finishing homespun cloth.” She reported that he held several community positions, serving as a General Court deputy and on juries. He also served in the military, first as a “cornet” in 1668, then a lieutenant in King Philip’s War, and became a captain of the Ipswich Horse Troop in 1676. [3, 4]

Marriage records for both John Whipples--father and son [1]

As for the Whipple House, there are conflicting stories about when the first section of the house was built. John’s father left him a house in his will, but was this the same building? According to old National Park Service material (see full citation below), the house may have been built as early as 1638, but there are no documents that mention the house until a 1650 record of the sale of the property from a John Fawn to John Whipple Sr. The NPS materials state,

“The original portion of the house was a two-story, two room structure, which had casement windows and a thatched roof. At one end of the lower room are the entrance door, great chimney, and stairway to the large sleeping chamber on the upper floor…The original building was the lifetime home of the first John Whipple, a leader of some distinction in the settlement of Agawam, later Ipswich…”[5]

However, later materials referenced scientific studies that proved the present Whipple house could not have been constructed before 1677. Core samples from the house’s wooden beams were extracted, and the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory conducted measurements of the tree growth rings to determine the year the trees were felled. The report stated:

“Primary Phase Felling dates: Summer 1676, Winter 1676/7. Addition Felling dates: Summer 1689, Winter 1689/90. The Whipple House, which faces south, began as a single cell house with chimney bay on the east end. The original house, built in 1677, was two-and-one-half stories in height and featured a facade gabble. In 1690, the house was enlarged by a substantial addition twenty-four feet in length east of the chimney that included a second facade gable. The crossed summer beams in the east room suggest that the room was partitioned along the transverse summer beam originally. The eastern part of the lean-to may have been constructed at the same time. On the east wall, both the main range and the lean-to were given hewn overhangs with substantial ogee moldings. The lean-to was later extended to the west and raised to two stories.” [6]

Another historian noted that the 1690 addition, built by John’s son, my 8^th first cousin Major John Whipple, added a flue to the chimney, and the present chimney has a line of bricks that shows where the addition began. See the photo below.

Front of house--photo from National Archives

The house passed through several family members over the years. The National Park Service noted, “On the death of Capt. John Whipple, the executors of his will appraised the house, as well as 2-1/2 acres of land, kiln, and outhouse, at £330; even at that early period, the house was an unusually valuable property.” [5]

Part of the inventory from John Whipple Jr.'s estate

The house originally stood at the corner of Saltanstall and Market Streets in Ipswich. The Historic Ipswich site noted, “Typical of First Period houses, it faced south to take advantage of warmth from the sun.” [6]

John Whipple House being moved to South Green Street in 1927--photo from National Archives

Wikipedia noted that “Circa 1710, the west roof of the primary house was raised and extended over the lean-tos creating 4 additional slope-ceiling rooms. The total room count was then 14, not including the fully usable 3rd-floor attic above the primary structure. This was a very large house then (and now), with high ceilings in all rooms except the lean-tos, a prominent location near the mills and with land abutting the Ipswich River. It became known as "The Mansion", a title it retained for more than a century.” [8]

Vintage postcard showing kitchen fireplace in John Whipple House

The house fell into disrepair early in the 20^th century. It was purchased by the Ipswich Historical Society and was moved in 1927 across the Choate Bridge to 1 South Green Street, where it was restored and turned into a museum. The Historic Ipswich website states that the house “has the original frame, large fireplaces, summer beams, wide board floors, and gun-stock posts… Wall sheathing and clamshell ceiling plaster retain their first period charm. Seventeenth and 18th century furnishings and decorative arts by local and regional craftsmen fill the home.”[6]

Reproduction furniture in the parlor of the John Whipple House

The Historical Society’s rehab work exposed the original wattle and lath walls beneath the exterior siding. Reproduction diamond-paned casement windows were installed so that the house looks as similar as possible to how it probably appeared around 1710.

National Archives photo of the house before restoration work began

The home has been beautifully restored inside and out, and the yard features a “colonial style ‘housewife’s garden’” [6]. The John Whipple House is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is considered a fine example of a First Period home—one of the last ones still standing.

Wikimedia Commons photo of John Whipple House present day.

It is hard to believe that John Whipple’s home still exists in 2023. I look forward to visiting it at some point. It would be thrilling to stand in the rooms where my ninth great-granduncle and his family once ate, worked and entertained in the 1670s.

Sources:

1. Marriages of John Whipple Sr., and John Whipple Jr., New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21176/1643/426909615

2. Will of John Whipple Sr., 1669. Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635-1681.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1652/i/33912/166/891371011

3. Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB494/rd/13255/249/236053239

4. Ancestry.com. A genealogical history of the Clark and Worth families : and other Puritan settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: Johnson, Carol Clark,. A genealogical history of the Clark and Worth families : and other Puritan settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cygnet, Ohio: Priv. print., 1970.

5. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitec30.htm

6. https://historicipswich.net/the-whipple-house-south-green/

7. https://catalog.archives.gov/search?page=1&q=john%20whipple%20house

8.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whipple_House

9. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Whipple_House.jpg