New-York tribune., 1905-11-05
Il COLONY TOWN.
Ipsrich Men and Ways IN the SEQ
enteenth Century.
IPSWICH, IN THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COL
ONY. By Thomas Franklin Waters President
of the Ipswich Historical Society. Svo, PIP. 6Ss
(The Ipswich Historical Society.)


cIety has prepared in this volume a model of its
kind He tells in thoroughly entertaining FASH
len the history Of this early Colonial town-the
Agawam of the Indians-and he adds in Part II
such a detailed account Of its houses and lands
must be of value to all connected by
ties of blood property with Ipswich. Photo
graphs of the many ancient houses which sur
vive, together with maps, diagrams and fac
SMILES, illustrate and eucidate the text
The story of the town holds so much of the
struggle, the tragedy and the quafntness of sew
enteenth century life in the colony that it would
have been difficult to make it other than inter
esting. 1t was in 160S that the ship Ordnance
touched those shores, and six years after the
redoubtable John Smith landed and wrote ad-
nring1y of the Tegion-'Angoan,'' he called it.
Its advantages had in 1853 appealed to Puritan
practically, and John winthrop, son OF the
Governor, headed expedition that established
a settlement there. The young man paid to the
Sycamore MlscononiInet no more than 800 for
all the fair broad fields of Agawam That
Indian name did not long survive save in THE
Simple Cobler" OF the Rev Nathaniel Ward
It was called after old Ipswich. in England, IN
ACKNOWLEDGING of the great honor and kind
ness done to people, who took shipping
there" 1t was tiny settlement, but it held sew
eral men of notable standing, far removed IN
birth training and experience from Goodman
was a scholar and barrister of the Inner Tenn
Die; he had had the advantage of travel on the
Continent and had served with the feet under
Buckingham. Nathaniel Ward was a learned
man, a graduate of Cambridge. an acquaintance
OF Francis Bacon, a traveller, and q barr1ster,
who quitting the law, became rector in the
Established Church. He it was who drew up for
the Massachusetts, Colony its code of laws, and
later produced that shrewd mixture of homily,
sGTl In Gnb1a nf
Aggawam.' Master Ward, let note by the
way deserves to be remembered if it were only
for this couplet:
Poetry's gift wherein but few excel.
He doth very Ill that doth not passing we'll
A third notability was Richard Saltonsta1, son
of Sir Richard, another Cambridge graduate and
q youth Of much force of character. OF all that
in his long life he did to insure remembrance,
nothing is honorable than his unaided fight
to free and restore to their own country two un-
happy negroes who had been kidnapped from
the Guinea coast The seventeenth century was
still in its second quarter when that happened
His petition to the General Court praying that
the slaves might be returned at the public
pense was signed by himself alone Another
man of distinction in little Ipswich was Thomas
Dudley who took up his home there when he re-
Hnquished the Governorship- With him came
bis daughter Ann, Mrs. Bradstreet, that right
Du BdrtaS GIRL whose poetry was rnuch De-
Iauded by her papas university bred neighbors.
MI Waters acknowledges that her poems are
not read to-day but something of her has sur
vfved to our time in her descendants, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Wendell Phillips, Richard H
Dana and W. E. Charming.
What was the manner of living Of these clever
and we'll bred people? The first houses were
small and rough dwellings, the second stories,
wherein the family slept, being little more than
lofts ice cold in winter Only the chiefs of the
town had furniture which was in any sense
handsome and ample. Mr.. Winthrop's possess
eions would seem scant enough now The
author gives US to understand that these Ipswich
gentry so far from dressing with excessive
Puritan simplicity, very good clothes, on
Sunday at least. Rich fabrics and bright colors
were not sighted by the men, and their wives
had a-pleuty of laces, lawns. lutestrings and
fovered satins in their wardrobes. No later
than 1861 several daring danes of Ipswich were
called to account by the authorities for thelr
wearing of finery or their cutting, curling and
;,,odes. laying out of their haire." Those who
,,ara nroyed to be worth f200 escaped; all others
were fined their lords and masters paying
xyrathf,,lly no doubt sharp eye kept on
r,asculne wardrobes resulted in the fining of
one man of small income for presumng to wear
silver lace The authorities urged that the
y,,,,Il NOT 3fll a