A – 28 Goodhue St., 1751 B – 2 Gail Ave., 1740 C – 16 Gail Ave., 1760 D – 171 Asbury St., 1753 E – 230 Asbury St., 1770 F – 1028 Bay Rd., 1725 G – 918 Bay Rd., 1725 H – 648 Bay Rd., 1729 I – 638 Bay Rd., 1780 J – 613 Bay Rd., 1780 K – 601 Bay Rd., 1750 L – 588 Bay Rd., 1770 M – 563 Bay Rd., 1775 N – 560 Bay Rd., 1790 O – 454 Bay Rd., 1720 P – 435 Bay Rd., 1772 Q – 76 Bridge St., 1662 R – 180 Bridge St., 1690 S – 293 Bridge St., 1750 T – 505 Essex St., 1790 U – 494 Essex St., 1760 V – 428 Essex St., 1720 W – 175 Woodbury St., 1753 X – 188 Essex St. Y – Meeting House, 1643 Many houses remain from before Hamilton was created in 1793 Map, J. Hauck, 2018. - Z – Cemetery, 1707 History of The Hamlet, 1638-1793 Early settlers in the bay area The area stretched south, be- cutting wood, and digging sand, called their town Agawam, a name tween what is now Cutler Rd. clay and gravel. used by the local Indians. On Aug. (then Elm St.), and the Miles Riv- Tillage: Large lots owned by a 4, 1634, the Massachusetts Bay er, to the border of what was then few people, called freemen, and Colony Court of Assistants de- Salem (now Wenham). To the often enclosed by a fence creed that Agawam be called Ips- west was a parish called New Meadows: Large farm lots wich, after the town of Ipswich, a Meadows (now Topsfield) and to owned by freemen, whose home- major English port of embarkation the east was the Chebacco parish steads often were on separate to the colonies, 6 (now Essex). lots. In 1638, in a section of Ipswich, The Hamlet covered about House lots: Less than 10 ac. south of the Great River, now 8,100 ac. Nearly half was suita- lots close to the meetinghouse, on known as the Ipswich River, Mat- ble for pasture; 20% meadow- which were a house, barn, out- thew Whipple received the first land; 10% woodland; 5% farm- buildings, cow yard and garden. land grant from the Massachusetts land; and the remainder covered General Court. 5 Matthew, along with water and rock. 1 Many of the early houses were "wattle and daub" struc- with his brother John, in 1639, The useful land was divided in- tures. Wood beam frames were owned 685 ac. (John 460 and Mat- to four types of use: thew 225). This included land in filled in with sticks (wattle). A Commons: Unfenced land used both Ipswich and what is now sticky mixture of clay, mud, and by the village inhabitants, called Hamilton. 5 grass (daub) filled the gaps. The commoners, for grazing livestock, roof usually was a thatch of dried local grass. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Treasures of Hamilton History – The Hamlet Pg. 1 Various deeds and documents Church in Wenham Browne, Joseph (1639-1694) - mention four hills in the Hamlet: Bought 18 ac. from William Hub- In January 1679/80, Hamlet neigh- 1 Lummus (now Cilley), Brown's, bors asked the Wenham church to bard, before 1700. A turner Poland (now Willow), Whipple make more room for them in the (wood worker), he married Hannah (now Sagamore) and Vineyard. Aslebee, in 1671, and they had 8 meetinghouse. The church grant- children. The main north/south travel ed them “the west gallery and two route was a former Indian path seats next to the stairs, on the Browne, Nathaniel (1676-1759) stretching south from Ipswich - A weaver, he owned 16 ac. that right hand of the coming in of the 32 through the Whipple properties. south door, for their wives.” 19 he inherited from father. In 1641, it was officially laid out For pews and seats, the neigh- Dane (Deane), John (1643- by the Bay Colony and became 1707) - A commoner, he married the Bay Path. 10 bors paid a third of the annual ex- penses of the Wenham meeting- Abigail Warner 1671. They had 7 Several other roads likely ex- children. Their house, built on land house, and also their share in its isted. These included wagon 18 originally part of John Whipple repair, and the pastor's salary. roads to surrounding towns: Way property, was on Bay Rd. near to New Meadows parish (now The "neighbors" were of the Gardner St. In 1706, he sold to the Asbury St.), Candlewood Road gentry. Joseph Felt in his 1834 Hamlet a piece of land for the town (now Essex St.), and Way to history of Ipswich, Essex and burial ground on Bay Rd. 1 Hamilton, referred to a 1679 char- Chebacco parish (now Chebacco Dodge, Samuel (1645-1705), acterization of the southern parish Rd.). Other likely roads were: married (1665) Mary Parker. They as, “One of the principal of these Way to Quarles' (now Miles River lived on the west side of the Ham- hamlets lies on the road to Boston, Rd.), Way to Knowlton's (now let near New Meadows parish extending almost to Wenham, School St.), Way to Rubbly Hill (Topsfield). 33 (now Woodbury St.), Way to wherein are several of the better Maj. Symonds Epes (1662- Brown's (now Bridge St.), and rank; members of the church, per- 1741) was prominent in Hamlet's Way to Saltonstall's Farm (now sons of public place and service, government. For several years, he Highland St.). as well or better landed than any other ...” was moderator of parish meetings, Church attendance was com- an assessor, and as a member of The Whipples were among a pulsory for everyone living in Ips- several committees. He was also few families that owned most of wich. The Ipswich meetinghouse colonel of a militia regiment, jus- the land in this part of Ipswich. was on a hill, the highest point in tice of the General Sessions court, Many of their properties were town. First built in 1634, and re- and a member of the Governor's more than 300 ac. Settlers were built in 1647, it was on what be- Council from 1724 to 1734. At 52, said to be attracted to the area be- came known as the Meeting he married 16-yr. old Mary Whip- cause of its good agricultural lands House Green. ple. Major Epes was buried in the and both water and wood re- For the families living in the ar- 2 tomb now marked by the stone sources. ea south of the town, above Wen- monument erected by heirs of ham, getting to Sabbath services In addition to the Whipples, Dea. Nathaniel Whipple. 11 was a long and difficult trip, espe- other early residents cially in the winter and spring. The in this part of Ipswich, only road was the Bay Path. Sev- were: eral rivers had to be crossed and Annable, John spring floods often damaged the (1623-1664) - A tailor, bridges. bought land from Mat- thew Whipple estate, In 1661, an Ipswich family 4 stopped attending Sabbath wor- in 1647. He became ship because they lived a long dis- a Freeman in 1648 tance from the meetinghouse. The and married, 1648, General Court sold the family's Anna Whipple, sister farm so they could move nearer of Matthew and John the sanctuary. 1 Whipple. They had 7 children. Oldest house, at 76 Bridge St. was built by Joseph Browne, Sr., c1662. Photo, Q00 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Treasures of Hamilton History – The Hamlet Pg. 2 Fellows (Ffellowes), William. Quarles, Robert (1675-1730) Cemetery on Bay Path (1609-1676), commoner, a shoe- fought in French and Indian War. Not only was the Ipswich meeting- maker and farmer, married Mary He married, in 1709, Mary Perkins. house a long way from the Hamlet, Ayres (1635). They lived on the Their house was built in 1710, on getting to the churchyard also was northeast side of the Hamlet, close what is now Miles River Rd. 1 33 lengthy and time-consuming. to the Ipswich town line. Tilton, Abraham, Sr. (1638- Thus, Ipswich, in 1705, gave the Gilbert, John (1658-1723) - Son 1728); 2nd wife was Mary Cram. Hamlet parish 1 acre of common of Humphrey Gilbert was the first His son, Abraham, Jr., in 1696, land for a burial place. 1 deacon of the church. He married along with Edmund and Anthony A year later, John Dane ex- Elizabeth Kilham in 1677. They Potter built a gristmill on the Miles changed a half-acre of his land on lived near the Wenham line, above River. Their house was near what 1789 deed the Bay Path for the as-yet unused the Sarah Dodge property and is now 641 Bay Rd. acre that was not by the road. 1, 11 southwest of the John Patch prop- Tuttle, Charles, Sr. (1679- 13 The Dane lot, 165 ft. deep, had erty. A low rise on the property 1752), a blacksmith, married 135 ft. frontage on the Bay Path. It was called the Gilbert Hill. He and (1703) Mary Burnham. They had 5 was between land he owned on his son signed the 1712 separa- children and lived near the north 1 the north and on the south by John tion petition. end of the Bay Path in the Hamlet. Hubbard land. 20 Dane, in 1707, Knowlton, Samuel (1647-1696) 29, 25 was buried in the cemetery. 5 - A commoner, he was a shoe- Walker, Richard (1637-1721) The first enlargement of the maker and farmer. He married married (1645) Sarah Story. Their burial ground occurred in 1763. Elizabeth Witt (1669). They lived farm was off of Bridge Street. 23 John Hubbard gave the Hamlet a on the east side of the Hamlet, 1 8 Woodbury, Isaac (1659-1733) quarter of an acre on the south- near what is no Essex St.