Thomas Dennis emigrated to America from England in 1663, settling in Ipswich, a Massachusetts village a long day's sail north of Boston. He had apprenticed in joinery, the most common method of making furniture in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Britain, and he became Ipswich's second joiner, setting up shop in the heart of the village. During his lifetime, Dennis won wide renown as an artisan. Today, connoisseurs judge his elaborately carved furniture as among the best produced in seventeenth-century America. Robert Tarule, historian and accomplished craftsman, brilliantly recreates Dennis's world in recounting how he created a single oak chest. Writing as a woodworker himself, Tarule vividly portrays Dennis walking through the woods looking for the right trees; sawing and splitting the wood on site; and working in his shop on the chest—planing, joining, and carving. Dennis inherited a knowledge of wood and woodworking that dated back centuries before he was born, and Tarule traces this tradition from Old World to New. He also depicts the natural and social landscape in which Dennis operated, from the sights, sounds, and smells of colonial Ipswich and its surrounding countryside to the laws that governed his use of trees and his network of personal and professional relationships. Thomas Dennis embodies a world that had begun to disappear even during his lifetime, one that today may seem unimaginably distant. Imaginatively conceived and elegantly executed, The Artisan of Ipswich gives readers a tangible understanding of that distant past.

Four men with the surname Whipple were in the American colonies by the early 1630s. This book is about one of those men: "Elder" John Whipple of Ipswich, Massachusetts and his 6,880 American descendants, covering 15 generations. In addition to these lineages, the book offers a social history of various family members beginning with John's father, Matthew, Sr., a successful Clothier of Bocking, Essex Co., England who was born about 1560. Many of the most prominent families of early colonial America married into the Whipple family. Included in the pages of this book are members of the Dea. Simon Stone family of Great Bromley, England and Watertown, Mass.; Samuel Appleton of Little Waldingfield, England and Ipswich; William Goddard of London and Watertown; Thomas Hinckley, last govenor of Plymouth colony; Humphrey Reynor of England and Rowley; Daniel Denison , major general of the Massachusetts colony; Dr. Comfort Starr of Canbrook, Kent Co., England and Suffolk Co., Mass.; Dea. William Goodhue of England and Ipswich; Job Lane of England and Malden Mass.; etc. A full biography of general William Whipple, New Hampshire singer of the Declaration of Independence, is presented. Other biographies include president Calvin Coolidge; Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross; James Russell Lowell, author and diplomat; Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; professor Albert Enoch Pillsburry who taught consitutional law at Boston university; and many other. REVIEWS E "Rarely does one come across a family history text of this depth.E Ambitious and rich in detail, it is a genealogical compilation and also a historical accounting that will appeal to students of colonial American history.E Extensive historical backdrop has been intertwined with Whipple family story, expanding its time span and subject." E "Chapter endnotes-some of them massive in numbe-include valuable narrative information in addition to source citations." E ". . . thisE book represents a unique text that will appeal to those interested in Whipple family history and in American colonial history.E It is unsurpassed in detail, a captivating read, and a massive fait accompli." Diane Ptak, CLS The full review can be seen in Vol. 93, No. 1, March 2005 of National Genealogical Society Quarterly

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.