Featured image: The Thomas Lord house on High Street in Ipswich dates to 1658.

Robert Lord arrived with the first settlers of Ipswich in late 1634 or early 1635, probably from Sudbury, Suffolk, England, where he was born in 1603. Soon after his arrival, Robert Lord was appointed Ipswich Town Clerk and Clerk of the Court of Ipswich and held those posts until his death in 1683.

Robert Lord  married Mary /Waite/ on 11 Nov., 1630 at Finchingfield, Essex, England. They arrived in Ipswich with four children and had five more children here. The following list is provided by Bruce Lord:

1. Thomas Lord : Birth: 1633. Death: 4 JUN 1713 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Ma
2. Robert Jr Lord : Birth: 1634 in England. Death: 11 NOV 1696 in Ipswich, Essex, Ma
3. Samuel Lord : Birth: 1640 in Ipswich, Essex, MA. Death: 27 MAY 1696 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Ma
4. Abigail Lord : Birth: 1646. Death: 4 JUN 1729
5. Sarah Lord : Birth: 1647. Death: in Ma
6. Susannah Lord : Birth: ABT. 1650 in Ipswich, Essex, MA. Death: JAN 1726 27 in Berkley Co, SC
7. Nathaniel Lord : Birth: ABT. 1653 in Ipswich, Essex, MA. Death: 18 JAN 1732 33 in Ipswich, Essex, MA
8. Hannah Lord : Death: 16 NOV 1728 in Ipswich, Ma
9. Mary Lord : Death: 3 OCT 1676 in Newbury, Essex, Ma

Almost every house on High Street has been lived in by a member of the Lord family. Asa Lord’s store anchored Lords Square for over 100 years.

Lords Square - Lords Square was known as Brewer’s Corner in early Ipswich. John Brewer was a town clerk and being on what was then the outskirts of town owned a large lot, which he divided into sections and sold. Brewer’s First Period home at 82 High Street was built in […]

14 Summer St., the Ezra Lord House (c 1850) - This was the childhood home of Walter Ezra Lord, who established himself in a general dry goods business in Ipswich. He served 5 years as a selectman, and in 1895 was chosen representative of Ipswich in the lower house of the General Court.

14 High Street, the George Lord house (1857) - George Lord followed his father Nathaniel Lord as Register of Deeds in the County office that is now the Odd Fellows building, and built this house in 1857.

5 Linebrook Rd., The Lord-Dorr-Woodbury house (c 1850) - This building first appears in the 1856 map under the ownership of L. Dorr. It has a Greek Revival frontispiece and windows.

10 Washington St., the Mary Holmes – Captain John Lord house (b. 1770) - The house was constructed before 1770 at 45 N. Main St., and was moved to this location in 1860 by Michael Ready. The second floor was probably added at that time.

79 High Street, the Thomas H. Lord house (1835) - The ancient Joseph Lord house was at the approximate location of the present Thomas H. Lord house, which was owned at the beginning of the 20th Century by descendants of Joseph Lord. This house appears to have been built between 1814 and 1835.

56 Market Street, the Lord-Sullivan-Haskell house (1847) - Captain John Lord made his last voyage as master of the ship Miles Standish to Calcutta sailing May 17, 1855. The next owner was John J. Sullivan was an inventor with multiple patents for improvements to sewing machines.

51 North Main Street, the Sarah Lord house (1849) - Sarah Lord was the wife of A. P. Lord, whose general merchandise store existed at Lords Square for 100 years. Italianate motifs are featured in this house.

68 High Street, the Wood – Lord house (c 1740) - After her husband Daniel disappeared in 1727 at Penobscot Bay after being attacked by Indians, the court allowed Martha Ringe to marry John Wood before the customary three years had passed "in order to advance her circumstances." It was owned by Nathaniel Lord and his heirs in the 19th Century.

85 High Street, the Elizabeth and Phillip Lord house (1774) - This house was built about 1774 by Phillip Lord when he married the widowed Elizabeth Kimball Warner who owned the property. In 1832, the house was acquired by Benjamin Fewkes, who smuggled the first lace stocking machine into this country from England in 1818. He set up his hosiery shop In the rear of the house.

83 High Street, the Isaac Lord house, c. 1690-1784 - The house was in the Lord family for several generations. Deed records do not indicate the age of the house, which appears to be quite old, with a massive stone chimney base, low ceilings, boxed summer beams, wide board floors, and an asymmetrical construction. There is an unsubstantiated tradition that the Old Jail on Meeting House Green was moved to this location.

73 High Street, the Nathaniel Lord house (C 1720) - This house is named after Nathaniel Lord who spent 36 years as the Register of Probate in the Ipswich Court. The western half of this house predates the eastern side and may have 17th Century elements.

21 High Street, the Haskell – Lord house (c 1750) - This fine house was built circa 1750 by Mark Haskell, an Ipswich cabinet-maker. Haskell served as a Light House Volunteer during the Revolutionary War. Daniel Lord married Eunice, the daughter of Mark Haskell, and Haskell conveyed to him the house and an acre of land in 1767, which is the first registered deed.

52 High Street, the Henry Kingsbury – Robert Lord house (1660) - Henry Kingsbury, the earliest known owner of this lot, is first mentioned in Ipswich Records of 1638. The oldest elements of the present house date to 1660, the year Henry Kingsbury sold a house and lot to Robert Lord. Key features of this house include a hidden room and 10 fireplaces.

17 High Street, the Thomas Lord house (1658) - In 1634 this lot was granted to Robert Lord, one of the settlers of Ipswich, and was deeded to Thomas Lord, a cordwainer who built the early section of this house in 1658. The oak frame encloses a two-room over-two-room house. The saltbox leanto is not integral, indicating that it was added later.

37 High Street, Lord – Baker House (1720) - The house is believed to have been built by Robert Lord III in 1720. The property continued in the Lord family until 1775, when Samuel Baker, felt-maker and hatter, purchased it. This early 2nd period house is protected by a preservation agreement between the owners and the Ipswich Historical Commission.

103 High Street, the William Merchant house (1670) - The building dates to approximately 1670, but the right half may contain timbers from a previous structure on this site which was built in 1639. That simple story and a half cottage is believed to have been built by William Merchant who arrived in Ipswich with John Winthrop and the first settlers. The section on the left was added in 1672.

Read:

• RootsWeb: Lord family tree by Bruce W. Lord
• Robert Lord of Ipswich MA, online source by Bruce Lord
• Robert Lord Sr. of Ipswich (Geni.com)
• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts: Robert Lord