The James Fitts -Nathaniel Manning-Tyler house was constructed in 1767 and was originally at the location of today’s 42 North Main Street. Sophia Tyler bought a lot on High St. in 1873 (886:62) and removed the Fitts house to the property. In 1965 this house was extensively renovated.
James Fitts, a hatter, was the fifth son and tenth child of Isaac and Bethia Fitts, born in 1718. He married Mrs. Mary Dutch of Ipswich, a widow, and reared five children, Abigail, Hannah, Sarah, James, and Mary. The latter became the wife of Captain Thomas Putnam. Nathaniel Manning, cousin of Nathaniel Hawthorne, bought the house in 1829 (254:254). Hawthorne was known to be a frequent visitor.
Located between the Daniel Lummus house and the Jonathan Lummus House, the three properties are on land that was originally granted to Thomas Dudley, governor of Massachusetts for four years, and his daughter Ann Bradstreet , America’s first poet. A deed of sale from Jonathan Ingersoll to Daniel Lummus in 1772 appears to be this parcel of land with a house and barn, between the two First Period Lummus houses still standing. The 1832 Ipswich map indicates an empty lot between the Lummus houses.
Sources:
