Tobias Lakeman House, 38 Newmarch St. (1732)

Tobias Lakeman house, 38 Newmarch St., Ipswich MA

This lot was originally granted to George Carr. In 1732, Stephen Minot acting on behalf of the heirs of Francis Wainwright, deeded a three acre parcel for £75 to Tobias Lakeman. (Essex Deeds: 64:9). The house was inherited by Margaret, the daughter of Tobias Lakeman and Margaret Pulsifer Lakeman, who married Ezekiel Hodgkins. It was sold in 1760 by John Hodgkins to Joseph Lakeman, thus staying in the Lakeman family. In 1769 the estate of the late Joseph Lakeman was sold to Thomas Newmarch. In the late 19th Century the house was owned by the Scotton family.

Thomas Franklin Waters Wrote: “Thomas Newmarch, Silvanus and Tobias Lakeman were operating 3 boats and used 9 rods of ‘flake room.’ The Canso fishing banks (between Maine and Nova Scotia) claimed a deadly toll of the Ipswich fishermen. Thomas Lull was killed while on a voyage thither in 1735, Nathan Hodgkins Jr., Francis Hovey, David Knowlton, Samuel Pulcifer, and Robert Stocker all perished at Canso Bank on April 7, 1737 and Tobias Lakeman in September 1738.” (* Flake room is defined as an allotment near the shore for building a drying platform for salted cod fish.)

Photo from “House Beautiful” magazine, August 1917.

Nails from the Tobias Lakeman house

Photo from “House Beautiful” magazine, August 1917.

: Photo provided by the late Pat Tyler, taken in 1910 with her aunt and cousin standing next to the well.

The Tobias Lakeman house, photo courtesy of Warren Swim, 1966

Floor plan of the Tobias Lakeman house

Deeds

December 4, 1732: Stephen Minot to Tobias Lakeman: “Upland and Tillage Land”
October 26, 1757: Ezekiel Hodgkins to John Hodgkins: “Homestead being 2/3 of the estate of the late Tobias Lakeman.”
Nov. 20, 1760: John Hodgkins to Joseph Lakeman, “the Mansion House of the late Tobias Lakeman”
March 11, 1769: Estate of Joseph Lakeman sold to Thomas Newmarch
July 2, 1891: Eliza and Amos Scotton transferred buildings and land to Millie Scotton (Deeds 1172:26)