Studio Portrait

New Ipswich Historical Society

New Ipswich Resident

We have a number of studio portraits of men and women in our photo collection. Unfortunately many are not identified. Hopefully our readers and Google face recognition can provide names for these folks.

Newspaper Clipping

July 23, 1932 - Presented Cane

Presented Cane

The selectmen, George H. Churchill and Walter S. Thayer, presented to Antti Antilla on Saturday the gold- headed cane which was given nearly 30 years ago by a Boston newspaper, to be in the precession of the oldest male citizen of the town.

Mr. Antilla was born in Finland, Aug. 17, 1853. He moved to this town with his family in August, 1899. This was the first Finnish family to arrive in this section. He purchased the farm of Gilman Blanchard in the western part of the town and has lived there ever since.

His son, Alexander Antilla, served with the Yankee division in France and was on the firing line for 18 months. For several years his daughter Limpi, and her husband Hugo Flinkstrom, have made their home on the Antilla farm. He has two grandchildren

The men who have carried the cane are William Boynton, who died Feb. 10, 1905, aged 87; Otis Wheeler, who died Feb. 23, 1910, aged 91; Ed- ward L. Fish, died Feb. 12, 1912, aged 92; Adams Corbett, died Feb. 24, 1922, aged 98; John Barnett died July 17, 1922, aged 88; Stephen W. Wheeler, burned to death Oct. 7, 1925, aged 87; George S. Wheeler, died May 30, 1932, aged 92.

It is an interesting fact that the farm of Otis Wheeler, George S Wheeler and the Antti Antilla are located within a radius of half a mile. Edward L. Fish was the great grand- father of Mrs. Alexander Antilla (Florence E. Wheeler).

James Roger diary entries

13th August 1912

Fair and warm wind west. David at Library. I went to Greenville for grain, oatmeal, etc. and singled some of the beets in field. The women folks made preserves and Alice and the children went berry picking in the afternoon.