This collection contains the only known extant records of the independent Ipswich Federal Customs District. Also included are records kept at Ipswich following annexation of the port to the District of Newburyport. After the annexation, information was recorded at Newburyport, and many Ipswich-related materials may be found in the Newburyport Federal Custom House Records (MSS 282).

Thirty volumes and several folders of loose records comprise the collection. Materials have been arranged in three series to distinguish between records of the fleet, arriving vessels, and crew lists.

Series I. Registers, Enrollments, and Licenses

Federal customs duties performed at Ipswich include registering vessels engaged in foreign trade; enrolling vessels over 20 tons that participated in domestic coastwise trade and fishing; and granting one-year licenses to all vessels involved in coastwise trading and fishing.

This series contains 92 registers dated 1797-1830. Entries include: register number; temporary or permanent designation; name and residence of owner; name, rigging, and home port of vessel; its place of construction, date, and specifications; place and date of issue, and date of registration.

To register or enroll a vessel, the owner and master were required to bond themselves to obey federal customs regulation and take an oath attesting to the accuracy of the information contained in their application. The oaths of owners recorded at Ipswich date from 1804-1868. Masters are included from 1804-1829. Oaths indicate: owner's name and residence; name, rigging, and tonnage of vessel; place and date of construction; master's name; and the date of the oath.

Actual enrollment papers are not known to exist; however enrollment bonds dating from 1820-1841 are included in the collection. Bonds specify: the names and residence of the owner and master; the amount and date of bond; and the name, rigging, and tonnage of the vessel. Bonds between 1832-1835 include the length of the vessel.

Three small volumes containing abstracts of license records date from 1797-1829. The volumes detail licenses granted and surrendered at Ipswich for cod fishing, mackerel fishing, and coasting. Entries include: date, number, and place of enrollment; date of license; rigging, name, home port, and tonnage of the vessel; names of the owner and master; license bond date and amount; names of bond principals and sureties; and place, date, and cause of surrender of license.

License bond records are available for 1827-1830, 1837-1844, and 1849-1868. The bonds indicate: vessel name, owner, master, rigging, tonnage, and home port; the bond amount; and the type and number of the vessel license.

Additionally, four volumes detail oaths given by masters for licenses from 1828-1834, one from 1854, and 1860-1868. Included is vessel name, rigging, and home port, and master's name, and the date of the oath.

Series II. Hospital Returns One volume of hospital return records from 1829-1835 contains details of the tax paid by arriving vessels in support of the marine hospital. Details include vessel, crew, and tax information. See historical note for more information about the hospital tax.

Series III. Crew Lists Two crew lists from fishing schooners dated 1795 are included with the Ipswich records. They are the schooner Raven, mastered by David Pulsifer, and the Sally mastered by Ebenezer Caldwell, Jr. The crew lists are agreements signed by the master and crew to obey United States regulations regarding fishing voyages. These records include their signatures, signatures of witnesses, and the dates of the fishing voyage conducted for the season.