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History of the
Welles Shipman Ward House
This mansion house, as it
was known in the 18th
century, is traditionally
believed to have been built
by Col. Thomas Welles as a
gift to his John, on the
occasion of his marriage in
1753 to Jerusha Edwards of
Hartford, a niece of
Governor William Pitkin III.
John Welles owned the John
Welles and Company shipyard
and merchant trading
business located on the
Connecticut River in Nayaug
section of Glastonbury. In
1764, Welles became ill on a
business trip to
Philadelphia and died at the
age of 34, leaving his
widow, Jerusha, and five
surviving children. Among
her dower rights, she
received land and a share of
household furnishings,
including a silver tankard
valued at 9 pounds.
George Welles, second son of
John and Jerusha Welles,
inherited this property from
his father, and sold the
“house, barn, cowhouse, and
other buildings”, plus the
remaining 1 & 1/3 acres of
the homelot, to Stephen
Shipman Jr. in 1789.
Shipman, a ship builder,
merchant trader and
storeowner, added
neoclassical features to the
house, such as the Palladian
type crown moldings in the
southwest room on the first
floor, popular among the
merchant elites in the
Connecticut River Valley.
The Shipman family owned and
occupied the house for over
125 years.
In 1925 Mrs. Berdena Hart
Ward, wife of Dr. James Ward
purchased the property,
decorating and furnishing
the house in an English
country house style. Mrs.
Ward bequeathed the property
to the Historical Society of
Glastonbury in 1962.
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