Whipple Family Collection

SummaryThe Whipple Family Collection consists of amateur films depicting family leisure and recreation. The footage was shot outdoors, mostly in either the summer or the winter. The summer scenes are in Plymouth, Mass.: on the grounds of Forges Farm, at the beach, and on the water, boating. The winter scenes, some of which were shot in Webster, Mass., depict playful activities such as sledding. There is footage of a football game played by the Middlesex prep school team (the school is in Concord, Mass.). One passage shows Forges farmhands harvesting ice from Howland Pond. Another shows workers exiting the Chilton Company, a rug manufacturing firm in Webster owned by Sherman Whipple, Jr. There is footage of excavation work being done by Forges Farm Contractors. Vacation footage includes scenes shot in St. Louis, Mo., and Havana, Cuba. There is documentation of festivities on the Plymouth shore as the Mayflower II—a replica of the ship on which the Pilgrims sailed to America—arrives from England. Whipple family members participated in welcoming the ship. The collection includes a commercially made short film, "The Voyage of the Mayflower II" [United World Films, 1957].

Biographical/Historical NotesSherman Leland Whipple (1862-1930) was a prominent trial lawyer in Boston. He was a descendant of Matthew Whipple, who migrated to America in 1634. Sherman Whipple and his wife Louise (Clough) Whipple had three children, Dorothy, Katharyn, and Sherman Jr., and resided in Brookline, Mass., on a 300-acre estate called Clydehurst. In 1910, Whipple purchased the 4000-acre Forges Farm in the Chiltonville section of Plymouth, Mass., from Eben Jordan, Jr., son of the co-founder of the Boston department store Jordan Marsh. The extended Whipple family spent summers on the farm, and some members lived there year round. Sherman Whipple, Jr., a businessman and resident of Webster, Mass., was the primary cameraperson for the Whipple Family films.

RepositoryNortheast Historic Film

AvailabilityThe Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and UseAuthorization to reuse and/or reproduce must be obtained from Northeast Historic Film. See http://www.oldfilm.org/research for more information.