The White-Silsbee House is a stately, Federal period, brick mansion built in Salem, Massachusetts for wealthy merchant, Joseph White. Constructed in 1811 for Joseph White, Jr., the house uniquely faces Oliver Street and not the Salem Common, like that of his brothers home nextdoor. Joseph White (1780-1816) was bred to the sea, and grew up at the time of Salems commercial expansion into the markets of India, China, and Sumatra in the far reaches of the Indian Ocean. Captain White evidently had command of an East India vessel on at least one voyage. After Joseph Whites untimely death in 1816, at the age of 36, his widow Eliza continued to live here until 1831 when the property was sold to William Silsbee (1779-1833), a merchant, and his wife, Mary. The three-story, hipped-roof, dwelling featuring a fan light transom and Ionic portico. Most of the windows contain 6/6 sash with exterior storm windows, capped by splayed stone lintels with molded and beaded keystones. A full-length window is centered above the entrance porch; the third story windows are shortened.