Full text of "The dwellings of Boxford, Essex County, Mass"

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flass F-Jl J- 



THE 



DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD 



ESSEX COUNTY, MASS. 



By SIDNEY PERLEY, 

AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF BOXFORD, MASS."; "GOODRIDGE MEMORIAL;" 

"POKTS OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASS."; "HISTORIC STORMS 

OF NEW ENGLAND;" ETC. 



SALEM, MASS. 

PUBLISHED IiV Till''. ESSEX INSTITUTE. 

1893. 






IN EXCHANGE 



OCT 1 S 1914 



INTRODUCTION. 



Many of the facts contained in this volume were ob- 
tained when material for the History of Boxford was be- 
ing gathered from 1876 to 1880. Together with additional 
information gleaned from old people and records during 
the three years next succeeding, they were published in 
an order similar to the present in the Georgetown Advocate 
in 1883 and 1884. The sketches were extensively read by 
old residents and natives, who corrected errors and fur- 
nished much additional information. At the request of 
the late Dr. Henry Wheatland, president of the Essex In- 
stitute, the sketches have been revised and greatly en- 
larged, and are now published by the Institute. 

Sidney Perley. 

Salem, Mass., March 10, 1893. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



The following pages contain sketches of the history of 
the houses of Boxford, both of those now standing and of 
those known only in history. Concerning a number 
of old cellars to be found in the town little or nothinsr is 
known. The writer has gathered much information rela- 
tive to the homes of Boxford and places it in this form that 
their history may not pass into oblivion. 

1. 

Eobert Gould Cellar. —Robert Gould, who is said 
to have come from New Jersey and to have been born 
about 1795, built, about 1846, a small house in the woods 
about half a mile east of the residence of the late Isaac 
Hale. After living there about a year, his house was de- 
stroyed' by tire, and he disappeared from the neighbor- 
hood. 

2. 

Joseph Holden Cellar. — The old Holden cellar, so 
called, in the Ridges, was covered by a dwellinga hundred 
years ago. Joseph Holden was living there in 1791. lie 
was a brother of James Holden, who lived at No. 204, 
near the residence of Mr. James A. Elliott. The old 
house was set on tire and burned down about eighty-live 
years ago. 

(l) 



2 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

3. 

Residence of L. S. Howe. — The residence of Mr. 
Leverett Saltonstall Howe was built by himself, on land 
bought of Isaac Hale, in 1849. Mr. Howe was from 
Linebrook Parish, Ipswich. 

4. 

Residence of E. Howe. — Mr. Edward Howe erected 
his house in 1844, on land bought of Isaac Hale. Mr. 
Howe is a brother of Mr. L. S. Howe (No. 3) and was 
also from Linebrook Parish. He married, for his first wife, 
Mary Ann, daughter of the late Gen. Solomon Lowe, in 
1841, and at first resided in the house now owned and oc- 
cupied by his brother, Mr. William A. Howe, at the vil- 
lage, opposite the post office (No. 104). Mrs. Howe died 
in 1842, and he exchanged houses with his brother William 
who then owned and occupied the present home of Mr. 
Daniel Bixby (No. 10). Upon his second marriage, in 
1844, he erected his present residence and has since lived 
in it. 

Mr. Howe began shoe-manufacturing in No. 104 at the 
village in 1838 and built the factory at his present resi- 
dence in 1845. His son William Wallace Howe became 
a partner with him in 1876, and the firm name since that 
time has been " E. Howe & Son." 

Prof. James Hamilton Howe, dean of the department 
of music in De Pauw University, Greencastle, Ind., is a 
son of Mr. Edward Howe, and was born in this house in 

1856. 

5. 

Residence of W. W. Howe.— Isaac Hale built his 
shoe factory in 1859, and manufactured shoes for several 
years. In 1887, the building was purchased of John 
Hale, who then owned it, by Mr. William W. Howe (so 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 3 

of Mr. Edward Howe of No. 4), who remodelled it into 
a very pleasant home. Since it was finished in 1888 he 
has resided in it. 

6. 

Residence of Mrs. Margaret Hale. — The land on 
which the house of Mrs. Isaac Hale now stands, for a con- 
siderable distance around, was two hundred years ago in 
the possession of Thomas Perley. He was a son of Allan 
and Susanna (Bokenson) Perley, the emigrant ancestors 
of the Perley family in America, was born in what is now 
Topstield in 1(341, and lived first in Rowley. Purchasing 
a large tract of land in Boxford of Richard Dole of New- 
bury, he built a house on the site now occupied by the 
residence of Mrs. Hale, about 1684, and afterward lived 
there. He died Sept. 24, 1709. He was an influential 
man, being one of the early representatives to the Gen- 
eral Court and an incumbent of most of the town offices. 
He was the ancestor of the majority of the Perleys in 
America. His descendants have been prominently before 
the world, holding many offices of trust and honor, being 
teachers of morals, religion and science, practitioners of 
medicine, the law, etc. His wife was Lydia Peabody, 
daughter of Lieut. Francis Peabody, the holder of vast 
tracts of land in this section of New England. 

Mr. Perley was succeeded on the homestead, by a devise 
in his will, by his son Thomas, who was born in 1668 and 
who resided with his father as long as the latter lived. He 
married, first, Sarah, daughter of Capt. John Osgood of 
Andover, in 1695. She died in 1724, and Lieutenant Per- 
ley, as he was then called, married, second, Elizabeth, 
widow of Joseph Putnam of Salem village and mother of 
Gen. Israel Putnam, in 1727. The general was :it this 
time about eight years of age, and as his mother was his 
guardian it is probable that he spent several years of his 



4 TTTF DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

minority in his step-father's home at this place. Boxford 
was a place he liked to visit, even after he became fa- 
mous. Mr. Perley was a farmer of large means, a store- 
keeper and a public man. In the militia company of the 
town he became a captain, and in his public duties he rep- 
resented the town in the halls of legislation in 1700, 1702, 




residence ov Mrs. Margaket Hale. 

1703, 1707, 1709, 1718 and 1719. He died in 1745, at 
the age of seventy-seven, having been the lather of eleven 
children. Among his descendants was Dr. William Put- 
nam Richardson. In his will he divided his farm between 
his sons Thomas and Asa. Thomas had that part now 
known as the Cleaveland farm, and Asa's portion included 
the homestead. 

Asa Perley took up his residence in the house in which 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. O 

he was horn (in 1716) and had always lived, after his 
marriage, in 1738, with Susanna Low of Essex. He was 
afterward married to Mrs. Apphia Porter of D;mvers and 
to Mrs. ltuth Kimball of Bradford. In 1760, or about 
that date, he took the old house down and erected the 
mansion now standing. After completing the house and 
caring for the surroundings he set out a sapling elm, 
which has grown to be one of the largest and most beau- 
tiful elms in the state. Here Asa lived while passing 
through his distinguished career. For ten years he was a 
selectman; in 1771, 1772, 1780 and 1781, he was repre- 
sentative from Boxford to the General Court, and in 1775 
— that noted year in the history of the nation — he was a 
member of the Provincial Congress. The records of this 
Congress show that in it he held prominent positions, and 
private papers in the possession of his descendants indi- 
cate that he was privy to those secret discussions and ma- 
noeuvres that characterized the opening months of the 
American Revolution. It is a fact worthy of mention 
that seven of his sons fought in that struggle for inde- 
pendence. Major Pei ley, so called from his position in 
the militia, died at his home in April, 1806, at the age of 
nearly ninety. His widow survived him but fourteen 
days, and within a fortnight their aged remains were both 
laid to rest in mother earth. Among the descendants of 
Major Asa Perley are Prof. John Perley of the Maine 
Wesleyan Seminary and College, liev. James E. Clark of 
Maine, Theodore Ingalls King, professor of music, Wash- 
ington, D. C, and Hon. Dudley W. Adams, master of 
the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. 

At Mr. Perley's death, the place came into the posses- 
sion of his son Samuel. Samuel was bora in 1757, mar- 
ried Phebe Dresser of Rowley in 1798, and from that time 
resided with his aged parents and carried on the firm. 



6 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Little more than a year passed after the death of his par- 
ents, when, one day early in June, 1807, he cut himself 
with a scythe while mowing. From the effects of this 
wound he died on the eighteenth of the same month at the 
age of forty-nine. His widow was left in rather strait- 
ened circumstances, with three young children to provide 
for, — their ages being seven, four and three years. She 
did her duty nobly. She cultivated the farm, carried her 
produce to market, carefully husbanded that which was left 
to her care, and reared her children to honest and noble 
manhood. Her first born, the Hon. Ira Perlcy, chief jus- 
tice of the supreme court of New Hampshire, and the 
most distinguished of the American Perleys, here at his 
mother's knee learned his first lessons ; here by the light of 
the hearth fire pored over his first school books ; here in 
this home grew in love for honesty and in integrity, de- 
veloping manly character. Her second child inherited a 
feeble constitution and died at the age of twenty-live. The 
youngest child was Dr. Daniel Perley, who practised med- 
icine in Georgetown and Lynn, and was the author of 
"Perley's Grammar." The children arc all dead, the last, 
the doctor, dying in Lynn in 1879 of paralysis. Mrs. Per- 
ley carried on the farm until 1833, when it was sold to 
Israel and Isaac Hale. She afterward lived with her son 
Daniel in Georgetown and Lynn, and died in the latter 
place in 1850. Her remains lie by the side of those of her 
husband in Boxford and her epitaph, "All the days of my 
appointed time will I wait," is very expressive as she was 
a widow nearly half a century and had reached the age 
of four score and seven. 

In 1835, Israel Hale sold his interest in the farm to his 
partner and brother Isaac Hale. Isaac, then twenty-one 
years old, lived upon the place from that time, his mother 
keeping house for him. In 1837, he married and till his 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 7 

death in October, 1875, resided there. His widow still 
lives upon the place. 

Mr. Isaac Hale was born in the old Hale house (No. 9) 
in 1814, and was son of Joseph and Martha (Friend) Hale. 
He had but one child, which was still-born. 

7. 
Old Hale Cellar. — There was an old cellar about two 
rods southeast of the little Hale house (No. 8), which was 
tilled up some sixty years ago. A very old house stood 
there. 

8. 
Little Hale House. — This house was built by Mr. 
John Hale in 1823 for a store, but was never used for that 
purpose. It was first occupied by Abraham Howe. The 
builder lived in it from 1825 to 1830. Mr. Hale then 
lived in Mrs. Perley's house (No. 6), 1830-1832, and 
carried on her farm. His house, during this time, was oc- 
cupied by Jonathan Chapman and John Perley. Mr. 
Hale then moved back to his house and lived there from 
1832 to 1834, when he bought and removed to his last 
residence (No. 42). The house has since been occupied 
by John Fegan, William Bly, John Sawyer, Samuel Shep- 
herd (who used it as a shoe manufactory about a year), 
John G. Bailey (who resided there over twenty years) , 
William Gunnison, Jacob Kent, Oliver B. Fogg, Jules 
Hould and Frank Laporte. It is now in the possession 
of Mr. Lewis D. Hale of Haverhill, who inherited it from 
John Hale. 

9. 

Old Hale House. — This house was built by Joseph 

Hale about the time of his marriage, which occurred in 

1749. He was a son of Joseph and Mary (Hovey) Hale, 

and was born in Boxford Sept. 14, 1727. His wife was 



8 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Sarah Jackson of Topsfield. They had six children : Sarah, 
the oldest, married John Platts of Bradford, and settled in 
Ilollis, N. II., in the beginning of the Revolution; Mary 
married Levi Goodridge, who was living at the Daniel 
Gould place, and settled in Westminster, Vt. ; Joseph died 
at the age of two years ; Hannah married Caleb Jackson 
of Rowley, and was the grandmother of Daniel and Luther 
Jackson of that town ; Joseph (second child of that name) 
settled on the old place ; and Mehitable married John 
Merrill of Rowley in 1786. 

Joseph Hale, jr., married Martha Friend in October, 
1796, and settled on his father's homestead. All of his 
children were born there. Among them were John, born 
1801, who lived in Nos. 6, 8 and 42 ; Joseph, born 1805, 
who lived there and in No. 14; Isaac, born 1814, who 
lived in No. 6 ; Martha, who married and resided in Row- 
ley ; and Israel, who lived in Stowe, Vt. Mr. Hale died 
in 1818, and the houselot and buildings descended to his 
son Joseph as his share of the estate. Widow Hale lived 
with her son Isaac at No. 6 from 1835 for several years, 
and then remarried and settled in New Hampshire. 

The son Joseph lived on the old place until his removal 
to No. 14 in 1837, when he sold to his brother Isaac, who 
owned it as long as he lived (till 1875) and then it came 
into the possession of his brother John, who died possessed 
of it in 1888. Mr. Lewis D. Hale of Haverhill now owns 
it, having inherited it from John Hale, who was his grand- 
father. It has been a tenement house since 1837. 

10. 

Residence of D. Bixby. — This house was erected by 

Mr. William A. Howe in 1841. He resided in it until 

1843, when he sold it to his brother Mr. Edward Howe 

and removed to his present residence at the village (No. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. V 

104). Mr. Edward Howe sold the place in the same year 
to Mr. Daniel Bixby, who has since owned and occupied 
it. Mr. Bixby was a son of Daniel and Sarah (Towue) 
Bixby, and was born in Topstield in 1815. 

11. 
Residence of J. P. Cleaveland. — What is now the 
Cleaveland farm was originally included in the Hale place, 
as it is now called. Capt. Thomas Perley lived in No. 6 and 
at his death, in 1745, devised this portion of his farm to his 
son Thomas. This son was born in 1705 and married , in 1731 , 
his step-sister, Eunice Putnam, sister to General Israel, and 
probably soon after built his house where James P. Cleave- 
land, Esq., resides. Mr. Perley died in 1795, aged ninety, 
having been a widower for eight years. He was a man 
of property, of prominence and influence. His oldest 
child, Huldah, married Joshua Cleaves of Beverly and 
removed to Bridgton,,Me., when the town was first set- 
tled. Her daughter Huldah was the wife of Rev. Nathan 
Church, the first minister of Bridgton. Mr. Perley's next 
child, Rebecca, died, unmarried, in 1813, at the age of 
seventy-nine. She always lived in the east end of the 
house. His son Israel, being sent to New Brunswick by 
the governor of Massachusetts in 1761 on important busi- 
ness, settled at Maugerville, on the St. John river. He 
had a family of fourteen children, and among his descend- 
ants are Col. Charles Strange Perley of Buford, N. B., 
Hon. James Edwin Perley of Woodbridgc, Cal., Hon. Wil- 
liam Edward Perley of Blissville, N. B., and other distin- 
guished men. His daughter Mary married Lieut. John 
Peabody of North Andovcr, and finally settled in Bridg- 
ton, Me. His son Oliver settled at Maugerville, N. B., 
in 1760, and his house is the oldest now standing in tin' 
town. The Hon. Moses Henry Perley of New Brunswick 

2 



10 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

was a grandson. His son Thomas lived in No. 24, and 
Enoch settled in Bridgton in the very earliest period of 
its history. He was a man of uncommon ability and promi- 
nence. Gen. John Perley of the Maine militia and Major 
Thomas Perley were his sons. Among his descendants 
are also Dr. Thomas F. Perley of Portland, Hon. Samuel 
Farnsworth Perley of Naples and Dr. George Putnam Per- 
ley. Aaron, the youngest son of Thomas Perley, resided 
upon the homestead. 

Aaron Perley was married in 1786 to Mehitable Wood, 
who lived where the third-district schoolhouse now stands. 
He resided in the old house until 1818, when he moved it 
to where it now stands (see No. 12), and built on the 
original site the house now the residence of Mr. Clcave- 
land. Mr. Perley resided in his new house until his death 
which occurred in the winter of 1831-2. His wife died in 
1853, at the age of ninety-one. Mr. Perley was wealthy, 
influential, and one of the two or three principal men 
in the town and parish. He had ten children ; of whom 
Israel died in New Brunswick, leaving a son Augustus of 
New York city ; John was for many years a shoe-dealer 
in Salem, where he died a few years since, for whom Per- 
ley Block was named, his residence having occupied the 
site; Enoch attended Exeter Phillips Academy in 1812, 
and died two years later; Rebecca died, unmarried, eight 
years ago at the homestead ; Harriet married William \. 
Cleaveland, Esq., of Topsfield ; and Thomas lived at home. 

Capt. Thomas Perley carried on the farm after his fath- 
er's death, until 1856, when he died at the age of fifty- 
eight, having never married. 

His brother-in-law, Mr. Cleaveland, then moved to the 
place and there spent the remainder of his days. He died 
in 1872. His widow survived him about seven years, dy- 
ing in 187fJ, at the age of seventy-five. Their son, Mr. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 11 

James Putnam Cleaveland, the present possessor, lias re- 
sided on the place since his lather's death. 

12. 
Old Aaron Perley House. — Aaron Perley moved 
this house to its present site from where the residence of 
James P. Cleaveland, Esq., stands, in 1818, when Mr. 
Perley built that house upon the old site. This house has 
always been owned in connection with the farm, and has 
been occupied by tenants, generally by those who have 
been employed upon the farm. See No. 11 for its earlier 
history. The chamber in this old house, that General Put- 
nam used to occupy when he visited his sister, has been 
pointed out with much pride by an aged granddaughter of 
the builder, now deceased. 

13. 
Residence of W. P. Cleaveland. — The residence of 
Mr. William Perley Cleaveland was built by Mr. John H. 
Potter of Topsfield for Mr. Cleaveland in 1858. Warwick 
Bodwell lived there two years, and Mr. Cleaveland board- 
ed with him. Then the owner married and has since re- 
sided upon the place. He carried on the butchering busi- 
ness there more than a score of years, He was a son of 
Wm. N. Cleaveland, Esq., who resided in No. 11, and was 
born in Killingly, Conn. 

14. 
Residence of T. P. Killam. — The old house thai 
formerly occupied the site of Mr. T. Perley Killam's 
house was built by Nathaniel Perley about 1759. Mr. 
Perley was a son of Amos and Margaret (Cogswell) Per- 
ley and was born in 1735, it is supposed in the old house 
that once stood in the pasture owned by B. S. Barnes, 
Esq., situated near the Great Meadows. The house of 
which we are writing was 24 x 40 feet, with two huge 



12 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORP. 

rooms in front, and a large kitchen and two bedrooms in 
the rear. It was two stories in height, and had the old- 
fashioned, long, low hack roof. The barn was quite large, 
36 x 50. Here Mr. Perley reared his large family of nine 
children, and died in July, 1810, at the ago of seventy- 
live. Here, in 17 63, was born his son Nathaniel Perley, 
Esq., who was a gifted lawyer and a prominent member 
of the Kennebec bar in Maine. Here were born also his 
sons Amos, Jesse and Arte mas Ward, the founders of three 
families. Lois, another child, married Benjamin Adams 
of Georgetown in 1798, and became the mother of Mrs. 
Col. Kimball and George W. Adams of Georgetown, and 
of the late Benjamin of Topsfield and Charles H. of Dan- 
vcrs, the deputy sheriff. Mehitable, another daughter of 
Mr. Perley, who died in 1835, left a legacy in her will 
toward building the present East Parish church. 

Mr. Perley was known as "Cooper Nat," being a cooper 
by trade. His workshop stood over the old cellar in the 
same lot with the house and was built about 1760. Of 
this shop we will speak in No. 15. 

After his death, Mr. Perley's son, Artemas Ward, re- 
sided upon the place until the buildings were burned to the 
ground in April, 1832. His son, the late Dea. Haskell 
Perley of Georgetown, has told the writer of several in- 
cidents of the house having caught fire. One, relating 
more particularly to himself, occurred before he was mar- 
ried, when he was at work for the season on a farm in 
Topsfield. He said he retired one night, but he could not 
sleep. A strong presentiment that something was wrong 
at home came over him. He tried to throw off the disa- 
greeable feeling, but could not ; and at length, just be- 
fore midnight, he went to the stable, threw the saddle on 
one of the horses and seating himself upon it started to- 
ward home. When he came within sight of the house he 
saw a light in one of the front rooms and thought some- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 13 

thins; must be wrong for the family to be up at that time 
of the night. He felt convinced that his presentiment was 
not an illusion. On riding up in front of the windows he 
saw the room on fire. Jumping from his horse he went to 
the back room where the pails were kept, caught up two 
of them, went to the well and filled them with water and 
entering the burning room threw the water upon the lire. 
By repeating the application several times he entirely put 
it out. Doors were not locked in those days, else the 
fire would have been more serious. The few coals left 
in the fireplace when the family retired doubtless fell 
against the wooden fireboard, after a while setting it on fire, 
and but for the providential appearance of young Haskell 
the house must have been burned and perhaps the inmates 
themselves might have found a tomb then and there. With- 
out disturbing the family, Haskell put up his horse, went 
into the house and to bed. The next morning the family 
were surprised to find him at home, but were amazed when 
he related to them their narrow escape from death. 

After the house was burned Artemas removed to Tops- 
field, where he resided, except a short time when he was 
at Hampstead, N. H., till his death which occurred in 
1862. Joseph Hale bought the farm of Mr. Pcrley about 
1839, and building a small house (No. 15), where the old 
cooper shop used to stand, lived in it until he had erected 
the present house and barn in 1841-2. Hale disposed of 
the place in 18G2, since which time it has been occupied 
by Tobias Keed, George T. Savory, William Dow, George 
B. Merrill, Walter R. Arrington and the present owner, 
Mr. Thomas P. Killam. 

15. 
Joseph Hale Cellar. — The little house that used to 
stand on the corner near the site of the old fourth-dis- 



14 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

trict schoolhouse was the cooper shop built by Nathaniel 
Perley about 17G0. After his death in 1810, it was used 
as a tenement until it was so far decayed as to be unfit for 
use. The building was low studded, contained two rooms, 
had one chimney, in the middle, and a cellar. In 1814, 
Jacob Lofty lived there. He died there the next year. 
John Woodman, the blacksmith (who as well as Mr. 
Lofty worked in the shop near by), lived there for about a 
year. This was about 1822. The building disappeared 
soon after. In 1840, Joseph Hale, who was born in No. 
9 and who had purchased this farm of Artemas W. Per- 
ley, enlarged the cellar and erected over it a small house, 
about 12 x 16 feet. It contained but one room in front 
and a pantry and bedroom in the rear on the ground and 
was one story in height. Mr. Hale lived in this house 
about one year, until his new house, No. 14, was finished. 
After Mr. Hale's removal, the house was occupied by Ja- 
cob Knight, Hasket Bixby and George Smith. Mr. Smith 
was living there in 1844, when the house by some means 
caught on fire and was burned to the ground. The cellar 
has since remained uncovered. 

16. 
Ezra Wildes Cellar. — The house in which the family 
of Ezra Wildes lived during his service in the army of the 
Revolution stood over the old cellar which is situated some 
twenty-live rods west of the residence of Capt. John Pea- 
body. Zebulon Wildes, father of Ezra, owned the house 
lot and probably lived in this house in 1750. A part of 
the house was taken down about 1776, and the rest re- 
moved to No. 18, afterward forming part of the old house 
there. The cellar has been uncovered since that time. 
Ezra afterward lived for a short time in No. 36. He was 
a fiddler, and was commonly known as "Fiddler Wildes." 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



15 



From him perhaps his descendants in Georgetown inher- 
ited their musical gifts. 

17. 
Residence of John Peabody. — Capt. John Peabody's 
house was built by Charles Perley about 1830. Mr. Per- 
ley was born at No. 18 in 1794, and was son of Amos Per- 
ley. He resided in his new house until about 1834, when 
he sold out to Mr. Peabody. Mr. Perley moved to his 
birthplace, and there died of consumption in October, 1837. 
His wife joined him the following February. They left 




» 



Residence of John Peabody. 

two young children. Mr. Peabody was born in No. 68 
in 1806 ; married Henrietta Baker of South Georgetown 
in 1831 ; and resided for three years in No. 18, where was 
born his son John Perley Peabody, the veteran dry and 
fancy goods dealer of Salem. Mr. Peabody has resided 
at this place fifty-six years. 

18. 
Residence of Humphrey Perley.— A house wasbuill 
on the same site as the present residence of Mr. Hum- 
phrey Perley, probably by Josiah Bridges, a blacksmith, 
as early as 1710 and perhaps earlier. He was son of Ed- 



16 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

mund Bridges, the immigrant from England, and was 
born about 1650. He married, first, Elizabeth Norton, 
and second, Ruth Greenslip, in Ipswich, where he at first 
lived, removing to Boxford just before 1680. For £50 
he sold his homestead, consisting of ten acres of land (the 
same now included in the homestead) and dwelling house, 
barn, shop, well, etc., to Cornelius Balch of Boxford in 
1713, and removed to Wenham. 

Mr. Balch was from Topslield and was a cooper by 
trade. He died in Boxford in 1740, and his widow Mary 
and son Cornelius Balch, jr., conveyed the place to Jacob 
Easty of Topsfield, to which place they removed. 

Mr. Easty was a husbandman and resided at this place 
until 1744, when he sold out to George Start of Topsfield 
for £87 10s. 

Mr. Start was a tailor and probably lived there about 
six or eight years, when the place came into the posses- 
sion of Capt. Francis Perley, who lived where Mr. De W. 
C. Mighill now resides (No. 74). Captain Perley's son 
Capt. William Perley, of Bunker Hill fame, was married 
March 26, 1761, and commenced housekeeping at this place. 
Here on Dec. 24 of the same year was born his son Rev. 
Humphrey Clark Perley, minister at Methuen and Bev- 
erly. When an old man, he often pointed this out as his 
birthplace. 

By the will of Capt. Francis Perley, in 1765, this place 
came into the possession of his son Jacob. William moved 
to a house which he had just erected (No. 75), it being the 
present town almshouse. Jacob was born in 1751 ; mar- 
ried in 1775 : became the owner of the house which stood 
over the Ezra Wildes cellar (No. 16) ; took down a part of 
the house; and, removing the remainder to the present 
site of this house, added it to it. It was thus made two 
stories in height, about thiity-two feet in length, with a 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



17 



common pitch roof and fronting to the south. Jacob Perley 
removed to Reading in 1777, and thence to Byfield in 1779. 
Among his children, born in Byfield, were Hon. Jeremiah 
Perley, who married Mary Dnmmer, was a legal writer, 
and for many years a successful lawyer in Maine, and Put- 
nam Perley, a deacon of the Byfield church. Jacob Per- 
ley died in 1832, at the age of eighty-one. 

Mr. Perley sold this place March 28, 1786, for the sum 
of £220, to Amos Perley, jr., a son of Nathaniel Perley 
who lived in No. 14. Amos was the first born of nine 
children, and, marrying two years after the purchase of 



iim 




ULD AMOS i'KKLlSV lloL'oE. 



this place, he settled upon it. Here his nine children were 
born, and here he resided until his death, which occurred 
Aug. 3, 1829, at the age of seventy. His widow (who 
was before his marriage to her the widow of Phineas Knnd- 
lett, who lived in No. 100, and whose maiden name was 
Kimball) married Capt. John Kimball of West Boxford 
three years after Mr. Perley's death, the place being after- 
ward occupied by Capt. John Peabody till about 1834, and 
till 1838 by the family of Mr. Perley's son Charles. Of 
Mr. Perley's other children, Greenleaf died ai Calcutta, 
when on an East India voyage ; Nathaniel resided in Tops- 



18 



THE DWELLINGS OF LOXFORD. 



field and Danvers, and became a general in the state mili- 
tia ; Frederic was a grocer at Topsfield and a shoe manu- 
facturer in Danvers, where he died very suddenly in 1879 ; 
and Amos Proctor, who was for many years a grocer at 
Danvers, of the firm of Perley & Currier. 

The farm was sold Nov. 15, 1839, by the heirs of Amos 
Perley to Alpheus A. W. Lake of Charlestown. Mr. 
Lake let the house to his father Enos Lake, Avho died here, 
and to Daniel Boardman, Benjamin Symonds, Daniel 




lli',S10Jb.N<JE Ui-' iiUJli'llKJLi i'Jilii-lii. 

Noyes, and an Indian family, who were addicted to the in- 
temperate use of tire water. 

Mr. Lake sold the place to John Perley of Ipswich, 
June 7, 1856, and by him it was deeded shortly after to 
the present owners. The old house was taken down in 
1859, and the new one completed the following year. 

The Perley Brothers began their carriage business there 
in November, 1873. 

" It may be small and poor and lowly, yet 
"We love it always; memory may All 
Her chambers full, and time and care may chill 
Our hearts, yet stands the dear old homestead set 
In picture that we never can forget." II . II. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 19 

19. 

Residence of Elbridge Perley. — Mr. Elbridge Per- 
ley erected his house in the winter of 1889-90. 

20. 

Residence of Prof. C. H. Moore. — The summer res- 
idence of Charles Henry Moore, professor of art in Har- 
vard College, was built by Samuel Goodale about 1830. 
Mr. Goodale was from New Hampshire. He married 
Nancy, sister of Daniel Boardman, now of Georgetown, 
but who lived for a while at No. 18. Mr. Goodale was a 
stone mason, and he worked at that trade and upon his 
land, residing in this house, until his death, which oc- 
curred in January, 1872, at the age of seventy-three. 
Mrs. Goodale died the November previous, at the age of 
sixty-five. 

Mr. Goodale's executor sold the place, in the spring of 
1873, to John T. Kennett of West Newbury. Mr. Ken- 
nett resided there until the spring of 1887, when he sold 
out to Professor Moore of Cambridge, who has remodelled 
and improved the house and since then has spent his sum- 
mers there. Mr. Kennett removed to Georgetown, where 
he died the next year. 

21. 

Pekley Cellar near Great Meadows. — It is believed 
by the writer that the old Perley house that once stood 
over the cellar situated in Mr. Barnes' pasture near the 
Great Meadows, was built and occupied by John Perley 
(son of Allan Perley, the emigrant), the first of the name 
born in America, who settled in Boxford as early as 1683. 
He died in 1729, at the age of ninety-three. I lis wife had 
preceded him to the grave eleven years before, and both 
their monumental stones are well preserved over their re- 
mains in Harmony Cemetery. 

Mr. Perley was his own executor; consequently no rec- 



20 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

ord of the settlement of his estate is found in the probate 
office. On Christmas clay, 1728, he deeded this place in- 
cluding the buildings and fifty acres of land to his son 
Jeremiah Perley. 

Jeremiah Perley probably conveyed it to his brother 
Lt. Thomas Perley, who, after having lived a while at 
Topsfield, removed to the old homestead about 1712. He 
died there in 1740, aged seventy-two. 

His son Amos then came into the possession of the place 
and probably carried it on until his death in the spring of 
1748. His widow married, secondly, Lt. Mark Howe of 
Ipswich and removed thither in 1759. From Amos was 
descended the late Hon. Nathan W. Hazen of Andover. 

In 1833 the house was gone, and the land owned by 
Thomas Perley. 

22. 

Hazen Cellar. — There is an old cellar near the Great 
Meadows in the pasture owned by Mr. Chester Killam, 
known as the Hazen cellar. It is understood that Jacob 
Hazen, who came from Eowley and married Abigail Spof- 
ford in 17(51, lived there. They had seven children born 
there, the last in 1774, and soon after, probably, they re- 
moved to Bridgton, Me. Their daughter Hannah, born 
in 1764, was the "witch" of Spofford's Hill, in Georgetown, 
a century ago. She married Thomas Dresser in 1791, 
and removed to Andover, Me. The late Hon. N. W. Hazen 
of Andover was a grandson of Mr. Hazen. Several of 
the sons settled in Bridgton, and have numerous descend- 
ants. 

The old house has probably been gone three quarters of 
a century, as no one living remembers it. 

23. 
Jewett Cellar. — There was an old cellar near the 
residence of Mr. Chester Killam, in the southeast coiner 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 21 

of the field around the house. It has been filled up many 
years, and no signs of it now remain. 

Thomas Jewett was born in Rowley in 1666, married 
Hannah Swan in 1692, and came to Boxford about 1703, 
having married a second wife Faith. He purchased the 
hind, built the house and founded the home of which we 
are now writing. He died in 1731, at the age of sixty- 
five. 

His son Ezekiel (born 1693) came into the possession 
of the place, and carried it on after his father's death. 
He had a family of thirteen children, and among them was 
Rev. David Jewett, the first minister of Candia, N. H., 
who was born at this place in 1743. Mr. Jewett died in 
the fall of 1775, and four years later his heirs sold to Dea. 
James Chute of Rowley, who was to come into possession 
upon the widow's death. Some of the children were then 
residing in New Hampshire. Deacon Chute was connected 
with the family, his wife's sister having married Rev. David 
Jewett, one of the heirs. The widow died probably in 
1780, and in the next year Mr. Chute came from Rowley 
to Boxford to live. The inventory of Mr. Jewett's estate 
shows him possessed of the following articles of dress : 
One beeveret hat, a brown all wool coat, a fustian jacket, 
a pair leather breeches, a fustian coat, a linen jacket, an 
old blue serge coat, a blue jacket, an old brown coat, an 
old brown fly coat, an old blue great coat, a cotton and 
linenjacket,twopairof old linen trousers, two woolen shirts, 
three old linen shirts, a pair of bine vain stocking-, three 
pair of old brown stockings and a pair of old leggings, a 
pair of leather spatter lashes, etc. His real estate was 
valued at £278, and is described as follows: "The home- 
stead and a wood lot parted from it by land of Jacob Ila- 
zen, containing in the whole about sixty-three acres lying 
in Boxford, also a piece of fresh meadow lying partly in 



22 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Boxford and partly in Rowley, containing about five acres, 
also about three acres salt marsh lying in Rowley." 

Mr. Chute was born in Rowley in 1751 ; and married a 
daughter of Deacon Richard Thurston of Georgetown four 
days before the battle of Bunker Hill. Before 1810, he 
had removed to Byfield, where his wife died in 1819. 

He then went west, and died at Madison, Ind., in 1825, 
at the age of seventy-four. The Rev. Ariel Parish Chute 
was his grandson. Mr. Chute's daughter Mary, who mar- 
ried Col. Jeremiah Column of Newbury, and sons Daniel 
and James, were born here. Daniel, born in 1787, gradu- 
ated at Dartmouth College in 1810. His daughter Eliza- 
beth married Gov. Conrad Baker of Indiana. James, born 
in 1788, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1813, and 
was a Presbyterian minister at Fort Wayne, Indiana. His 
second wife was a widowed daughter of Rev. Samuel 
Crane, a missionary to the Tuscarora Indians. 

On his removal to Bytield Deacon Chute sold the place 
to Thomas Perley, Esq., of Boxford, who took the old 
house down, and removed to his new house in the same 
lot. See No. 24. 

24. 

Residence of Chester Killam. — Thomas Perley, 
Esq., purchased the farm of the late William E. Killam 
of Deacon Chute (see No. 23) about 1809. In December 
of that year he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Wood, 
who was born in No. 34. In that, or the following year, 
he built the house now standing, and afterward resided 
in it. He was a brother of Aaron Perley, and was born 
in No. 12 in 174(3. 

Mr. Perley's barn stood originally about halfway from 
the present barn to the house. It was struck by lightning 
and binned September 2(5, 1829. A long carriage house 
stood on the site of the present one, and was burned at 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 23 

the same time. In it was a number of barrels of vinegar, 
which burst with the heat, making a noise as loud as a can- 
non. In the northwest chamber of the house, cheese was 
manufactured, and the heat was so great that the cheese 
melted. All the glass in the rear side of the house cracked 
into minute fragments. 

He was the leading man in the town for many years. 
He gave $1050 towards founding the First Church fund, 
and liberally subscribed to every good object, his income 
enabling him to gratify himself in that direction. He held 
all the various offices in the town, and was a representa- 
tive to the General Court nineteen years, from 1792 to 
1810 inclusive. He died childless in 1831, at the age of 
eighty-four. His widow continued to reside upon the 
place until her decease in 1854, at the age of eighty-nine. 
Mr. Perley is remembered as a man of short stature, and 
as always wearing his clothing in the continental style. 
After his decease his widow was commonly spoken of as 
the "widow Squire." 

The farm was then occupied by a Mr. Knapp, who lived 
there a short time, and it was then sold by the heirs of 
Mr. Perley to Eben S. Baldwin, a mariner of Salem, Oct. 
26, 1857. He resided upon the farm until June 2, 1862, 
when he sold out to George A. Todd of Rowley and re- 
moved to Salem, where he died. Mr. Todd's son, William 
G. Todd, then occupied the place until the spring of 
1865, when it was purchased by the late William E. Kil- 
lam, who resided there till his death in 1877. He held 
the offices of town treasurer, school committee, selectman, 
town clerk, etc., for several years. His son Mr. Chester 
Killam has since carried on the farm. 

During the autumn of 1862, while the camp was located 
here, some Boston parties hired the buildings and kept a 
public house which was called "Hotel Lauder." 



24 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

25. 

Clougii Cellar. — In the aiders near the gtiideboard 
at the junction of the roads leading from Georgetown to 
Salemand from Georgetown to Mr. B. S.Barnes' residence, 
a century and a half ago stood the house of Daniel Clougii. 
He came from Topsfield in 1736, having married Ruth 
Wright there in 1734, and had three children, Elizabeth, 
Ruth and John. His wife Ruth evidently died here as in 
1739 he was published to Elizabeth Galloway of Ipswich. 
How long this house has been gone is not known. 

26. 
M. Butman Cellar. — Matthew Butman married Faith, 
daughter of Thomas Jewett who lived in No. 24, in May, 
171(5, and he probably erected on land of her father a 
house over what is known as the old Butman cellar, about 
the time of his marriage. He was undoubtedly from Bev- 
erly. His wife died during the winter following their 
marriage, at the age of twenty-two, and thus early termina- 
ted their wedded bliss. Her remains repose in Harmony 
cemetery on the plain below her residence, and the monu- 
mental tablet over them is the oldest one now existing in 
the yard, appearing as fresh and perfect as those of recent 
date. Her epitaph is as follows : 

"Under this turf you may behold 
A lamb of God lit for ye fold." 

Mr. Butman married a second wife in 1720, and she be- 
came the mother of five children. 

He was the constable in his parish in 1736, but how 
much longer the family remained there is not known. His 
son John was living on the place in 1791, and continued 
to live there until the old house was taken down in 1795, 
which was probably done by Thomas Dresser, who had 
bought it with the lot in April of that year. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 25 

27. 
Residence of T. B. Masury. — Where Mr. Masury's 

house stands, the old Wallingford house, as it was known 
for many years before its demolition, once stood. It was 
built in 1711 by Thomas Hazen, who lived in the old Per- 
kins' house (No. 30), and was not wholly finished Feb. 
28, 1711-12, when he sold this lot of land to Timothy Per- 
kins of Topsfield, who, in 1720, sold it to his son Nathan- 
iel Perkins, who lived at No. 30. 

This part of the original farm probably returned to the 
Hazen family from Mr. Perkins. Mr. Hazen's son John 
married Mary Bradstreet of Topsfield about 1711, and 
probably lived at this place till his removal to Lyme and 
ultimately to Norwich, Conn. His cousin Israel, son of 
his uncle Edward Hazen, probably also lived here. The 
place was undoubtedly kept in the possession of the family 
until 1784, March 10, when Moses Hazen, for £120, con- 
veyed to Mary, the wife of Benjamin Wallingford, a part 
of the land Avith the westerly half of the house, a right to 
the well, and the easterly half of the barn which then stood 
on the opposite side of the road. Mrs. Wallingford was the 
mother of John Sawyer Blaisdell, better known in his time 
as Johnny Blaisdell. Her first husband was John Blaisdell 
of Chelmsford, who died "in the army of the Havannah" 
soon after Johnny's birth in 1757. When Johnny was 
two or three years old, with his mother he came to New- 
bury, her native place, and when about eighteen went 
with her to Byfield. While living in Byfield he married 
Jane Adams of Rowley Dec. 13, 1781, and the following 
extract from the Byfield church records proves the tradi- 
tion that he lost his children : 

"Two infant female children of John Blaisdell <li''<i <>nc in March 
1782 yt lived but a little while. The other died in April 1783, who 
lived about a fortnight." 

i 



26 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

The loss of these children and of his wife at about the 
same time, it is said, partially bereft him of his reason, 
and he was afterwards distinguished for his eccentricity, or 
what the Scotch would call "daftness." Johnny afterwards 
resided with his mother. 

Mrs. Wallingford, a daughter of John Sawyer of New- 
bury, was quite handsome in her youth, being known as 
"fair Rosamond." Mr. Wallingford died in 1796, and 
the family were soon in destitute circumstances. The 
mother died in 1820 at the age of seventy-two, and Johnny 
continued to reside in the west part of the house alone, 
until his tragic end on Saturday evening, Jan. 7, 1832, 
when he fell into the tire-place, and his remains were found 
shortly after partially consumed. 

The place, afterwards known as the " Wallingford," came 
into the possession of Major Paul Nelson about 1800, and 
continued to belong to him probably until his death in 
1857, since which time it has been owmed by Mr. Thomas 
B. Masury. In 1878 Mr. Masury demolished the old 
house and erected his present residence upon the same site. 

The old house was two stories in height with the old 
fashioned lean-to, and the old well-sweep in front betokened 
the days of "auld lang syne." On the window ledge of 
the living room was the noon sun-mark, which was al- 
ways in order and a good time-keeper when the sun sJione. 

During the years the house was possessed by Major 
Nelson, it w r as occupied by various tenants, Joseph Adams, 
a man named Darling and others. Miss Mary Ann Friend, 
daughter of John Friend, and afterwards wife of Prof. 
George Conant of Coshocton, Ohio, and Alexander, N. Y., 
was reared here, her parents having removed from Andover. 
She died at Alexander in 1883, at the age of fifty-three, 
being a person much loved, and admired for her literary 
tastes and productions. In 1847, lluldah llarrhnan, the 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 27 

centenarian, could recall the names of one hundred faini 
lies who had made this old house their home. 

In 1736, when the throat distemper prevailed so fatally 
among children over a large extent of country, several 
died in this house. In 1776, the small-pox had come to 
the inmates, and several were sick with it. 

One of the residents always expressed a wish that he 
might never live to see a road past the house, and in this 
desire he was gratified, for before the Salem thoroughfare 
was opened he had followed in the train of his predecessors 
and was no longer numbered with the living. 

28. 
Albert Nelson Cellar. — Cornet Nelson moved a 
peat house from the meadows to a situation opposite the 
residence of Mr. T. B. Masury in 1857 and remodeled 
it into a dwelling. He left his family, who were living 
in Georgetown, and began a hermit's life in his new quar- 
ters. He added to the building from time to time, and 
continued to reside there until 1886, when he went to 
Rowley and took up his residence in a similar habitation 
near the marshes. The next year, he was found dead in 
his house there. In 1888, the house in Boxford came 
into the possession of Mr. Masury, who removed the build- 
ings. Mr. Nelson was an eccentric man of considerable 
natural ability. Ex-mayor Richards of Haverhill is his 
grandson. 

29. 
Hardy Cellar. — In 1865, after the close of the war 
of the Rebellion, Chandler 15. Hardy built a small house 
on the southeast side of the road about half way from the; 
residence of Mrs. Clara Tidds in Georgetown to Marden's 
railroad crossing, where the cellar can be seen. Mr. 
Hardy lived there till the autumn of 1868, when the house 



28 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

was destroyed by fire, which was set out of enmity to Mr. 
Hardy, by a girl living in the family. 

30. 

Perkins Cellar. — Some fifty rods nearly north from 
the residence of Mr. Francis Marden, in a pleasant clear- 
ing, are an apple tree and the remains of a well, near 
which is a slight indentation in the ground which is all 
that now remains of the cellar over which stood the Perkins 
house. It was only one story in height, and w:is built ( ?) 
and occupied by Thomas Hazen, son of Edward Hazen, 
who was born in Rowley in 1657. He married Mary, 
daughter of Thomas Howlett, in 1684, and came to Box- 
ford to live at this place immediately after. Feb. 28, 
1711-12, he sold the farm to Timothy Perkins of Tops- 
field. 

Mr. Hazen had a family of eleven children, all of whom 
lived to grow up, and most of them followed their parents 
to Norwich, Conn., about 1713. Mr. Hazen held quite 
an honorable position in the town, having served as town 
clerk one year, and as selectman seven years. His de- 
scendants are many and of a distinguished character. One 
of them is Rev. Hervey Crosby Hazen, lately a missionary 
to India, and now a clergyman in Spencer, N. Y. Oth- 
ers are Hon. Abraham D. Hazen, the late Third-assistant 
Postmaster-General, and Gen. William B. Hazen, who 
distinguished himself under Sherman in the war of the 
Rebelliou, particularly by his brilliant capture of Fort 
McAllister, near Savannah, on the "March to the Sea." 
We could name many others, but space will permit only 
mention of the following: Rev. Austin Hazen, pastor in 
Hartford and Berlin, Vt. ; Rev. Allen Hazen, tor many 
years a missionary in India; Rev. Jasper Hazen, one of 
the oldest and most honored ministers of the Christian de- 
nomination ; Rev. Henry A. Hazen, author of the History 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 29 

of Billerica, Mass. ; Rev. Timothy Allyn Hazen of Go- 
shen, Conn. ; and Rev. James King Hazen, Secretary of 
the Board of Publication of the Presbyterian church 
(South) at Richmond, Va. 

Mr. Perkins conveyed the farm to his son Nathaniel 
Perkins in the spring of 1720. Nathaniel was born in 
Topsfield in 1689, and married Hephzibah, daughter of 
Edward Hazen (brother of Thomas, above named), in 
1716, and took up his residence here. Mr. Hazen had 
lived here, we presume from the removal of his brother 
in 1712, and continued to do so. Dr. David Wood, be- 
sides being a widely known physician, was a justice of the 
peace, and, in 1736, he charged Nathaniel Perkins for 
writing "his father Hazen's will." Mr. Hazen died in 
1748. 

Nathaniel Perkins was a selectman in 1724 and 1745, 
and an ensign in the militia in 1734, was made a lieuten- 
ant in 1735, and a captain in 1742. He had nine chil- 
dren. He died in 1773, at the age of eighty-four. In 
his will he calls himself a "gentleman." His wife died 
before 1768. 

Mr. Perkins' youngest son Jacob succeeded him upon 
the place, having married Mercy Fowler of Ipswich in 
1759. He served eight months in the Cambridge cam- 
paign in 1776. Shortly after his return late in the au- 
tumn, the small-pox prevailed in the Walliugford house, 
and one morning when the wind blew fresh from the south- 
east, Mr. Perkins informed his family in a manner ex- 
pressing great alarm, that he was assured the malady would 
reach them, for the smoke from the chimney of the Hazen 
house had been driving directly towards them. His fears 
were shortly fulfilled, and hi; was the first one to be made 
a victim. It is understood licit his wife was away at the 
time of his sickness and a young girl had the care of him. 
One day she went out coasting down the slopes around 



30 TIIE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

the place and failed to administer the medicines at the 
proper times. From this neglect, it has come down by- 
tradition, Mr. Perkins died. He was buried on a knoll 
a few rods west of the house, and but a few small frag- 
ments of a gravestone remain to mark the spot. The in- 
scription upon it was as follows : — 

IN MEMORY OF 
MR. JACOB PERKINS, 
WHO DIED JANUARY 

11, 1777, IN Ye 47th 

YEAR OF HIS AGE. 
Mortal man cast an eye, 
Read your doom, 
Prepare to die. 

Trees have grown up over and around his grave, and it is 
so completely obliterated that the next generation will not 
know that any human remains find rest beneath the soil 
of the knoll, or that in this spot a happy family once had 
their hearthstone. 

After Mr. Perkins' death this was used as a pest house, 
and it is a tradition that a beautiful daughter of Deacon 
Isaac Perley, who lived at the Harden place (No. 31), 
and also Thomas Wood, who lived where the Third-Dis- 
trict schoolhouse now stands, were victims to the dread 
scourge in this house. 

Mr. Perkins had no children. In his will, which was 
made two and a half years before his death, he gives all 
his property to his wife. His estate amounted to £3,597. 
His widow married, secondly, Col. David Ilobart of Ply- 
mouth, N. II., in 1779. Colonel Ilobart was a native of 
Groton, born in 1720, and settled in that part of Hollis, 
N. II., known as "One Pine Hill," about 1748; being 
afterwards one of the grantees and first settlers of Ply- 
mouth, lie was a sergeant in the French war in 1755, 
and in 1777 was colonel of the Twelfth New Hampshire 
regiment under General Stark at the battle of Bennington, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 31 

where he greatly distinguished himself for his gallantry 
and good conduct, for which he received due commenda- 
tion from General Stark, in his report of the battle. Af- 
ter the death of his first wife Col. Hobart removed to Ha- 
verhill, Mass., and lived there the rest of his days, dying 
in his seventy-ninth year. His widow Mercy died at the 
same place in 1811. They had but one child, Deborah, 
who married Nathaniel Hills, an apothecary in Haverhill. 

31. 

Residence of F. Marden. — The old one-story house 
that formerly stood in the rear of the residence of Mr. Fran- 
cis Marden was occupied a hundred and twenty years ago, 
tradition says, by Isaac Perley, who was known as "Dea- 
con." He had a daughter of about twenty years of age, 
who was famed for her beauty. When the small-pox 
came into this neighborhood, and the Perkins house (No. 
30) was opened as a pest house, several of those who 
deemed themselves in danger took up their residence in 
it willing to run the risk of living or dying, as the laics 
might determine. It was believed that the disease would 
prove harmless to persons in perfect health who properly 
met it when it showed its first symptoms, and they would 
have but the varioloid at the most. The deaths of num- 
bers proved how uncertain this theory was. Mr. Perley's 
daughter was one of those who went there to escape a more 
dreadful form of the disease, but met it and died. 

It is said that Mr. Perley very soon after removed to 
Boston, Me., being succeeded upon the farm by Benjamin 
Emerson before 1791. He was a stone-mason by trade, 
and a relative of the Topsfield family of that name, being 
known as "Brother" Emerson. lie fell from a load of 
hay and broke his neck in August, 1823, when lie was 
sixty-eight years old. 

Shortly after the death of Mr. Emerson, his daughter 



32 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Betsey, into whose possession the place came, took down 
the old house, and built on the same site another small 
one-story house immediately afterward. She lived in it 
here until about 1860, when she moved the house to 
Georgetown, where an addition was made to it. It is the 
house on Main street now owned by Mr. James Sullivan. 
The present "Davis" house, as it is called, standing only 
a few rods from the site of the old house, was built about 
1800, presumably by Mr. Emerson. A Mr. Davis owned 
the farm many years ago. By the side of the "Davis" 
house stands the residence of Mr. Francis Marden, who 
came from Maine, married a daughter of Mr. Davis, and 
built the house in 1850. He now owns and cultivates the 
farm. In the Davis house resides Mr. Marden's son Alvin. 

32. 

Joseph Killaju Cellar. — The old Killam house, once 
standing east of Stevens' pond, was erected about 1730 
by Jacob Perlcy, son of Jacob, who lived at No. 76. He 
wa.s born in 1700, and married Sarah Morse of Newbury 
in 1729. He died in the summer of 1750, leaving a widow, 
Sarah, and several children : Isaac, who lived at No. 31 ; 
Jacob, who settled in Chester, N. H. : Benjamin, who lived 
on the old homestead ; Sarah, who married Jacob Wyman 
of Bradford; and John who settled in Haverhill. The 
last-named Jacob Perley was grandfather of Rev. Joshua 
Perley Eaton of Bangor, Me. 

Mr. Perley was succeeded on the place by his son Ben- 
jamin, who was born in 1735, and married, first, in 1759, 
Hannah Clarke of Boxford ; and, second, in 1773, Ap- 
phia Andrews of Danvers. In 1783, he sold out to Dan- 
iel Nurse, and removed to Topsticld, where he remained 
a few years and then settled in Dunbarton, N. H., where 
he was burned to death trying to extinguish the flames of 
his burning house, while the rest of the family were at 



THE DWELLINGS OF B OXFORD. 33 

church. This was in 1816, when he was in his eighty- 
first year. He had twelve children, all but the young- 
est having been born in Boxford, and more than sixty- 
two grandchildren. 

Mr. Nurse married Eunice Perley of Boxford in 1759, 
and removed to this house in 1783. He was probably 
from Danvers. In 1790 he removed to Rowley, where 
the family own a private cemetery on the road leading 
from Rowley to Ipswich. He was a private in Capt. 
William Perley's company of minute men, which marched 
to the battle of Lexington April 19, 1775, and was sta- 
tioned two months in the following winter at Winter Hill. 

Moody Perley, a son of Moses Perley who lived in No. 
76, was living here in 1791. Two years later he married 
a Gould from Topsfield, and had one or two children born 
here. April 1, 1802, he sold the place to Joseph Killam, 
and removed to the Adams house (No. 95). 

The place was then occupied by Mr. Killam until 1815, 
when he died at the age of thirty-eight. He was born in 
No. 147, in 1777, and was the father of the late Capt. 
John Killam and Capt. Hosea Killam, both of George- 
town, and grandfather of Ubert Killam, cashier of Mer- 
rimac National Bank, Haverhill. The family resided upon 
the homestead until 1830, since which time no house has 
stood there. 

33. 

Home of Hon. Aaron Wood. — On the site of the late 
residence of Charles C. Stevens an old house once stood. 
It was doubtless built before 1750. The Hon. Aaron 
Wood lived at this place from the time of his marriage 
until his death in 1791. The old house, in which he kept 
a country store in his early life, was burned, with part of 
the furniture, October 22, 1774. The following is a copy 

5 



34 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

of the account of the fire as it appeared in the Essex Ga- 
zelle of the following week : — 

"Salem, October 25. 
" Lafifc Saturday the Dwelling Iloufe of Aaron Wood, Efq : of Box- 
ford, was con fumed by Fire, together with Fart of his Houfehold Fur- 
niture." 

Mr. Wood immediately built a new house upon the 
same site 

Mr. Wood married, for his first wife, Jane, the widow 
of Dr. Eliphalet Kilburn an early physician of Kowley. 
She was the grandmother of Hon. Charles Kilbourne Wil- 
liams, governor of Vermont. She died in 1775, and her 
funeral was held on the day of the battle of Bunker Hi 11. 
The following obituary notice is copied from the contem- 
porary Essex Gazette: 

"Ou Thurfday, June 15th, ultimo, died at Boxford, of an Apoplexy, 
in the 68th Year of her Age, Mrs. Jane Wood, the virtuous confort 
of Aaron Wood, Efq: of that Town. In her were happily united 
the affectionate Wife, tender Parent, indulgent Miftrefs, fincere Friend, 
and, to crown all, exemplary Chriftian. --- Her Friends are left to 
mourn their own Lofs, but they rejoice in the Reafon there is to hope 
that fhe has exchanged a World of Mifery and Trouble for a State of 
Happinefs and Joy. — - Her Remains were interred on Saturday fol- 
lowing with every Mark of Refpect, and in a ftrict Conformity to the 
Method recommended by the Honorable Continental Congrefs." 

In 1776, Mr. Wood married Mrs. Lydia Barnard, 
daughter of Phineas Warren of Wall ham, and widow of 
David Barnard of Watertown. In 1775, the British drove 
the General Court from Boston, and the following winter 
Air. Wood and others of the Representatives boarded with 
Mrs. Barnard in Watertown. Mr. Wood fell in love with 
his hostess, and married and brought her to Boxford. She 
was a woman of strong mind and body, weighing «over 
two hundred pounds. When the British retreated after 
the Battle of Lexington, they passed by her house. One 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 35 

of the privates had stolen a horse, and was making his re- 
treat in style. He said something to Mrs. Barnard that 
was not acceptable to her patriotic mind, and she pulled 
him from the horse and took him prisoner ; and, it is said, 
this was the first prisoner taken during the Revolution. 
On the day that Mr. Wood died, his tailor, Thomas 
Perley (see No. 24), was cutting him a suit of clothes 
preparatory to returning to the State legislature. Mr. 
Wood had just brought in a handful of wood, and had sat 
down in a chair, when he suddenly expired. The follow- 
ing obituary notice of Mr. Wood is copied from the Salem 
Gazette, published in the month of his decease : — 

"Boxfokd, Jan. 21, 1701. 

" « No man hath power over the fpirit to retain the fpirit. Yet, bleffed 
are the dead, that die in the Lord: they reft from their labor, and their 
works follow them.'' 

" THURSDAY the 20th inftant, the Honorable AARON WOOD, Efq. 
in the 72d year of his age — being in his ufual health and vigor, fitting 
in his chair, and his family round him — left this bufy fcene of life, and 
in an inftant of time, without any apparent diforder, and fcarcely a 
ftruggle, or a figh, pai'i into the world of fpirits; perhaps in as eafy 
and Hidden a manner as ever anyone did. Iu juftice to his memory, it 
maybe truly faid, that through the whole of his life, he was exemplary 
for virtue, ferioufnefs, piety and devotion ; and a conftant walker with 
God, in all his ordinances. He was a kind and tender hufband ; cheer- 
ful, fincere and agreeable to his friends; candid and forgiving to the 
envious. Integrity and ability graced all the important offices which 
he for many years held in the Town, County and State. In a word, he 
was plain and unaffected iu his manners; fteadyand refolute in his con- 
duct; humane, temperate, juft and bountiful, lie fpent feveral years 
of the youuger part of his life, as a faithful and int'i.ructivc mailer, in 
teaching a public fchool; and altho God, in his all-wife Providence, 
withheld from him the bleffing of Ions and daughters, yet lie was pof- 
feffed of an uncommon parental affection, and regard for the educa- 
tion of the rifing generation; which is very amply proved by his laft 
will and tefcament, which bequeathed all his real eftate to the fupport 
of a Grammar School, in the town of Boxford, forever — an example 
worthy of imitation. In his more public character, he was judicious, 
firm & perfevering, in every public truft which he had the h c to 



30 TIIE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

hold. The laft 30 years of his life have been moftly employed as a 
Member of the General Court, in the nioft critical and trying periods, 
in the Senate, in the Council, and Conventions: all which important 
places he has held, and difcharged the feveral duties thereof, with 
fuch firmnefs, wifdom and juftice, as to approve himfelf to his Country 
to his Confcience, and to his GOD. In him, the Commonwealth have 
loft an able Statefman, a generous Patron, and a real Friend ; his Wife, 
an endearing Hulband; and the World, an honeft Man. 

" ' The juft man's ways are God's delight, 
He orders all his fteps aright.' " 

It is supposed the epitaph upon Mr. Wood's monumental 
tablet is the widow's lamentation : 

"Yet my fond hope would hear him speak again 
Once more at least one gentle word & then 
Aaron aloud I call in vain I cry 
Aaron aloud ; for he must ne'er reply 
In vain I mourn & drop these funeral tears 
Death & the grave have neither eyes nor ears." 

She afterwards married Mr. Benjamin Spofford, and died 
in 1839 at the age of ninety-five. 

The season after Mr. Wood's death the farm was carried 
on by Jonas Warren, and a year later it was leased to dif- 
ferent parties for one thousand years. The main portion 
of the farm was leased to Dea. Parker Spofford, who re- 
fitted the old mansion, as far as need be, into a tine country 
tavern. This was one of the stopping places of the famous 
stage-driver Pinkham, whose route was over the old An- 
dover road. The first post-office that existed in the town 
was kept in this tavern until 1820, and the good old dea- 
con carried the mail matter with him when he went to 
church, and distributed it to the respective owners. This 
tavern flourished till Mr. Spofford's death in 1836. 
. Josiah Kimball soon after succeeded Mr. Spofford in the 
possession of the farm as well as the deaconship that his 
death had rendered vacant. Deacon Kimball removed to 
Lawrence in 1852, and thence to Boston, where he died 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 37 

three or four years ago. His remains lie in Harmony Cem- 
etery near his old home here, and his heirs have erected 
over them a fine marble monument. 

The farm soon after came into the hands of Mr. Charles 
C. Stevens, and he resided there until he removed to South 
Framingham some six years since. The place was occu- 
pied by tenants a year or two and was accidentally ( ?) 
burnt in 1877. Mr. Israel Herrick then purchased the 
farm, but the cellar remains as the fire left it. Mr. Ste- 
vens made it a summer boarding house, its pleasant loca- 
tion and the proximity of a beautiful pond rendering it 
attractive to city people. 

A part of this farm was a portion of old Camp Stanton, 
where several regiments of volunteer soldiers were quar- 
tered and drilled in 1862. The muster was also held here 
in August, 1868. This plain is believed to have been used 
as a training field as early as 1775. 

An incident occurred in 1827 which should be given in 
connection with this house. Flint Tyler, an old man, 
who then lived at the Adams house (No. 95), was one 
morning going home from Topsfield way, and when near 
the Savage house saw that this house was on fire. Mr. 
Barnes was then living at the Savage house, and Mr. Ty- 
ler leisurely got out of his wagon, went to the door, and 
knocked. Capt. John Pcabody, who was there, came to 
the door, and being informed by Mr. Tyler of the cause 
of alarm, hastened to the wagon, got in, and hurried Mr. 
Tyler to follow his example and drive as fast as possible 
to the fire. But the beast was never known to hurry, nor 
be hurried, nor Mr. Tyler either. About half-way across 
the plain, Mr. Peabody jumped from the wagon, being 
exasperated at the slow jogging of the animal, and ran to 
the scene of danger. Mr. Spofford's family were at din- 
ner. Mr. Pcabody burst into the room where they were 



38 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

eating, and hurriedly called for an axe stating that the 
house was on tire. The Deacon was perfectly bewildered, 
and throwing up his arms, shrieked : "Where ! where ! !" 
But one of the daughters was more composed, and, getting 
an axe, she showed Mr. Peabody to the garret, where by 
a few minutes of quick chopping he cut away the burning 
boards, and saved the house. As he cut away the last 
fragment of blazing board, he looked out of the aperture 
he had made, and saw Mr. Tyler just tying his horse to 
the garden fence. By prompt and decisive action the 
house and much other valuable property was saved. A 
storm had been brewing for several days, and a strong 
easterly wind carried the cinders from the chimney to the 
dry, parched roof, which immediately ignited. Mr. Pea- 
body stopped to help Mr. Sponbrd fix the damaged por- 
tion, and immediately after this was done the rain began 
to fall, a long storm ensuing. 

34. 

Thomas "Wood Cellar. — Where the present Third- 
District schoolhouse now stands was an old cellar; and 
over this cellar a century ago stood an old-fashioned house, 
with the lean-to and huge chimney. It is said that around 
tins house and its accompanying farm buildings were fruit 
trees and shrubbery of all kinds, which rendered the place 
very inviting. The first owner of this homestead known 
to the writer was Thomas Wood, brother to Hon. Aaron 
Wood. They were sons of John Wood, who was born 
in 1G80, and who may have lived, and his children been 
born, at this place. 

Thomas Wood married Margaret Perkins of Topsfield 
in 1757, and resided here as long as he lived. lie died 
of the small-pox Feb. 13, 1777, aged forty-nine, lie 
entered the pest house (No. 30) received inoculation and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 39 

died there. His widow continued to reside here a short 
time, then sold out to Stephen Peabody, who about 1795 
moved the house to where it now stands, removed the 
leanto and remodeled the chimney. It is now known as 
the "Butcher Peabody house" (No. 7(3). The widow Wood 
afterwards built a small house on the Chapman road be- 
yond the pond, and resided there many years. She at 
length died in 1830, having attained the age of one hun- 
dred and one years and ten months. They had eight chil- 
dren. Their daughter Mehitable married Aaron Perley, 
and Jenny became the wife of Dr. James Buswell of Dun- 
barton, N. H. 

Thomas Wood owned the land now included in the new 
portion of Harmony Cemetery, which lie sold to a company 
of proprietors in 1766. 

35. 
Chapman Cellar. — Daniel Chapman of Linebrook 
Parish, Ipswich, married Hepzibah Howe in 1764, came 
to Boxford the same year, and built on the Chapman road 
the house that used to stand over what is now known as 
the old Chapman cellar. Mr. Chapman resided here un- 
til his death, which occurred in 1799, at the age of fifty- 
nine years. His son Daniel then lived upon the plaeo till 
his death, in 1835. Johnson Savage was the last resident. 
He died here in 1846. The old house fell down about 
1848. It was old-fashioned, with a lean-to, two stories 
in height, and contained on the first door two front rooms, 
a backroom and pantry. Mr. Francis Savage, principal 
of the Amesbury high-school, was born here. 

36. 

Pkggy-Wood Cellar. — About 1780, Margaret, widow 
of Thomas Wood, who lived at No. 34, and who died in 



40 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

1777, built on the west side of the Chapman road near the 
pond a small house, to which she removed when she sold 
the farm to Stephen Peabody. The house was 16x20 
feet, one story in height and contained but one room. She 
lived there but a short time, and then the house was in- 
habited by Ezra Wildes (who had lived at No. 16), his 
family consisting of his wife and nine boys. The Peggy- 
Wood house, as it was called, has been gone more than 
half a century, and a maple tree nearly a foot in diameter 
now rises from the cellar and shades the whole cavity. 

37. 

Savage House. — This house was probably built about 
1773 by Amos Perley, who lived in the residence of B. 
S. Barnes, Esq., No. 39. A blacksmith's shop stood near 
the cemetery, in which, we should judge from the town 
records, John Stiles worked in 1774 and later, and in which 
bullets were run for the use of the soldiers during the 
Revolution. 

About 1786, Mr. Perley sold the place, which consisted 
of a house and barn and forty acres of land, to Thomas 
Butman of Marblehead, whose son of the same name took 
up his residence in this house. Here were born several 
children to him and his wife Sarah. 

Mr. Butman, senior, removed to Tyngsborough, Mass., 
and Dec. IS, 1793, for £180, sold the farm to Thomas 
Dresser of Boxford, who was born in the Dresser house, 
No. QG. He was a blacksmith, having learned the trade 
in his father's shop. lie married Hannah Hazen, the 
"witch," and about 1800 removed to Andovcr, Maine. 

The place was then owned by John Dorman of Boxford, 
who in IN 13 sold out to Phineas Barnes. His son Mr. 
Phineas \Y . Barnes lived here a number of years, having 
removed from No. 39, and carried on the butchering busi- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 41 

ness. He removed to No. 100, where he continued his 
calling. The place was then owned for many years by 
William J. Savage, who sold out and left the town about 
1877. The place was then let for a time, and at length 
purchased by Samuel Clark, who, after residing here a few 
years, sold out to B. S. Barnes, and removed to George- 
town, where he now resides. Mr. William P. Keyes 
bought and refitted the house, seven years ago, making it 
much more convenient and pleasant. 

38, 

Amos Stevens' House. — The late Amos Stevens built 
his residence in 1840. He died in 1877, at the age of 
sixty-four, and his widow has since resided upon the place. 
His epitaph : 

"He put his trust in God." 

39. 

Residence of B. S. Barnes. — The residence of Benja- 
min S. Barnes, Esq., was built by Paul Prichard, a house- 
wright, about 1749, when he came to Boxford and married 
Hannah, sister of Cooper Nat Perley. They resided in 
this house until the beginning of the Revolution, when they 
removed to New Ipswich, N. H. In Boxford Mr. Prich- 
ard held several offices of honor and trust, and was one of 
the substantial and influential citizens of his day. He 
contributed liberally of his means to support the war of 
the Revolution, and had two sons in actual service. In 
New Ipswich, he was a selectman three years and a rep- 
resentative of the General Court in 1779. He died in 
1787, aged sixty-four years. Mrs. Prichard was a woman 
of uncommon energy of body and mind, and could accom- 
plish the ordinary labor of three persons. She had made 
the subject of midwifery a study, and had considerable 



42 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



practice in Boxford. In curing scrofula, salt rheum, liver 
complaint, etc., her fame was quite extensive. She also 
gained a successful practice in her adopted town. She 
was always ready to answer calls, and allowed no weather 
to detain her; and, though unusually corpulent, when the 
roads were blocked up with snow and others would quail 
at the undertaking, she would mount her snow-shoes and 
breast the storm over hill and dale. This she continued 
to do until very far advanced in life, to the great annoy- 
ance of the accredited physician. She was a widow 




RESIDENCE OF B. S. BARNES. 

twenty-three years, dying in 1810, at the age of eighty- 
one. Jeremiah Prichard, for many years the American 
Consul at Porto Rico, was their great grandson. Among 
their descendants was also Moses Prichard, of Concord, 
for many years sheriff of Middlesex county, Mass. 

This place then came into the possession of Amos Per- 
ley, who removed to Buxton, Me., at the beginning of 
this century. It was then owned by Benjamin Spofford, 
who died in 1830, and Phineas Barnes who married his 
daughter moved to this place from No. 37. He resided 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 43 

here until his death, in 1856, since which time his son B. 
S. Barnes has been in possession. Mr. Phineas Barnes, 
jr., resided here a short time, and continued his butcher- 
ing business, until he removed to No. 37. 

Mr. Phineas Barnes, senior, was born in Waltham in 
1780, and died at the age of seventy-five. His epitaph: 
" He has left this world, his toils are o'er, 
In sweetest songs of praise adore, 
Where parting friends shall meet again, 
Free from all sorrow, grief and pain." 

Mrs. Barnes died in October, 1850, five years before 
her husband, at the age of sixty-four. Her epitaph : 
"Mother, thou hast gone to rest, 
We no more will weep for thee, 
For thou art now among the blest ; 
Where thy spirit longed to be." 

On another stone in the same lot is the following in- 
scription : 

WILLIE 

Was with us 5 yrs. 2 mo. 

But is not 

for God took him. 

40. 

Black Cellar.— Near the residence of B. S. Barnes, 
Esq., on the side of the hill in his field, about halfway 
from his house to Mrs. Killam's, was an old cellar, of 
which most signs are now gone. Cooper Nat Perley, who 
was born in 1735 and died in 1810, said a Black family 
lived there, and that when he was young he "used to go up 
and see their girls." 

Later investigation has shed more light upon the his- 
tory of this old place. James Black, whose wife Abigail 
died in 1720, he having married her about 1700, doubtless 
lived there from the latter date. He had sons, Edmund, 
James, John, Josiah and Daniel, and a daughter Abigail, 



44 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

who married Timothy Sessions of Andovcr. The son 
Daniel was bom in 1715, and married Sarah Symonds of 
Boxibrd in 1740. Daniel owned and lived on this place. 
He had several children, Sarah, Jane, Lydia, Hannah, 
Daniel, Daniel, Jacob and Samuel. Both himself and wife 
were members of the church, and as long as Rev. Mr. 
Rogers remained here their children were baptized in the 
First Church ; after his departure the next two new mem- 
bers of the Black race were baptized in West Boxford, the 
next one in Linebrook Parish, and the last one, of whom 
we have any record, in West Boxford. It was these four 
<lirls that Nat Perley used to " go to see." In March, 1762, 
Mr. Black sold out to Jacob Perley of Boxford, and re- 
moved to Holden in Worcester County, where he settled. 
This was probably the Jacob Perley who removed to Ches- 
ter, N. H., finally settling in Wilton, Me. 

41. 
John Hale Cellar. — An old house once stood in the 
pasture about fifty rods south of the residence of B. S. 
Barnes, Esq. Nothing is now known of it. A John Hale 
is supposed to have lived there in 1757, which a deed of 
that date seems to prove. He probably moved to the 
General Lowe homestead (No. 48) shortly after the above 
date. Mr. Hale was probably a son of John and Mary 
(Watson) Hale, and perhaps born at No. 7 in 1717. 

42. 

John Hale House. — The farm owned and occupied by 
the late John Hale was in the possession of William Wat- 
son as early as 1(587. Mr. Watson came from Ipswich, 
and probably lived in the old house that used to stand at 
this place. 

lie married, first, Sarah, daughter of Allan Perley, in 



THE DAVELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 45 

1670 and, second, Mary, widow of Thomas Hale of New- 
bury, in 1695. Mrs. Hale had conic to Boxford with her 
son Joseph in 1691. Mr. Watson died June 27, 1710, 
and his widow at the age of eighty-five, Dec. 8, 1715. 
His daughter Mary had married his wife's son Joseph in 
1693, and these children became possessors of the farm. 
By her and a second wife Joseph had fifteen children born 
here. He was the ancestor of all the Hales that ever re- 
sided in Boxford, and of thousands in this and other states. 
Among the descendants of Joseph Hale are Dr. Joseph 
Hale of Miller's Corners, Ontario Co., N. Y., Hon. Eu- 
gene Hale, M. C. from Maine, Hon. Artemas Hale, M.C. 
from Massachusetts, and many others that are distin- 
guished. Mr. Hale was himself a member of the General 
Court, and was very prominent in the town as a select- 
man, a captain in the militia, and as town clerk for ten 
years. He died in 1761, lacking only seven days of com- 
pleting his ninetieth year. 

This place afterward came into the possession of Phineas 
Perley who was born in what is nosv the town almshouse in 
1766. Mr. Perley died in Ipswich in 1832, by the burst- 
ing of a blood vessel while rowing a boat, and his family 
continued to reside upon the place a year or two after his 
decease. Dr. Joseph G. Perley, a veterinary surgeon, 
who recently died in Lynn, was his son ; Dr. Albert Lam- 
bert of Springfield, and .Rev. Alexander Sternson Twom- 
bly, Charlestown, are his grandsons. 

In 1834, the place was purchased by Mr. John Hale 
(then living in No. 8), who resided upon it until his death 
in 1888, at the age of eighty-six. The place has since 
passed into the possession of Alvin C. Norcross of Boston, 
who now owns it. Two of Mr. Hale's >ons gave up their 
lives in the service of their country during the late Re- 
bellion. Mr. Hale, for a few years, manufactured shoe.-- 



46 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

here, .and built a large factory building, which was trans- 
formed into a summer hotel by his son John in 1889. 
See No. 43. 

43. 
Hotel Placidia. — This summer resort was a portion 
of the John Hale farm, and the hotel building was the 
shoe factory mentioned in No. 42. The owner, Mr. John 
Hale, inherited this building and the land under and ad- 
joining from his father, the late John Hale, in 1888. 
Mr. Hale fitted up the factory into the capacious three- 
story structure as it now exists. Situated on the shore of 
a beautiful lake, and near cool, shady groves, the resort is 
attractive. Mr. Hale resides in the hotel the year round. 

44. 
Residence of W. M. Andrews. — Mr. William M. 
Andrews built his house in 1874, on land purchased of the 
late Amos Stevens. 

45. 
Residence of A. H. Towne. — Mr. Albert H. Towne 
built his residence on land purchased of Mr. Eben N. 
Price of Salem, in 1888. 

46. 
Residence of J. Leavitt. — Mr. Joseph Leavitt of 
Boston moved to Boxford and built his present residence 
in 1888 upon land purchased of Mr. Leverett S. Howe. 

47. 
Railroad Station. — The railroad station was built by 
the Danvcrs & New bury port Railroad Company in 1853. 
It came into the possession of the Boston & Maine Rail- 
road in 1859. The house portion of the depot has been 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 4 7 

occupied by the several station agents, viz. : S. Page Lake, 
John Hale, jr., Samuel McKenzie, William J. Badger, 
Charles W. Gardner and Albert G. Hurlbntt. These 
gentlemen are all living, except Messrs. Lake and Badger. 
In January, 1889, the East Boxford post-office was es- 
tablished, and located in the station, Mr. Hurlbutt being 
postmaster. 

48. 

Gen. Lowe Cellar. — The General Solomon Lowe 
mansion was built about 1740 by John Hale, who was 
born in Boxford in 1717, being a son of Joseph and Mary 
(Watson) Hale. He married in 1738 Priscilla, who was 
a daughter of Stephen Peabody, and was born in 1719 in 
No. 68. Mr. Hale died in 1771, leaving a will, in which 
he devised the farm to his son Eliphalet, who was then 
but eight 3'ears of age. The next spring the widow's 
dower was set off. A part of this dower consisted of one- 
third part of the mill. Mr. Hale's children were six in 
number, three daughters and three sons. In 1774, his 
widow married Thomas Hammond of Swanzey, N. II. 

It is probable that the young son, Eliphalet Hale, died 
before coming of age, and that his brother John, who was 
born in 1745, became possessed of the place. John mar- 
ried Sarah Lord of Ipswich in 1765, and resided here. 
A very short time after his marriage he went to the Brit- 
ish Provinces, it is said, to escape some corporal punish- 
ment that he anticipated. This Miss Lord was doubtless 
a sister of Lucy Lord, the wife of Nathan Lowe, who, in 
17(57, came from Ipswich and hired this farm. Mrs. Hale 
may have resided with them as long as she lived. 

Mr. Lowe had nine sons, all but the oldest having been 
born here. The eighth son was Solomon, who was famous 
as a military general. He was born April !•, 17M2, and 
held the office of General from 1S20 to 1840. He was a 



48 THE DWELLINGS OF BOX FORD. 

member of the General Court in 1823, 1827, 1828 and 
1841. He resided upon this place until about 1857, when 
he removed to West Newbury, where he died April 3, 
1861, lacking six days of being eighty years old. The 
remains of General Lowe repose in his tomb in Harmony 
Cemetery. Upon the face of the tomb are illustrations of 
himself and his four wives engraved on marble tablets. 
The tomb has attracted many visitors. His spirited mil- 
itary funeral will long be remembered by those who were 
present. 

The General's son, Major William Lowe, was born here 
and from 1857 lived upon the place. He died in 1870, 
from injuries caused by a bull which attacked him in his 
eowyard. His family continued to reside upon the home- 
stead until the buildings were completely destroyed by 
fire early on the morning of June 21, 1874. The cellar 
remains uncovered. 

The saw-mill was built about 1770, as it was called a 
new mill in 1772. 

49. 

N. Lowe Cellar. — Between Mr. Eben N. Price's barn 
and the railroad station, stood a house a hundred and twenty 
years ago. When Nathan Lowe came to Boxford from 
Ipswich in 17G7, he is said to have bought this place, 
which he lived upon. A short time afterward lie removed 
to the Lowe house, No. 48. 

Gen. Lowe's brother, Jeremiah, carried on the tanning 
business here near the brook. 

In 180G, Mr. Lowe sold the tannery, adjoining land, 
etc., to his brother Solomon Lowe and Moses Dorman, 
lor *t;23.50. 

50. 
Residence of J. H. Janes. — John Smith lived at the 
.lanes place on the .lanes road, probably from the time of 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 49 

his marriage in 1733. He had six children, one of whom, 
John, settled on the St. John river in New Brunswick 
about 1770. The first-mentioned John married Hannah, 
daughter of Stephen Peabody, who resided in No. 68. 

The place came into the possession of Nathaniel Perley, 
who lived in No. 14, and he gave it to his son Jose 
Perley about 1789. Jesse immediately built a new house, 
the one now standing, which was raised on the first day of 
September, 1790. It was a severe task, for the timber 
was wet and heavy, there having been the week previous 
one of the greatest rains known for many years. Jesse 
lived here until his death, which occurred in 1840, at the 
age of eighty-four. His wife had died six years before, 
at the age of eighty-eight. 

Mr. Henry Janes then purchased the place and lived 
upon it until 1886, when he died, being very aged. His 
son, Joseph H. Janes, who had for several years occupied 
a portion of the house, has since resided upon the place. 

51. 
Residence of Benjamin Hood. — The old Hood house 
is quite ancient. It is a long, one-story building, and 
appears to be at least one hundred and fifty years old. 
Benjamin Hood of Topsfield married Sarah Cross of Box- 
lord in 1777, and probably lived in this house. Francis 
Hood lived here from about L804, and here his children 
were born. His son Benjamin and daughter Sarah have 
resided upon the place all their lives. In 1874 they built a 
large, new house in front of the old house, the latter now 
being used for a woodshed. 

52. 
Gunnison Cellar. — The old Gunnison house was in 
the possession of the Smith family a century ago. Jacob 

7 



50 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Smith lived there in 1791, and it was probably his daugh- 
ter Hannah that William Gunnison married aboul 1820. 
Mr. Gunnison's children were born there, and the house 
was occupied by his family until 1880. it remained with- 
out a tenant during the remaining days of its existence. 
It was purchased in 1887 by Mr. Benjamin Hood, who 
took it down. A part of the chimney and the oven and 
fireplace still remain on the site, showing with what gi 
gantic proportions those things were constructed in the 
early days. 

It is said that a Perkins family lived there before the 
Smiths. 

53. 

Solomon Pekley House. — The ancient house, once the 
residence of Mr. Parker Brown Perley, and in which he 
was horn, has nol been occupied since he elected his new 
house about 1870. Although but a lew rods apart, the 
old house is situated in Boxford and the new one in Tops- 
field. Samuel Brown married Olive Gage in 177.'), and 
resided in this old house. They had eleven children. 

The youngest child Clarissa married Solomon Perley, 
grandson of Maj. Asa Perley of Boxford, in ISM, and 
settled on this place. They had but one child, Parker 
Brown, who is above mentioned. Solomon Perley died 
of old age in 18(>u\ His widow survived him, and with 
her bachelor son, lived in the old house until 1<S7<), and 
on the place until death released her April 11, 1881. 
"Aunt Clary," as she was generally called, was eighty- 
three years old. 

54. 
Andrews Cellar. — There is a cellar some distance 
Miithwest of the old house of .Mr. Parker B. Perley (No. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 51 

53). Nothing is as yet positively known of the house 
that stood here. The writer believes, however, that this 
was the place which Joseph Andrews of Salem (formerly 
of Boxford) deeded in 1710 to his sons Joseph and John, 
to Joseph the west part of the house and barn and to John 
the east part. Joseph Andrews, the father, was son of 
Robert and Grace Andrews of Boxford, and was born in 
1657. He resided on this place, probably, until 1705, 
when he removed to Salem, where he afterward lived. 

55. 
Jackson Cellar.— On Jackson plain between the old 
and new location of the road leading from the railroad 
station to the First church is an old cellar. The site was 
occupied by a house one hundred and thirty years ago, 
in which dwelt, it is said, Jacob Dwinnells. 

In 1765, or before, Joshua Jackson of Rowley became 
possessed of the place. In that year, he married the young 
widow of Timothy Dorman, who was the grandmother of 
Moses Dorman , Sen. , Esq. She was a daughter of Nathan- 
iel Burnham, who may have lived on this place, and who 
removed to Bolton, where he was living in 1771. Mr. 
Jackson was born in Rowley July 1, 1733, as July 1, 1790, 
he writes, "I am tifty-seven years old to-day." John Stiles, 
the blacksmith at the Savage place, hired the house and 
lived here from Jan. 1, 1766, to March, 1768. David Foster 
then lived here a while, probably two years. Mr. Stiles 
hired it again April 17, 1770, and this time lived here five 
or more years. During the first portion of this last period 
Mrs. Lydia Simmons lived in the foreroom. 

A1 a cost of £51 13s. lid. Mr. Jackson built a new 
barn, raisin- it Nov. 25, 1766. The carpentry work was 
mostly done by Asa Stiles. In L779, Mr. Jackson re- 
moved to the farm himself, and afterward resided upon 



52 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

it, perhaps as long as he lived. He was here in 171*7. 
and probably died about that time. Mr. Jackson was the 
ancestor of the Rooty-Plain, Rowley, Jacksons, and of 

those in Londonderry, N. H., and in the town of Winchen- 
don in this state. 

The old house was standing in 1814, but in a very dilap- 
idated condition. At that time the house was occupied by 
Asa Andrew's, whose death occurred that year, and his fu- 
neral was held here. An old gentleman, who was present 
at the funeral, says that the floor of one of the rooms had 
fallen in, and through the space he could see a hen sitting 
on her nest in the cellar below. That the people might 
see the remains, the coffin was carried across the old road 
and placed under a button-wood tree, which was many 
years afterward cut down and sawed into chopping blocks 
for shoe factories. 

56. 
Henry PerleyCellak. — The old Russ, or Henry Per- 
ley house was built, about 1754 by Joseph Matthews upon 
land of his father-in-law Ephraim Dorman, who lived at 
No. 57. Mr. Matthews had one child, Ephraim, with 
whom he marched in Capt. Gould's company to the battle 
of Lexington. Ephraim also served at Cape Ann, Rox- 
bury, Winter Hill and Ticonderoga. During the period 
of the Revolution, Joseph Matthews was the grave-digger 
for that part of the town, having been appointed to that 
office by the parish. In 17!)."), Mrs. Matthews, who was 
still living in Boxford, in consideration of the support she 
had received of the town of Boxford " for the eight years 
past /'conveyed to it her interest in the estate other brother 
Elijah Dorman. She was then doubtless without means 
and a widow. 

Henry Perley, son of Major Asa lVrley (see No. (J), 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 53 

married Eunice Hood of Topsfield in 1781, and after liv- 
ing in Andover live years purchased this estate and settled 
upon it. Mr. Perley had served through the whole war. 
and now settled down to a life of repose. His wife died 
in 1790, and he married, secondly, Mehitahle Peabody in 
1799, by whom he had one child, Leonard. Mr. Perley 
died there in 1838, aged eighty-live. His widow survived 
him six years. The late Major Samuel Perley, who lived 
at No. 173, was his son. His son Henry also lived upon 
the place until his death, in 1841. Subsequently, it was 
owned but not occupied by the family, various tenants 
making it their home. The more conspicuous of t hese were 
Major Moses Rea Russ and Otis Pickard. Mrs. Russ died 
there quite suddenly Oct. 29, 1868; and May 20, 1870, 
Major Russ fell from a scaftbld in his barn and was instantly 
killed. His age was seventy-four. He lived at this place 
for more than twenty years, and was famous as a drummer. 
Mr. Pickard resided here for several years, and he, too, 
was a drummer. He first practised the art of hair-dressing 
here and still pursues that business in Georgetown, to 
which place he removed. The house was then empty for 
several years, it having become almost uninhabitable. The 
owner, Mr. Henry E. Perley of Georgetown, took it down 
in 1883. 

57. 

Samuel Dorman Cellar. — About half way between 
the cellar over which the Henry Perley house stood and 
the East Parish parsonage, on the same side of the road, is 
an old cellar. When that road was laid out in 1803, this 
was called "the old cellar." 

Samuel Dorman, an aged bachelor, was the last occu- 
pant of the house that stood here. IK- was son of Ephraim 
and Martha Dorman, who lived across tin- road at No. 58. 



54 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Samuel was horn in 171<>, and died at this place a few years 
prior to 1800. 

Samuel's brother Elijah, a wheelwright by trade, who 
died in Boxford in 1791 or 1792, without children, lived 
with Samuel at this place awhile. Elijah was horn in 
1714. After Samuel's decease the house immediately went 
to decay, being gone before 1800. 

58. 
Ephraim Dorman Cellar. — Across the road in front 
of the East Parish parsonage, in the field belonging to Mr. 
John Averill, was an old cellar. On this spot Ephraim 
Dorman settled in 1710. lie was a cousin of Timothy 
Dorman, who lived at No. 119, and a son of Ephraim and 
Mary Dorman, and was born at Topsfield in 1677. By 
his wife Martha, he had six children. He died in 1724, 
leaving quite a large estate. No division of the property took 
place until 1741, when it was made by the widow and heirs. 
The six children were : Capt. Ephraim, who was one of 
the first settlers of Keenc, N. II., and whose death occurred 
there in 1795, when he was eighty-five years old ; Mary, 
who married Joseph Matthews and lived in No. 5(5; Eli- 
jah, who resided at this place and at No. 57 ; Samuel, who 
lived at No. 57 ; John, who fell a victim to the throat dis- 
temper of 1787, at the age of eighteen : and Sarah, who 
died two days after her brother John, at the age of thirteen. 
The house has probably been gone a century, and the cel- 
lar is filled up. 

59. 
East Parish Parsonage. — The parsonage in the East 
Paiish was built by subscription in 1870. It was occupied 
by Rev. Sereno D. Gammell from L870 to 1880; by Rev. 
William P. Alcott from 1881 to 1**;; ; and by Rev. Robert 
R. Kendall from 1884 to the present time (1891). 




(55) 



56 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKI). 

60. 

Residence of F. A. Howe. — This house was ;i purl of 
the Stickney house (No. (57), ;m<l was moved to its pres- 
ent site in .March, 1851. John X. Towne then occupied 
it until 1874, when he removed to Georgetown :md after- 
ward to Taunton where he died in 1891. Since Mr. Towne 
moved away it has been occupied by Mr. Frederic A. 
Howe, who has been engaged in the grocery business for 
many years, and the master of the Boxford post-office lor 
a score of years. 

61. 

David Butman Cellar. — A short distance northwest 
of the East Parish church in a pasture is a cellar. Over 
this cellar stood the home of the Boxford Buswells. Sam- 
uel Buswell, horn in 1 ( > 2 <S , removed from Salisbury to Box- 
ford in 1 < > 7 2 , and settled at this place. Whether or not he 
built the house is not known, but it. is presumed that he 
did. He married Sarah Keies in 1656, and they brought 
their six children with them. They had two more born 
to them in Boxford. His son Samuel settled in Bradford, 
and Robert in Andover. 

Mi - . Buswell was succeeded on the homestead by his 
son John, who was born in Salisbury in 1659. lie mar- 
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Stiles. lie was the 
first grave digger chosen in Boxford, having been elected 
to that office by the town in 1716. 

John Buswell was succeeded on the farm by his son 
John, who was born there in 170.'). He married Abi- 
gail Cummings in 1743, and died in 1751. His widow 
married Jonathan Whipple of Danvers six years later. 
Mr. Buswell had two children, Ruth, born in 1746, and 
John, born in 1748. John settled in Rindge, N. H., and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 57 

Ruth resided on the old place. At the age of twenty-eight 
the publishment of her intention of marriage with .John 
Love appears on the Boxford records, but she preferred 
being an old maid to marrying him and so she forbade the 
granting of a certificate. Her remonstrance was as fol- 
lows : 

"Whereas one John Love, a Trantient Person, did di- 
rect the Clerk of this Town to publifh an Intention of Mar- 
riage betwen himfelf and me the subscriber which was 
accordingly done by the said Town Clerk upon the 30th 
of January, A. D. 1775, in the ufual way of publifhing 
intentions of Marriages : — I do hereby strictly forbid the 
said Town Clerk to give out a Certificate of such publica- 
tion — Uy, becaufe the said John Love is a Trantient Per- 
fon and not Much Known in this Place : 21y, becaufe I 
never had any conjugal Converfation with him the said 
John : and 3dly Becaufe I never gave any consent to the 
said John for such Publication — 

"Boxford, January 31, 1775. Ruth Buswell." 

And so poor John was forced to become a "transient" 
person in some other place, and he is not heard of again in 
Boxford. Perhaps Ruth would have done well if she had 
yielded to his charms, for the husband she did get was "no 
'count," as her old neighbor Phillis would have said. In 
1778, she married David Butman of Dan vers, and remained 
on her father's place. Her husband was known as "King 
David." He was by trade a cooper, was short of stature, 
and had curly hair. lie was as lazy as she was smart. 
She cultivated the farm, doing the plowing, hoeing, hay- 
ing and harvesting herself. One day in May, 1810, she 
had been plowing all day with oxen hired of Joseph S. 
Peabody, who lived at. the old Spiller place (No. 68) and 
just after dark drove them home. She ran back to do her 
chores, was taken sick that night, probably from over-ex- 



58 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

ertion, and survived l)iit a few days. If any woman was 
ever entitled to suffrage, we have her here. Her husband 
left this mundane sphere in 181(5, at the age of sixty- 
eight. They had four children, Joseph, Esther, Hitty and 
John. 

The old house was taken down about 1822, and the barn 
was moved to the Sayward place (No. 99) by Capt. Davis, 
where it is still standing. 

62. 
Residence of Mary A. Perley. — Miss Mary A. Per- 
ley of Brooklyn, N. Y., erected her residence in 1888, and 
has since made it her permanent home. 

63. 

Residence of F. J. Stevens. — The farm belonging to 
the late Daniel Gould contained originally eighty-five acres, 
and before 1723 was in the possession of Ebenezer Kim- 
ball. April 10th of that year he sells the farm with the 
buildings thereon to Samuel Goodridge of Newbury. Mr. 
Goodridge was a son of Benjamin Goodridge, who, together 
with his wife and two children, were slain by the Indians 
while at family prayer in their house at Georgetown, Oct. 
23, 161)2. Samuel Goodridge had settled upon this farm 
three years before he obtained his deed of it. The old 
house which was then standing occupied the corner of the 
garden on the left hand as one enters the yard when com - 
ing from the church. It stood very near the wall. It was 
probably taken down about 1745, and the cellar was filled 
up about 1790 by Daniel Gould, a later owner. 

Samuel Goodridge had the care of the first meeting- 
house in the town for awhile. He was living in 1759, but 
when he or his wife died is not known, and no sell lenient 
of his estate is on record. He married Hannah Frazier of 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 59 

Newbury in 1710, and had ten children, live of whom 
were born at this place. Among his descendants are Rev. 
Charles G. Porter of Bangor, Me. ; Ambrose H. Good- 
ridge, publisher of the old Boston Atlas; Gov. Caleb D. 
Randall of Michigan ; Hon. Allen Goodridge of Washing- 
ton, D. C, and Rev. Edward Goodridge, rector of the 
American Episcopal Church at Geneva, Switzerland. 

Mr. Goodridge sold the farm to his son Benjamin in 
1742. Benjamin erected, about that time, the present 
residence of Dr. Stevens, where it now stands. The 
reason Mr. Goodridge was accustomed to give, for build- 
ing his house so far from the road, was to escape the nu- 
merous calls for cider from travellers. Benjamin owned 
the place until May 3, 1784, when he sold to Daniel Gould 
for £540. Mr. Goodridge then removed to Bald Hill 
(No. 135), where he lived but a few months and then re- 
moved to Middleton. In 1789, he settled in Westminster, 
Vt., where he died in 1805, at the age of eighty-four. He 
had a number of children, who settled in Vermont. The 
family is noted for the longevity of its members. 

Daniel Gould, the successor of Mr. Goodridge, was a 
native of Topsfield, and resided upon this farm from 1784 
till his death, which occurred in 1826, at the age of sev- 
enty. 

Mr. Gould's son Daniel succeeded him upon the place 
and continued to reside in the house until 1843, when he 
removed to his new house (No. 64). The old house was 
then occupied by Mr. Albert Brown until about twelve 
years ago, since which time Dr. Stevens has resided there. 

64. 
Residence of Mary A. B. Gould. — The home of Miss 
Mary A. B. Gould was erected by her father, the late 
venerable Daniel Gould, iu 1812. He moved into it, fr 



60 TIIF. DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

his old house (No. 63) Jan. 1, 1843, and resided here, 
until his death in 1888, at the age of eighty-nine. 

65. 

Residence of Israel Hehrick. — The old house that 
once occupied the site of the residence of Mr. Israel Her- 
rick was early in the possession of the Bixby family. A 
part of the present house is probably a portion of the early 
dwelling of the Bixbys. Probably Joseph Bixby settled 
here in 1660, having at that time built the house. He 
came from Ipswich. He married Sarah, widow of Luke 
Heard of Salisbury (having previously lived in Ipswich) 
in 1647. Her maiden name was Wyatt. At the time of 
her marriage with Mr. Bixby her parents were living, and 
her mother was the owner of land in Asington, County of 
Suffolk, England. Mr. Bixby died April 19, 1700, "be- 
ing aged," and his widow survived him four years, dying 
at the age of eighty-four. They had nine children. 

Mr. Bixby's son George succeeded him on the home- 
stead. He had two sons, one of whom died young. Mr. 
Bixby probably died in 1729, as that was the last year in 
which he was taxed. 

He was succeeded on the farm by his son Gideon, who 
was born in 1699. He married Rebecca Foster in 1751, 
and died about three years later, leaving one child. His 
widow married Solomon Gould of Topsfield in 1756, who 
lived but a few years. Her son, Gideon Bixby, sold 
the place in April, 1774, for £436, to John Herrick of 
Boxford, and his mother released her right of dower in it. 
The farm then consisted of one hundred and eight acres. 

Mr. Herrick was a cooper, and came from Wenham ten 
years before. He lived at No. 163, until he removed to 
this place, and Gideon Bixby removed to No. 163, an ex- 
change of places having been effected. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 61 

Mr. Herrick was succeeded on the farm by his son Is- 
rael, who remodelled the house about 1800 anddiedabout 
1815. 

Israel Herrick's son William Hale Herrick was the next 
possessor of the place. He was born in 1806, and died in 
1858. He married Lois Killam, and had three sons : 
Israel, who has lived upon the farm since his father's de- 
cease, being an extensive farmer and mill owner ; William 
Augustus, who was a prominent lawyer in Boston, com- 
piler of the standard Town Officer, and editor of several 
legal works, having been born in this house in 1831 ; and 
Samuel Killam, who lives in Georgetown. 

66. 

The Dresser Cellars. — Nathan Dresser, son of Dan- 
iel Dresser of Rowley, came to Boxford in 1728, and 
erected the house in which he resided. It stood on the 
old Dresser road, not far from Mr. Israel Herrick's, the 
cellar being plainly visible at this time. He was a black- 
smith by trade, and he erected a shop near his house. He 
did considerable business. It is probable that his father 
Daniel lived here with Nathan. Daniel was quite an ex- 
tensive farmer. Dr. David Wood calls him " Neighbor 
Daniel Dresser." He was there in 1735 and as late as 
1740. On Dr. Wood's account book is the following item 
against Mr. Dresser: "Jan: 1737-8 to my son and six 
cattle to fech a load of hay from Rowley marshes 14s." 

We do not know when Nathan died. By his wife Lydia, 
he had four children born in Boxford, one of whom was 
John, who was born in 1735. He learned the blacksmith's 
trade with his father, and alter his father's death carried 
on the business until after 1800. By his two wives, Jane 
ilarriman and Mehitable Dickinson, Mr. Dresser became 
the father of sixteen children. One of these was Thomas, 



62 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

who learned his father's trade and established a black- 
smith's shop at No. 37. Another son, Nathan, also 
learned the trade and became his father's successor at the 
old place. The old house soon became untenantable, and 
the cellar alone remains to mark the spot about which so 
many recollections must have clung. 

Nathan was born in 1790. He built a new house a 
short distance south of the old one on the same side of the 
road, in which he resided till his death in September, 
1829. He also continued to work at his trade in the old 
shop until his decease. His widow Susanna, who was 
daughter of Nathaniel Long, who lived at No. 205, the fol- 
lowing year married Elijah Wilson of Salem, N. H., and 
continued to reside here. Mr. Wilson demolished the 
shop about 1835. 

Mr. Dresser's son, James M. Dresser of Georgetown, 
sold his interest in the place to Augustus Hayward in 
1843. The place was conveyed by Stephen Cook of Box- 
ford to Gamaliel Harris in 1860, and also in 1863. The 
house was hauled to Georgetown about fifteen years 
ago, and is still used as a dwelling. The barn was pur- 
chased and removed to their farm by Henry and Charles 
Perley and is still used for the purpose originally intended. 

67. 
Stickney Ckllars. — Northwest of Cedar Pond, and 
about a quarter of a mile west of the old Dresser cellars 
(No. 66), once stood the old Stickney house. Joseph 
Stickney, son of Benjamin and Mary (Palmer) Stickney, 
born on Long Hill, in Georgetown, in 1705, settled here 
in 1728 on one hundred acres of land, which he purchased 
the next year of his father-in-law, Capt. Samuel Pickard 
of Rowley, who owned large tracts of real estate in this 
neighborhood, which had been used for pasturage. Mr. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 63 

Stickney married, first, Jane Pickard of Rowley, and 
second, Hannah, daughter of Samuel Goodridge who lived 
at No. 63. Mr. Stickney was deputy sheriff of the county 
of Essex in 1737. He died in 1756. His widow mar- 
ried James Barker of Rowley, and died in 1806, at the 
age of ninety-four. In his will he gives one-third of the 
farm to his son Joseph and the other two-thirds to his son 
Samuel. His interest in the saw-mill owned in connection 
with Jonathan Wood he gives to his son Jedediah, who 
became his successor on the place. They had sixteen chil- 
dren : 1. Moses, who having received his portion of his 
father's estate and being a man of great enterprise, in 1752, 
attempted, with Richard Peabody and seven others, the 
settlement of Rowley, Canada, now Jaffrey, N. H. But 
the settlement was soon abandoned in consequence of in- 
cursions of the Indians, and he returned to Boxford. He 
soon after settled in Holden, in Worcester county, Mass., 
and afterward lived in Temple, N. H., and at Springfield, 
Vt., where he died in 1819, at the age of ninety. Moses, 
his eldest son, who was born in Boxford in 1751, died in 
Jaffrey, N. H., at the age of one hundred years and three 
months. 2. Elizabeth, who died at the age of sixteen. 
3. Jane, who married Thomas Carleton. 4. Joseph, who 
resided in Boxford until about 1774, when he removed to 
New Ipswich, N. H., where he died in 1818. 5. Jede- 
diah, who resided on the old place. 6. Hannah (a twin), 
who married Dea. Joseph Emery, jr., and died at Pem- 
broke, N. II., at the age of ninety-seven. 7. Abigail 
(twin with Hannah), who married Abraham Tyler of Box- 
ford. 8. Susanna, who married Phineas Carlton of An- 
dover. 9. Samuel, who lived in Boxford, Danvers, Wen- 
ham and at Beverly, where he died in 1802 at the age of 
sixty. 10. Anna, who married Daniel Peabody of Box- 
ford. 11. Lemuel, who died in Berlin, Vt., in 1824, at 



64 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

1 ho age of seventy -nine. 12. Eliphalet, who lived in Ben- 
nington, Vt., and at Hartwick, N. Y., where he died in 
1<S21 , aged seventy-four. 13. Amos, who settled in Jaffrey, 
N. H. 14. Asa, wlio resided in Danvers. 15. Elizabeth, 
who died young. 16. Thomas, who lived in Amherst and 
Hillsboro', N. H., Hartland, Conn., and at Fairfax, Vt., 
where he died in 1839 at the age of eighty-four. Among 
the descendants of Joseph Stickney are Dr. Orvil P. Gil- 
man of Salem, N. Y., Charles Blackmail Stickney, Esq., 
of Norwalk, O., Rev. Levi Stickney of Lapeer, Mich., 
Rev. James M. Stickney of Wyoming, III., Dr. Eliphalet 
Stickney of Jay, N. Y., Levi Dodge Stickney of Jackson- 
ville, Fla., a politician, attorney and author, and Major 
Horace Newton Stickney of Tennessee. 

It is probable that Joseph and Samuel resided here 
with Jedediah until their removal from the town. Jedediah 
was born at this place in 1735, and married, for his first 
wife, Margaret Tyler in 1757. In 176!) he bought out 
Samuel's, and in 1771 Joseph's share in the farm. "Peggy" 
Stickney, his wife, died in 1786. He married, secondly, 
in 1796, Sarah, daughter of John Herrick, who lived at 
No. 65. Lieutenant Stickney died in 1809, at the age of 
seventy-three, and with his first wife lies buried in the an- 
cient cemetery, where their stones are two of the twelve 
still remaining there. He gave the farm to his son An- 
cil. He had nine children, and among his descendants is 
Dr. Ancil Stickney of Auburn, N. Y. 

Ancil Stickney was born here in 1762, and married Me- 
hitable Perley, a daughter of Cooper Nat Perley, who 
lived in No. 14. Mr. Stickney was a Revolutionary pen- 
sioner, and was town treasurer of Boxford for many years. 
lb- died here in 1835, at the age of seventy-two. His 
wife died in 1837, and in her will she expresses her desire 
that a stone or stones be erected at the graves of her hus- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 65 

band's nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Stiles. 
She gave all her personal property not otherwise be- 
queathed towards building the present East Parish church. 
They had no children. 

In his will Mr. Stickney gave the farm to his nephew, 
Oliver Tyler Peabody, who was born in 1799. Mr. Pea- 
body married Sarah A. Towne, and removed in 1854 to 
Verden, III. His son Henry Oliver Peabody, the inven- 
tor of the world-renowned Peabody breech-loading rifle, 
was born here in 1826. 

The house was let to tenants during the last years of 
its occupation of this site, and the east end of it was event- 
ually moved to the north corner at the junction of the 
streets near the First Church, being now the residence of 
Mr. Frederic A. Howe, No. 60. 

There was another small house standing near this, and 
owned in connection with it, which is also gone. 

68. 
Old Spillek House. — This house was built by Capt. 
Stephen Peabody in 1708. He was a son of William Pea- 
body, and was born near where No. 69 now stands, in 
1685. He lived in this house until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1759. His widow survived him five years. 
They had nine children, one of whom, Francis, settled at 
Mangerville, on the St. John river in New Brunswick, and 
with James Symonds and James White, his sons-in-law, 
were among the earliest English settlers in that Provinee. 
It lias been asserted that his brother-in-law, John Hale, 
and himself were tories and that they tied to New Bruns- 
wick for political reasons, but it is untrue. Stephen's son 
William settled in Amherst, X. II. Among the descend- 
ants of Stephen is Ins grandson Col. Stephen Peabody of 
Mont Vernon, N. II. 



66 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

His youngest son Richard, born in 1731, next resided 
upon the old place. He commanded a company of sol- 
diers at Ticonderoga and Lake George during the strug- 
gle for independence, and several of his sons served with 
him, the youngest in the service being but thirteen years 
of age. Capt. Peabody was a prominent citizen of the 
town, and died in this house, where he was born and had 
always lived, in 1820, at the age of eighty -nine. By his 
wife Jemima, daughter of Jonathan Spofford of George- 
town, who had died eight years before him, he had twelve 
children. The oldest son, Stephen, lived in No. 69. John 
settled in Lunenburg. William, born in 1768, was a phy- 
sician in Frankfort and afterward in Corinth, Me. Sam- 
uel was an attorney-at-law in New Hampshire and Massa- 
chusetts. Samuel's son, Charles A., was judge of the 
United States Provisional court for Louisiana, at New 
Orleans, and chief-justice of the supreme court of Louisi- 
ana. Capt. Richard's youngest son, Joseph Spofford Pea- 
body, lived at home until 1816, when he moved to New 
Portland, Me. 

After Capt. Peabody's death in 1820, the farm was in 
the care of his son Samuel, who settled the estate, and 
he let it out until the spring of 1826, when it was sold to 
Nathaniel G. Spillcr. He lived here until some twenty- 
live years ago, when he sold out to Mr. Joseph II. Janes. 
While Mr. Janes owned it, it was occupied by different ten- 
ants, the principal one being William Bly. 

About live years ago the homestead was purchased by 
William A. Herrick, Esq., of Boston (who was born in 
No. 65). Mr. Herrick spent his summers here until his 
death in 1885, and his family now make the place their per- 
manent home. 

In connection with this homestead was an old grist-mill, 
that occupied a site on the brook near the house. It was 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 67 

built before the house was, by the father of the builder of 
the house, who was the settler of this immediate neighbor- 
hood. The original building was blown from its foundation 
into the pond during the terrible gale of September, 1815, 
but was immediately reerected by Capt. Richard Peabody. 
Mr. Spiller had purchased the mill in connection with the 
homestead, and about 1845 sold it, with the water privi- 
lege, to William A. Gurley and Joseph Farley, who took 
down the mill building to give place to an ideal saw-mill 
which was never built. The lumber which they hauled 
there for the construction of the mill rotted on the ground, 
and the massive stone wall that they erected by the side 
of the brook for the foundation still remains. 

" Tis a country scene — a homestead old, 

The high, steep roof with moss o'ergrown ; 
The hearth's large wood-fires kept off the cold 
When winter's storms have fiercely blown ; 
But the old folks have left their pleasant room,— 
Man's daily pathway leads but to his tomb ! 

"There's a singing brook from living streams ; 

It sweetly runs through clover fields, 
And joyful thoughts of my youth it briugs, 

As life's pure nectar now it yields ; 
And the old saw-mill stands a ruin there; — 
May man and time that dear old ruin spare !" 

69. 

Residence of Rev. A. B. Peabody. — A few rods 
northwest of the "Butcher Peabody" house, where there 
is now a small grove of Gilead trees, William Peabody 
lived from 1684 to his death in 1700, at the age of fif- 
ty-three. He was son of Lt. Francis Peabody of To] >s- 
fiekl, the immigrant ancestor. When the house was 
taken down, we do not know. His son Stephen built No. 
68. His son Oliver, born here in 1698, was distinguished 
for his labors among the Indians, and as pastor of the 



68 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

church at Natick. Other descendants of this William 
Peabody are Hon. Oliver Peabody of Exeter, N. H., pres- 
ident of senate, treasurer of state, etc. ; Rev. Stephen 
Peabody of Atkinson, N. H. ; Rev. Ephraim Peabody, 
pastor of King's Chapel, Boston ; and others. 

The "Butcher Peabody" house was moved from the site 
it occupied at No. 34, which was where the third-district 
schoolhouse now stands. (See that number.) The house 
was removed to its present site by Stephen Peabody, Esq., 
its owner, about 1795, the lean-to being taken off, and 
the main part of the house raised up. Mr. Peabody re- 
sided in it until 1830, when he died at the age of sixty- 
nine. On the day of his death he was in the best of health, 
and at work in his field. It was a hot day, and being 
very thirsty he drank cold water freely, after which he 
dropped to the ground and expired almost immediately. 
He was a justice of the peace and a prominent citizen. 
Of his three children, who were born to him of his wife 
Anna Killam, from the south part of the town, only Sam- 
uel had children. He resided upon the place after his 
father's death and carried on the trade of a butcher, which 
gave to the place the name it now bears. Samuel died in 
September, 1862, having been prosperous in his business. 
Of his children, Samuel Porter lives in No. 193. Ste- 
phen, a school teacher for twenty-tive years or more, now 
lives in Newburyport where he has been a member of the 
city council ; Mary Ann gave to the First church the 
"Mary Ann Peabody Sunday-school Library," and died 
in 1865, at the age of forty-one ; Melissa married the late 
John Q. Batchelder, and resides in No. 79; and the 
youngest child, Albert Bradstreet, born here in 1828, was 
a Congregational clergyman at Stratham and Caudia, N. II. 

Rev. Albert B. Peabody, the last named son, now owns 
and resides upon the old homestead. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. (>9 

For a score of years the house was let to various ten- 
ants, among them being Joseph Peabody, Caleb Mortimer, 
Leander Russell and Scidinore Gurley. Mr. Gurley lived 
there until the fall of 1890, when Rev. Mr. Peabody re- 
paired the house, and took up his abode therein. 

70. 
Hannah Wood Cellar. — Near the willow tree which 
stood by the ice houses at Stevens pond is an old cellar. 
In 1761, Joseph Simmons conveyed the house which stood 
over this cellar and the lot to Solomon Wood. In 1770, 
Hannah Wood of Boxford, singlewoman, sells the lot of 
two and three-fourths acres, with the house, to Aaron 
Wood, Esq. It was standing a few years later, but was 
probably gone before 1800. The widow of Squire Wood, 
who died in 1835 at the age of ninety-five, said that a 
family of Hessian soldiers lived there in Revolutionary 
times. 

71. 
Old Wood Cellar. — On the right-hand side of the 
road leading from the camp ground to West Boxford, op- 
posite Stevens pond, is an old cellar. It was undoubtedly 
an old Wood homestead, perhaps where the first Daniel, 
and also his son John lived. 

72. 
Residence of Henry Perley. — The residence of Mr. 
Henry Perley was built about 1745 by Solomon Wood, 
son of John Wood, who was born in 1722. Mr. Wood 
was a man of much learning for his time, a surveyor of 
note and a blacksmith. I lis shop stood near the house. 
Mr. Wood died in 1766, and by his wives, Hannah Jewel I. 
and Mehitable Peabody, he had six children. One of them, 
Solomon, jr., resided on the place. 



70 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Solomon Wood, jr., was born in 1763; married Phebe 
Perleyin 1784, and had several children born here. Mr. 
Wood died in 1829, and his widow followed him three 
years later. Their epitaph is : — 

"May we meet in Heaven." 

Of their children, Phebe, who married Samuel Hood, 
died at Georgetown in 1884 at the age of ninety-two ; 
Oliver lived in Groveland and died unmarried in 1803, at 
the age of seventy-five ; Betsey married Samuel Dale and 
resided in No. 175; Sally married George H. A. Batchcl- 
der, and lived in Haverhill ; and Hannah, the oldest child, 
was the mother of the late Albert Perley, into whose pos- 
session the farm came. Mr. Perley died in February, 1876. 
His widow resided upon the place, together with her two 
youngest sons, until her death in 1889, and her son Henry 
Perley has since lived here. 

73. 

Dollof Cellar. — "Deacon" Rufus Burnham, who then 
lived at No. 78, built the Dollof house about 1822. His 
carpenters were Phineas Barnes and Josiah Woodbury. 
He had just before lost his wife, and had become per- 
manently blind. He was a Revolutionary pensioner, and 
was much esteemed by his neighbors, who gave him money 
enough to build this house (as he did not own the Batchelder 
Place, where he lived), which might be to him a home 
where he could quietly pass the rest of his days. He died 
in 1836 at the age of eighty-seven. He had three children : 
Sarah, who married, as his second wife, Joseph Stickney 
Tyler, who had lived in No. 94 ; Seth, who resided in the 
Davis house (No. 251); and Hannah, who died unmar- 
ried in 1834, at the age of forty-nine. 

Mr Burnham was succeeded upon the place by Mr. Ty- 
ler, who married his daughter Sarah. Sarah died here in 



THE DWELLINGS OF EOXFORD. 71 

1858, aged seventy-eight. Mr. Tyler married, thirdly, 
widow Surah (Stuart) Esney of Georgetown, whose daugh- 
ter married his son Ira S. Tyler, who lately died in George- 
town. This third wife hung herself in this house in 1860. 
Mr. Tyler died in 1864, at the age of eighty-eight, and 
the heirs sold the old homestead to Mr. Sylvester Dollof. 
Mr. Dollof was a carpenter, and resided here until 1867, 
when he removed to Bradford where he now resides. He 
subsequently let the house to various tenants until it \v:ts 
burned down in the spring of 1876. 

74. 

Kesidence of David DeW. C. Mighill. — The house 
that formerly occupied the site of Mr. David DeWitt Clin- 
ton Mighill's residence was built by Capt. Francis Perley 
about 1734. He was born at No. 76, in 1706, and was 
son of Lieut. Jacob Perley. Capt. Perley was a promi- 
nent man in the town, quite wealthy and did an extensive 
business in tanning. He boarded a number of the French 
Neutrals that were here from 1756 to 1760. He died in 
1765. His wife was Huldah, sister to Gen. Israel Putnam, 
who after his decease married Timothy Fletcher of Wes<- 
ford, and removed thither. His eldest child, William, a 
commander at battle of Bunker Hill, resided in No. 75 ; 
Huldah married Col. John Robinson of Westford, a com- 
mander at battle of Concord, and distinguished for his un- 
flinching patriotism ; Francis succeeded his father on the 
place ; Amos lived at No. 39 ; and Jacob lived awhile at No. 
18, removed to Reading and finally settled in Byfield, 
where he died at a good old age, a deacon of the church. 

Capt. Perley was succeeded on the homestead by his 
son Francis, who was born in 171.*), and married, first, in 
1771, Ruth Putnam of Danvers, and second, in 1786, 
Hannah Payson, 2d, of Rowley. He also became a captaiu 



72 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

in the militia. He removed to Rowley about 1800, and 
died there suddenly in a tit in 1810 at the age of sixty- 
tive. Capt. Perley had thirteen children, of whom Fanny 
married Dr. Dennison Bowers of Boscawen, N. H., in 
1791, and resided in this house for a few years after her 
marriage ; Nancy died in Boscawen at the age of twenty- 
seven : Francis died at sea ; Ebenezer Putnam lived in 
Rowley ; James lived in Rowley and Boston ; and Edward 
Payson died abroad. 

The writer has been told that a Chapman family lived 
upon the place about 1805. Daniel Bodwell, from Me- 
thuen, was living there in 1812. He was a blacksmith, 
and worked in a part of the barn. The old house, being 
then very dilapidated, was taken down and the present one 
erected, presumably by Samuel Perley, who bought the 
farm at auction in 1812, it being sold by Capt. Francis Per- 
ley's widow, who was administratrix, to settle the estate. 
The advertisement of this auction, as it appeared in the 
Salem Gazette, was as follows : — 

BY ORDER OF COURT, 

Will be sold at Public Auction, on the premises, on Tuesday the 10th 
day of March next, at one o'clock P. M. 

A FA KM in Boxford, belonging to the estate of Capt. Francis Pbk- 
ley, late of Rowley, deceased. Said farm consists of about 70 
acres of wood, tillage, and pasture Land, with the buildings thereon. 
For further information inquire of JAMES PERLEY, of Rowley, or 
DANIEL IK (DWELL, ou the premises, where the conditions will be 
made known. 

HANNAH PERLEY, admx. 
Rowley, Feb. 7. 1812. 

Samuel Perley was from Rowley. He settled upon the 
farm immediately, having married withLydia Perkins, and 
lived there until his death, which occurred in 1848. He 
was born in 1770, being a son of John Perley of Rowley 
and brother of John Perley, who gave a fund wherewith 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 73 

to found a free school in Georgetown. He had two sons 
and one daughter, neither of whom was ever married. The 
children lived upon the place,— Lydia till her decease in 
1857, Samuel till his death in 1869, and Stephen Perkins 
until 1873, when he sold out to Mr. Jophanus Adams of 
Georgetown. In 1875 Mr. Adams sold the place to Mr. 
Samuel Clark. 

Mr. Clark lived here a short time and then bought the 
Savage house (No. 37), to which he removed. He sold 
this place to Mr. Sewall T. Johnson of Newburyport, in 
1876. Mr. Johnson repaired the house extensively and 
resided here until the next year, when he sold to Mr. 
Mijrhill, who has since lived here. 

75. 

The Town Almshouse. — The almshouse was erected 
by Capt. William Perley in 1763. He moved here from 
the Amos Perley house (No. 18). He was a son of Capt. 
Francis Perley and a nephew of Gen. Israel Putnam, and 
was born in No. 74 in 1735. Capt. Perley was a promi- 
nent citizen of the town. He was the captain of the min- 
ute men here atthe beginning of the Revolutionary struggle, 
and led his men in the battle of Bunker Hill, when eight 
of them fell, their bodies, as far as we have learned, being 
never brought home. Capt. Perley died in 1812, aged 
seventy-seven. By his first wife, Sarah, daughter of Jacob 
Clark of Topsfield, he had twelve children, of whom, Rev. 
Humphrey Clark Perley, who graduated at Dartmouth 
College in 1791, was a clergyman in Methuen and Beverly, 
and died in Georgetown in 1838 ; William resided in 
Georgetown and Haverhill ; Phineas lived at No. 42 ; and 
Oliver in Georgetown. Capt. Perley married, secondly, 
the widow of Dr. William Hale, who resided in X<>. 99. 

Capt. Pei ley's youngest son Abraham succeeded him np- 

10 



74 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

on the place. There his six children were born. About 
1825, the farm was sold to Capt. Jacob Tovvne, formerly 
of Salem, and, in 1847, he sold it to the town of Boxford 
for a town farm. The town repaired the buildings and 
have continued to use the place as a town farm ever since. 
Mr. Towne died in 1853 at the age of seventy-three. 

The first master of the almshouse, or superintendent of 
the town farm, was Jonathan Martin, who remained three 
years, removing to Byfield, where he died in 1880 at the 
age of eighty-four. His successors have been David Wes- 
ley de la Fletcher Hood, 1850-1852 -, 1 Joseph N. Jaques, 
1852-1854 ; Parker P. Pingree, 1854-1857 ; William J. 
Savage, 1857-1863; Peter Strout, 1863-1870; Charles 
E. Morse, 1870-1880; Rufus W. Emerson, 1880-1883; 
Henry K. Kennett, 1883-1885 ; and Charles Perley, 2d, 
1885-1891. 

76. 

Jacob Perley Cellar. — About 1697, Thomas Perley 
erected a house near Lake Reynor for his son Jacob, to 
whom he deeded the house and land about it in 1704. The 
house stood a few rods northeast of the barn belonging to 
the farm of Messrs. Patten and Metcalf, on the south side 
of the road. The exact location of the cellar is now almost 
unknown, as it has been filled up and ploughed over for 
many years. The house was large and had a leanto. The 
chimney was constructed on the outside of the house, and 
the oven opened outward. From the oven, it is said, on 
Saturday nights the contents were sometimes purloined, 
leaving the family without their usual Sunday beans, pud- 
ding and brown bread. 

Mr. Perley removed to Bradford about 1737, and died 
there in 1751. He had seven children, probably all born 

1 Mr. Hood died there Marcb 22, 1852, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 75 

in this old house. He married, first, Lydia Peabody ; sec- 
ond, her cousin Lydia Peabody ; and third, widow Mehita- 
ble Brown of Rowley. Of his sons, Jacob and Nathan lived 
inBoxford (Jacob at No. 32) ; Francis lived at No. 74; 
and Moses settled on the old place. 

Moses Perley, who succeeded his father on the home- 
stead, was born in 1709, and married Hannah Frye of An- 
dover in 1740. Col. Peter Frye was her own cousin. 
Colonel Frye was a loyalist, and his daughter Love married 
for her first husband, Dr. Peter Oliver, another loyalist, 
and secondly, Admiral Sir John Knight of the British 
navy. Lady Knight died ather seat near London in 1839. 
Gen. Joseph Frye was another first cousin. Moses Per- 
\ay died in October, 1793, at the age of eighty-four, and 
his widow followed him nine days later, at the age of sev- 
enty. Their bodies repose in Harmony cemetery. Of 
their thirteen children, Moses was a soldier and died in the 
Revolution ; Hannah married Lieut. Daniel Clarke of 
Topsfield, who removed to Georgetown and for several 
years kept a tavern on Central street, dying in 1799 
at the age of sixty -three ; Stephen and Jeremiah settled in 
Topsfield ; Nathan built the Tidd house on Nelson street, 
Georgetown, and resided there : Jeremiah lived in Boxford ; 
Sarah was the grandmother of the prominent Topsfield 
Balches ; Moody married, and lived in Nos. 32 and 95 ; 
Phebe married Solomon Wood, who lived in No. 72 ami 
Eliphalet, the youngest child, resided on the old place. 
It is singular that of these seven sons there are no living 
male descendants bearing the name of Perley. 

Eliphalet was born in 1765, and resided in the old house 
until 1817, when he built the present residence of Messrs. 
Patten and Metcalf farther up the slope of old Baldpate, 
to which he removed, and then demolished the old house. 



76 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOliD. 

77. 

Residence of Messrs. Patten and Metcalf. — Eliph- 
alet Perley, having come into the possession of No. 76 
(which see), built this house and took down the old one. 
He never married, and lived in his new house for sev- 
eral years, presumably until the death of his maiden sis- 
ter Betty in 1822. He afterward lived in Georgetown, 
where he died of old-fashioned consumption at the age of 
eighty, in 1846. When in his prime Mr. Perley was a 
large, strong, athletic man, who often mowed all night 
when there w r as a moon, and worked as hard at other kinds 
of farm labor. 

In 1825, the farm was sold to Moses Bradstreet of Row- 
ley. He died here shortly after buying the place, and in 
1829, the heirs, Matta Bradstreet, widow, Abigail Wildes, 
widow, and Samuel Bradstreet, all of Topsfield, conveyed 
it to Sylvester Cummings for two thousand dollars. 

Mr. Cummings resided here, and upon his death the 
farm descended to his daughter Judith, wife of Erastus 
Smith. She sold it to Augustus M. Perley in 1868. 

Mr. Perley lived here several years, and in 1876 con- 
veyed the place to Dea. Jacob Symonds Potter. 

Mr. Potter resided here several years and his heirs sold 
out to Mr. Junius D. Hayes of Clinton, Mass., in the 
spring of 1884. He resided here about a year, and then 
removed to Georgetown, selling this place to the present 
owners, Messrs. Patten and Metcalf. 

Mr. El bridge Perkins, of Topsfield, occupied the place 
from 1880 to 1882. 

78. 
Residence of Murray R. Ballou. — Mr. Ballou's house 
was erected by Dr. David Wood about 1701. He was 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 77 

son of Daniel Wood and was born in Boxford in 1677. 
He was a physician with a large practice, a justice of the 
peace, a mill owner and an extensive farmer. He was 
one of three to build the saw-mill in front of his residence 
in 1710. He was a leader in the social life of his time 
and region, and died Aug. 30, 1744. By his wife Mary 
he had eleven children, of whom Daniel resided at No. 
284 ; Sarah married Aaron Kimball ; David lived at No. 
289 ; Hannah married Josiah Johnson of Woburn ; Jon- 
athan succeeded his father on the homestead ; Mary 
married Rev. Jacob Bacon of Plymouth ; Mercy married 
Isaac Adams, who lived in No. 84 ; and Samuel gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1745, settled in Windham, 
Conn., where he was a Congregationalist clergyman, and 
later a chaplain in the Revolution, being taken prisoner 
at the capture of Fort Washington in 1776, and dying on 
board the prison-ship Asia the following winter, at the 
age of fifty-two. Hon. Bradford Ripley Wood, LL.D., 
member of the Twenty-ninth Congress, and United States 
minister to Denmark from 1861 to 1865, was Samuel's 
grandson. 

Dr. Wood's son Jonathan succeeded him on the home- 
stead. He did considerable farming, and among his an- 
imals was a line bay horse, which he valued very highly 
as a saddle horse. On the night of February 21, 1775, 
his barn was entered and this horse together with an ex- 
cellent saddle and a bridle was stolen. lie advertised for 
their return in several issues of the Essex Gazette, but as 
far as the writer has learned never heard from them again. 
The following is a copy of his advertisement : — 

"QTOLEN out of the Barn of the Subfcriber, in the Night of 

^the 21ft Inftant, a large bright bay HORSE, with a ruffet limiting 

Saddle and bridle, about 7 Years old, with a final! Star In his Forehead, 

about 15 Hands high, is a natural Pacer and ran trot (bine. Who- 



78 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

ever takes up faid Horfe, Saddle and Bridle, and returns them fafe to 
me, fhall have Three Dollars Reward, and all neceffary Charges paid 
by me. 

"Boxford, February 22, 1775. JONATHAN WOOD." 

Mr. Wood married twice ; first, Sarah Redington, and 
second, Sarah, widow of Dea. Abner Spofford of Rowley. 

Mr. Wood died in 1781, at the age of sixty-four. He 
had eight children, of whom David was a revolutionary 
soldier, and lived at No. 97 ; Jonathan livedon the home- 
stead ; Eliphalet was a revolutionary soldier, and resided 
in Loudon, N. H. ; Sarah married Gideon Bixby ; Enoch 
resided in Loudon, N. H. ; and Abner lived in Loudon, 
N. H., and Newburyport, Mass. The following is the 
inscription on his gravestone in Harmony Cemetery : — 

IN 
Memory of 
M r Jonathan Wood 
who departed this Life 
June y e 19"' 1781, 
In the 65 th year 
of his age, 

I yet dofpeak though I am dead. 
A Sovereign God made this my bed. 
And what 1 have to fay to thee 
Prepare for Death to follow me. 

Mr. Wood was succeeded on the farm by his son Jon- 
athan, who was born in this house in 1751. He married 
Abigail Hale of Brookfield in 1787, and became a deacon 
of the First Church and captain of the militia. He died 
Jan. 3, 1797, at the age of forty-five, from an accident. 

The following obituary notice appeared in the Salem 

Gazette a week after his decease : 

■• Boxford, J"». 7, 1 7H7. 

"On Tuefday laft departed this life, Capt. Jonathan Wood, in the 
4(ith year of his age. The circumftances which occafioned his death 
arc really melancholy, <>n Saturday morning, 31fi id' December lad, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 79 

about day break, he went into his Barn, and afcended a Scaffold about 
14 feet, from which he accidentally fell on the top of a Sleigh -which 
ftood on the floor, whereby his head and neck were injured to fuch a 
degree as to prove fatal; however he arofe from the fpot, and went 
into his Houfe alone. Laft Friday his remains were interred. On the 
folemn occafion was delivered a well adapted difcourfe by the Rev.' 
Peter Eaton, from thefe words, ' For man alfo knoweth not his time. 
The funeral proceffion confiftecl of his difconfolate Widow and Chil- 
dren, a large train of bereaved Friends, the Officers of the regiment to 
which he belonged, and the company of militia recently at his com- 
mand, under arms, a numerous retinue compofed of feveral claffes of 
people from this and the adjacent towns. He was a moft benevolent, 
faithful & conftaut bofom friend; a kind, tender and affectionate 
Parent of five young Children ; a feeling and affable brother; A ufeful 
member of the Society in which he lived, both in a public and private 
capacity. In him were united both the Christian and military Soldier ; 
he was a ftrict obferver both of the laws of his God and of his coun- 
try; and his death is greatly lamented." 

Capt. Wood was the father of the late Capt. Enoch 
Wood, who resided at No. #9, and grandfather of Judge 
Charles A. Peabody of New York. 

Rufus Burnhain, son of Nathan, born in Boxford in 
1748, married Sarah Chapman in 1777, and resided upon 
this farm until he built the Dollof house (No. 73) about 
1822, to which he removed. 

The heirs of Deacon Wood sold the farm in 1825 to 
Capt. Jacob Batchelder of Danvers, who opened a tavern 
here which flourished for many years. He died in 1853, 
at the age of seventy-three. His wife was Mary, daugh- 
ter of Joseph Cummings of Topsfield, where she was born 
in 1779. She survived her husband and died of old age 
in 1873, at the age of ninety-one. Her epitaph is, — "The 
Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my sal- 
vation." Among the children of Capt. Batchelder were 
Lydia, who married Daniel Gould ; John Quincy, who 
died in the Rebellion; Edward G., who lived upon the 
place; Samuel II., who lived across the road, and lately 
died at Methueu, having been lor two sessions a mem- 



80 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

ber of the State Legislature ; Dr. Joseph of Templeton ; 
and Jacob for many years a teacher at Lynn, where he 
was highly esteemed as an educator and citizen, and where 
he was for some years librarian of the public library. 

After the death of Capt. Batchelder, his son Edward G. 
resided on the place. He served in the war of the Rebel- 
lion, and after the decease of his wife lived here alone. 
On Sunday, May 11, 1879, he was found dead in his gar- 
ret having committed suicide by hanging the Wednesday 
previous. The house then remained unoccupied, and in 
the possession of Mr. Batchelder's nephew, Samuel P. 
Batchelder, until 1884, when he sold the place to Mr. 
Murray R. Ballou of Boston, who resides in the old tav- 
ern, which he has greatly improved. 

79. 

Residence of Mrs. J. Q. Batchelder. — This house was 
built about 1844 by John Quiucy Batchelder and Samuel 
H. Batchelder brothers, sons of Capt. Jacob Batchelder, 
who resided in No. 78. One-half of it has since been oc- 
cupied by John Q. Batchelder and his family, he having 
died of typhoid fever on board the hospital-ship Euterpe 
in October, 1862, and buried in the Soldiers' cemetery, 
near Mill-creek hospital. 

The other half of the house was occupied by Samuel 
until 1875, when he removed to Methueu where he lately 
died. Since his removal his part of the house has remained 
unoccupied. 

80. 

Fred SroFFORD House. — Ebenezer Kimball probably 

resided upon this farm about 1725. He was succeeded 

by his only child Jonathan Kimball, who died in 174b", 

leaving a daughter Hepzibah. She married Rev. Hezekiah 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 81 

Smith of Haverhill, in 1771. The next year Mr. Smith 
sold the farm, consisting of seventy-one acres, and the 
house, barn, etc., to Bradstreet Tyler of Boxford for 
£455 15s. Mr. Smith was a Baptist clergyman, and 
preached in Georgetown and Haverhill. 

Stephen Spofford lived there about 1800. He was born 
in the next house on the same road (No. 82) in 1753, and 
was the son of Samuel and Mary (Poor) Spofford. He 
married Sarah Chadwick of Boxford in 1782, and had two 
children : Frederick, who lived on the homestead, and 
Polly, who became the wife of Samuel Peabody. 

Capt. Frederick Spofford married, first, Mary, daugh- 
ter of Amos Kimball, who lived at No. 214. She died in 
1810, at the age of twenty-three ; and he married, second, 
in 1812, Deborah Wilkins. He died there in 1854, and 
since that time some portion of his family have resided 
upon the place until within six or seven years. His young- 
est sou, Mighill Wellington Spofford, was the last of the 
family to live there. Captain Spofford had eleven chil- 
dren, the oldest of whom was Charles A. who resided at 
No. 82. Another son, Augustus F., settled in Platteville, 
Wis., and a daughter is the widow of John Preston of 
Georgetown. 

81. 

Residence of Jeremiah Dacey. — This place on "Old 
Shaven-crown hill" was probably originally settled by 
Abraham Tyler, son of Jo I) and Elizabeth (Parker) Tyler, 
born in Boxford in 1735. He married, first, in 1756, 
Abigail Stickney, by whom he had fifteen children ; and 
second, in 1780, Jerusha Mersay, by whom he had one 
child. Of his children, Joseph S. lived at Nos. 73 and 
94, and William on the homestead. 

Mr. Tyler was succeeded on the farm by his son Wil- 
li 



82 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Ham, who was horn there in 1774. He married Abigail 

Barker of Haverhill in 1799, and had a son William, and 
a daughter Salenda, both of whom resided upon the 
place. The children obtained the title to the property, 
and forced their parents in their old age to seek a home 
at the almshouse, where they soon after died. 

The son William married Mary S. Donnan and had 
two daughters both of whom died young. He lived only 
a few years after his marriage, and during that time resided 
here, replacing the old buildings by those now standing 
about 1850. 

The daughter Salenda married Nelson Bodwell in 1826, 
and after living in Simmiersworth, N. H., Methuen, 
Mass., and in New York state, settled on this place after 
William's death. They continued to live here until 1868, 
w h they sold the place to Mr. Jeremiah Dacey, from 
Ireland, the present owner and occupant. Mr. Bodwell 
removed to Georgetown, where he lived until the decease 
of his wife about 1882, when he removed to Andover. 
They had three children, the eldest being Leonard War- 
wick, who lived in No. 13. 

Abraham Tyler's third son was Jacob, a twin with Eliz- 
abeth, who was born at this house February 17, 1770. He 

married Lavinia , and after the birth of his first 

child in 1795, removed to Concord, N. II., where he re- 
mained until about 1847, when he settled in the West 
parish of Rowley, Mass., which was afterward taken from 
Rowley and incorporated as the town of Georgetown. He 
died there September 11, 1865, at the age of ninety-five. 
The present Tyler families of Georgetown are his de- 
scendants, through his son Caleb Greeuleaf Tyler, who 
died there June 8, I860, at the age of fifty-four, having 
been a prominent manufacturer. 

Other children of Abraham Tyler were Molly, who mar- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 83 

ried John Peabody in 1788, Priscilla, Avho married Ben- 
jamin Robinson in 1794, Isaac, who married Dorcas Good- 
ridge in 1794, and Elizabeth (the second child of that 
name, and not the twin with Jacob), who married David 
Colbnrn, jr., in 1797. 

82. 

Residence of H. Merritt Spofford. — This house 
was built by Samuel Spofford about 1717. He was a son 
of Samuel Spofford who resided on the rt old farm " on 
Spofford's Hill, in what is now Georgetown, was born in 
1690, and married Sarah Stickney of Bradford in 1717. 
The house was originally built in the style that then pre- 
vailed, and so remained until a few years ago, when it was 
extensively repaired and modernized. They had five 
children, the oldest of whom was Bethiah, who was blind 
many years. They had, also, Sarah, who died of the 
throat distemper in 1736, aged fifteen years; Thomas, 
who settled in Andover ; Amos, who settled at No. 83 ; 
and Samuel, who lived on his father's place. 

Samuel Spofford, jr., was born in 1722, and married 
Mary Poor of Newbury in 1752. They had six children : 
two by the name of Moses, who died each at the age of 
one month, the last one of canker ; Molly, who died at the 
age of three years ; Samuel, who resided on this place ; 
Parker, who lived at No. 33 ; and Stephen, the eldest son, 
who resided at No. 80. 

Mr. Spofford was succeeded on the homestead by his 
son Samuel, who died there, Feb. 12, 1846, at the age of 
eighty-six. He never married, but hired housekeepers, 
one maiden lady, Nancy Springer, serving him in that 
capacity many years. In 1841, he conveyed the farm to 
Moses Dorman, jr., to dispose of for the payment of his 
debts, and Mr. Dorman sold it to John Tyler of Boxford 
in 1844. 



84 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. Spofford's nephew, Charles Arlington Spofford 
(son of Capt. Frederick Spofford), born at No. 80 in 1812, 
moved to this place about three years before Samuel's de- 
cease, and afterward lived there, buying the farm of Mr. 
Tyler in 1849. Mr. Spofford married Sarah Hardy, and 
had two children. He died in 1883, and since that time 
his son H. Merritt has carried on the farm. 

83. , 

Residence of Israel F. Spofford. — The house that 
originally stood where Mr. Israel F. Spofford lives was 
doubtless built by Amos Spofford about 1754. In that 
year he married Abigail Pearl, from No. 259. He was 
born in No. 82 in 1729. They had nine children, of 
whom Benjamin settled in Fryebnrg, Me. ; Amos in Me- 
tlnien : Samuel in Portland, Me., and at No. 252; Daniel 
in Bine Hill, Me. ; and Thomas, the youngest son, on his 
father's place. 

Thomas Spofford was born in 1767, and married Eliza- 
beth Foster in 1791. He built the present house in 1805, 
on, or nearly on, the site of the old house. They had 
seven children, of whom Phineas settled in Beverly ; Eliza 
was the first wife of the late Ephraim Cole, and the old- 
est child Aaron became his father's successor on the old 
place. 

Capt. Aaron Spofford was born in 1793, and married 
Betsey Foster in 1822. Mr. Spofford was a soldier in the 
war of 1812, for which he received a pension. He had 
ten children : Mrs. Samuel Killam; Phineas, who was a 
captain in the Confederate army during the Rebellion, and 
later high sheriff of Cheraw county, S. C. ; Mrs. John 
Hale; Aaron, who was killed in the battle of Groveton, 
Va., Aug. 30, 18(52, while lighting in the Union army; 
Daniel Webster, who served in the Union Army, and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



85 



now resides in Georgetown ; Israel F., who resides on 
his father's place ; and others. Captain Spofford died in 
1879, at the advanced age of eighty-six. He was suc- 
ceeded on the homestead by his son Israel F., who has 
since resided there. 



84. 
The Old Adams House. — The house in which Mr. 
Charles A. Thwing recently died was erected by Thomas 




THE OLD ADAMS HOUSE. 

Spofford about 1702. He was a son of Samuel and Sarah 
(Burkbee) Spofford of Rowley, where he was born in 
1679, and was the firsl of the name to settle in Boxford. 
By his wife, Bethiah Haseltine, whom he married in 1702, 
he had ten children. \\\ 1716, he sold the place to his 
brother-in-law, Isaac Adams of Rowley, and removed to 
Lebanon, Conn. lie is the ancestor of the numerous 



86 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Spafards, Rev. Henry A. Spafard of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
being one of his descendants. 

Mr. Adams probably never lived here. He died in Row- 
ley in 1738, and in his will devised this farm to his son 
Isaac, who was born in Rowley in 1713. He came here to 
live with his mother, who died in 1775, at the age of nine- 
ty-one. 

At the age of twenty-nine, Mr. Adams married a daugh- 
terof Dr. David Wood, and had ten oreleven children. Mr. 
Adams was commissioned captain of the Second company 
of militia in Boxford Sept. 1, 1762. The original commis- 
sion is in the possession of his great-granddaughter, Miss 
Rebecca T. Wood of West Boxford. He served on the 
committees chosen to build the second meeting-house in 
West Boxford ; and in 1780, was one of a committee of 
live chosen to examine the state constitution agreeably to 
a resolve of the General Court June 15, 1779. He was 
in his day one of the principal men of Boxford. lie 
served as a selectman for fourteen years ; and was the 
representative to the legislature from 1783 to 1786, in- 
clusive, and in 1788, live years in all. He had the good of 
the country at heart, and even when he had reached the 
age of eighty he took great interest in the affairs of Con- 
gress. Dr. Jeremiah Spofford remembered being at Mr. 
Adams' house about 1795, a year or two before the old 
gentleman's death. He described him as a man of short 
stature, and as wearing a small red cap, which fitted close 
to his head. Mr. Adams died in 1797, aged eighty-three. 
His wife survived him six years. His epitaph is as fol- 
lows : — 

"Affectionate as a husband, tender as a parent, 
Useful in lite, resigned in death, render his 

memory dear to surviving friends. 
His God sustains liini in his linal hour! 
His 1 1 ii : 1 1 hour brings glory to his God!" 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 87 

Four of Mr. Adams' sons served in the army of the 
Revolution, his son Isaac being one of the victims of the 
battle of Bunker Hill. Several of his sons settled in 
Rindge, N. H. Two great-grandsons are Edwin Spofford 
Adams, principal of a school in Brooklyn, N. Y., and 
Moses Sawin Adams, Esq., a prosperous attorney in 
Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Adams' daughter Mary married 
John Tyler, and was the mother of the late Mrs. Enoch 
Wood. 

Mr. Adams' youngest son Israel, born in 1761, mar- 
ried Lucinda Baxter in 1808 and resided here the remain- 
der of his life. He died in May, 1834, and his widow 
went to Rindge, N. H., where she died in 1864, at the 
age of ninety. Mr. Adams was a selectman in 1799, 
1800 and 1803. In 1811, he w r as one of a committee 
of three chosen by the town to superintend inoculation 
to prevent the prevalence of small-pox. 

The next occupant was Isaac, a grandson of Capt. Isaac 
Adams and son of David. He was here as early as 1822. 
He was the father of Chandler Braman Adams, U. C. 
1855, and of Charles Israel Adams, D. C. 1852, a law- 
yer in Boston, who were both born in this old mansion. 

Mr. Adams also bore the title of his grandfather, that 
of captain. In November, 1869, he sold this place to Perry 
M. Jefferson of Andover, who sold to Charles H. Mears 
and John F. Baldwin, co-partners, of Lowell, the follow- 
ing month. They sold to Charles F. Winch of Wilming- 
ton in 1870, and he conveyed it to Anna E. Thwing in 
1872. Mr. Thwing came from Lexington, and resided 
upon the farm until his death in 1889. 

85. 
The Samuel B. Carleton IIousk. — The farm which 
was in the possession of the late Samuel B. Carleton has 



88 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

been in the Carleton family for several generations. Jo- 
soph Carleton, a grandson of George Carleton (who was 
the first settlor in Boxford of that name, having come 
from Bradford in 1727, probably settling on this place), 
was born in Boxford in 1754 or 1755, married Sarah 
Wood in 1780, and settled on this homestead. They had 
a Large family. 

Joseph Carleton's third child was named Leonard. He 
was born in 1786, married Sally Barker of Andover in 
LSI 7, and settled on this place. Here was born his son 
and the recent owner and occupant of this farm, the late 
Samuel Barker Carleton, who always resided' upon the 
homestead. 

A Carleton from this place was killed at the battle of 
Bunker Hill June 17, 1775. 

86. 

The Gragg House. — The small house occupied by 
Lawrence Fagan was the old Gragg place, having been 
built probably about 1771 by Reuben Gragg, who came 
from Rowley, his wife being Betty Carlton of Boxford. 
He probably resided here when he died in 17SJ6, at the 
age of fifty-one. 

George Porter, a resident of Boston, inherited this 
place from his aunts Misses Xabby and Rebecca Gragg. 
He sold it to John McCabe, who after living here nine or 
ten years sold out to Stephen Perkins in 1870. Mr. 
Perkins lived here till his death, when his daughter-in- 
law, Mrs. Kate Perkins, the present owner, bought out 
the other heirs, and has since made it her home. Mr. 
Fagan married Mrs. Perkins' sister. 

87. 
Residence of William Wright. — Mr. William 
Wright came from Lawrence, bought a piece of very un- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 89 

even sprout land near the old Fowler place, and cleared 
it up, building upon it a residence for himself and family 
in 1879. By his assiduous labor, he made the land very 
productive. 



The Fowler House. — The old Fowler house was 
owned and occupied by Nathan Kimball, son of John and 
Elizabeth (Chapman) Kimball, who lived at No. 90. He 
was born in 1706, married Sarah Goodridge (from No. 
63), and died in 1784, at the age of seventy-eight. 

On one of the oaken posts of this house is engraved 
"1712." Probably this was the date of the erection of the 
house, but we do not know who built it, or who occupied 
it before Nathan Kimball took up his residence there. 

Mr. Kimball had eight children, one of whom, Nathan, 
jr., born in 1749, married Mary Poor of Newbury in 1770, 
and settled on this place. They had three children : Asa, 
who graduated at Brown University in 1796, and died in 
1801 ; Stephen ; and Mary (or Polly) who married Jona- 
than Foster, and lived at No. 92. Mrs. Kimball spent 
the last of her days with her daughter, Mrs. Foster. 

Mr. Kimball was succeeded on the homestead by his 
son Stephen, who married Elizabeth Hasselton of Haver- 
hill iu 1795, and died in 1813. They had several chil- 
dren, one of whom, Harriet, married Samuel Fowler, who 
Mas born in Salisbury in 1792. After Mr. and Mrs. Fowl- 
er's marriage, they lived tirst in Bradford, then moved to 
this place, and made many repairs and alterations. He 
did quite a business here in the manufacture of shoes. He 
was a youthful acquaintance of lion. Caleb Cushing, and 
always his fast friend. He died in 1881, at the great age 
of eighty-nine. His wife had preceded him to the grave 
about four years and a half. Among the children of Mr. 



90 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Fowler are Nathan K., who resides at No. 291, and Ste- 
phen K., who has returned to the old homestead after many 
years' residence in Rome. 

89. 
Residence of John T. Wood. — A few feet east of the 
residence of the late Capt. Enoch Wood was an old cellar, 
where stood the most ancient house in this neighborhood. 
It was doubtless built by Moses Tyler about 1(366. He 
was born in Andover, probably in 1642, and Avas son of 
Job and Mary of that place, and it is thought that his father 
lived here in the house with Moses. Quartermaster Moses 
Tyler married Prudence, a daughter of George Blake (who 
lived at No. 242), by whom he had eight children. She 

died in 1689, and he afterward married Martha , who 

died in 1735, at the age of eighty-six. His son Moses 
lived in Andover. Mr. Tyler was living in 1712, but it 
is not known just when his death occurred. 

His son .John was his successor on the old place. He was 
born here in 166!), married Anna Messenger of Boston, 
and was a sea-captain a long term of years. His wife died 
in 1746, aged sixty-nine, and he followed her suddenly in 
1756, at the age of eighty-seven. They had ten children. 
Capt. John Tyler built a new house where the present 
house stands, some little time before his death, but he al- 
ways lived in the old house. He may have built this 
house for his son Gideon when he was married in 1748. 
We know no more of the old house. 

Gideon Tyler lived in the new house, and, about 1775, 
built an addition to it, again adding to it a short time be- 
fore his death. He was born in 1712, and married Mehit- 
able Tyler in 1748, being quite a prominent man, ensign 
in the militia, etc. They had eight children. His wife 
died in 1777, and his death occurred in 1800, at the age of 
eighty-seven. 




BJfi'^/.'/i'H 






Hi: 



Pi 

■Mr 




92 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

He was succeeded on the old place by his son John Tyler, 
who was bom in 1751, a twin, and married in 1791 Mercy, 
a daughter of Isaac Adams, who lived in No. 84. His 
daughter Mehitable married Capt. Enoch Wood, and after 
Mr. Tyler's death, Captain Wood retired from the sea and 
settled on the place, which has since been known by the 
Wood name. Mrs. Wood's sister, Miss Mercy Tyler, 
died there in 1880, at the age of eighty-seven. 

Captain Wood died in 1882 at the age of eighty-four, a 
gentleman honored, revered and loved. His widow has 
recently followed him. Here was born his son Enoch 
Frank, a teacher, whose lovely traits of character embalm 
his memory. 

The present occupants of the place are Captain Wood's 
children, John T. Wood and Rebecca T. Wood. 

90. 

Residence of Lucy S. Kimball. — The farm on which 
the late Moses Kimball resided was settled in the seven- 
teenth century. Near his house, a little to the southeast, 
the foundation of an old chimney was unearthed several 
years ago. There stood the residence of John Kimball, 
who settled in Boxford as early as 1669. He made his 
will in 1718, and it was proved in 1721. In it he gave 
this place to his son John, entailed to John's children. 
Corporal Kimball, by his wife Sarah, had seven children, 
two sons and live daughters. 

Miss Lucy S. Kimball, the present owner, writes that 
the next house that was built on this place stood on the 
opposite side of the road, a little to the southwest. 

Mr. Kimball's son John took up his residence on this 
farm. He was born in 1685, married Elizabeth Chapman 
in 1705, and had one son and six daughters. He died in 
1763, aged seventy-eight. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 93 

He was succeeded on the place by his only son Nathan, 
who was born in 1706, married Sarah Goodridge, from 
No. 63, in 1730, and had four sons and four daughters. 
Removing to No. 88, which house he may have built, he 
died in 1784, aged seventy-eight. Two of the sons died 
in infancy; another, Nathan, settled at No. 88. 

The other son, Moses Kimball, succeeded his father on 
this farm. He was born in 1740, married Rebecca Poor 
of Newbury, and in 1766 built this house. He had two 
sons and two daughters. He served in the Revolution, 
and when away on an expedition his boys were engaged in 
making a sled fur their steers. The large elm tree now 
standing in the dooryard was then small, and the boys be- 
gan to cut it down, thinking it would make a fine neb for 
their sled. But they were discovered by their mother and 
the chopping was stopped just in season to save the life of 
the tree. Mr. Kimball died in 1795, and his widow mar- 
ried, secondly, John Runnells of Bradford, and died in 1821. 
Mr. Kimball's son Samuel, the first child born in this 
house, his birth occurring Jan. 18, 1767, built a house at 
No. 92 in 1794, lived there a few years, then removed to 
that part of Bradford which is now Groveland, and as long 
as his brother John lived always spent his birthday at the 
old place. 

The other son, John Kimball, born in 1769, settled on 
the old place, which his father deeded to him in 1792. 
lie married Ruth Eastman of Haverhill, N. H., in 1792, 
and died in 1850, at the age of eighty. He had two sons 
and six daughters. 

The eldest son Moses, born in 1798, succeeded his father 
on the homestead and married Mary Stone, daughter of 
Rev. Peter Eaton in 1833. She died in L846, and he in 
1879, at the age of eighty-one. Their only child, Miss 
Lucy Stone Kimball, has since resided upon the place. 



94 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

91. 

Jonathan Foster Cellar. — An old cellar was un- 
earthed ;i few years ago a short distance west of the resi- 
dence of Mrs. J. Edwards Foster (No. 92). The house 
that stood here ^vas built in 1730 by Jonathan Foster on 
his return from Haverhill, wbere he had been living. He 
w:is a son of Jonathan Foster, and was born in Boxford in 
1 <Ji*4. The walls ot the old house were filled in with 
bricks, and some of the windows were of diamond-shaped 
panes, set in lead. Mr. Foster married Hannah Peabody 
and had five children. 

His son Jonathan, born in Haverhill in 1727, married Re- 
becca Dornian from No. 119, and settled here on the old 
place. Another son Richard lived at No. 15H. Jonathan 
(jr.) was in the French and Indian war of 1759 in the 
company of Capt. Israel Herrick of Boxford. His journal 
kept on the expedition to Canada is in the possession of 
Mrs. M. F. Howe of Methuen. Mrs. Foster died in 1794, 
at the age of sixty-one, and the following is her epitaph : 

"Beneath this stone rests the mortal part 
Of her who onee delighted every heart 
How good she was ami what her virtues were 
Her guardian angel can alone declare 
The friend that now this little tribute pays 
Too exquisitely feels to speak her praise." 

Captain Foster lived here till the house was considered 
unsafe, and then resided with his eldest son Israel Foster 
in No. 93, where he died in 1813, at the age of eighty- 
five. He had six children, Israel, who lived at No. 93; 
Charles, who lived in Andover ; Betsey ; Amasa, who set- 
tled in Weare, N. II.; Jonathan, who lived at No. 92; 
and Phineas, who was a merchant, having settled in Boston 
in 1805. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 95 

The house remained uninhabited for some time, and was 
taken down in 1814 or 1815. 

This farm is said to have been at some time in the pos- 
session of Zebadiah Foster. 

92. 

Residence of Mrs. Susan R. Foster. — Where the 
late Jonathan Edwards Foster resided stood a house built 
by Samuel Kimball in 1794. It was owned and occupied 
by Jonathan Foster in 1800, and was burned on Wednes- 
day night, November 27, 1811. The present house was 
built by Mr. Foster the following year. He was born in 
1774, being the son of Jonathan Foster, who lived in No. 
91, and married Mary Kimball, from No. 88, in 1800. 
She died in 1854, and he in 1856, at the age of eighty- 
two. They had six children. 

Mr. Foster was succeeded on the place by his son Jon- 
athan Edwards Foster, who was born here in 1815, mar- 
ried in 1843 Susan R., daughter of the late venerable 
Benjamin Peabody, who lived in No. 260, and died of the 
small-pox in 1867. They had five children. Since her 
husband's death Mrs. Foster has resided on the place, and, 
with her son Reginald D. Foster, carried on the farm. 

93. 

Residence of Samuel Stas. — The house in which Mr. 
Samuel Sias resides was doubtless built by Israel Foster 
about 1794. lie was a son of Capt. Jonathan Foster, was 
born in No. 92 in 1765 and married Mehitable Carleton. 
lie was a prominent man, representing the town in the 
General Court three years, L815— 1817. 

Benjamin French bought the place of Mi-. Foster's heirs 
in April, 185(5, removed from the Holyoke house (No. 
226), and resided here until July, 1M72, when he sold 



96 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

out to Mr. Sias, who with his son John has resided here 
since that time. 

94. 
Residence of B. Ford Parsons. — Joseph Stickney 
Tyler, born in No. 81 in 1776, being son of Abraham and 
Abigail (Stickney) Tyler, probably built this house. He 
married, in 1798, Hannah Nelson of Rowley, who lived 
with her parents a few rods beyond the old turnpike gate 
in Linebrook parish. Her father was Joseph Nelson from 
Georgetown, then a part of Rowley, and her mother, Han- 
nah Wallingford of Groveland, then a part of Bradford. 
Mrs. Tyler died in 1832. They had eight children, three 
of whom died in infancy (Hannah, Ancill and a babe three 
days old), and five lived to be old, viz. : Hannah, wife of 
the late Richard Spofford, Mary, Abigail S., Roxannaand 
Ira S. Mr. Tyler resided in this house awhile, and then 
removed to No. 73. It ultimately came into the posses- 
sion of Bradstreet Tyler, who in 1832 sold it to Benjamin 
McLaughlin of Rowley. The next year Mr. McLaughlin 
sold it to Ezra Town of Boxford, who sold it in 1836 to 
Richard Spofford of Boxford. In 1841 Mr. Spofford sold 
to Charles F. Kimball of Boxford, who now resides in 
Lynn. In 1844 Mr. Kimball built an addition to the 
house and otherwise improved the place, residing on it un- 
til 1870, when he conveyed it to Charles II. Jackman of 
Haverhill who, the next year, sold it to Mrs. Laura Ham 
of Georgetown, who owned it five years. In 1876, she 
sold it to Mr. Charles C. Hilton of Lynn, who resided upon 
the place until September, 1882, when he sold out to 
Warren B. Pitts of Lynn. Mr. Pitts lived here till his 
death in 1887. His widow, who was the executrix of his 
will, as such, sold the place the same year to Mr. B. Ford 
Parsons of Natick, and removed to Lynn. Mr. Parsons 
has since resided upon the place. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 97 



95. 

Eesidence of D. Lewis Adams. — This house was owned 
by Bradstreet Tyler before 1795, as in that year he con- 
veys the place, with the buildings thereon, to Daniel Kim- 
ball of Boxford for £350. Mr. Kimball removed to 
Newbury, and in 1803 sold the place to Moody Perley, 
who removed here from the old Killam house (No. 32). 
Several of his children were born here. 

In 1820, Mr. Perley sold out to Bradstreet Tyler of 
Boxford, and removed from the place. In 1824, on Christ- 
mas day, Mr. Tyler sold the farm to Flint Tyler of Box- 
ford, a shoemaker by trade, and originally from Bradford, 
where he had married Jerusha Hardy of that place in 
1815. 

Flint Tyler sold out to James Nason of North Andover 
in 1858, and Mr. Nason to David Ambrose of Lawrence in 
1861. Mr. Ambrose went into the army, and while at 
Port Hudson, La., gave a power of attorney to George P. 
Wilson of Lawrence to sell this place, and he conveyed it 
in 1863, to John J. Leighton of Middleton, N. H. Mr. 
Leio-hton, who was then living in North Andover, in 1868 
conveyed the place to Joseph B. Adams of Boxford. Mr. 
Adams removed to Lynn, and in 1872 sold to Daniel Ad- 
ams, who had just come from the Dominion of Canada 
and settled upon this place. He died in 1875, at the age 
of sixty-seven years. His grandfather was a native of 
Massachusetts. Since Mr. Adams' death, his widow and 
family have resided on the farm, his son D. Lewis Adams 
carrying it on. 

96. 
Old Tyler Cellar. — Across the highway from the 
Adams house (No. 95) is an old cellar. A Tyler family 

13 



98 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

lived there, and the late Mrs. Enoch Wood thought it was 
that of the grandfather of the late Capt. John Tyler. The 
house that stood over the cellar has probably been gone a 
century. 

97. 

Richard Spofford House. — Before 1770, Asa Tyler 
owned the Richard Spofford farm, and probably lived there. 
He sold the place to Jonathan Wood who lived at No. 78, 
and Mr. Wood by his will, dated Dec. 13, 1779, and proved 
Sept. 3, 1781, devised to "my son David the house bought 
of Asa Tyler and the barn which I built on the south side 
of the way." David was born in 1748, and resided here. 
He probably took down the old house, and built the pres- 
ent one. He died here about 1820, being unmarried. 

His mind was greatly troubled by what he conceived 
to be a terrible sin, of which he was guilty, and he became 
fearful that he would not be forgiven. At last he confessed 
the matter to one of his friends. Dr. Amos Spofford who 
lived on Baldpate hill, in what is now Georgetown, had a 
great barn one hundred feet long ; and Mr. Wood wished 
that he might have one as large and as good as that. It was 
this sin of covetousness or envy that worried his scru- 
pulous conscience. 

In 1822, Eliphalet Wood of Loudon, N. II., probably a 
brother and an heir of Mr. Wood, sold the farm to Win- 
gate Ilsley of Rowley. Mr. Ilsley, still of Rowley, con- 
veyed it to Richard Spofford of Boxford April 13, 1824, 
and on the sixth of the following month Mr. Spofford was 
married in the house to Hannah Tyler. 

Mr. Spofford was born in No. 82 in 1797, being son of 
Thomas and Elizabeth (Foster) Spofford, and brother of 
the late Capt. Aaron Spofford. Mr. Spofford died here 
in 1864, and his widow at No. 90 in 1891. They had 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 99 

seven children, one of whom, Thomas Little Spofford, re- 
mains in town. 

The cider mill across the road was built in 1830, and the 
barn was destroyed by fire in February, 1873. 

A part of the land was purchased by Miss Adams in 
1880, but the remainder of the farm still belongs to Mr. 
Spofford's heirs. The house has been unoccupied for 
many years. 

98. 

Residence of Charles A. STETSON.-^-The old house 
which stood on the site of the residence of Mr. Stetson 
was built by Jacob Wood, son of Daniel Wood, the first 
settler in Boxford of the name of Wood, about 1715. He 
died in 1731, and his brother John was appointed adminis- 
trator. He had one hundred and forty acres of land in Box- 
ford, and other lands in Ashford, Conn., and Suncook, 
N. H. The homestead wassettled on Nathan, the only son 
that grew to manhood. Only four children out of a fam- 
ily of eight survived him. The other three were Hannah, 
who married Joshua Andrews ; Bridget, who married 
John Pemberton of Rowley ; and Phebe, who married Job 
Tyler of Haverhill. 

Nathan Wood, who succeeded his father on the home- 
stead, was born in 172L, and married his cousin Elizabeth 
Wood in 1746. 

Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, who remembered the old house 
here about 1795, wrote of it as follows : — "This house 
by the side of the pond I well remember, with its low- 
descending lean-to; and its long ladder reaching from 
the ground to the chimney was ever in its place, that 
they might the more readily quench the sparks and cin- 
ders which often circled above the chimney-top in the 
cold winter evenings." 



100 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. Wood died in 1804, at the age of eighty-three. In 
his will, which was made in 1801, he gives his land and 
buildings and his stock of cattle, horses, sheep and swine 
1<> his only surviving son Moses. He had eight children : 
Moses ; Sarah ; Dolly, who married Jacob Perley ; Phebe, 
who married John Barker, 3d, of Andover ; Jacob ; Lydia, 
who married Amos Gould ; Betty ; and Hannah, who 
married Jacob Hazen of Bridgton, Me. 

Moses Wood, who succeeded his father on the place, 
was born here in 1748, and married, in 1778, Sarah Bar- 
ker of Andover. Mr. Wood became depressed in mind, 
and at length hung himself in his house in 1810, at the 
age of sixty-two. The fact that his parents were cousins 
was fixed upon as the cause of his suicidal end. His fam- 
ily continued to reside upon the place. He had ten chil- 
dren, two sons and eight daughters, and of them, Sally 
married Col. Joseph L. Lowe; Dolly married his brother 
Gen. Solomon Lowe ; Betsey and Pamely never married 
and lived in Danvers ; and Lucy married Benjamin Abbott 
and lived in Providence, R. I. 

The old house Avas blown down in the terrific gale of 
September 23, 1815, and the family immediately erected 
the. present house. About 1830, they removed to Danvers, 
and tenants occupied the house, John Brown being the only 
one we have heard of who lived here for a considerable 
length of time. He moved to this place from No. 205, 
and carried on the butchering business several years. 

The heirs sold the farm April 1, 1837, to Seth Stetson, 
a blacksmith of Danvers, for $1(500, and John Brown 
immediately removed to No. 242. Widow Wood died in 
Danvers the next year, at the age of eighty-four. 

Mr. Stetson moved here and carried on the farm as long 
as he lived. He was born in Hanover in 1773, and died 
here of dropsy in 1851, at the age of seventy-eight. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 101 

After Mr. Stetson's death, his son George lived on the 
place, where his children were born. He died in 1869, 
aged forty-eight. His family have since resided upon the 
farm, his son Charles A. Stetson being the present owner 
and occupier. 

99. 

Residence of Rev. William P. Alcott. — This house 

was erected by Dr. William Hale about 1770. In that year, 

he married Anna Porter of Danvers, and commenced the 

practice of physic in Boxford, where he was born in 

1741, being son of Thomas Hale. He died in 1785, in his 

forty-fourth year, leaving two young daughters. The 

following obituary notice of Mr. Haie is found in the Salon 

Gazette for August 16, 1785 : — 

"On the Gth Inftant died at Boxford, after a long indifpofition, Dr. 
William Hale, in the 44th year of his age ; who, foralmoft twenty years, 
was a fkilful, faithful and fucceisful phyfician. His lofs is already re- 
gretted, and it is apprehended will be more senfibly felt in the circle 
of his late practice, which was not confined." 

Doctor Hale's widow married Capt. William Perley who 
lived at No. 75. Captain Perley sold the place to Samuel 
Holyoke in 1801, and in 1814 he sold out to Tobias Davis, 
a sea-captain of Salem. In 1826, Captain Davis re- 
turned to Salem, and sold the place to Col. Charles 
Peabody. Colonel Peabody at that date obtained the com- 
mission of postmaster, and, buying of James Whittemore 
his store at the Holyoke place, moved it to his residence, 
where he opened his store and post-office. 

Colonel Peabody removed to Barre, Illinois, in 1837. 
While Rev. John Whitney preached here he boarded with 
Mr. Peabody. In the year mentioned Mr. Peabody sold 
to Elisha G. Bunker, who for a year had kept a tavern at 
No. 242 in West Boxford. Here he continued the store 
and post-office until about, 18G6, when he removed to Sa- 



102 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

lem. One of his successors in the government office thus 
wrote of him about ten years ago : 

"He came to this place to live some forty-three years ago, 
and the familiar sign that hung upon his store, which read 
'E. G. Bunker, W. I. Goods,' is, I doubt not, well re- 
membered by all who used to journey through our town 
in the stages which were run in those clays, either by Pink- 
ham, or Ililliard, or Pickett. Mr. Bunker served in the 
war of 1812, and received a pension. 

" We desire to speak more especially of Mr. Bunker's 
qualities as a townsman and a neighbor. During his thii 
ty years residence in Boxford, the humble individual now 
writing was his nearest neighbor, and we always found him 
to be a quiet, peaceable man, content to mind his own bus- 
iness, kind and obliging. . . He was postmaster here 
over fourteen years, and then, as now, in this town a man's 
tenure of office did not depend upon his political views. 
Mr. Bunker was a thorough Democrat in politics. Our 
town was decidedly Whig in those days, but the majority 
were so magnanimous that Mr. Bunker was removed 
from office but twice, we believe, — once in General Har- 
rison's term and once in General Taylor's. But in both 
cases Mr. Bunker managed to keep a foothold or gain a 
position, so that in a short time he easily ' routed the ene- 
my.' And as in those days our town was decidedly Whig, 
so now it is Republican. Notwithstanding this, we have 
one of the most unyielding, defiant Democrats for post- 
master." 

The next owner and occupant of the place was John B. 
Twisden, who conveyed it to John S. Sayward of Augusta, 
Maine, in 1869. Mr. Sayward came here to pass the 
remainder of his days. He died in 1875, at the age of 
seventy. 

Mr. Sayward was born in Ncwbun port, but removed to 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 103 

Bangor, Me., about 1830, and was one of the founders of 
the Bang or Whig. For about twenty years he was editor 
of that paper, an excellent journal in every way. About 
the year 1856, the old firm of Smith and Say ward having 
been broken up, Mr. Sayward bought the interest of the 
Hon. J. G. Blaine in the Kennebec Journal, and removed 
to Augusta. His connection with that journal continued 
about twelve years, until his removal to Boxford. He set 
a very high estimate upon the power of the public press, 
and was governed in all that he wrote by a deep and real 
sense of his responsibility. What he was as an editor he 
was in private — faithful, loyal and genial, with quick per- 
ception of what was true and beautiful, and with an extra- 
ordinary love for the young and a never-failing fund of 
sympathy and charity for them. No man was ever more 
respected and loved by those whom he employed, or made 
them more his companions and friends without laying aside 
his dignity, and his sparkling good humor and beautifully 
even temper were proverbial in the society of the two cit- 
ies of Maine, where the greater part of his life was spent. 

Mr. Sayward embraced the doctrines of the New Church, 
or Swedenborgians, and held to them with characteristic 
enthusiasm. But his heart was light and liberal, and there 
was not a tinge of narrowness or sectarianism in his com- 
position. 

The family of Mr. Sayward continued to reside upon 
the place until about 1880, when Col. Fred Galbraith, Mr. 
Say ward's son-in-law, removed to San Diego, Cal. After 
that time the house remained unoccupied until the home- 
stead was sold to Rev. William F. Alcott in 1883. lie 
now resides here. 

As is usual with most old places, there is more or less 
romance attached to this, from a tale that has come down 
through the many decades that this old house is haunted. 
It is said that after Dr. Hale's death, at the weird hour of 



104 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

midnight, his pestle could be heard grinding imaginative 
herbs and drugs in the mortar. 

100. 

Residence ofF. D. Allen. — Josiah Woodbury bought 
the land on which this house stands of John Butman in 
October, 1816, and erected the house the next year, taking 
ii}) his abode therein. 

We have been informed that the widow of Phineas 
Rundlett also lived in this house at the time of her mar- 
riage with Amos Perley in 1823. 

Mr. Woodbury died at his son-in-law Captain Davis' 
(No. 99) in 1843, at the age of eighty-nine. 

While the place was in the possession of the heirs of 
Mr. Woodbury, the house was occupied by Daniel Wells 
who lived there several years before 1847, and died in 
1855, at the age of fifty-two, and by the late Ancill Dor- 
man, Esq., from 1847 to 1850. 

Isaiah Woodbury of Salem, master mariner, left two 
children Nathaniel A. and Isaiah. Their mother and guar- 
dian, Susan A. Woodbury, sold her and their interest in 
the place in 1845 to Francis A. Fabens, Esq., of Boston. 
Mr. Fabens sold out to John Clifton of Salem in 1847, and 
Mr. Clifton sold to Phineas W. Barnes of Boxford in 1849. 

Mr. Barnes was then living at No. 37, and he moved to 
this place, where he continued his business of butchering, 
building the present barn for a slaughterhouse. In 1858, 
being afflicted with rheumatism he discontinued the busi- 
ness of a butcher and from that time till 1^65 kept a gro- 
cery store where Mr. F. A. Howe now carries on the same 
business. Mr. Barnes then opened a grocery in North 
Andover, where he continued in the trade until 1872-73, 
when he removed to Denver, Col. He has been engaged 
in business there since that time. 

In 1866, Mr. Barnes conveyed the house and lot to 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 105 

Asher C. Palmer of Boston, who resided here until 1883, 
when the place was sold to Mr. Frederic D. Allen, profes- 
sor of philology in Harvard college, who has since spent 
his summers here. 

101. 
Residence of S. A. Bixby. — The late Deacon Samuel 
Bixby built this house in 1828. Before that date he, 
with his parents, had resided at the Holyoke place, having 
removed there from No. 163. They all removed to this 
new house as soon as it was ready for occupancy. Mr. 
Bixby was married in 1830 to Eleanor E. Johnson of 
Andover, and eleven days later his father(Gideon Bixby) 
died. His mother died in 1837. Here Deacon Bixby 
lived till his death, which occurred in 1881, at the age of 
eighty-two. His wife had died a short time previous. 
His son Stephen A. Bixby succeeded him on the place, and 
still resides there. 

102. 
Residence of Mrs. Sally Rea. — This house was 
erected by the late Jeremiah Rea, being raised June 28, 
1840, on land purchased of Richard K. Foster in the fall 
of 1838. He resided in it until his death in 1890, and 
his widow until her death in 1891, at the age of eighty- 
three. 

103. 
The Todd House. — The new town hall was erected in 
1890 over the cellar of the old academy which was built 
about 1825, as a place for holding meetings, by the Third 
religious society, which had just been established. In 
182(!, Major Jacob Peabody, a merchant of Boston and a 
native of Boxford, was instrumental in incorporating the 
14 



106 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

building into a school-house. The school was private, and 
of an academical grade. Through Major Peabody's in- 
fluence, the academy flourished for two or three years. 
On Sundays, preaching was carried on in the interest of 
the disaffected members of the church. The preaching 
was sometimes by the professors of the academy, and by 
"reverend" gentlemen, among whom was one Robertson. 
Their doctrines were veiy liberal. The iirst professor in 
the academy was Mr. Leavenworth. From a section of 
one of the early printed catalogues, the date of which is 
none, we learn that the examining committee were Rev. 
Brown Emerson of Salem, Rev. Jared Reid of Reading, 
and Mr. Levi Pratt, Mr. Giles Lyman and Mr. Lucian 
Farnham of the Andover Theological Seminary. The 
prudential committee were Major Jacob Peabody and Col. 
Charles Peabody. T. I. Farnham was preceptor. About 
fifty students (of both sexes — the young gentlemen being 
but a small number in the majority) are catalogued. 

The building was afterward remodelled into a dwelling- 
house, and was first occupied by Rev. William S. Coggin 
upon his settlement over the church here in 1838. In 1842 
he built his present residence (No. 107) and removed to 
it the same year. 

The house was afterward occupied by Maj. William 
Lowe and Mr. William G. Todd and Roscoe W. Gage 
respectively, until it was burned on the night of December 
26, 1867, the last two named families then living there. 
The cellar remained uncovered until L890, when the town 
hall was erected. 

104. 
Residence of W. A. Howe. — This house was erected 
by Mr. Edward Howe in 1841. The next year Mr. Howe's 
wife died, and in 1843 he exchanged this house for the 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 107 

present residence of Mr. Daniel Bixby (No. 10), where 
Mr. Howe's brother, Mr. William Appleton Howe, resided. 
Mr. Edward Howe vacated the premises and his said 
brother moved in the same year and has since lived upon 
the place. 

Mr. Edward Howe began his shoe business here. 

In the north part of the house two or more families have 
resided. Two of them were those of Solomon W. Lowe 
and Benjamin Kenney. 

105. 

The Abbie Bacon House. — The present public library 
building in the East parish was built as a dwelling house by 
Mrs. Abigail Bacon, widow of Dr. Josiah Bacon, thirty- 
five years ago. The carpenters were the late Samuel N. 
and Deacon Joshua Ayers ; the mason, Nicholas Tuttle ; the 
hod-carrier, Andrew Berry ; and the late Amos Stevens 
was the one employed to bank up the house. 

The shed used to stand, roofless, near the old church, 
and it is said had been originally annexed to the church of 
the "dissenters" across the street. In this shed the youth 
of the neighborhood played at "hide and seek" until it was 
moved to Mrs. Bacon's house, on rollers, by Elisha G. 
Bunker. 

Mrs. Bacon died in 1868, and then her daughter Abbie 
resided in the house till her decease in 1878. The house 
was bought by the library association soon after, and fitted 
up for its present use. 

106. 
Kesidence of I. W. Norwood. — This house was erected 
by Jefferson Kimball in 1810. He came from North An- 
dover, and boughl tie- bouse lot of Daniel and Dean An- 
drews, with the shop thereon, lie settled here, and worked 



108 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

in the shop blacksmithing. He served the town as rep- 
resentative in the legislature, and was a prominent man 
in town affairs, until he sold the place to Mr. William H. 
Kimball of Boxford in 1871, when he removed to Fitch- 
burg, where he died in 1879. The purchaser resided here 
until 1879, when he removed to Danvers Centre, where 
he has since lived. He sold the place in 1878 to Mr. Wil- 
liam B. Howe, who shortly after disposed of it to Miss 
Mary Perley of Salem. In 1888 it came into the posses- 
sion of Mr. I. Walter Norwood, who now resides here. 
See No 110. 

107. 
Residence of Eev. W. S. Coggin. — Rev. William 
Symmes Coggin of Tewksbury was settled over the First 
church in Boxford in 1838. He resided first in No. 103, 
and in 1842 built the house in which he has since lived. 
He resigned his pastorate in 1868. 

108. 

Residence of S. F. Ayers. — This house was built by 
Samuel N. Ayers for himself in 1844. Mr. Ayers was a 
native of Wolfsboro', N. H., and his wife, who was Miss 
Lucy P. Fuller, was born in Salem, N. H. It was occu- 
pied by him until his death in 1873, at the age of fifty-four. 
Since that time his son, S. Frank, has resided here. Mr. 
Ayers was a carpenter, and several of the modern houses 
in this vicinity were erected under his supervision. 

Several families have resided in the northwestern part 
of the house, among them being those of Solomon W. 
Lowe and Rufus W. Emerson. 

109. 
Residence of P. Strout. — The house that formerly 
stood upon the site of Mr. Strout's new house was erected 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 109 

by a company of proprietors in 1852, and after it was fin- 
ished was sold at auction, being bid off by Alfred Brown. 
Mr. Brown manufactured shoes and lived here some years. 
Daniel Russell removed here from Bald hill (No. 117), and 
was the first occupant of the northern half of the house, 
living here from the fall of 1852. He removed to No. 
118 about 1855, when Mr. Brown sold the place to 
Messrs. Nathaniel Grant Spiller and Peter Strout, and 
went to New Hampshire. Upon partition Mr. Strout took 
the northern half and Mr. Spiller the southern half. Mr. 
Spiller died here in August, 1883, at the age of eighty- 
two and his widow continued to reside here. With the ex- 
ception of a few years, when he was superintendent of the 
town farms of Boxford and North Andover, Mr. Strout 
resided in his half of the house. When Mr. Strout was 
away, his part of the house was occupied by Mr. William 
W. Dresser. The house was burned on the night of April 
6, 1890. Mr. Strout immediately erected the present house 
upon the same site. 

110. 

Residence of H. Newhall. — Mr. Henry Newhall 
built his house in 1872, and has since resided in it. 

His blacksmith's shop was built by Thomas Dewksbury, 
who died, unmarried, in 1832, at the age of twenty-five. 
It stood originally between the residences of Messrs. I. 
W. Norwood and S. Frank Ayers, and was used there by 
Jefferson Kimball for many years (see No. 106). It was 
moved to its present site June 1, 1874, by Mr. Newhall. 

111. 
The Holyoke Mansion. — The old Ilolyoke house oc- 
cupies the site of the parsonage built by the town for the 
first minister of Boxford, Rev. Thomas Symmes. In April, 
1701, the town voted to build him a house 48 x 20 feet, 



110 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

two stories in height, with a hack-room of 16 or 18 feet 
square. The house was finished and taken possession of* 
by Mr. Symmes in July, 1702. Here he lived until his 
dismissal in 1708, and four of his children were born 
here. 

Rev. John Rogers, the successor of Mr. Symmes, settled 
here immediately after Mr. Symmes went away, and con- 
tinued to reside in this house until his removal from Box- 
ford in 1743. He afterward resided with his son, Rev. 
John Rogers, who was settled at Leominster, and died 
there in 1755. Mr. Rogers had nine children, all born 
here, and all baptized in the little ancient church that stood 
on the hill north of his residence. 

Mr. Rogers' son Benjamin lived in this house after him. 
Benjamin married, first, Mrs. Alice (Perley) Foster, 
widow of Thomas Foster, by whom he had eight children. 
She died, and he married, second, Lois Perue in 1751. 
By her he became the father of two children. He died in 
March, 1761, and his widow married, in December of the 
same year, Ephraim Houghton of Lancaster, to which place 
she doubtless removed. Some say that Mr. Houghton be- 
longed in Harvard, the publishment on the Boxford town 
records calls him of Lancaster, and his marriage record in 
Harvard calls him of that town. However, nothing more 
is known of her and little of her children, who doubtless 
removed with her wherever she went. 

In 1759, two years before his death, Mr. Rogers (the 
rest of the heirs having quitclaimed to him their interest 
in the estate) sold the house and lot to Rev. Elizur Hol- 
yoke, who was settled over the church here in that year. 
The next year the old house was taken down and the pres- 
ent one erected by Mr. Ilolvoke's father, Samuel Ilolyoke, 
a merchant of Boston. Rev. Mr. Ilolyoke afterward re- 
sided in the new house. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. Ill 

Rev. Elizur Holyoke was born in Boston in 1731, and 
was a nephew of Edward Holyoke, president of Harvard 
college, and a great-grandson of Eliznr Holyoke of Spring- 
field, for whom Mount Holyoke was named. 1 Rev. Mr. 
Holyoke died after a paralytic illness of thirteen years, in 
1806, at the age of seventy-four. His widow, who was 
Hannah, daughter of Rev. Oliver Peabody of Natick, sur- 
vived him two years. 

Stephen Gould moved Mrs. Holyoke from Natick to 
Boxford upon her marriage in 1759, and he was the only 
person she knew in church the next Sabbath except her 
husband. 

Mr. and Mrs. Holyoke had eight children, namely, Sam- 
uel, Samuel, Elizur, Elizabeth, Oliver Peabody, Edward, 
Hannah and Charles. The second Samuel was the dis- 
tinguished musical composer and publisher. He produced 
*' TJarmonia Americana," "The Instrumental Assistant" 
"The Columbian Repository of Sacred Harmony." Like 
most of those who have become deservedly distinguished 
he died poor and without a home. After the other chil- 
dren had all gone Hannah continued to reside in the old 
house until 1865, when she died at the age of ninety-one. 
She was never married, and during her lifetime a part of 
the house was occupied by different tenants, among whom 
was Benjamin French. 

In 1866, Miss Holyoke's executors sold the place to Mr. 
Elvin French, the well-known musician, then residing in 
Lowell but who was horn in this house, being son of Ben- 
jamin French above named. Mr. French has now lived 
here several years. 

Decay was fast creeping upon the old mansion, and but 
for the reviving hand of Mr. French, it must have soon 
beennumbered with the things that are gone. Mr. French 
has put in new timbers, new windows and doors, and re- 

1 See Holland's Bay Path. 



112 THE DWELLINGS OE BOXFOKD. 

paired it all through, but in such a manner as to allow all 
that is interesting in it to remain. Strangers desire to 
frequent the old house, and examine its passages, halls, and 
numerous rooms, each containing some curious work of 
antiquity. Of this mansion, Mrs. Martha L. Emerson 
wrote several years ago : 

" 'Neath sheltering elms the ancient dwelling stands 
Where several highways socially clasp hands; 
Its general air speaks of the 'auld lang syne,' 
And years have left their marks in many a line. 

"The moss-grown shingles, broken and decayed; 
The loosened clapboards, where the winds have played ; 
The shattered window-panes, the door-stone low, — 
All tell the story of the long ago. 

"Within, what tales those mouldering walls could tell, 
If they could break their silence' mighty spell, — 
Of childhood, age, of happiness and tears, 
Of life and death, through all these hundred years ! 

"Old sunken floors, by many footsteps worn; 
Paper once gay, but mildewed now and torn : 
The embellished doorways, and the panelled hall, 
The generations of the past recall. 

"Two antique portraits, older than we know, — 
Perchance were old a century ago, — 
Hang in the upper hall; faint shadows they 
Of faces long since passed from earth away. 

"Up narrow winding attic stairs we climb, 
To see the only gleam a bygone time 
Has left of horror in this lonely place, 
Which soon will crumble, and will leave no trace. 

"From a high beam there still suspends a rope, 
Where, years ago, some one bereft of hope 
Essayed to end her life ; but all in vain : 
Life's rugged pathway she must walk again." 

112. 
Eesidence of D. W. Conant. — Mr. Daniel W. Con- 
ant's house was erected in 1835 by Dea. Putnam Perley, 
who lived here about a year, and then went to the West, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. H 3 

settling in Pecatonica, 111. He was a son of Artemas W. 
Perley, and was born at No. 14 in 1810. 

Deacon Perley sold the place in 1836 to Frederic Per- 
ley of Danvers, who conveyed it in 1840 to Leonard Per- 
ley of Boxford, a son of Henry Perley, having been born 

in No. 56 in 1800. 

In 1851, the house was struck by lightning, and the 
following account of it appeared in the Salem Gazette at 

the time : — 

"In Boxford, 9 o'clock Friday evening August 22, 1851, the house of 
Leonard Perley was struck with lightning and slightly injured The 
fluid descended the kitchen chimney, and struck Mr. Perley who was 
sitting near the lire-place. His arm and leg were scorched andhewas 
stunned, but was speedily restored by the application of cold water 
The lightning passed over the bell pull to the front door, which it shat- 
tered. Two girls who were in the entry were much affected by the 
electricity." 

Mr Perley died there in 1857, "respected and lament- 
ed." By his wife Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Wells, 
he had six children, none of whom now live in Boxford. 
His daughter Julia Ann married Samuel A. Cummings, 
the well-known shoe-knife manufacturer. 

In 1857, Mr. Conant purchased the place and has since 

occupied it. 

1 113. 

Residence of S. W. Howe.-A little farther east from 

where the house of Mr. Solomon W. Howe now stands 

was the residence of William Foster, one of the earliest 

settlers of Boxford. He was a son of Reginald Foster ot 

Ipswich, an emigrant from England, where William was 

born in 1633. The house was built about 1660. In 1587, 

Mr Foster was licensed to keep an ordinary, and the town 

meetings were held here until the meeting house was built 

in 1702 Mr. Foster was an important man in the town 

and doubtless there was much of interest that rim.- around 

this early settlement. Mr. Foster died in 1713, at the age 



114 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

of eighty. By his wife, Mary, daughter of "William 
Jackson of Rowley, he had nine children. 

His son Samuel Foster, who was born at this place in 
1682, succeeded him on the homestead. He married Mary 
Macoon of Cambridge in 1703, and died in 1747. They 
had six children, the fourth of whom was William. 

William Foster, the sou, was born in 1713, and resided 

here. He married, first, , who was the mother 

of his son William and, second, Mary Clark of York, Me., 
in 1747, by whom he had two children, Hannah and Sam- 
uel. In March, 1756, he sold the place to Jonathan Bix- 
by of Boxford, and removed to Newbury. 

Jonathan Bixby was son of Jonathan and Sarah (Smith) 
Bixby and was born in 1696. He married Ruth Fuller 
ofMiddleton in 1735, and they had fourteen children: 1. 
Nathaniel, who at the age of twenty was a private in the 
company of Capt. Israel Davis in the expedition against 
the fort at Crown Point in the French war in 1756. Na- 
thaniel was taken sick at Fort Edward, and brought to 
the hospital at Albany. His uncle, Elias Bixby, was liv- 
ing at Sheffield, Mass., and hearing of Nathaniel's condi- 
tion went to see him, and found him almost beyond hope 
of recovery. His uncle took him to his home in Sheffield, 
where by careful nursing and good doctoring, after a stay 
of five weeks, he was able to come home (in October of 
the above mentioned year), his uncle attending him the 
one hundred and sixty miles of the journey. 2. Elizabeth. 
3. Sarah. 4. Huldah. 5. Eunice, who died in 1759, at 
the age of sixteen. 6. Annah. 7. Lucy, who died at the 
age of two years. 8. Nancy, who died young. 9. Lucy. 
10. Apphia and 11. Mary (twins, Apphia married John 
Powers of Salem, and Mary, Daniel Perkins of Topsfield). 
12. Ruth, who married Nehemiah Fuller. 13. David. 
14. Jonathan. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 115 

Mr. Bixby sold this place to Asa Peabody of Boxford 
in 1771, and removed to Middleton, where he died in the 
winter of 1780-81. 

Asa Peabody was a son of John Peabody, and was born 

in Boxford in 1741. He was the treasurer of the town 

for a long period. He died in 1807, and was the giver of, 

and first interred in, the cemetery near the church. The 

inscription upon his gravestone is as follows : 

In memory of 

Mr. Asa Peabody, 

Obt. Oct. 19, 1807, 

Aet. 67. 

Lived respected &died lamented. 
First interred & giver of this ground. 

Mr. Peabody married Susannah, the only daughter 
among the eleven children of Maj. Asa Perley, who lived 
in No. 6. Mr. Peabody had nine children. 

Artemas Peabody (Asa's son j then lived here until 1816, 
when the place was purchased by Joshua French, a truck- 
man of Salem, who had two daughters, the oldest of whom, 
Hannah, became the wife of Charles Bixby of Boxford. 

The old house was struck by lightning June 25, 1820, 
and the following account of it was published in the Salem 
Gazette on the same week : — 

"At Boxford, about 5 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the houfe of 
Mr. Jofhua French, formerly of this town was ftrucls by lightning. 
It flrft ftrack the chimney, when it apparently feparated, one branch 
entering the chimney, and the other paffing out fide the houfe, tearing 
otr the fhingles, &c. in its progrefs. The brafs top of a pair of i 
in the fire-place, was melted. Mr. French was fitting at a front win- 
dow; the lightning ("hatter, d the cafing againft which his head was 
refting; he was thrown by the fhock fenfeless on the floor, and re- 
mained fpeechlefs for about 15 minutes, every one fuppofing him to be 
dead, and his hair was confiderably burnt. But he gradually recovered, 
and is now doing well. Several other perfons in the houfe were (tunned 
by the fhock, but not feverely injured." 

Mr. French sold the farm in 1825 to Daniel and Dean 



116 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Andrews, who lived here together nearly to the time of 
Daniel's marriage in 1844, their maiden sister, Mehitable, 
keeping house for them until Dean's marriage in 1838, after 
which time she moved hometo her father's house, where she 
died in 1870. 

Dean Andrews erected the present house in 1843, 
Samuel N. Ayers being the carpenter. Mr. Andrews 
died in 1869, and since that time his widow and son-in-law 
Mr. Howe, have resided there. 

114. 
W. Foster Cellar. — About one-fourth of a mile easter- 
ly from No. 113, on land now belonging to the Dean An- 
drews estate, stood an old house. The cellar and well 
may still be seen. The house has probably been gone more 
than a century. The old people sixty years ago appeared 
to know nothing about it, or who lived here. The late 
Ancill Dorman once wrote : " Possibly William Foster 
(See No. 113) might have built herein the first place, and 
got burnt out." 

115. - 
T. Dorman Cellar. — There is an old cellar and well 
some eighty or a hundred rods northeasterly of the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Eunice A. Howe (No. 121), and about mid- 
way between Mrs. Howe's and the Dunnell cellar (No. 
122). It has been said that Timothy Dorman lived here 
a short time after his marriage with Eunice Burnham in 
1754, and that his eldest child Eunice was born here. The 
writer knows nothing more of the place. (See No. 120.) 

116. 
Old Conant House. — The old Conant house was owned 
by Jacob Andrews in 1777, when he sold it to John Stiles 
of Boxford, blacksmith. It was afterward owned by 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. H 7 

Samuel Peabody, who was also a blacksmith, and who died 
in 1824. He was a large muscular man, having great 
strength, which the practice of his trade helped to promote. 
William Gurley was living there at the time of Mr. Pea- 
body's decease, Mr. Gurley's son Samuel Peabody having 
been born there. 

The late Ancill Dorman thought that the house of Jo- 
seph Peabody stood here or a few feet east of Ms residence 
(No. 117). This Joseph Peabody was a son of Lt. Fran- 
cis Peabody, and was born in Topsfield in 1644, settling 
in Boxford in 1671. 

In 1823, Samuel Peabody sold the place to Samuel An- 
drews, who conveyed it in 1835 to the late Maj. William 
Lowe. The house was occupied most of the time that 
Mr. Andrews owned it by William Gurley and Ste- 
phen Hammond (who was, before and after his living here, 
of Topsfield) and his mother, who came here in 1828. 
They removed to the Nat Dorman house (No. 120). 

Jesse Perley, jr., son of Jesse Perley who resided at 
No. 50, lived here from 1838 until his death which oc- 
curred in 1851, at the age of fifty-six. His widow, who 
was Sally, daughter of Simon Gould of Topsfield, survived 
him six years." The whole family had the small-pox there 
in 1841. Mrs. Perley's mother was Sally White, a lineal 
descendantofPeregrineWhite^vhoenjoyedtheprerogativ*^ 

of being the first white person born in New England, and 
she possessed a silver spoon that belonged to her distin- 
guished ancestor. 

= After the decease of Major Lowe in 1870 (who owned 
the property), it was sold at auction to Mr. Daniel W. 
Conant, who has since owned the place. It has recently 
been occupied by various families, among whom we re- 
member those of Dexter Kenney, George Goodwin and 
Charles B. Tibbetts. 



118 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

117. 

Eesidence of J. S. Dorman. —This house, the resi- 
dence of the late Ancill Dorman, Esq., was built in 1835 
by Daniel and Dean Andrews, and was first occupied by 
Capt. William Lowe and Edward A. Chapman, both fam- 
ilies living there several years. Mr. Dorman bought the 
premises in March, 1850, and took up his residence here 
early in the following month. Mrs. Sarah S. Hale also 
lived in this house for several years. Daniel Russell lived 
in one part of the house for a short time before the fall of 
1852, when he removed to No. 109. 

Mr. Dorman was a selectman of the town for nearly a 
score of years, and town clerk for ten years. He was a 
son of the late Moses Dorman, Esq., and was born at No. 
119. He died here in 1886, and his widow followed him 
in 1889, since which time their adopted son Mr. John S. 
Dorman has resided on the place. 

118. 

Residence of A. L. Russell. — This house was built 
by Dean Andrews about 1830. Charles Perley, son of 
Henry Perley, who was born at No. 56 in 1811, lived 
here from about the time of his marriage in 1835. After 
several years he removed to Georgetown, where he died 
in 1877. 

William Tufts purchased the place of Daniel and Dean 
Andrews, who then owned it together, soon after Mr. 
Perley moved away, and resided here from the time of 
bis marriage with Lucy B. Towne in 1842. After two 
years his poor health rendering him unable to work longer 
at his trade of shoemaking, he conveyed the place back 
(in 1844) to the Messrs. Andrews and removed down East 
to try farming. He died in 1846, at the age of twenty- 
ei<;ht : then followed the deaths of his two children, and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 119 

his widow was gathered to the rest of the family in 1850, 
at the age of thirty. 

The house was subsequently occupied by Isaac Frye, 
Joseph W. Moulton, William Reynolds, and perhaps oth- 
ers until 1853, when Daniel Russell moved here from No. 
109, and continued to reside here until his death in 1878. 
He was a son of Peabody Russell, and was born on Bald 
hill in No. 135. Since his death the house has been owned 
and occupied by his son Mr. Arthur L. Russell. Mr. 
Russell was a well-known agent of a Lowell marble com- 
pany for several years before his decease. 

119. 

The Moses Dorman House. — This house was built 
originally by Timothy Dorman, a son of Thomas Dorman 
of Topsfield, where he was born in 1663. He married in 
1688, and built this house immediately afterward. The 
present house bears very little resemblance to the original. 
Mr. Dorman died about 1740, at the age of seventy-six. 
By his wife Elizabeth Knowlton of Ipswich he had six 
children. 

His son John settled on the homestead. He was born 
in 1696, and married in 1730. The year before his mar- 
riage he built on what is now the westerly portion of the 
house, in which he resided as long as his father lived. 
He died in 1775, at the age of seventy-nine. By his wife 
Rebecca Smith, who died in 1794 at the age of eighty-six, 
he had live children, one of whom, Rebecca, married Capt. 
Jonathan Foster and lived at No. 93. 

His youngest son John, who was a deacon of the church, 
married and settled on the old place. He was born in 
1738, and married Hannah Jackson of Rowley in 1762. 
He Berved in the Revolutionary war, and in the winter of 
1777-78 was stationed at Winter Hill. 



120 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOTU). 

Following are copies of two letters he sent home to his 
wife. It seems that his mother was then alive unci living 
with him. 

"Winter Hill January the 2 : 1778. 
" my Dear 

"these Lines Come with my Love to you and to our 
Children and duty to our mother hopeing they will find 
you well as they Leave me at this time Send me if you 
Can a blanket that mother offered me to Cary to the Lake 
or Some other for we have not Covering a nouf and Send 
me that Pillow that I laid upon at home if you Can Send 
my other Shirt and you may Send me Some Butter if you 
Can as well as not Send nic word how you ail are By Na- 
than Sticknee make your Selves as Comfortable as you 
Can and I have time to Rite no more at this time But I 
Remain your most affectionate husband 

"John Dorman 

"PS give your Self no uneasiness if you cannot Send 
me these things" 



"February the 2 : 1778 my Dear these LinesCome With 
my tenderest Reguard to you and our family I have Sent 
two Shirts to l>e Washed By Seth Burnara and you may 
Send them by him Send me five or Six dollars by Serjent 
Andrew Peabody when he Comes for it and So No more 
at present 1 am in health." (No signature.) 

Deacon Dorman died in 1792, at the age of fifty-three. 

The following is a transcript from the death column in the 

/Salem Gazette for April 10, 1792 : — 

"At Boxford, Deacon John Dorman, aged 55: he fuftained the town 
offices of Clerk, Treasurer, and Selectman, and was a very ufefnl and 
•worthy man." 

And thefollowing obituary notice of Deacon Dorman is 

from the Salem Gazette for April 17, 1792: — 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



121 



"Boxfonl, April 10, 1792. 

"Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? 

"Died, in this town, the 2d inft. aged 53, Deacon John Dorman ; 
occafioned by a hurt he received the Saturday preceding : while load- 
ing fome plank into a waggon, he unfortunately fell, which brought 
one of the plank with fuch force upon his body, as brought on a fpeedy 

dilTolution. In this man, independence & impartiality were con- 

fpicuous— teftified by his conftitnents in placing him in offices impor- 
tant in the town. The tears fhed at his interment, & the gloom which 
hung on the countenances of the multitude who paid their refpccts to 
his remains, emphatically announce his worth. — Fearing God as a man, 
and loving him as a chriftian, he met death, with dignity and comfort; 
not only knowing, but declaring, in whom he trufted." 




THE MOSE8 UOllMAN inn. E. 



His widow survived him thirty years, and died at the 
age of eighty-seven. They had six children, the second of 
whom was Moses, who became prominent in the town, as 
a member of the General Court, town clerk, selectman, 
etc., residing upon the homestead. He was horn in 1765, 
married Huldah, daughter of Jacob Gould (who lived at 

1G 



122 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

No. 138), in 1801, and died in 1850 at the age of eighty- 
four, leaving four children : Moses, who was prominent in 
town business and in the settlement of estates ; Mrs. Ben- 
jamin Pike of Topsfield ; Mrs. Benjamin French of Box- 
ford ; and Ancill, who resided in No. 117. 

The late Moses Dorman, Esq., lived on the old place. 
He was born in 1803 and died in 1877. His widow, a 
third wife, survived him and died in 1880. Since her 
death the house has been occupied by summer tenants. 
Air. Dorman's children were Mrs. J. H. Janes of Boxford ; 
Moses H. of Brooklyn, N. Y., a merchant in New York 
city and a deacon of the Baptist church in Brooklyn ; Mrs. 
John E. Herrick of Peabody ; Franklin W. of New York 
city; and the late Thomas P. of Boxford. 

120. 

The Nat Dorman' House. — This house was built about 
1757 by Timothy Dorman, who was a son of John and 
Rebecca (Smith) Dorman, and who was born at No. 119 
in 1730. Nathan Andrews (father of the late Dean, 
Daniel and Samuel Andrews), who was born in 1754, re- 
membered seeing the frame up and partly boarded. 

Timothy Dorman married Eunice Buraham of Lunen- 
burgh in 1754. She was born in Boxford in 1735, and 
was a daughter of Nathaniel Burnham. Mr. Burnham 
removed with his family to Lunenburgh about 1750; and 
in 1771 he was living in Bolton. His son Reuben Burn- 
ham lived first at Lunenburgh; in 1758, removed to Ips- 
wich; in 17(54, toTVinchendon : in 17(>7, back to Ipswich ; 
in 1769, to Boxford ; and a few years afterward settled in 
Bridgton, Me., where he died. Mr. Dorman became the 
father of but two children, who bore the names of their 
parents, Eunice and Timothy. Eunice, the daughter, is 
said to have been born in the old house that used to stand 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOItl). 123 

in Widgen pond pasture (No. 115) where the cellar may 
yet be seen. Mr. Dorman died in 1764, and his widow 
married Joshua Jackson of Rowley the next year. Mr. 
Jackson afterward removed to Boxford, and lived in No. 
55. 

Timothy Dorman, the son, who was born while this house 
was being built in 1757, probably spent his early life with 
his step-father. He came into possession of this place, 
and married Deborah, daughter of Allen Perley of Line- 
brook parish, Ipswich, in 1782. Mr. Dorman served in 
the Revolution, and many years afterward was wont to 
speak of being present at the taking of Burgoyne, though 
it appeared that he did not get there until after the sur- 
render had actually taken place. He served with Caleb 
Jackson, his step-brother, who on a visit to Mr. Dorman 
in his old age reminded him of the following incident. On 
one occasion, being near the enemy's quarters, a British 
bullet struck his canteen and spilled most of its contents. 
"There, faith," exclaimed Timothy, "I've lost my grog !" 
"But," added Caleb, "you managed to save us one £Ood 
drink from what remained." "Uncle Tim" professed to 
have forgotten all about it until Caleb's reminder. Mr. 
Dorman drew a pension a few of the last years of his life. 
He was deaf and blind for many years before his death, 
which occurred in 1835, at the age of seventy-eight. His 
widow survived him about four years. They had several 
children. 

Timothy's son Nathaniel settled upon the place. He 
was born in 17U0, and married in 1825, about which time he 
built an extension on the east end of the house, and at- 
tached to it an old one-story building used by his brother 
Timothy sonic seventy-live years ago as a shoemaker's 
shop and small grocery store. The carpenter work was 
done by Johnson Savage and an old man known as "Boss 



124 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

Chandler." Mr. Dormun spent his days in this house, and 
died in 1868, at the age of seventy-eight. By his two 
wives, the last of which survives, he had three children, 
one of whom was the wife of Daniel Wilkins, and another 
is the wife of John B. Lake of Tops field. 

Dean Andrews bought the place of Mr. Dorraan in 1860, 
and the next year raised the store part to two stories, the 
whole being newly clapboarded and painted. Matthew 
Hale performed the carpenter work. The barn, which was 
built about 1810, Thomas Peabody of Topsfield being the 
carpenter, was taken down about ten years ago. 

After Mr. Dorman's death the house became a tenement, 
and was occupied by various families. Mr. William Good- 
win, a native of England, lived in the house a number of 
years, and in 1891 bought it. 

121. 

Residence of Mrs. Eunice Howe.— The land where 
this house stands belonged in the seventeenth century to 
Abel Langley of Rowley. In 1718, John Andrews, who 
had come into possession of it, conveyed it to Capt. John 
Andrews, and two years later Capt. Andrews sold the place 
to his son Robert, whose dwelling-house and out-buildings, 
which he had probably erected between 1718 and 1720, 
were situated where Mrs. Howe's house now stands. 

Robert Andrews was born in 169—, and married Debo- 
rah Frye of Andover. He died in 1751, having had live 
children, the third of whom was Nathan, who was born in 
1726. 

Nathan Andrews succeeded his lather on this place. He 
married, first, Mehitable Foster of Andover the same year 
his fattier died. She died in 1760, and he married, second, 
Widow Sarah Symonds in 1764. She died in 1801, and 
he followed her five years later at the age of seventy-nine. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 125 

He had four children, three daughters and one son, all by 
his first wife. 

Mr. Andrews' only son was Nathan, who was born in 
1754, married Esther Kimball in 1783, and lived here. 
His wife died in 1791, and he married, second, Eunice 
Kimball the next year. He was the father of the late Sam- 
uel, Daniel and Dean Andrews , Mrs. Eunice Howe and 
others. In 1851, Samuel Andrews built the present house 
on the site of the old one, which was taken down to make 
room for it. Asa P. Towne was the carpenter. Samuel 
Andrews died unmarried in 1879, at the age of eighty-five. 
His sister Eunice, who had lived with him, married Abra- 
ham P. Howe in 1871, and has since resided on the place, 
which she now owns. Mr. Howe died a few years after 
the marriage. 

122. 

T. Dwinnell Cellar. — Quite a little distance east of 
the house of Mrs. Eunice Howe (No. 121) was the resi- 
dence of Thomas Dunnell, the father of Jacob Dunnell 
who lived in No. 179. 

Thomas Dunnell was a son of Thomas and Dinah (Brims- 
dell) Dwinnell of Topsfield, where he was born in 1711. 
He married Hannah Towne there in 1738, came to Box- 
ford about 1762, and settled on this place. 

He stole something from a neighbor, and to emphasize 
his denial of the theft said, "If I stole it, I hope to rot 
alive," and the tradition is that such a judgment came up- 
on him, and he died of slow mortification. We believe 
his death occurred about 1778. 

123. 
Residence of W. II. Shirley. — This house wasowned 
and occupied by Solomon Gould from about 17(35 to 1795, 



126 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

when he removed to Middleton, dying there in 1806 or 
1807. lie was son of Solomon Gould of Topsfield, where 
he was born in 1738, and married Mehitable Perkins in 
1761. They had four children, two sons and two daugh- 
ters, the daughters dying of consumption. On his removal 
to Middleton, Mr. Gould sold the place toPhineas Foster 
of Salem, who was a son of Richard Foster of Boxford, 
where Phineas was born in 1704, and removed to Salem 
in early life. In 1795 he married Priscilla Killam, and 
for his second wife a Flint. He came here to live, and 
died in 1846, at the age of eighty-one. His son Charles 
sold one undivided half of the place to Moody Perley, who 
with his sister Abigail, both of whom never married, re- 
sided there until the decease of Moody in 1886. In 1890, 
the place was purchased by Mr. William H. Shirley of 
Marblehead, who has improved it. 

124. 
Ricker Cellar. — There is an old cellar about equidis- 
tant in an air line between Mr. William H. Shirley's and Mr. 
George W. Twitchell's residences. It is said to have been 
occupied more than a hundred years ago by a family bear- 
ing the name of Ricker. 

125. 

Residence of W. Smith. — The site on which this house 
stands was occupied until 1879 by the ancient Smith house 
which was probably erected by Robert Smith about 1665. 
lie was the ancestor of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. 

The Smith that the oldest residents of Boxford remem- 
ber to have resided there was Nathaniel, grandfather of 
the late Nathaniel. He was born in 1724, probably in the 
old house, being a son of Jacob and Rebecca (Symonds) 
Smith. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 127 

He died there in 1802, at the age of seventy-eight, and 

the following is a copy of his obituary notice found in the 

death column of the Salem Gazette for January 19, 1802 : 

"At Boxford, Mr. Nathaniel Smith, aged 78. In his death, the pub- 
lic are deprived of a good member of fociety. He was an affectionate 
hufband, an indulgent parent, and a fincere chriftian. He has left a 
large number of relatives to bemoan his lofs. Being fenfible he was 
near the approach of his diffolution, he refigned himself with calm- 
nefs and tranquility, and was ready to fay, '■not my will, Lord, but 
thine be done.' He exercifed great patience in his laft licknefs, and a 
cheerful refignation to the divine will. The intereft of religion appeared 
to lie near his heart; and for the falvation of finners his prayers were 
affecting. He expired rejoicing Hn hope of the glory of God!' " 

Mr. Smith married Sarah Burpee of Rowley in 1751, and 
resided here, where his twelve children were born. The 
youngest of them was Joseph Smith, who was born in 
1771, and married, first, Hepzibah Chapman of Ipswich, 
and, second, Kezia Gould. He died in 1826, and his wife 
survived him. Two of his sons, Nathaniel and Calvin, re- 
sided on this place. The latter died in 1870 and the former 
in 1879. Calvin Smith's son Walter built the present 
house in 1885, and lives in it. 

126. 
Residence of W. I. Smith. — Mr. Whipple I. Smith 
built his house about 1870, and has since resided in it. 

127. 
R. Andrews Cellar. — A few rods south of the resi- 
dence of Mr. Whipple I. Smith is an old cellar, over which 
probably stood the house in which Robert Andrews the 
emigrant lived. He is said to have been born in one of 
the Boxfords of England, and he settled here about 1656, 
his family then consisting of himself and wife and six 
children. The writer thinks that Mr. Andrews lived at 
first nearer Pye brook, and that he built this house a short 
time before his death, which occurred in 1668. His widow 



128 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Grace survived him thirty-one years. He requested in his 
will (which was made but thirteen days before his death) 
to be buried in Topsfield, and doubtless he and his widow 
were interred in the old cemetery there. They had ten 
children, and among their descendants is John Albion An- 
drew, Massachusetts' loved war governor. Two or three 
generations of Mr. Andrews' descendants probably lived 
on this place ; but very little is known of it, the house hav- 
ing probably been gone much more than a century. 

128. 

"Aunt Ginny House." — The house that once occupied 
the site of the present "Aunt Ginny house" was burned a 
hundred years ago. The present house was erected im- 
mediately afterward by Jacob Andrews. He was married 
in 1761 and his nine children were probably born in the 
house that was burned. The oldest child, Jacob, born in 
1762, married Jane, daughter of Simon Gould of Topsfield 
in 1792, and lived in the present house for many years but , 
we believe, had no children. She was called "Aunt Jen- 
nie" or" Ginny" by all. 

The place has been occupied for several years by Mr. 
Bert Tyler. 

"A few brief years, ami the old house no more 
Will stand a way-mark on Time's stormy shore; 
And few will mourn, as lew will ever prize 
This relic of the past with all its teachings wise." 

129. 
Residence of G. W. Twitcuell. — Where Mr. George 
W. Twitchell resides formerly stood an ancient house oc- 
cupied by Stephen Gould. He was a son of John Gould 
of Topsfield, and a brother of Capt. Jacob Gould, who re- 
sided at No. 138. He bought the farm in 1762 of John 
Symonds, who had probably lived here and had removed 
to Worcester county. Stephen Gould removed to Hills- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 129 

boro', N. H., and John Gould (brother of Cornelius Gould, 
who resided in No. 153), then lived here. At length 
he removed to Springfield, N. H., where he died. Shortly 
afterward the place came into the possession of Moses 
Gould of Topsfield, a son of Daniel and Lucy (Tarbox) 
Gould, and brother of Rev. Daniel Gould. Ho tore the 
old house down and erected the present one nearly on the 
same site in 1824. Mr. Gould was born in 1766, and in 
1798 married Anne Mectun, who had been brought up by 
Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield. They had three children, 
Moses, who lived on this place awhile, Daniel Tarbox, 
who died unmarried, and Nancy, who married Daniel An- 
drews and lived at No. 131. 

Moses Gould, the son, was born in 1800, married Ly- 
dia Abbot Russell, and resided a number of years in Balti- 
more, Md. While he was at the south, the place was oc- 
cupied awhile by Samuel Towle, and for about eleven 
years from 1838, when his house became uninhabitable, by 
Joseph Symonds who about 1^49 removed to his daughter's 
in Augusta, Me., where he died. Mr. Gould returned to 
his old home, and died here in 1843, at the age of forty- 
three. His family continued to reside here. Most of the 
time since 1873 his son-in-law, Mr. Twitchell, has lived 
on the place. Mr. Gould's widow, who married for her 
second husband Deacon Leonard Grover of Bethel, Me., 
resided here from 1880 to 1884. 

130. 
Symonds Cellar. — Near the First-district school-house 
is the old Symonds cellar. This is the site of the house in 
which lived Samuel Symonds, who settled in Boxford in 
1663, having married Elizabeth, a daughter of Robert An- 
drews, by whom he had eleven children. He died in 1722, 
at the age of eighty-four, and his widow survived him 

17 



130 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

nearly three years. He was the grandfather of Rev. Dr. 
Andrew Eliot of Boston, who was chosen president of 
Harvard college, but who declined the honored position 
on account of church ties. Through Dr. Eliot Mr. Sy- 
monds was an ancestor of a long line of distinguished men. 

Oct. 2, 1716, Mr. Symonds deeded this farm to his son 
Joseph on condition that he would support his parents 
during the remainder of their lives, reserving the east 
part of the house for his and his wife's use. 

Joseph was born in 1(585, married Mary Peabody in 
1710, and died here' in 1755, his widow surviving him six 
years. They had seven children, three sons and four 
daughters. 

Mr. Symonds' son Stephen settled on the old place. 

He was born in 1728, and married, first, Mary , who 

died in childbirth in 1758, and, second, Mary Nurse of Dan- 
vers in 1764. lie first belonged to the church in Tops- 
field, and was dismissed to the First church in Boxforu in 
1759, being chosen deacon in 1765. lie died in 1808, 
at the age of eighty, having had six children, five daughters 
and one son. 

The son was Joseph, who succeeded his father on the 
homestead. lie was born in 1770 and resided here until 
1838, when the old house was so dilapidated that it was 
uncomfortable to live in, and two of his children being 
sick, at the invitation of his neighbor, he removed to the 
Gould house, No. 129, where his sick children died and 
the family resided for about eleven years. His wife died 
here in 1835. lie removed from the Gould house to his 
daughter's in Augusta, Me., where he died. Mr. Symonds 
was rather shiftless, and let his house go to ruin. After 
it was down, he had an idea of building a new one, and to 
that end hauled many massive rocks to the old cellar, where 
they still remain. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 131 

The present highway runs between the cellar and well, 
but the old road ran south of the well. This gave quite 
a space between the house and road. 

131. 
Residence of A. G. Huntoon. — The residence of the 
late Daniel Andrews was raised June 14, 1842, being 
built by himself. He lived in it until his death in 1879, 
and his widow until she died in 1884. From 1880 to 
1884, Mr. George W. Twitchell resided there, and then 
removed to No. 129. In 1889, Mr. Albert G. Huntoon 
of Danvers purchased the farm, and has since lived there. 

132. 

Samuel Gould Cellar. — In the left-hand corner pas- 
ture as one turns down the road to Mrs. Daniel Andrews', 
in going from Howe's mills, there was a house in 1800. 

This was land belonging to Capt. John Gould, the brave 
old patriot during Governor Andros' sway. He probably 
obtained it from his father, Zaccheus Gould, the emigrant. 
The land and probably the house that stood here were 
owned and used by the proprietors of the Iron Works, 
which were in progress here from 1668 to 1680. The old 
smelting furnace was situated in the same lot, the remains 
being plainly recognized to-day. 

Capt. Gould sold the place in 1695 to his son Samuel 
Gould. Capt. Gould was a resident of Topsfield, and his 
son Samuel lived there also until 1699, when he moved to 
this place. He was born in 1670, and married Margaret 
Stone in 1697. 

In 1714, his house was destroyed by fire, and for that 
reason the town abated his taxes for that year. lie erect- 
ed a new house and continued to reside here. 

Mr. Gould died in 1724, at the age of fifty-four. His 



132 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

children were: Sarah, who died in 178(5, at the age of 
eiffhtv-eiffht, unmarried ; Samuel, who resided on the 
homestead ; Moses, who settled in Lunenburg; Jonathan, 
who settled in Shirley ; Patience, who married Edmund 
Towne of Oxford ; Margaret ; Zaccheus, who went to 
Lunenburg; and Hubbard, who went to Brookfield. 
Among his descendants is Sylvanus Owen Gould, Esq., of 
Buffalo, N. Y. 

Samuel Gould, the son, was born here in 1701, and 
married Mehitable Stiles of Boxford in 1726. They re- 
sided here until 1746, when they removed to Brooktield, 
where they died. Their children were : Samuel, who re- 
sided in Brookfield, Amherst, Charlemont and Heath, and 
died in 1791 ; Mehitable, who married Peter Lamson and 
moved to New Hampshire ; Jeremiah, who died in Charle- 
mont in 1809 ; Nathan, who went to Virginia, where he 
died in 1816; Jonathan, who probably died young ; Eli, 
who lived in Amherst ; and Deliverance, who married 
Reuben Nims of Shelburne. 

When Mr. Gould left town, he sold out to Samuel Fisk 
of Boxford, May 23, 1746, for £918. Mr. Fisk was son of 
Samuel and Sarah Fisk, and was born in Boxford in 1716. 
He married Judith Noyes of Newbury in 1738, and lived 
in Boxford for twenty years afterward. He owned this 
farm, however, but two years. 

In 1748, for £1620, he sells the farm, then consisting 
of seventy-six and one half acres, to Ebenezer Curtis of 

Boxford. Mr. Curtis married Elizabeth , and first 

belonged to the Second church in Bradford, but in 1759, 
upon Mr. Holyoke's settlement over the church here, was 
dismissed to the First church in Boxford. They had three 
sons and five daughters. 

He sold the place in 1790 to Stephen Perley of Tops- 
field, who the next year conveyed it to Cornelius Gould. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 133 

Mr. Gould was a son of Joseph and Ruth (Emerson) 
Gould, and grandson of Rev. John Emerson of Topsfield, 
having been born in Topsfield in 1767. He wasa brother of 
Daniel Gould, who lived at No. 63. In 1797, Mr. Gould 
sold to Jacob Andrews, a farmer of Boxford (who lived 
at No. 128, and removed to Dan vers. The next year Mr. 
Gould came back and lived at No. 153. 

The buildings were standing in 1797 and the farm then 
consisted of fifty-five acres. Mr. Andrews took the old 
house down before 1805. 

133. 

Residence of A. Frame. — A few rods east of the res- 
idence of Mr. Andrew Frame once stood an old house, 
the east end of which was two stories, and the west end 
one and a half stories in height, being built in the most an- 
cient square form. The barn stood near the present high- 
way. This old house was occupied a hundred and fifty 
years ago by Nathaniel Symonds, who was a builder and 
lived here alone. He was the eleventh and youngest child 
of Samuel Symonds, and was born in 1687, probably at 
No. 130. His father conveyed this place to him October 2, 
1716, with the buildings thereon, Nathaniel having probably 
built the house about 1710. He removed to Middleton about 
1745, and built a small house near Thomas' mills, in which 
neighborhood his brother Samuel Symonds resided. He 
died there, unmarried, in 1769, at the age of eighty-two. 

It is a tradition that Nathaniel Symonds was in the habit 
of walking to Simon Gould's in Topsfield, Sundays, for 
the purpose of getting shaved. Mr. Symonds reared one 
ol'liis nephews, Stephen Symonds, and Mr. Gould advised 
old Mr. Symonds to persuade the young man to marry 
sonic "likely" young woman, and bring her home there 
that their domestic affairs inierht be better managed. The 



134 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

old gentleman did so, the young man followed the advice, 
and Mr. Symonds gave him the farm. This seems to be 
true as Stephen Symonds owned the place in 1777, when 
he sold it to Abraham Smith of Boxford for £320. 

The next year, Mr. Smith sold out to John Williams of 
Salem, mariner, for £400. In 1798, Mr. Williams hav- 
ing died, his widow Anna and the other heirs sold the 
farm to Oliver Peabody. 

Mr. Peabody was a son of Bimsley and Ruth (Marston) 
Peabody, and was born in Middleton about 1775. lie 
moved to this place from No. 149, where his father lived. 
He married, first, Sarah Estey of Topsh'eld in 1800, and, 
second, Lois Chapman of Boxford, who was born in 
No. 35. Mr. Peabody built the present house between 
1835 and 1840. The carpenter was his son-in-law Charles 
Bracket of Topsfield and the mason work was done by a 
Mr. Brown of Danvers. 

Mr. Frame, the present owner, came from Maine to 
Middleton in 1850, and settled on this place in 185G, hav- 
ing lived here since that time. 

134. 

Gallof Cellar. — At the foot of Bald hill, and at the 
west end of Crooked pond is an old cellar. Here, Zach- 
ariah Curtis built his house upon land belonging to his 
father Zaccheus Curtis, it having been devised to him in his 
father's will, which was dated in 1710 and proved in 1712. 
Zaehariah Curtis was born in 1688, probably in No. 136. 

His wife was Love , and their children were Love, 

who married Joseph Beal and lived in Sudbury, Zaehariah, 
and Abiel, the last two being of Salem and minors in 1732. 
Mr. Curtis died in the winter of 17 15—1 <>. 

The widow of Mr. Curtis married Thomas Gallop in 
1719. Mr. Gallop was born in Stonington, Conn., in 
1683, removed to Plainfield, Conn., in 1G95, and after- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 135 

ward removed to Newbury, Mass., where be was living 
when he became acquainted with the widow Curtis, whom 
he married there. He was the eldest son of John Gallop 
and Elizabeth Wheeler, and a grandson of Capt. John 
Gallop, who was slain in the great "swamp fight" Decem- 
ber 19, 1675. His great grandfather was Capt. John Gal- 
lop, who was educated at a military school in Holland, 
and, coming to New England in 1630, died in Boston in 
1649. 

The Gallop genealogist carries the ancestry back twenty 
generations, as follows : — 

1. Malcolm Canmore, king of Scotland, and Lady Margaret Athe- 
ling ; 

2. Henry I (Beauclere) and Matilda; 

3. Geoffrey Plantagenet and Matilda; 

4. Henry II and Eleanora of Aquitaiue; 

5. John and Isabella of Angouleme; 

6. Henry III and Eleanor of Provence ; 

7. Edward I and Marguerite, daughter of Phillip le Hardi, king of 
France ; 

8. Prince Thomas Plantagenet ; 

9. Sir Thomas Mowbray and Margaret Plantagenet; 

10. Thomas Mowbray and Elizabeth Fitzalan; 

11. Sir Pobert Howard and Lady Margaret Mowbray ; 

12. Sir John Howard; 

13. Thomas Howard and Agnes Tylney; 

14. Lord William Howard and Catherine of Broughton. 

15. Sir William Paulet and Agnes Howard; 

16. Thomas Gallop and Frances Paulet; 

17. John Gallop and Chrestabel (?) ; 

18. John Gallop and Hannah Lake; 

19. John Gallop and Elizabeth Wheeler; 

20. Thomas Gallop and Love Curtis. 

Upon Mr. Gallop's marriage with Mrs. Curtis, he camo 
to Boxford and lived at Mrs. Curtis' home, and probably 
both died here. They had six children, Abigail, William, 
George, Jeremiah, Sarah and Mary, bora between 1720 
and 17.')!>. Mis. Gallop was admitted to the First church 
in L745. 



136 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

In March, 1730, the town of Box ford voted that "In-as- 
much as Thomas Gallop is returned back again into our 
town after he was warned to depart out of said town and 
carried out by the constable by virtue of a warrant from 
a justice of the peace as the law directs, the town have 
chosen Cornet Stephen Peabody to prosecute the said 
Thomas Gallop as a vaggebon or to prosecute the affair in 
any other method as he shall think proper to prevent the 
charge of the said Gallop's support for the future being 
laid on our town." In March, 1733, the town "allowed 
Joseph Symonds, John Wood, James Curtis and John 
Bixby four shillings to each of them for service done at 
Salem to prevent Thomas Gallop from coming to a town 
charge. " After this he was let alone. 

Mr. Gallop was a most confirmed smoker. He had a 
leather bag, in which he carried his tobacco and pipe, sus- 
pended from his neck by a string. A slight search among 
the ruins of this old dwelling has brought to light many 
fragments of old clay pipes, thus conclusively proving the 
tradition of Mr. Gallop's principal failing. 

The Gallops were here as late as 1777. 

This Thomas Gallop is the ancestor of the Essex county 
family of that name. 

The place was next in the possession of Thomas Gould, 
who came from Topstield, and died here in 1778. 

We know no more of this old homestead. It was prob- 
ably decayed and gone before 1800. No one would now 
recognize the place as the site of a house, as only a few 
stones remain to mark its position. 

135. 

Residence of E. L. Hooper. — The Hooper place on 

Bald hill was owned by Joseph Gould of Topstield in 

1778. The next year he sold it to his son Daniel Gould 

of Topstield. The farm then contained fifty acres, with 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 137 

house, barn, etc. Daniel Gould was born in Topsfield in 
175G, married Sarah Bradstreet of his native town in 1778, 
and resided on this farm until 1784, when he sold it to 
James Russell, a farmer of Middleton, and removed to No. 
63, where he afterward lived and died. 

Benjamin Goodridge, from No. 63, came here on Mr. 
Gould's removal, and lived for a few months in 1784, re- 
moving to Middleton, and afterward to Vermont. 

In the latter part of the year, Mr. Russell moved from 
Middleton, and resided here as long as he lived. By his 
wife Rebecca he had nine children, Joseph (who was born 
in Middleton), Rebecca, James, Perkins and Peabody 
(twins), Poll}', Almody (son), Daniel and Samuel. Polly 
married a Mr. Peabody of Reading, and was the survivor of 
the family, living to be almost a century old. 

Mr. Russell conveyed the farm in 1824 to his sons Pea- 
body Russell and Perkins Russell. The latter, who resided 
in Salem, sold his interest in the place to his brother Pea- 
body in 1846. 

Peabody Russell, born here in 1789, always lived on the 
homestead. He had several children, among whom was 
Daniel, who resided in No. 131 and other houses. Mrs. 
Russell died in 1845, at the age of fifty-nine; and Mr. 
Russell followed her the next year at the age of fifty-six. 

Peabody Russell's son Daniel came into the possession 
of the estate, and in 1847 sold it to Capt. Ebenezer L. 
Hooper and John B. Graves, jr., both of Marblehcad. 
The place was sold the next year to Joseph Russell of 
Marblehead. In 1855 he conveyed it to Mr. Hooper, who, 
after having been a sea-captain for many years, retired, 
and has since resided upon this farm. 

136. 
Curtis Cellar. — There is an old cellar about a quarter 
is 



138 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

of a mile west of Mr. George W. Curtis' residence, where, 

it is said, stood the original Curtis house. Zaceheus Cur- 
tis, from Gloucester, erected his house here, when he set- 
tled iu Boxford about 1661. By his wife Joanna he had 
half a dozen children, of whom Zaceheus, jr., became the 
ancestor of the late Francis Curtis, and Ephraim, under 
his father's will, which was made upon his death-bed in 
1682, became possessed of the old place, which he resided 
upon. 

This is all we know of this old cellar. 

The following lines were written years ago, but the 
writer is unknown : 

" O little house lost in the heart of the cedars, 
What would I not give to behold you once more! 
To inhale once again the sweet breath of your roses, 
And the starry clematis that climbed round your door — 

" To see (he neat windows thrown wide to the sunshine; 
The porch where we sat at the close of the day, 
Where the weary foot traveler was welcome to rest him, 
And the beggar was never sent empty away; 

"The wainscoted walls, and the low-raftered ceilings; 
To hear the loud tick of the clock on the stair ; 
And to kiss the dear face bending over the Bible, 
That, always was laid by my grand father's chair! 

" O bright little garden beside the plantation. 
Where the tall lleurs-de-lis their blue banners unfurled, 
And the lawn was alive with the thrushes and blackbird-. 
I would you were all I had known of the world ! 

" My sweet pink pea-clusters ! My rare honeysuckle ! 
My prim polyanthuses all of a row! 
In a garden of dreams I still pass and caress you, 
But your beautiful selves are forever laid low. 

" For your Avails, little house, long ago have been levelled; 
Alien feet your smooth borders, O garden, have trod; 
And those whom I loved are at rest from their labors, 
Reposing in peace on the bosom of God !" 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 139 

'137. 

E. S. Gould House. — The small house in which Mr. 
Justin Curtis resided a few years ago was built by Eben 
S. Gould about 1873. A Mrs. Johnson also lived here 
awhile. 

138. 

Jacob Gould House. — The house in which Capt. Ja- 
cob Gould resided during the Revolutionary period is quite 
old. 

Captain Gould was born in Topsfield in 1729, and was 
a son of John Gould. He married Elizabeth Towne of 
his native place in 1751, came toBoxford and it is believed 
built this house three years later. 

Mr. John H. Gould of Topsfield, the genealogist of the 
Gould family, thinks that Captain Gould's father, John 
Gould, moved to Boxford from Topsfield and built this 
house about 1725, and that Capt. Jacob was born in it. 
There is evidence to show that he is right. 

There used to be an old house here, and perhaps the 
father built the old one, and the son the present one. In 
the old house about seventy years ago lived Molly Smith. 
She was quite aged, and the house was also very old. She 
had one room, in which she kept a loom and used to weave 
as lone: as she was able. The house was a mere shell. Mis. 
Eliza G. Lane, a lady who was born at this place in 1804, 
writes : — 

"The room was ceiled, and looked very black, the en- 
try and upper part being nothing but boards. I think 
grandmother told me that her lather Gould built it for one 
of his children, but which I cannot tell, though I am in- 
clined to think for a daughter. One of his children lived 
in it. The house has been down as many as sixty years. 
This Molly Smith lived with her mother over in the woods 



140 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

south of Stoney field. Molly was quite aged. She prob- 
ably looked older to us when we were children than she 
really was. 

" I well remember many pleasant chats I heard between 
my grandmother and her, and also visiting her, or running 
in as we called it. Many pleasant recollections come to my 
mind of bygone days, and some painful ones also." 

Jacob Gould was chosen captain of the military com- 
pany of this parish, and marched with them under his com- 
mand when the news of the battle of Lexington came. 
He died in 1809, at the age of eighty. He had twelve 
children, one of whom was Huldah, mother of the late An- 
cill Dorman, Esq. His son Jacob settled at No. 142, and 
John in this place. 

John Gould was born at this place in 1778, and married 
Polly Prince of Dan vers, who died in 1847. Mr. Gould 
followed her in 1864, having passed his life of eighty-five 
years on his birth-place. He left three children, Mrs. 
Lane, who has already been mentioned, Olive, who always 
lived at home, and died at the age of seventy, having never 
married, and Polly. 

Mr. Gould took down the oldest part of the house 
about 1824, and built the eastern end. The chimney being 
in a bad condition he erected the present one at that time. 
Benjamin Herrick of Topsfield was the carpenter and 
Porter Bradstreet of the same place was the mason em- 
ployed in making these changes in the house. Of the 
present house Mrs. Lane writes as follows : — 'I think the 
westerly partof the house is some over two hundred years 
old according to the information I received from my grand- 
mother, and that the easterly or more ancient part was 
built forty or fifty years before. There were three windows 
in that part of the house, one decent sized one and two 
smaller ones. One had only four squares in it. Upstairs, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 141 

the room was only a shell, and had one small window, with 
diamond-shaped glass set in lead as a sash. There was a 
door on the easterly end of the house that opened outside. 
That room was quite large and ceiled with dark looking 
boards. 

"Mr. Joseph Gould ofTopsfield Avent up into the woods 
with his team and was some distance above the house, when, 
by some means, the tackling that held the horse gave way 
and the chains fell on his heels. This frightened him 
so that he ran down the road past the house very furiously 
with the chains striking his heels. He began to descend 
the hill, a few rods beyond the house, when he turned a 
somersault. When he got up, his head was toward the 
house and the open door. There was no fence around the 
house, and he came rushing in at the door. He ran fu- 
riously into the fire-place, hit his head pretty hard and per- 
haps burned himself a little. There were eight persons 
in the room. My grandfather, then almost four score 
years of age, was sitting with myself and baby-brother in 
a chair on the left side of the fireplace when the horse 
ran down by. Grandfather got up to look out, with us in 
his arms, thus saving his own and our lives, as the horse, 
not satisfied with his place in the chimney, kicked up, I 
think three times, and then turned to the door that led in- 
to the front entry. He stopped, after breaking up the 
chair that my grandfather had been sitting in and some 
other things. [This was about 1*07.] Grandma stepped 
up behind the bed in the southeast corner of the room. 
A granddaughter of hers fourteen years of age was there, 
and also the daughter of a neighbor of about the same age. 
Father was out not far from the house, and he ran to the 
window very much alarmed (as well he might be !), ask- 
ing, 'Where are the children?' Grandfather said, 'In 
here,' and father rushed to the back window, taking us as 



142 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOHI). 

we wore handed out to him. He then came in and led 
the horse out. It was very providential that no one was 
hurt. 

"Respecting the west room that we lived in, the fireplace 
was so high and wide that we used to sit, on what they 
called forms, in the corners, and look out at the top of the 
chimney. 

"My grandmother used to tell us that her mother Gould 
said when she first came there to live, it was a wilderness 
and the wolves would come in the night, sit on the hill in 
front of the house, and howl. She also told us that her 
husband and one of his sisters, when children, were sent 
to the field some distance from the house, and when turn- 
ing; to come home thev saw a large hear on the hill a little 
distance off. Having heard folks say, if you face a bear 
he will turn away, they stopped a minute or two, and 
the bear turned away. The next day he was killed, and 
carried down past the house on a load of wood." 

The next year after Mr. Gould's decease, the adminis- 
trator sold the farm at auction, to Eliezer Lake of Tops tie Id 
and Mrs. Nancy Andrews of Boxford. The latter bought 
the house and land adjoining. The daughter Olive had 
the easterly room, and passed her life there, dying in 1871. 
After the house was repaired, the westerly part was rented 
at different times to a number of small families, and some 
time after the death of Olive the place was sold to Mrs. 
Alice G rover of Salem, who came and lived here per- 
haps two years. She then sold it, in 1878, to Mr. John C. 
McLaughlin of Salem, who now owns and resides upon it. 

139. 
Residence of G. W. Curtis. — The residence of the 
late Francis Curtis was probably built by his father who 
bore the same name. Mr. Curtis was born ill 1805, mar- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 143 

ricd in 1836, and lived in this house until his death in 
1878. Since that time his son George W. Curtis has re- 
sided upon and carried on the place. 

140. 
S. Stevens Cellar. — Two or three rods north of the 
residence of the late Zaccheus Gould stood the house of 
Samuel Stevens in 1761. He lived here several years. 
The house has probably been gone three-quarters of a cen- 
tury, and the old cellar was visible as late as 1830. 

141. 
Z. Gould House. — The residence of the lale Zaccheus 
Gould was erected by Mr. Andrew Gould of Topsfield in 
1835. He built the barn in 1840. He lived in the house 
until 1847, when he sold to Amos Fiske, and Mr. Fiske 
conveyed the place to Zaccheus Gould in 1868. Mr. 
Gould died here a few years since, and his family have 
continued to reside upon the farm. See No. 142. 

142 

Gould Cellar. — Across the road from the residence of 
the late Zaccheus Gould stood a very old house, endwise 
to the road. It was one story high, and had two rooms in 
it, one of which was plastered. There was also a back 
room on the end next the road. 

James Curtis, the great-grandfather of the late Francis 
Curtis, lived here. July 26, 1785, he conveyed all his real 
estate in Boxford to his grandson John Curtis. There 
were about one hundred acres of land and the buildings. 
''Jeames" Curtis, as he was popularly called, married Sarah 
Buswell in 1731, and had. seven children, Sarah, Daniel, 
Eleanor, John, Asa, Moses, and Hannah. 

John Curtis, who succeeded his grandfather on the place, 



144 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

was born in Boxford in 176G, married Eunice Harris of 
Ipswich in 1785, and had two children born here, who were 
named John and Eunice, respectively. In 1788 he sold 
out to Eleazer Flint, a Reading gentleman. 

The next year, 1789, Mr. Flint sold to Capt. Jacob 
Gould and Ruth Curtis (mother of the above-named John 
Curtis). In 1795 (Jacob Gould, jr., having meantime 
occupied the house) Mrs. Curtis conveyed her half to Jacob 
Gould, son of hey associate purchaser. 

Jacob Gould, son of Capt. Jacob Gould, who lived in 
No. 138, was born in 17(34, married Ruth, daughter of 
Thomas Pcabody of Middletou in 1789, and lived in this 
house until 1830, when he sold the place to Mr. Andrew 
Gould of Topstield. He removed to Brighton, N. Y., 
where he lived with his son Samuel P. Gould till his death 
in 1850. His youngest child was the first wife of the late 
Moses Dorman, Esq. Mr. Gould's second child was 
Gen. Jacob Gould of Rochester, N. Y., who was born in 
this house in 1794. A sketch of General Gould by Dr. 
Joseph E. Bartlett of Boston, who was born in the neigh- 
borhood, has been furnished these pages as follows : — 

"Until his majority he attended the district school — worked upon his 
father's farm and the farms of his neighbors — made shoes — taught 
school — and took an active interest in military affairs. On reaching his 
majority he set out for the West on a horse lent him by his father. 
When he reached Schenectady, N. Y., concluding to stop there, the horse 
was sold and the proceeds sent back to the lender. He engaged in the 
shoe trade and was successful there ; but in a few years moved on to 
Rochester, N. Y., where he resided the rest of his life. 

'•In business, financial, masonic, military, social and political circles, 
he was always conspicuous in the front rank. At an early age he be- 
came mayor of the city, major-general of the militia, filled the highest 
offices in the masonic order, and was U. S. marshal for his district 
for many years. All these successes and honors seemed naturally to 
come to hi in, as if by right. 

'•General Gould was of a majestic presence. His temperament san- 
guine, hopeful, courageous, and he possessed that marvelous power 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 145 

of magnetism which never failed to impart to every one who came within 
the sphere of his influence a bountiful share of those qualities. When 
his own success and business standing had become assured, he induced 
his younger brothers— Samuel and George— to follow and locate near 
him, where both achieved success and became marked men in their re- 
spective neighborhoods. 

" Another remarkable characteristic of General Gould was his love of 
kindred and abiding attachment for his old native home — seldom failing 
to make an annual visit thither— calling upon all the old neighbors and 
still living companions of his youth, and Anally persuading his aged 
parents to dispose of their little patrimony, and go with him to a new 
home near by his own, where, cheered and sustained by filial love, they 
spent the remainder of their days in plenty and in peace." 

For several years before 1790, the school for that portion 
of the town was kept in this house. In 1789, Daniel Gould 
of Topsfield, who was afterward a clergyman in Bethel, 
Maine, taught here. A panel from the old house, on which 
Daniel Gould carved his name, is preserved by Mr. John H. 
Gould of Topsfield. 

When the school-house in this district was burned about 
1815, the school was again kept in this house until a new 
school-house could be built. 

Mr. Andrew Gould of Topsfield at last bought the place 
in 1830, and after living in the old house five years took it 
down in 1835, building the present one across the road. The 
old barn stood several rods northeast of the residence of 
the late Z iccheus Gould, and it was taken down by Mr. An- 
drew Gould when he built the new one in 1840. See No. 
141. 

143. 

Iles Cellar. — The lies house, which stood a few rods 
south of the residence of the late Zaccheus Gould, was quite 
ancient. It was gambrel-roofed, one story in height, and 
contained two rooms. Seventy-five years ago the inside 
was unfinished. William Iles, who is said to have come 
from England, married Elizabeth Curtis in L719and prob- 
ably lived in this house. They had live children : Elizabeth, 
l'j 



146 TILE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

who married Benjamin Curtis of Middleton, William, who 
resided on this place, John, Jacob, and Mary. 

William lies, jr., was born in 1723, married Martha 
Booth of Middleton in 1744, and had four children : John, 
Jacob, Mary and Martha. The father removed to Rindge, 
N. H., where he went by the name of Earl. 

The son Jacob lies lived here after his father's departure 
till near the close of the century. He was born in 1748, 
and, by his wife Relief, had three children born here, Jon- 
athan, who died young, Relief and Jonathan. 

A Booth family, relatives of Mrs. lies above, also lived 
here for a time. One of the daughters, Mary, married Rev. 
Daniel Gould of Topsfield, who was afterward a clergyman 
in Maine. William Booth, the father, went to Hillsborough, 
N. H. 

James Curtis (the old folks used to call him Jeames) 
bought half of this house of William lies in 1761. He was 
the great-grandfather of the late Francis Curtis. Here 
James' children were perhaps born. 

During the war of 1812, the house was occupied a part 
of the time by two families from Salem, who were among 
those who thought the British would burn the seaport 
towns, and so fled to the country for security. 

A Brown and also a Bligh family lived here at some pe- 
riod. At the beginning of this century Ezra Wildes was 
living here, and soon after John Perkins, who was called 
"John Enoch." 

The house was bought by Cooper Henry Perkins of 
Salem about 1821, and he removed it to Topsfield, living 
in it during the rest of his life. The house is now occu- 
pied by his grandson, Mr. William Andrews. 

144. 
Residence of T. Fuller. — The William Henry Mun- 
day house was built by Dr. George W. Sawyer, on land 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 147 

formerly owned by Oliver Peabody, in 1847 or 1848. 
The place came into the possession of Mr. Munday, who 
lived here several years. About 1880, the property was 
sold to Mrs. Charles Collyer of Lynn, who lived here. 
The house was then occupied by different tenants until 
18 ( J0, when Mr. Thomas Fuller, who lived at No. 145, pur- 
chased it, and has since resided in it. 

145. 
Fuller House. — Mr. Thomas Fuller, a native of Dan- 
vers, and a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, who ex- 
perienced more than his share of the vicissitudes of the 
service, built a small house for himself near Fish brook in 
1874. He lived in it alone, having never married, un- 
til he bought and moved to No. 144 in 1890, where he 
has since resided. 

146. 
Residence of T. Sawyer. — The farm of Mr. Thomas 
Sawyer belonged about 1800 to Thomas Killam of Mid- 
dleton. Dr. George Whitfield Sawyer of Ipswich, a brother 
of John Sawyer (see No. 154), father of the late John 
Sawyer, married Mr. Ki Ham's daughter Polly in 1801. 
In 1803, Dr. Sawyer came here to live, his father-in-law 
having given him the place. 

Dr. Sawyer was born in Ipswich in 1770. After hon- 
oring his profession of medicine for many years by a life 
of integrity and trust, he died in 1855, at the age of eighty- 
five. He had several children, one of whom, Thomas, 
succeeded him upon the farm, which he has since carried 
on. Mr. James B. Sawyer, a son of Thomas, also resides 
here. 

147. 

Residence of S. Killam. — The farm now in the pos- 
session of Messrs. George B. and Samuel Killam, brothers, 



148 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

was a part of the five hundred and fifty acres granted by 
the General Court to Governor John Endieott in 1639. 
The land then came into the possession of his son Zerub- 
babel, who built the present house about 1682, and died 
in 1684, willing the place to his son Joseph Endieott. It 
soon came into the possession of Joseph's brother Zerub- 
babel Endieott, Avho conveyed the farm, which then con- 
tained one hundred acres, with the house and barn, to 
Thomas Killam of Wenham, Jan. 15, 1701-02, for £180. 
Mr. Killam removed to the farm, and afterward resided 
there. 

He was a son of Daniel and Sarah (Safford) Killam of 
Wenham, and was born about 1653. He married Martha 
Solart of Wenham about 1680, and had several sons, one 
of whom, Samuel, married Grace, daughter of Zerubbabel 
Endieott, from whom Mr. Killam purchased the farm. 

Mr. Killam's son John succeeded him on the place. lie 
was born in Wenham in 1695, married, in 1725, Abigail, 
daughter of Samuel Symonds, one of the neighbors, and 
had three children, one of whom became the wife of Capt. 
Israel Herrick, of French war and revolutionary fame, 
and Mary married Benjamin Thompson of Wilmington. 
Mr. Killam's other child John settled on the farm. 

Mr. Killam died in 1738, when John was but nine years 
of age. The widow resided upon the place and reared 
her children. John, at the age of thirty-four, married 
Priscilla Bradstreet of Topsfield, a descendant of Governor 
Bradstreet, and had a family of ten children: — Anna mar- 
ried Stephen Peabody, who resided at No. 69; Priscilla 
married Phineas Foster, who lived in No. 123 ; John died 
at sea, unmarried ; Abigail married Benjamin Upton of 
Reading; Elizabeth married Billy Bradstreet of Boxford; 
Molly married John Curtis of Boxford ; Joseph resided 
in No. 32 ; Samuel lived on his father's place ; Oliver 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 149 

settled at No. 153; and Asa, born in 1785, served in the 
army in the war of 1812, came home and helped his 
father in haying, and left home to go to Boston, being 
never heard from again by any of his relatives or friends. 
Samuel Killam, the successor of his father on the home- 
stead, was born in 1779, married Lois Holt of Reading in 
1807, and had ten children. Two of their sons, Samuel 
and George B., have since resided on the farm. Two other 
sons became physicians, and upon beginning their practice 
bad their names changed to Bartlett. One of these, Joseph 
Elbridge, practised for many years in Boston and Charles- 
town, and was for several years president of the Mystic river 
association. The other, Cyrus, is the superintendent of 
the State asylum for the insane at St. Peter, Minn. 

148. 

G. B. Killam Cellar. — On the southeast side of the 
road leading from Mr. Thomas Fuller's to the late Joseph 
N. Pope's house in the rear of the residence of Messrs. 
Samuel and George B. Killam was an old cellar. No one 
remembers the house. The well was on the northwest 
side of the road. The land now belongs to Mr. George 
B. Killam, and was a part of the old Killam homestead, 
No. 147. 

149. 

Bimsley Peabody Cellar. — Near the residence of 
Messrs. George B. and Samuel Killam, at the junction 
of the roads to the west of the house, is a cellar over 
which stood an ancient dwelling, two stories in height, 
about twenty-five feet long and eighteen feet wide, with 
the end toward the road. 

The first family that lived here, of which we have learned, 
was that of Amos Gould, who married Iluldah Foster in 
1759. lie died in 1772, and in 1782 the heirs, Iluldah 



150 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Gould, weaver, Ezra Gould and Amos Gould, yeomen, 
and Phebe Gould, spinster, all of Boxford, sold the place 
to Bimsley Peabody. The farm then consisted of twenty- 
five acres. The widow Gould married Capt. Benjamin 
Kimball two years later, and removed to Bridgton, Maine. 
How long Mr. Peabody lived here is not known. He 
was succeeded upon the place by his son Oliver Peabody, 
and he was followed by Joseph Averill of North Andover, 
and by Charles Smith, respectively. About 1865, the 
place was purchased by Mr. Samuel Killam, who, after let- 
ting it to transient tenants for several years, took it down 

iii 1878. 

150. 

S. Killam Cellar. — Between the B. Peabody cellar, 
No. 149, and the residence of Messrs. George B. and 
Samuel Killam is an old cellar on land of Mr. Samuel 
Killam. No one remembers the house that stood there. 

151. 

Elliot Cellar. — In the pasture near the river, south 
of the house of Messrs. George B. and Samuel Killam, 
is an old cellar. No one remembers the house that stood 
over it. It is probable that in 1782 Stephen Elliot owned 
and lived upon the place. The land now belongs to Mr. 
Samuel Killam. 

152. 

Pope House. — The residence of the late Joseph N. 
Pope was the armory that was built by the town in 1840 
for the accommodation of the Boxford Washington Guards, 
at an expense of $370. It was built by David Dwinnell, 
and stood in the corner of Eev. Mr. Alcott's field north- 
erly of Rev. Mr. Coggin's. A few years later it was sold 
to Mr. Pope, who removed it to its present site and fitting 
it up into a dwelling house occupied it until his death, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 151 

■which occurred about 1880. His widow died two years 
later, and since that time her sister lies occupied the house. 
Mr. Pope was from Salem. He died without issue. lie 
was noted for his modesty and patriotism, never failing as 
each succeeding Independence day dawned to float from 
the gable of his house the loved stars and stripes. 

153. 

O. Killam House. — The Oliver Killam place was a part 
of the eight hundred acres that Zaccheus Gould owned. 
Thomas Newmarch of Ipswich came into possession of a 
part of it, at least, and in 1701 he sold one-fourth of it to 
Thomas Cummings of Topsfield. Mr. Cummings prob- 
ably resided on a portion of this two hundred acres. The 
farm of Mr. Killam came into the possession of Jacob 
Cummings, a son of Thomas, and in 1788 he sold it to 
Edmund Herrick ofMiddleton, with the buildings thereon. 
He was a son of John Herrick, who lived at Nos. 65 and 
163. 

Mr. Herrick lived here ten years. By his wife Hitty 
Curtis of Middleton he had six children : Hitty, who 

married Dodge of Wenham, Artemas, who lived m 

Methuen, Lucy, Almira, Pamela, and Caroline, who mar- 
ried Seth Burnham and lived at No. 251. 

In 1798, Mr. Herrick sold the farm to Cornelius Gould 
of Danvers for $1250, and returned to Middleton. (See 
No. 170.) The farm then consisted of one hundred and 
fifteen acres. Mr. Gould had removed to Danvers the 
year before from No. 132. He had, by his two wives, 
Pbebe Porter and Lydia Jenkins of Andover, eight chil- 
dren, one of whom, Joseph Porter, died in Middleton in 
1881, being upward of eighty years of age. One of the 
daughters, Betsey, married Oliver Killam, who was born 
in No. 147 in 1781. To him Mr. Gould conveyed the 
place in 1820. 



152 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. Killam resided here, and was the father of the late 
William E., and of Oliver P. and Leonard beside others. 
After his death in 1865, the place remained in the posses- 
sion of the heirs for several years, and was finally sold to 
Mr. Henry K. Kennett in 1876. He lived here a short 
time, and then conveyed the farm, in the same year, to 
Messrs. Henry A. Putnam and E. Paysou Trask of Dan- 
vers. The house is now and has been for several years 
past occupied by Mr. John Gould. 

154. 

Residence of Mrs. John Sawyer. — The residence of 
the late John Sawyer was undoubtedly built by Stephen 
Gould about 1750. Mr. Gould was a son of John and 
Hannah (Curtis) Gould, who lived at No. 138, and was 
born in 1724. He married Hannah Perkins of Topsfield 
in 1748. They had eight children, one of whom, Elijah, 
was in the army of the Revolution and died at the age of 
twenty-three, two others died young, and the rest of them 
settled in Mont Vernon and Hillsboro', N. H. March 26, 
1762, Mr. Gould sold out to Ebenezer Killam of Box- 
ford, for £313, "the farm on which I now live," there 
being about sixty-eight acres, and the only incumbrance 
"the highway lately laid out by the court of general ses- 
sions of the peace." This was doubtless the road by Howe's 
mills. Mr. Gould then bought and removed to No. 121). 

Mr. Killam was a son of Thomas and Sarah Killam, 
and was born in Boxford in 1714. Thomas* lather Thomas 
Killam was from Wenham, and the father of the heads of 
the three Killam families that settled here in the begin- 
ning of the eighteenth century, Samuel, Thomas and John. 
Ebenezer Killam married Hannah Lummus (then spelled 
" Lummux") of Ipswich Hamlet, in 1738. He married, 
for his second wife, in 1767, widow Mary Peabody. He 
had several children. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 153 

June 10, 1771, ho conveyed the farm to his son Thomas 
for £200. The place is described as follows: — "A certain 
farm situate and lying- in Boxford aforesaid, with a dwell- 
ing house and a barn thereon standing and containing by 
estimation about one hundred acres be the same more or 
less and is bounded as followcth, beginning at a stake 
and stones at the southwesterly corner thence running 
easterly by land of Jacob Cummings as Cummings' land 
goes across both the town and county road to a stake and 
stones near the Fishing brook, so called, thence running 
northerly by said brook to land of Richard Foster to a 
stake and stones by said brook, thence running and turn- 
ing by said Foster's land till it comes to a stake and stones 
at a corner, thence southerly still by said Fosters land to 
a stake and stones by land of Elijah Porter, thence south- 
erly by land of said Porter to the last mentioned bounds, 
with all the appurtenances ; and also another lot of meadow 
land lying in Boxford aforesaid in Long meadow, so called, 
and contains about live acres more or less, and is bounded 
on the easterly and southerly sides by meadow of John 
Stiles and heirs of Abraham Redington, deceased, and on 
all other sides by meadow and upland of Jacob Cummings." 
Mr. Killam may have removed from town. 

He was succeeded on the place by his son Thomas, who 
was born in Boxford in 1744. He married Sarah Fuller 
of Middleton in 1771, and died about 1782. His widow 
married, secondly, in 1785, Samuel Wilkins, jr., of Mid- 
dleton, whither the family removed. Mr. Killam had sev- 
eral children, one of whom, Polly, married Dr. George 
W. Sawyer, and another, Sarah, who was born herein 
1778, married the Doctor's brother, John Sawyer, a native 
of Ipswich. The farm came into the possession of this 
John Sawyer about 1800, when bis marriage occurred. 

Mr. Sawyer resided here as long as he lived, and both 
20 



154 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

his wife and himself died here at a good old age. After 
his death the farm came into the possession of his son 
John, who owned and carried it on until his death in 1891, 
at the age of eighty-seven. His widow and daughter Mary 
still reside there. 

155. 
R. K. Foster House. — The residence of the late Rich- 
ard K. Foster was built by himself in 1841. lie was horn 
in No. 156, and died here in 1889. Since his death his 
son Richard Allen Foster and son-in-law Leander II. 
Cheney have resided on the farm. 

156. 

R. Foster Cellar. — The old Foster house that re- 
cently stood over the cellar across the road from the res- 
idence of the late Richard K. Foster was very ancient, 
being called "the old dwelling house" in 1762. 

This was an old Stiles place. In 1762, John Stiles of 
Boxford, for £200, conveyed it with half of his right in 
the saw -mill to his grandson Edmund Stiles. In 1764, 
Abraham Redington sold to Richard Foster of Boxford 
one-half of the corn mill and one-half of the saw mill for 
£173, and on the same day Mr. Foster purchased the farm 
of Mr. Stiles for £260 13s. 4d. 

Richard Foster was son of Jonathan and Hannah (Pea- 
body) Foster and was horn in No. 1)1, in 1733. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Kimball of Andover in 1761, and had seven 
children. One of them was Phineas, who lived at No. 
123, and another was Asa, who was horn in 1766. 

Asa married Dolly Morrill of Salisbury in 1802, and 
succeeded his father on this place, dying here in 1831 at 
the age of sixty-live. Their three children were sons, the 
youngest of whom, horn in ISO!), was Richard Kimball 
Foster, who took the old house down about 1875. He 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 155 

built a new house across the street, No. 155, and resided 
there from 1841 to his death in 1889. 

Otis Atherton lived in this old house about 1835, and 
died here. He came from Mansfield. His widow died at 
Oniville, near Providence, R. I. Mr. Atherton was father 
of Mr. William H. Atherton and of Hiram Atherton, 
father of George W. Atherton, president of the Pennsyl- 
vania State College, who was born in Boxford. 

157. 

J. K. Cole House. — Between the road and the house 
where the late Dea. John Kimball Cole resided was an 
old house owned by John Stiles in 1768. Mr. Stiles 
married Phebe Merassir, and in 1769 sold the place to 
Simeon Stiles for £133 6s. 8d. Simeon was a son of 
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Foster) Stiles, and was bora in 
Boxford in 1744. He was a grandson of John and Elea- 
nor (Pearl) Stiles, of Boxford. He had five children bom 
here, and his wife Mary died here in 1826, at the age of 
eighty-live. Mr. Stiles survived her until the spring of 
1831, when he died at the age of eighty-six. 

The old willow in the yard was brought from Danvers 
as a walking stick by Simeon Stiles in the revolutionary 
era. He placed one end of it in the ground, and it took 
rool , being to-day sixteen feet in circumference. The mid- 
dle of the 1 ree ha n decayed and fallen out, so that its trunk 
is divided into two parts, a fence [>assing between them. 

Mr. Stiles' youngest son Asa resided upon the place and 
look care of it during his father's declining years. In 
1850, Asa sold to Mr. Cole, who removed here from 
Topsfield. Asa Stiles removed to the old Foster house, 
No. 156, and subsequently died, at the age of eighty-two, 
at Moses Gould's, No. 129, where he was boarding. He 
was born in March, 1779, and died in March, 1861. 



156 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. Colo was born at No. 209, in 1814, was a member 
of the Slate legislature in 1862, and deacon of the First 
church from 1852 to 1889, and died in 1891. His family 
continue to reside upon the place. Among his four chil- 
dren is Mr. Jefferson K. Cole, a school teacher in Pea- 
body. Deacon Cole took the old house down and erected 
the present edifice in 1856. 

158. 
Stiles Cellar. — There is an old cellar a few rods south 
of the residence of Mr. Samuel A. Frye. In 1769, this 
was called in a deed "an old cellar.' 1 A Stiles family is 
supposed to have lived there. 

159. 
Residence of S. A. Frye.— Where Mr. Samuel A. 
Frye's house stands, William Harrison Harriman of Grove- 
land erected a two-story dwelling house in the summer of 
1838. He resided in it until 1845, when he sold the place 
to Augustus A. Hay ward of Boxford, and then removed to 
Georgetown, where he kept a store for many years. Mr. 
Ilayward lived here until 1849, when he sold to Nathan 
Towne of Boxford, and built the house No. 162, to which 
he removed. In 1872, Mr. Towne sold out to Theophilus 
and Samuel A. Frye and, three years later, Theophilus 
sold his interest in the place to Samuel, who has since 
owned and occupied it. The buildings were burned on the 
night of June 17, 1882, and the next fall Mr. Frye erected 
his present residence on the same site. 

160. 
Emery Cellar. — A number of rods east of the resi- 
dence of Mr. Samuel A. Frye, on the same side ofthest rcet 
was an old cellar. The lot in which it is located has been 
known for three-quarters of a century as the "Briggs' Or- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 157 

chard," it having been a portion of Parson Briggs' farm. 
The oldest inhabitants do not remember to have ever seen 
the house. 

Stephen Emery, from Newbury, married Deliverance 
Stiles in 1743, and resided on this place. He died be- 
tween 1755 and 1760, and his widow married in 1764 
ElishaTowne, father of John Towne, who lived at Nos. 
176 and 177. This John Towne was the grandfather of 
Mr. Henry A. Towne. Mr. Emery had six children: 
David, Stephen (who died in infancy), Stephen, John, 
Jesse and Rebecca. John was born in 1750, married 
Elizabeth Perkins in 1769, and probably lived here. He 
had only two children baptized here, Francis and David, 
in 1 7 7 1 and 1772. In the latter year he removed to Rindge , 
N. H., where he founded an extensive family. Two or 
more of the Emerys served in the Revolutionary army. 

Deliverance Stiles' sister Abigail married John Emery 
of Newbury, doubtless a brother of Stephen Emery. 

Stephen Emery had a gate at his end of the road that 
now leads from Mr. Frye's house to the late Deacon Cole's 
house. It was called "Emery's gate" in 1753, and as late 
as 1823. 

161. 
Residence of W. French. — May 10, 1852, Lurena 
R., wife of Abraham T. Pierce of Boxford, bought a house 
lot of Augustus Hay ward, who then owned the (iillis place. 
No. 163, and built the present residence of Mr. Walter 
French upon it. Her heir-at-law, Miss Sarah Cordelia 
Pierce of Danvers, sold the place to Mi 1 . French in 1874, 
and he has since lived there. 

162. 
IIayward House. — Augustus Hay ward lived with his 
grandfather Nat Lone; at No. 205. lie married, and for 



158 TIIK DWELLINGS OF BOXFOHD. 

a while resided where Mr. S. Porter Peabody lives. No. 
193. In 1848, he bought of Dean Andrews the mills 
now in the possession of Mr. Solomon W. Howe, and built 
this house the next year, moving here from No. 159. He 
ran the saw- and grist-mill and did considerable in the 
ship-timber business. 

He died in 1872, childless, and the place came into the 
possession of his sister, Mrs. Albert Perley, being occupied 
by tenants, Mr. John Cass living there for several years 
prior to 1891, when he moved into his new house, No. 
298. 

163. 

Hotel Redington. — This house was probably built by 
Thomas Redington at the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. He was a son of Thomas and Mary (Kimball) 
Redington, married in 1723, Hepzibah, daughter of Thom- 
as and Sarah (Osgood) Perley, who lived at No. 0, and 
resided on this place. 

In 1751, he sold the farm and half the corn-mill to 
Thomas Andrews, who was a son of John and Patience 
(Andrews) Andrews. He was born in Boxford in 1717, 
married Margaret Bradstreet of Topsfield in 1739, and 
had children, David, Jonathan, Elizabeth and Mary, born 
in Boxford. 

Mr. Andrews sold the place to Jacob Kimball of Tops- 
field, blacksmith, in 1704, and the next year Mr. Kimball 
sold out to John Herrick of Topsfield for £453 6s. 8d. 
Mr. Herrick removed to the farm, and lived there for 
several years. He was a cooper by trade. 

In 1774, Mr. Herrick exchanged farms with Gideon 
Bixby, who owned the farm now in the possession of Mr. 
Israel Herrick, No. 65. This farm then contained one 
hundred acres. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 159 

Mr. Bixby's mother moved to this house with him, and 
died here in 1795. The Salem Gazelle, in its issue of 
Feb. 10, 1795, contained the following obituary notice of 
her : — 

"Monday morning, January 19th, departed this life Mrs. Rebeccah 
Gould of Boxford, in the 75th year of her age— A fincere chriftian, 
who through life adorned the doctrine of God her faviour, ever kept 
up an equanimity of mind through all the changing fcenes, and 'pa- 
tience pofleffedher foul.' 'As Ave are all journeying to our 'long home,' 
let us be followers of them, 'who through faith and patience, inherit 
the promifes.' The regret expreffed by her furviving children and 
friends, fenfibly fpeaks her worth. Her remains were decently in- 
terred the Wednefday folloAvhig, a large number of people collected, 
and a well adapted difcourfe was delivered by Francis Quarles A. M. 
from Pfalm xvi. 'J. 'Myflefhfhall reft in hope.' " 

In 1816, Mr. Bixby sold the place to Abner Wood, a 
merchant of Newbury port, and he sold it to Samuel Pea- 
body, jr., of Boxford, in 1818. 

In 1842, Mr. Peabody sold the place to John K. Cole, 
who, in 1850, conveyed it to Augustus I lay ward, who 
owned it until 1855, when he sold out to Osgood Dale, jr., 
of Boxford. In 1859, Mr. Dale conveyed the place to 
his father Osgood Dale, sr., and in 1868 Mr. Dale's heirs, 
Osgood Dale of Groton, Mass., and David T. Dale and 
Henry W. Dale, both of Chester, N. II. sold to Dan- 
iel S. Gillis, who had come from Maine five years pre- 
viously. Mr. Gillis resided upon (he place until his death 
in 1891. He dropped dead while lifting a trunk into a 
carriage in front of his residence which he had conducted 
as a public house for several years, under the name of 
Hotel Redington. 

164. 
Residence of J. Aveeill. — Mr. John Averill's house 
waserected byJamesM. Peabody in 1844. Mr. Averill 
has lived here many years. 



160 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

165. 

Residence of II. Moulton. — Capt. Henry Moulton, 
formerly of Wenham, on retiring from the sea, came to 
Boxford and built a bouse in 1874, and has since resided 

in it. 

166. 

James Andrews Cellar. — There was an old cellar on 
the southwest side of the road about one-fourth of the way 
between the residence of Mr. Samuel A. Frye and the 
Second-district school-house. Over this cellar stood a house 
long gone and almost forgotten, the cellar having been 
filled many years ago. 

The first occupant of this old house that we have learned 
of was James Andrews, who moved to this place from the 
Twisden house, No. 175, in 1769. He had lost a very 
promising son, nineteen years old, the year before, and in 
the summer of 177o, another son, eighteen years of age, 
ran away, probably going to sea. Mr. Andrews inserted 
the following notice in the Essex Gazette, at the time, 
hoping that he might find him : 

"Whereas my Son, James Andrews, a little upwards of eighteen Years 
old, without any Leave or Licence from me, abfented himfelf from my 
Bufinei's one Week fince, and I am appreheniive that he intends to flap 
himfelf to go to Sea. as he faid he would : Therefore I hereby caution 
all Maiiers of Veffels not to f hip him on board any of their Veffels, aor 
make any Bargain or Bargains with him, and alto all other Perfons 
from making any Bargains with him. as they may exped to anfwer 
the Penalties of the Law. 

"July L9, 177.'.. "JAMES ANDREWS, of Boxford." 

Probably the same year the family removed to Bridg- 
fon, Maine, which was then being settled. This James 
Andrews was an uncle to "Sir" Nathan, father of the late 
Samuel, Daniel and Dean Andrews. 

The next owner was Elijah Dwinnell, a tailor by trade. 
He was a son of Thomas and Hannah (Towne) Dwin- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 161 

nell, and was born in Topsfield in 1739. lie married 
Sarah, daughter of Elisha Towne, and after living al this 
place resided at the Towne farm, No. 17(5. In the spring 
of 1774, he sold this place to John Smith of Boxford for 
£102 15s. The barn then stood across the street, and 
the well was southeast of the house. 

Before 1813, this real estate probably became a part of 
the adjoining Symonds farm, the buildings being none. 

167. 

Residence of Cornelius Pearson. — Mr. Cornelius 
Pearson's house was built probably by Abraham Redington 
about 1763. He was a son of Thomas and Hepzibah(Per- 
iey) Redington, and probably born at No. 163 in 1721). 
lie married Sarah Kimball in 1757, and moved here from 
No. 173. He was a housewright by trade. He sold out to 
his wife's brother-in-law Moses Putnam in 1766, but prob- 
ably continued to live here until 1770, when he removed 
to Waterville, Maine, whore he died in L805, being one 
of the first settler--. He had seven children, one of whom 
Samuel lived in Hampden, Maine, and was a member of ihc 
Maine legislature in 1850, his .-on being adjutant-general 
of the state and mayor of Augusta. 

Mr. Redington had made potash at this place, and when 
he sold out to Mr. Putnam the potash works were except- 
ed. They are mentioned in 1775, but in a da-d of the 
place in 1777, they are not referred to. 

Moses Putnam was from Darners. He married, in 1771 , 
Rebecca Kimball, a sister of hi- grantor's wife. They had 
two children born here, Stephen and Sarah. Mr. Putnam 
sold this place to Jacob Perley of Boxford in 1775, and 
probably removed from low n. 

Jacob Perley was a son of ('apt. Francis and Huldah 
(Putnam) Perley, and was born in No. 75 in 1751. lie 
21 



162 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

married Dolly Wood in 177;"), and lived the lirsl two 
years of his married life on this place, where their firsl child, 

Jacob, was horn. In 1777, Mr. Perley sold out to Daniel 
Adams, of Beverly, and removed to Reading, lie died 
in Byfield parish, Newbury, in 1832, at the aire of eighty. 

His son, Jeremiah, born in Byfield in 1784, was a promi- 
nent lawyer in Maine. 

Daniel Adams, the next owner, probably never lived 
here. He was a mariner. In 1781, he sold out to Joseph 
Symonds of Boxford, who had probably hired the place, 
and lived upon it, while Mr. Adams owned it. 

Mr. Symonds was a son of Joseph and Sarah (Gould) 
Symonds, and was born in 1754. He married Susanna 
Hale in 177(), before which time he had lived a while in 
Bradford. He was a blacksmith by trade. 

Miss Lucy Peabody (who was born in 1784) said that 
she attended school in the east chamber of this house , and 
that the scholars would slide down the back roof of the 
blacksmith shop of Mr. Symonds, which stood near the 
house. 

Mr. Symonds had a large family of children. His son 
Samuel, on a Saturday afternoon in October. 1804, went 
to West Boxford on a cavalry parade. When his mother 
was putting the brown bread, pudding and beans into the 
oven to be baked thai afternoon, she saw what appeared to 
her to be spots of blood on the bricks. Some two hours 
afterward the lifeless body other son was brought home. 
While riding down the hill near Dr. Eaton's residence he 
had fallen from his horse and been instantly killed. 

Captain Symonds sold the farm in 1813 to Jeremiah 
Young of Newburyport, and removed to Bradford, where 
he was killed by lightning June 18, 1823. His wife sur- 
vived him. In tin- conveyance the blacksmith shop was 
excepted, and was to be removed within six months. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 163 

While hero on a visit, Captain Young's mother, Mrs. 
Rebecca Young of Wellfleet, died in 181D, at the age of 
ninety-four. Captain Young took a number of the students 
of the academy to board, and among them was Gen. Fred 
Lander, who met his fate on the western frontier. General 
Lander's brother Edward, a western judge, and now of 
Washington, D. C, also lived here while he attended the 
academy. 

Captain Young resided here until 1840, when the place 
was sold at auction to Daniel Wells, who lived here a few 
years. By the foreclosure of a mortgage the place came 
into Mr. Young's hands again. 

The heirs of Captain Young sold the farm to Jonathan 
Pearson of Newburyport in 1845, and upon his decease it 
passed to his son Mr. Cornelius Pearson, who is the pres- 
ent owner and occupier. 

168. 
W. Gukley House. — William Gurley built a small 
one-story house near the residence of Mr. Cornelius Pear- 
son at the close of the war of the Rebellion, and lived in 
it until his death, which occurred in 1873, at the age of 
seventy-eight. His widow then occupied it until she died 
about 1888. Since then the house has been moved up the 
street to the Towne road. 

169. 
Residence of W. G. Matthews. — The house in which 
Mr. William G. Matthews resides was buili by Maj. Sam- 
uel Perley in 1840. He sold it in 1870 to Mr. Augustus E. 
Bachelder of Boston, who has since owned it. The west 
end was occupied by Miss Lucy Peabody, who died in 

1869; then by Whittemore ; then by William Twis- 

den : and lor the last \\>w years Prof. Geo. II. Palmer 
made it his residence. Theeasl end svasfirsl occupied by 



104 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Samuel Horace Towne, now of Beverly; then by Orrin 
Stone; then by the late George Perley, Esq., son of the 
builder, from his marriage in 1845 to 1848; then by Na- 
than Towne; then by Stephen Pen body, late ofNewbury- 
porl : then by William While : then by AlbeH Brown from 
1857 to 1870; and since the latter date by Mr. Matthews. 

170. 

Briggs House. — This house belonged to John Willet, 
a weaver, in 1774. lie came from Newbury, where he 
married Mary Noyes in 175!). In 1766, the land belonged 
to the Peabody farm, No. 172, and probably Mr. 
Willet built the house in or just before 1774. In 1781, 
the farm consisted of fifty-seven acres. The barn stood 
in the latter year about live rods east of the house. Mr. 
Willet had two children baptized in Box ford : Moses, in 
1776, and Silas Noyes, in 1780. He sold the farm to 
Elisha Gould of Middleton in 1781. 

Mr. Gould was a son of Daniel and Lucy (Tarbox) 
(ioidd of Topsfield, and was born in 1755. He married 
Elizabeth Peabody of Middleton in 1779. They bad three 
children, all daughters. Mr. Gould sold the place to Ed- 
mund Herrick of Middleton in 1799. Mr. Herrick had 
lived in No. 153, which see. 

Mr. Herrick divided the farm, selling most of the land 
to Richard Foster and Asa Foster in 1801, and the house 
and house-lot of one acre to Enoch Foster of Salem, a 
cordwainer, in I.S02. 

Mr. Herrick removed to Chester, N. H., having married, 
first, Mehitable Curtis of Middleton in 1786 ; and, second, 
Rachel White. By his first wife he had eight children: 
Mehitable, who married Benjamin Dodge of Wenhain ; 
Artemas, who resided in Methuen : Lucy, who married E. 
Stevens of Danvers; Almira, who married Timothy J. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 165 

Stevens : Pamela ; Caroline, who married Seth Burnham of 
Boxford; John, who resided in Salem; and Israel. 

In 1809, Mr. Foster, still of Salem, sold the place to 
Rev. Isaac Briggs, from York, Maine, who had been set- 
tled over the first church here the year before. 

In 1833, Mr. Briggs removed to Chatham on ('ape Cod, 
and in 1835 sold out to Messrs. George Harriman and 
William Peabody, both of Boxford. Mr. Peabody con- 
veyed his interest in the place to Mr. Harriman in 1839. 
Mr. Harriman was from Groveland, and resided here 
while he owned the place. 

Samuel Adams removed here from No. 193 about 1839. 
His wife died here in February, 1841. Then Mr. Adams 
hoarded out in Middleton, where he died about 1845. He 
had three daughters, one of whom died when only thirteen 
days old. 

Samuel's father, Dea. John Adams, spent a consider- 
able portion of the time with his son here. He went 
about attending to the spiritual, and also to the temporal 
wants of the sick and suffering of the neighborhood for 
miles around. He was born in Hamilton, and settled in 
Salem, where he was a deacon of the Tabernacle church. 
His last days were spent in his native town, where he died 
in a good, old age, leaving a memory sweet with Christian 
influences. 

William E. Kil lam bought the place of Mr. Harriman 
in 1847, and lived here until 1865, when he sold the farm 
to Mr. William G. Todd, and moved to No. 24. 

.Mr. Todd sold out to Lucy M., wife of Dea. Julius A. 
Palmer, in the same year, and she conveyed it to Mr. 
Augustus E. Bachelder in 1869. In L881, Mr. Bachelder 
sold it to Mr. Erving Winslow of Boston, who resided 
here one or two summers, and then conveyed the place (in 
1884) to Prof. Geo. 11. Palmer, who has recently married 



166 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOBD. 

Miss Alice Freeman, president of Wellesley college, and 
now resides here. 

171. 

Palmer House. — The Deacon Palmer house was built 
in 1826 by Maj. Jacob Peabody. Dea. Julius A. Pal- 
mer of Boston married a daughter of Major Peabody, 
and the place came into his possession. Deacon Palmer 
spent his summers here until his death in 1872. The 
place still remains in the possession of the family. 

Mr. Palmer was an original proprietor of the widely- 
known firm of Palmer, Baehelder & Co., jewellers, Bos- 
ton, and was a state senator from Essex county in 1869. 

172. 

J. Peabody Cellar. — (apt. John Peabody, one of the 
earliest settlers of Boxford, built his residence, about 1660, 
where the barn of the late Deacon Palmer now stands. 
Mr. Peabody was a son of Lt. Francis Peabody, an emi- 
grant from England, and was the first Peabody born in 
America. He was born in 1642, and in 1665 married 
Hannah, a daughter of Robert Andrews of the village. 
She became the mother of his eleven children, ami died in 
1702, being buried in Maiden. The next year he mar- 
ried Sarah Mosely of Dorchester, and died 5 July, 1720, 
at the age of seventy-eight. He was the first school- 
master of Boxford ; was town clerk for twenty-four years : 
was captain in the militia; was for many years a select- 
man, mid several times represented the town in the early 
sessions of the General Court. Of his children, John died 
in Spain when about thirty years of age ; Francis died in 
France, ;it the age of t wenty-six ; Moses died ill Cocheco, 
now Dover, NT. II., when about twenty years old: and 
Ruth was the mother of the Hon. Aaron Wood. 

Captain Peabody's son David — Ensign David, as he was 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 167 

called — settled on the homestead. He married Sarah 
Pope of Dartmouth in 1704, and died in 172(5 at the age 
of forty-eight. She married, secondly, Joseph Kinsman 
of Ipswich ten years later and removed thither, taking 
the younger children with her. One died there of the throat 
distemper the same year, at the age often years. The son 
named David was the grandfather of George Peabody, (he 
London banker, and the son named Thomas resided in 
West Boxford, we believe in the house of his grandson, 
the late Benjamin Peabody (No. 260). 

Ensign David's son John Peabody was his successor 
on this homestead. He was born in 1714, married Mary 
Chadwiek in 1736, a month before his mother married 
Mr. Kinsman and removed, and died in 1765. Two years 
later his widow married EbeDezer Killam. John had ten 
children, among whom were Moses, who resided upon the 
place, Asa, who resided in No. 113, and Jedediah, who 
in 1780 settled in Warner, N. H., where he lived tor a 
short time in a house that stood in the "Peabody pasture," 
so (-ailed, now owned by Joshua Sanborn, and removed to 
and settled in Henniker, X. H. Dr. Leonard W. Pea- 
body of Henniker was Jedediah's grandson. 

Moses Peabody who succeeded his father on the place 
was born in 1744, and married Hannah Foster in 1767, both 
being admitted to the First church the next year. Moses 
had ten children, among them being Jacob, the father-in- 
law of Deacon Palmer, Lucy, who taught in our schools, 
and who is mentioned in connection with No. 1<">7, Charles, 
who resided in No. 09, and Nancy, who was the wife of 
the late Maj. Samuel Perley. 

The old house stood until the spring oi 1*63, when Dea- 
con Palmer took it down. For several years it had served 
as a tenement house. It was a large two-story square man- 
sion, and. some think, originally a garrison house, be- 



168 



THE DWELLINGS OF KOXFORD. 



cause one end was lined with bricks. The chimney was 
very largo, measuring forty -five feet in circumference at 
its base. There were three fireplaces in it on the ground 
floor, and another in one of the chambers. While in the 
last days of its existence it presented a most forlorn and 





OLD PEABODK MANSION. 



dreary appearance. It stood in an open field, and in front, 
near the road, was an old tumble- down wall over which 
the blackberry and other vines grew luxuriantly. 

In connection with the picture of the old house is given 
a cut of the ancient beaufet that occupied a corner of one 



THE DWELLIXGS OF BOXFOED. 



169 



of the front rooms in the first story. When the old man- 
sion was taken down the beaufet was brought to Salem and 

is now in the studio of 
Mr. Edwin N. Peabody 
on Summer street. It 
is the most artistic closet 
of this kind that we have 
ever seen. 

Moses Peabody by his 

will, dated Jan. 16, 

1815, £uve this place to 

The 

in 

March, 1826, and the 

same month Charles sold 

it to his brother Jacob 

of Boston. In the same 

year, Jacob built the 

]h house now standing, No. 

$A 111, and moved into 




cv^ his son Charles, 
will was proved 



l J i 


it. 






i% 


In 1837, 


the 


barn 


V£ 


here stood 
street. 


across 


the 



THE OLD BEAUFET. 

173. 
G. Perley House. — The George Perley place was 

owned years ago by Nathan Kimball. In 1763, it was 
sold by Abraham Redington to Nicholas Dodge of Beverly, 
a cooper, with the buildings (hereon, and removed to the 
Pearson house. No. 167. 

Mr. Dodge turned farmer, and resided here Tor twelve 
years. By his wife Experience, he had at least two chil- 
dren, Lydia and Isaac. In the fall of 1775, for £240, he 
sold out to Elijah A.verill of Middleton, shoemaker. 
22 



170 TITK DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. Averill removed here where he resided for the rest 
of his life, lie died in 1809 or before, leaving a widow 
Hannah. He had a daughter Hannah horn here who sur- 
vived him. The widow married, second, a Mr. Peabody, 
and resided in Middleton, where she died in 1825, leaving 
a will in which she gave all her real estate in Boxford 
with the buildings thereon to Jonathan Kenney, "the be- 
loved friend and intended husband of my daughter Hannah 
Averill." The will was disapproved. The next year Maj. 
Samuel Perley bought the farm (with (he barn on the south 
side of the road) of the heirs who were as follows, viz. : — 
Edmund Perkins, Esq., of Lyndsboro, N. II., Timothy 
Berry of Beverly ; Bill Russell, Esq., and wife Phebeof Wo- 
burn ; widow Rhoda Symonds, widow Lucy Lang, .Jonathan 
Berry, Nathaniel Gerry and wife Nancy all of Salem ; Jo- 
seph Berry of East Andover, Me., Joseph Lathrop and 
wife Betsy of Boston, .Joseph B. Thownes and wife Harriet, 
Jonathan B. Perkins, William Berry and wife Caroline, 
Hamilton L. Perkins, Hamlet II. Perkins, Tarrant Aug. 
Perkins, Bimsley Perkins, Dw Elvenezer Lamed and wife 
Catherines., all of Hopkinton, N. H. ; Joshua Lovejoy and 
wife Sarah of Sanbornton, N". II. ; Nehemiah Perkins of 
Stowe, Vt. ; Josiah Boynton and wife Lydia of Westford ; 
Andrew Perkins of Philadelphia, Pa. ; Timothy Perkins, 
Warren Perkins, Andrew Perkins, Elliot Perkins and 
Jonathan Perkins, all of Reading, and Betsy Perkins of 
Reading, single- woman. 

Of Mrs. Peabody, the place was hired by Mr. Peabody, 
father of the wife of Maj. Samuel Perley, who lived in 
the old house. He bought the place and built the; present 
house on the site of the old house in 1830, afterward 
living and dying here. His son George Perley also passed 
most of his life here, and his family and sister still keep 
possession. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 171 

174. 
Residence of R. W. Emerson. — Mr. Rufus W. Emer- 
son erected his house, on land bought of Misses Sarah P. 
and Lucy A. Perley in 1884, and lias since resided in 
it. 

175. 

Residence of S. Twisden. — Mr. Samuel Twisden's 
farm was owned by James Andrews in 17(58. lie was a 
son of Robert and Deborah Andrews, and was born, per- 
haps on this place, in 1721. He married, first, Ruth Wood 
in 1746-47. She died in 1764, and he married, second, 
Elizabeth Bryant in 1765. In 1769, he removed to No. 
166, selling this place, with the buildings thereon, to his 
brothei* Nathan Andrews. The farm consisted of one hun- 
dred and ten acres. 

The year before his removal from this farm, James An- 
drews' son John died here. The Essex Gazelle, in its 
issue of Sept. 13, 1768, contains the following obituary 
notice of him : 

"Danvers, September 12, 1768. We hear from Boxford, that onTuef- 
day, the 6th Inftant, died there, Mr. John Andrews, a Youth of exem- 
plary Virtue, the eldeft Son of Lieut. James Andrews, of that Town, in 
the 20th Year of his Age. He had been fome Years In the Study of 
Phyfick, in the Theory of which he was a very confiderabie Proficient; 
and, had he lived, was likely to have made a fhining Practitioner in thai 
Profeffion. Hewas employed by the Selectmen of this Town to keep 
a School the laft Winter, which he performed to general Acceptance; 
and from hence, at the Bequeft of the Selectmen of Boxford, he re- 
moved there on the fame Bufinefs, where he alfo performed to general 
Satisfaction; but by his intenfe and too clofe Application to his Bufi- 
nefs, and Study, he broke his ( 'on ft i tut ion, and fell into a < 'on linn pi ion , 

of which he died, to the great Grief of his Parents, and much lamented 
by all who knew him." 

The farm was nexl owned by Thomas Gould, who came 
from Topslield. He was a son of Thomas and Mary 
(Gould) Gould, was born in Topslield in 17.'>2, and mar- 
ried Anne Perkins of Topsfield in 1757. They had ten 



172 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

children. He died in 1 778, and his widow married, second, 
Andrew Foster of Andoverin 1786. This farm continued 
in the possession of the family until 1800, when Mr. 
Gould's youngest son Andrew Gould, who was born here 
in 1 777, having got five-sevenths ol the farm into his hands, 
sold out to John Towne, jr., of Box ford, and removed to 
Middleton. lie was a shoemaker by trade. 

Mr. Towne sold the place in 1809 to his brother Solo- 
mon Towne, who was a sea-captain, and a resident of Sa- 
lem. The present house was an old building, that Captain 
Towne made into a house about 1826, taking the old 
house down. 

The place then came into a broker's hands, and was 

bought by Samuel Dale in 1830. Mr. Dale resided here 

until he was drowned in Rowley river, while boating suit 

hay, Sept. 10, 1836, at the age of thirty-six. His epitaph 

is as follows : — 

"Entwined by all the tender tics of life, 
To a dear child, and a beloved wife, 
I strove in vain my precious life to sa\ . 
But sunk in death beneath the briny wave. 

■•Farewell! farewell! a sad, a long farewell! 
With my dear friends on earth no longer can I dwell; 
Friends and companions all. a sad a last adieu. 
Prepare to follow me, I cannot conic to you." 

The heirs of Mr. Dale, namely, his widow Betsey P. 

Dale and son Herbert A. Dale, both of Georgetown, sold 

the place to Mr. Samuel Twisden of Lynn in the spring 

of 1855, and he has since lived here. 

176. 
Towne Cellar. — On the south side of the road about 
twenty-live rods east of the residence of Mr. Henry A. 
Towne, stood an old house a hundred years ago. This 
was the residence of Elias Smith previous to 17(!7. Mr. 
Smith married Ruth Stiles about 17 1 7, and had three sons, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 173 

John, Nathaniel and Elias. Elias sold his undivided half 
to John in 1767, and removed, we think, to No. 52. 

John Smith was horn here in 1724, and married, first, 
Mary Foster in 1751, and, second, Martha Towne of Tops- 
field in 17G0. He had two children, Abraham and Amos, 
one by each wife. Mr. Smith resided here until he sold 
out to Elijah Dwinnell of Boxford in 1777, and then prob- 
ably removed from the town. 

Elijah Dwinnell was a son of Thomas and Hannah 
(Towne) Dwinnell, of Topsfield, where he was born in 
1739. He married, in 1762, Sarah, sister of John Towne, 
who afterward owned this place. He settled on this 
farm in the spring of 1777. He was a tailor by trade. 
The next day after his purchase he sold to his brother-in- 
law John Towne an undivided half of the farm, buildings, 

vie. 

Mr. Dwinnell sold out his interest in the place in 1783, 
to Elisha Qiiimhy of Londonderry, N. H., and removed 
from the farm. Mr. Quimby, and John Dwinnell with 
him, both of Londonderry, sold in 1789 to Thomas Emer- 
son of Topsfield, who sold in April, 1790, to Asa Towne, 
the eldest son of John Towne, the owner of the other half 
of the place. Asa was then of Andover. He was a car- 
penter by trade, and in 1790 built the residence of Mr. 
Henry A. Towne for his father, who removed to it, and 
in 1808 bought out Asa's interest in the farm. Asa was 
then of Charlestown, and a trader. The old house was taken 
down shortly after the new one was built. Sec No. 177 

John Towne the first mentioned above was a son of 
Elisha and Sarah (Rhodes) Towne, and was Lorn in 
Topsfield in 1710. His father came to Boxford, married 
widow Emery, and resided at No. l<i() from 17G4. 

177. 
Residence of II. A. Towne. — The residence of Mr. 



174 TIIK DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Henry A. Towne was built by his grandfather John Towne 

on his own land in 1790, his son Asa being the carpenter. 
Mr. Towne had previously lived in the old house, No. 17(5, 
which stood across the street about twenty-five rods east 
of the present house. John Towne married Anna Cum- 
mings of Ipswich in 17(53, and had several children : Asa, 
Sarah, Anna, Amos, John, Solomon (who lived at No. 
183), Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, Lucy and Oliver. He 
died in 1830, at the age of eighty-nine. The Salem Ga- 
zette in its issue of March 12, 1830, contained the follow- 
ing notice of his death : — 

"In Boxford, on Monday morning, Mr. John Towne in the 90th year 
of Ms aye. He was a soldier in the French war, 1759, and during most 
of the Revolutionary war. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and 
never saw the spot again until the lute half century anniversary, when 
he visited Boston to attend the celebration. His death was very 
sudden, he having retired to bed late ou Sunday evening in his usual 
good health and spirits." 

The powder-horn that Mr. Towne carried in the battle 
of Bunker Hill is in the possession of his great-grandson, 
Mr. Horatio Towne of Boston. 

Mr. Towne's son Samuel succeeded him on the place. 
He was born here in 1783, married Charlotte Fletcher, 
and was the father of Henry A. Towne, the present owner 
and occupier of the farm, which descended to him from his 
father. 

178. 

Cummings Cellar. — A quarter of a mile east of the 
residence of Mr. Henry A. Towne is the "Molly farm,' 
on which lived Jacob Cuinmings and perhaps his father 
before; him. His father was Thomas Cummings, who was 
born in 1670, and who was sou of Isaac Cuinmings of 
Topsfield. His wife died here in 1738, at the age of fifty- 
six. He had four children born here between 1708 and 
1717. The house has probably been gone fifty years. 
Thomas Cummings bought two hundred acres of land here 
of Thomas Newmarch of Ipswich in 1701. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 175 

Jacob Cummings was born in 1714. He married in 

1745, and had seven children. He died in 1803, at the 
age of eighty-eight, his wife having preceded him sonic 
twenty years. Until 1788, he lived at No. 153. In that 
year he sold the place to Edmund Herrick of Middleton. 

Mr. Cummings passed the last of his days we believe at 
No. 156. Two of his sons were Dudley and Thomas — 
two queer characters — whose uon compos mentis state is 
well known to the older inhabitants. They lived with 
John Sawyer — father of the late resident of that name — 
until their deaths. Thomas was born in 1765, and died in 
1834, at the age of sixty-eight. Dudley was born in 1748, 
and hung himself in Willis' woods, at "the college," in 
the summer of 1815. He went to "the college," which is 
a short distance from the site of the house, to gather herbs, 
carrying with him a line with which to tie his bundle. He 
stretched the line from one tree to another, several feet from 
theground, near a large ledge whose perpendicular side was 
near the trees. Letting the larger part of his body lie on 
the top of the ledge, he placed his neck upon the line, and 
there lay until death ensued. 

This was the home of Molly Smith for awhile, and this 
fact gave the name to the place. She also lived at No. 
138. 

179. 

J. Dwinnells Cellar. — Jacob Dwinnell, or Dunnells, 
lived in Willis' woods, at the locality known as "the col- 
lege," west of the residence of the late John Sawyer, and 
about a mile southeast of the house of Mr. Henry A. 
Towne. He was born in Topsfield in 1744, and was son 
of Thomas Dwinnell who resided in No. 122. II.' mar- 
ried in L768, Mehitable, daughter of Elisha Towne, and 
sister of John Towne, who lived at No. 177, and had nine 
children, all born here. One of them was David Dwin- 



17(j THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

nell, who was well known here fifty years ago as a carpenter 

and builder. He was horn in 177!), and died, unmarried, 
af Samuel Towne's, where he had lived for years, Jan. 10, 
1855, at the age of seventy-five. 

We know nothing more of the old house; it was prob- 
ably taken down at the beginning of this century. 

180. 
Residence of J. Parkhurst. — The residence of John 
Parkhurst, Ks<j., was built by Mr. Oilman Harris in 1875. 
The next year Mr. Parkhurst bought it of Mr. Harris, 
and finished off the basement story into a store where 
he has since carried on the grocery trade. William W. 
Dresser, E. Choate Gurley and Frank L. Parkhurst lived 
in the house pari until Mr. Parkhurst, the owner, removed 
herefrom No. 183 in 18*7. 

181. 
Residence of W. II. Atherton. — The residence of 
Mr. William II. Atherton was built as a barn by David 
Dwinnell near the Jerry Pea house. Mr. Atherton's 

brother purchased it, drew it to where it now stands, and 
made it into a house in the summer of 1850. 

182. 

Rea Cellar. — On the opposite side of the street from 
the residence of Mr. William II. Atherton, was an old cel- 
lar, which was filled a few years since by Mr. John Park- 
hurst, who now owns the field. 

Dea. Aaron Kimball lived here before 1747. He was 
a son of Richard and Hannah (Dorman) Kimball, and was 
born in Boxford mi 1705. He married, first, Sarah Wood 
in 1733 ; and, second, widow Mehitable Kimball of Brad- 
ford in 17G7. He was the grandfather of Capt. Samuel 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 177 

Kimball. Mr. Kimball was u shoemaker by trade. In 
1747, for £900, he sold this place to his brother Ephraim 
Kimball, who was of Boxford, and a cooper. The farm 
consisted of thirty acres. Deacon Kimball removed to 
No. 195, which he purchased at that time. 

Ephraim Kimball was born in 1721. He married Eliza- 
beth Gray of Andover in 1747. They had four children 
born here : Peter, Hannah, Susannah and Elizabeth. In 
1762, Mr. Kimball sold out to Joshua Rea of Beverly, 
for £313 6s. 8d. 

Mr. Rea married, first, in Beverly, Sarah , and she 

was admitted to the church here in 1764. She died a few 
years later, and he married, secondly, Hannah Peabody in 
1776. Mr. Rea died in 1784. In his will, which was 
proved, he gave all his real estate to his sons Joshua and 
William, equally. To his son Joshua he gave his "white- 
headed cane," also his sword, best powder horn and car- 
tridge-box. William lived with his father for some time 
after coming of age. To his son Jonathan Frye Rea he 
bequeathed £66 13s. 4d. He also made bequests to his 
daughters, Mary Rea, Sarah Dwinnell and Lydia Peabody. 
Dea. John Dorman was the executor of the will. 

His son Jonathan Frye Rea, who was born here in 1777, 
also lived here with his brother William. He was the 
father of Jeremiah Rea who was born here, and who re- 
sided at No. 102. 

Joseph Willis and Samuel Phillips lived here while they 
worked for John Bentley in the cotton factory. In 1837, 
the house was owned by George Blackburn, and was gone 
a few years later. 

183. 
Bentley House. — At the match factory, iron manu- 
facture was carried on as early as 1795. In 1805 there 
was here a fulling mill owned and carried on by Justus 
23 



178 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Coburn. Owing notes as follows, to Ebcnezer Peabody, 
$300; Phineas Foster, $100; David Cummings, $400; 
Andrew Peabody, $200 ; David Kimball, $100, and Moses 
Hale, $184, he mortgaged the mill and house, etc., to the 
two latter, David Kimball of Box ford and Moses Hale of 
Chelmsford, Oct. 1, 1805, to secure the payment of the 
above-mentioned notes. The mortgage was assigned to 
Enoch Foster of Boxford in July, 1807, and, for $1300, 
April 28, 1809, Foster sold the mill, dwelling house, barn, 
etc., to Capt. Solomon Towne. Only one acre of land 
went with the mill. 

Mr. Towne let the mill to Jabez Hay ward in 1817. 
He put in a grist- and bolting-mill, and lived in this house, 
being here only during that year. 

The mill and house came into the possession of George 
Blackburn, of whom the mill was hired by Hiram Ather- 
ton. Mr. Atherton's father, Otis Atherton, lived in No. 
156. Hiram Atherton came here from Newburyport, and 
his son George W. Atherton, president of the Pennsyl- 
vania State College, was born here. Hiram left town, 
and by the assistance of the ladies of the parish, who be- 
came much interested in the development of his talents, 
the son obtained his education. 

Captain Towne and others, who were interested in a 
mortgage upon the property, in 1829 conveyed it to Henry 
Gray of Roxbury, a merchant. The mortgage of one 
thousand dollars was held by the trustees of Phillips' 
Academy in Andover. 

The place then passed into the hands of Charles Mclntire, 
a broker of Boston, who sold it in 1831 to George Black- 
burn, a merchant of Boston, who leased the factory to 
various parties, one of whom was Peres Foster, who moved 
here from Norton, Mass., May 1, 1838. Mr. Foster manu- 
factured cotton batting, wicking, twine and wick-yarn. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 179 

Mr. Foster moved to Foxboro', Mass., in the fall of 1843. 
His daughter married Daniel Russell, who lived in No. 
118. 

Mr. Foster's successor was John Bentley. He came 
the summer before Mr. Foster's departure. He was a 
native of Yorkshire, England. Another one who came 
with him was James Leach, a native of Taungend, England, 
who died in this house of the small-pox in 1854, and was 
buried seventy-five rods north of the house. Some of Mr. 
Bentley's employes were Joseph Willis and Samuel Phil- 
lips who lived in No. 182, and his son James Bentley 
who lived with his family in the other part of this house. 
Mrs. Bentley died about 1855, and Mr. Bentley died in 
the almshouse in 1865. July 10, 1866, Mr. Blackburn, 
then of Roxbury, sold the mill and land to Samuel A. 
Carlton of Somerville and Ezekiel G. Byam of Charles- 
town, match manufacturers, who established the business 
here, under the firm-name of Byam, Carlton & Co. In 
September, 1867, they manufactured the first matches 
made here. It is now owned by the Diamond Match Co., 
of New Haven, Conn., to whom it was sold by Byam, 
Carlton & Co. 

Mr. John Parkhurst moved to this house from Charles- 
town May 10, 1869, and has since been the agent of the 
mill owners, residing in this house until 1887, when he re- 
moved to No. 180. 

184. 

Residence of W. P. Howe. — The house in which Mr. 
Willard P. Howe lives was built on land bought of Mr. 
S. Porter Peabody, by Mr. Joshua W. Cunningham in 
1884. He lived here until the next year, when he sold 
the place to Mr. Burpy Stevenson and removed to Maine, 
his old home. Mr. Stevenson sold it to Mr. Howe in 1888. 



180 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

185. 

Residence of D. Kenney. — This was a carpenter 
shop built by Mr. Elisba B. Peabody near the residence 
of his father Mr. S. P. Peabody, in 1880. He finished it 
into- a dwelling bouse in 1883, having moved it to the 
present site, and it has since been owned and occupied by 
Mr. Dexter Kenney. 

186. 

Residence of J. W. Parkhurst. — The house in which 
Mr. J. William Parkhurst resides was owned in the last 
century by John Foster, son of John Foster, jr., of Ando- 
ver. He was born in 1760, and married Dorcas Towne 
of Andover in 1782. His son, Joseph, succeeded him on 
the place. 

Joseph Foster was born in 1783, and died, unmarried, 
in 1864, at the age of eighty. His epitaph is : "He denied 
himself for others good." 

The farm is now owned by Mr. John Parkhurst. For 
more than twenty years after the death of Mr. Foster the 
house had various tenants, perhaps those who lived there 
the longest being Samuel P. Gurley and Samuel Perley. 

187. 

E. Stiles Cellar. — Across the street from the barn 
belonging to the residence of Mr. J. William Parkhurst, 
No. 186, was an old cellar, over which, as late as 1765, 
stood a house, which was occupied in 1707 by John Stiles. 
He was a son of Robert Stiles, one of the earliest settlers 
of Boxford, who lived where the late Dea. John K. Cole 
resided (No. 157}, and was born there Jan. 30, 1661. 
John Stiles was made a freeman in 1690. He married 
Deliverance Towne of Topsfield in 1684, and had five 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 181 

children. His wife died in 1705, and Dec. 15, 1707, he 
sold the place to his brother Timothy Stiles. 

Timothy Stiles was born Oct. 1, 1678, where John was 
born; married Hannah Foster of Audover in 1702, and 
lived on this farm and in this house. He died in 1751, 
having had a family of nine children. 

Timothy Stiles' son Ezra was the next owner and occu- 
pier of the place. He was born in the same house in 1715, 
and married Mary Warren in 1740. She died, and he 
married, secondly, widow Sarah Johnson of Andover in 
1760. By both wives he had a family of thirteen children. 

In October, 1765, Mr. Stiles sold out for £100, to 
Timothy Stiles of Boxford, probably his eldest son, who 
lived here until the close of the century, about which 
time the house went out of existence. Most of the farm 
lay in Andover. 

188. 
G. Stiles Cellar. — About a quarter of a mile north- 
west of the old Foster house, near the match factory, is an 
old cellar. The house that stood over it has probably been 
gone more than seventy-five years. It was the house of 
Gideon Stiles, an uncle of Mrs. Nathaniel Long. Gideon 
was a son of Timothy Stiles, and was born, probably at 
this place, in 1711. He married Sarah Faulkner of An- 
dover in 1736, and had children, named David, Jesse and 
Sarah, baptized here. 

189. 

Residence of D. Moore. — The residence of Capt. 
Dennison Moore was erected by Richard Foster Gurley 
in 1853, on land bought of Tobias F. Gurley the year be- 
fore. Mr. Gurley moved to Haverhill about 1885, and 
died there. Captain Moore has since resided on the 
place. 

24 



182 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

190. 

Hussey House. — The residence of the late Franklin 
Hussey Mas built by Mr. Oilman Harris in 1874. Mr. 
Hussey lived in it from that time until about 1885, and 
since then it has been unoccupied a part of the time. 

191. 

Residence of G. W. Foster. — Mr. George W. Foster's 
house was erected by Mr. Gilman Harris in 1873. Mr. 
Foster bought it shortly afterwards, and has since lived 
in it. 

192. 

E. B. Peabody Cellar. — Mr. Elisha Bradstreet Pea- 
body built for himself, in 1883, a house across the road 
from his father's, Mr. S. Porter Peabody. He lived here 
until 1885, when he moved the house to Danvers. 

193. 

Residence of S. P. Peabody. — The farm of Mr. Sam- 
uel Porter Peabody was early in the occupation of Thomas 
Pickard, who was a brother of Samuel Pickard, the first 
occupant of No. 195. He was born in Rowley in 1691, 
married Mehitable Dresser, about 1720, and died in 1770. 
1 lis children were Rebecca, who married Sampson Kilborn ; 
Mehitable, who married John Dickinson of Rowley ; 
James, the only son; and Elizabeth, who married Andrew 
Felton, jr., of Danvers. 

James Pickard, the son, came into the possession of the 
place by his lather's will. A lew years later he sold out 
to Samuel Kimball and David Kimball, brothers. The 
farm contained at that time one hundred acres. Mr. Pick- 
ard was born here in 1727, married Hannah Nelson of 
Ipswich in 1754, and had nine children horn here. 

Samuel Kimball sold out his undivided half to David 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 183 

in 1783. These were sons of Dea. Aaron Kimball, who 
resided at No. 195. The present house was built by 
David Kimball about 1800, on the site of the old one. Mr. 
Kimball married Rebecca Flint of Dan vers in 1774, and 
had a large family, seven of their children having been 
baptized in church at one time. 

When Mr. Kimball died, the place came into the pos- 
session of his son Josiah, who married Mary W., daughter 
of Dea. Parker Spotford and resided at No. 33. In 1844, 
he sold this place to Mr. Peabody the present owner. 

While Mr. Kimball owned the place, Samuel Adams 
came from Salem, where he was born, married Sarah But- 
ler of Topsheld in 1835, and first resided in this house. 
About 1839, the family removed to No. 170. 

"There was a time when this old house 

Was full of mirth and glee, 
But one by one the household went 
And left it all to me. — 
A quiet house of vacant rooms, each made a sacred place 
By echo of a missing voice, or dream of vanished face." 

194. 
Residence of S. Peabody. — Mr. Samuel Peabody 
built his house in 1882, a short distance from his father's, 
Mr. S. Porter Peabody. 

195. 
Residence of D. Bkemner. — Between the house 
of the late Capt. Samuel Kimball and the sired stood the 
residence of his grandfather Dea. Aaron Kimball. The first 
owner and occupant of the old house was Samuel Pickard. 
lie was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hale) Pickard, 
and was born in Rowley in 1689. lie married, first, 
Phebe Bixby of Boxford in 1713, and, second, Lydia 
Clarke before 1747. lie had three children baptized in 
Boxford, Samuel in 1714, Phebe in 1723, and Jonathan 



184 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

in 1726. In 1747, for £2130, he sold the farm, contain- 
ing one hundred and twenty acres, to Dea. Aaron Kim- 
ball, who had just sold No. 182, where he had lived. 

Deacon Kimball was a son of Richard Kimball, and was 
born in 1705. By his wife Sarah Wood, he had live 
children, the two youngest being sons. The tirst, David, 
built and lived in No. 193. The other son, Samuel, re- 
sided on the homestead. 

Samuel Kimball was born here in 1747. The mother 
of his children was a daughter of General James Mugford 
of Marblehead. Mr. Kimball had but two children, 
Samuel and Mary (who died unmarried in 1868). Mrs. 
Kimball died in 1847, at the age of seventy-nine. 

Samuel Kimball, jr., born here in 1801, married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of John Sawyer, in 1831, and built the 
new house when he was married, taking down the old 
one at the same time. 

Captain Kimball died in 1885, at the age of eighty-four, 
and since that time his son-in-law, Rev. David Bremner, has 
resided here. 

196. 

Residence of D. Lehan. — Mr. Dennis Lehan erected 
his house about 1870. 

197. 

Residence of T. Condon. — Mr. Thomas Condon built 
his house about 1870. 

198. 
Residence of C. Kaler. — The residence of Mr. Cor- 
nelius Kaler was the school-house which stood near Moses 
Kimball's in West Boxford. When that district was dis- 
continued in 1869, Mr. Kaler bought the building, moved 
it to its present site, and finished it into a dwelling-house, 
in which he has since resided. In 1884, he remodelled and 
improved the house. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 185 

199. 
Residence ofT. Lehan. — Capt. Samuel Kimball built 
the house now in the possession of Mr. Thomas Lehan in 
1862. It was owned and occupied before Mr. Lehan lived 
in it by Abraham Hill. 

200. 

Residence of C. E. Mortimer. — Mr. Caleb E. Mor- 
timer's house was built by Capt. Samuel Kimball about 
1849, for his engineer, a Mr. Calligan, to live in. Mr. 
Kimball afterward sold it to Mr. Dennis Lehan, who re- 
sided here till about 1870, when he built his new house, 
No. 196. The Mortimer family have owned it since. 

Mr. Joshua W. Cunningham also lived here for a year 
or two, until he had completed a new house for himself, 
No. 184. 

201. 

Residence of J. B. Fiske. — The residence of Mr. 
Joseph B. Fiske was erected by Mr. William Sawyer in 
1844. He removed in 187-, and sold the place to Mr. 
Fiske, who came from Topsfield, and has since resided on 
this place. 

202. 

Residence of J. A. Elliot. — The residence of Mr. 
James Albert Elliot was built by Mr. William Sawyer in 
1866, and sold the next year to Mr. Edmund Kaler of 
Bradford. In 1873, Mr. Kaler sold the place to Mr. 
Elliot, who has since lived here. 

203. 
Residence of T. Woods. — The house of Mr. Tim- 
othy Woods was built by himself about 1866. 

204. 
James Holden Cellar. — A short distance north of the 



186 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

residence of Mr. J. Albert Elliot (No. 202) is an old cel- 
lar, known as the Holden cellar. Here James Holden, 
was living in 1783. He was a brother of Joseph Holden 
who lived in No. 2, in the "Ridges." James Holden married 
Rebecca Ireland in Linebrook parish, Ipswich, in 1760. 
No one knows how long this house has been gone. 

205. 

Residence of H. Berry. — This has been known for 
many years as the Long place. It was probably settled 
by Timothy Foster, a son of William Foster, who kept 
the ordinary at No. 113. He was born there in 1672. 
He married, first, Mary, daughter of Ephraim Dorman, 
and, second, Ruth Andrews in 1715. 

Lieut. Jeremiah Foster, son of Timothy, next owned the 
place. He was born in 1701 ; married, first, Abigail Wood 
in 1731, second, widow Bridget Pemberton in 1755. He 
died in 1785, leaving a family of thirteen children. His 
daughter Huldah married Amos Gould, and Hannah mar- 
ried Dea. Moses Peabody. The eldest child, Jeremiah, 
inherited the farm. 

Jeremiah Foster, jr., was born in 1732, and married 
Abigail , who died a widow in 1807, aged eighty- 
four. Mr. Foster sold the place to Nathaniel Long of 
Boxford in 1801. 

Mr. Lonjr came from Andover having married Elizabeth 
Stiles of that place in 1788, and resided here until his death, 
which occurred in 1819, at the age of fifty-eight. His 
widow continued to reside upon the farm until her death 
in 1849, at the age of eighty-eight. Mr. Long built the 
present house. They had two or more children, Nathaniel 
who died in 1823, at the age of thirty-five, and Sukey, 
who married Nathan Dresser, and lived at No. 66. 

John Brown came here from Methuen and lived a few 
years from 1819. He probably removed from here to No. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 187 

98. Augustus Hayward also lived here a short time about 
1835, and in 1813 came into partial possession of the 
place. 

In 1850, the farm belonged to Dorcas D., wife of Henry 
Atherton, who sold it to Amos Berry of Andover in the 
spring of that year. Mr. Berry and his son Horace have 
been the occupants since that time. 

206. 

Residence of J. R. Webster. — The house of Mr. 
John R. Webster was owned by John Kimball, son of 
Richard, who also may have lived here. Richard was born 
at No. 90, in 1673. He married Hannah, a sister to Eph- 
raim Dorman, who settled at No. 58. He died in 1753, 
and she in 1748. They both lie buried in the ancient 
cemetery in the East parish. They had nine children 
among whom were Dea. Aaron, who lived at No. 195; 
Amos, who settled at No. 207 ; Ephraim, who lived at No. 
182 ; and John, who resided on this place. 

John Kimball was born in 1713, and married, first, Sarah 
Barker of Andover in 1744. He married, second, Hannah 
(Wood), widow of Joshua Andrews in 1764. He died 
in 1796, at the age of eighty-three. He had seven chil- 
dren, all by his first wife, as follows, viz. : Daniel, who died 
young; Mehitable ; Asa, who succeeded his father on the 
place ; Sarah ; Mary ; Daniel, who married Sarah Pearsons 
of Newbury in 1789, lived a year or two at No. 95, and 
removed to Newbury ; and Esther who married Nathan 
Andrews, the father of the late Daniel Andrews. The un- 
married daughters resided on the place with Asa. 

Asa Kimbali married .Mehitable Symonds in 1787. The 
division of his estate occurred in 1812. 

The place was afterwards in the possession of Mehitable 
Audrews, sister to the late Samuel Andrews, who was 



188 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

born in 1788, and died in 1870, at the age of eighty- 
two. 

Maj. Samuel Perley lived here a number of years at the 
beginning of this century, and removed to No. 173. Mr. 
Webster has lived on the place for many years. 

207. 

Kesidence of O. P. Killam. — Mr. Oliver Porter Kil- 
lam lives on the old Enoch Kimball place. Mr. Kim- 
ball's father, Amos Kimball, was son of Richard Kimball, 
and was born in 1707, probably in No. 206. He settled 
on this farm, and married, first, in 1736-7, Margaret, 
daughter of Joseph and Joanna (Dodge) Hale, who lived 
in Boxford. She was born in 1712-3, and died in 1764, 
aged fifty-one years. He married, second, widow Abigail 
Sessions of Andover in 1765. She was daughter of James 
Black of Boxford and widow of Timothy Sessions of An- 
dover, and died in 1784, at the age of sixty-six. He died 
in 1788, at the age of eighty. He had nine children, 
and his first wife was the mother of them all. Their names 
were Jesse, Joanna, Jethro, Enoch, Eli, Peggy, who died 
at two years of age, Lydia, Amos, who lived at No. 214, 
and Joseph. 

His son Enoch Kimball was born in 1743, married Hul- 
dah Gould of Topsfield in 1777, and resided on this farm. 
They had eight children : Huldah, Elijah (who died at the 
age of four months), Moody, Dorcas, Hannah, Sally, 
Elizabeth and Enoch. 

His son Moody Kimball succeeded him on the place. 
He was the father of Mrs. Killam who still resides there. 

Mr. Killam took the old house down and built his pres- 
ent residence in 1853. He was a son of Oliver Killam, 
and was born in No. 153. In 1845, he erected his barn, 
in 1861 his carriage house and wood-shed, and in 1870 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 189 

his pump and store-house. Samuel N. Ayers was the 
boss carpenter in erecting all the buildings. 

Since the above was written Mr. Killam has died ; and 
his son Charles, the well-known caterer of Beverly, soon 
followed him. 

208. 
Residence of W. K. Cole. — Mr. William Kimball Cole 
built his house near the home of his uncle, the late Eph- 
raim F. Cole, in 1883. 

209. 

Residence of Mrs. E. F. Cole. — When this house 
was erected we have not learned. Kimball Cole married 
Abigail Runnells of Methuen in 1804, and resided here. 
They had seven children, Sarah Foster, Rebecca, Ephraim 
Foster, Mehitable Barker, Abigail, John Kimball and Wil- 
liam Runnells, all of whom are now dead. John K. 
resided in No 155, and William R. in No. 244. 

Mr. Cole was succeeded on the farm by his son Ephraim 
F. Cole, who was born in 1809. He died here in 1879, 
at the age of sixty-nine. His widow resides upon the 
homestead. One of their sons, George S., is a deputy 
sheriff, and resides in Andover. 

210. 
Scales Cellar. — A short distance to the northeast 
of the residence of the late Oliver P. Killam (No. 207) in 
the Scales' field, so called, is an old cellar. Over it, one 
hundred and seventy years ago stood the house in which 
James Scales and his family lived. James was a son of 
James and Sarah (Curtis) Scales of Rowley, where he 
w;is horn in 1679. He married his cousin Sarah Curtis 
of Boxford in 170.'), and settled on this place, and probably 
25 



190 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

built the house of which we are writing, as lie was a car- 
penter by trade. Mr. Scales was in humble circumstances, 
yet helped one son through college, and reared a family 
of nine children. 

The History of Henniker, N. H., in which town some 
of the family settled, states that Mr. Scales and a brother 
were killed by the Indians near their own door in 1725. 
This may be true, as the entire family left Boxford about 
that time. 

James, one of the sons, born here in 1707, graduated, 
at Harvard College in 1733, was licensed to preach in 1743, 
and was the first minister in Canterbury, being afterward 
settled at Hopkinton, N. H. He died at the latter place 
in 1776. 

How long the house stood after this family had gone 
from it is unknown ; but the old dwelling has been among 
the things that are not, a long, long term of years. 

211. 
Old Kimball Cellar. — On the right-hand side of the 
road leading from the residence of the late O. P. Killam to 
the West-parish church is an old cellar. There are two 
apple trees there, which were very old ninety years ago. 
The apples are a pretty striped variety. The late Mrs. 
Capt. Enoch Wood thought that a Kimball family resided 
there, as the lot has been known by the name of Kimball 
for very many years. 

212. 
Old Ames Cellar. — Across the street southwest from 
the residence of the late Capt. Enoch Wood, on the road 
leading to the match-factory is the Ames cellar. This 
was probably the site of the original Ames settlement in 
the town, being occupied as early as 1(JG1 by Robert Ames, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 191 

or Eames. His wife Rebecca was the witch of that name 
who was condemned to death for the crime of witchcraft 
in the memorable year of 1692. She was taken from the 
court room to the ancient gaol in Salem and confined there 
awaiting execution until the general delivery of the pris- 
oners who were held there under sentence for the crime 
whereof she was condemned. Though she was not as pure- 
minded and of such a heroic nature as were some others of 
those who suffered at that time, yet her husband felt the 
trial through which they had passed, and died the next 
year. But she survived all her tribulations and did not 
die until 1721, when she was more than eighty years old. 
The family were poor in those times, but in the course 
of the next three-quarters of a century became affluent. 

They had several children, but which one settled on the 
home place we have not learned. Their son Joseph mar- 
ried and resided at No. 251, dying at the age of seventy- 
two in 1753. Among his nine children was Jonathan, 
who was born in 1712, and marrying in 1737, settled up- 
on this place. They had six children, one of whom was 
Jonathan, who married Ruth Perley of Linebrook parish, 
Ipswich. A few months after her marriage, she was taken 
sick and soon died, her death occurring on the first day of 
June, 17(59. She was a very handsome young lady, and 
of an excellent disposition and family. The neighbors 
suspected that something was wrong about her sickness, 
and some of them, particularly Mrs. Moses Kimball, who 
lived at No. 90, endeavored to see her during her illness, 
but Mrs. .Ames, the mother-in-law, would permit no one 
to go into the room. After her burial, the suspicion that 
she had come lo an unnatural end so increased and wrought 
Upon the feelings ol the people that t wenty-nine men signed 

a complaint to three coroners, which was agreed to by her 
relatives, requesting that a court of inquisition on the body 



192 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

might be held. Monday, July 10, was therefore appointed 
for that purpose, and on that date a promiscuous multitude 
thronged the meeting-house where the court was held. 
Seventeen physicians were summoned to appear, four as 
witnesses and the other thirteen as a jury. A solemn, si- 
lent sadness pervaded the assembly during the prayer and 
the charge given by the coroners to the jury. The whole 
assemblage then proceeded to the burying-ground in good 
order, though while the grave was reopened there was 
much crowding, until the people were told that they should 
all have a chance to see the remains. The verdict of the 
jury, that the deceased came to her death by poisoning, 
fell heavily upon the ears of the Ames family. During 
the examination several parts of the testimony pointed 
strongly to the husband and his mother as the guilty par- 
ties, especially to Mrs. Ames. They were arrested on 
the charge of murder and on the eighteenth of the month 
were committed to the gaol at Salem to await their trial. 
A sister of the husband was also indicted as an accessory, 
but was probably not confined in jail. They were tried 
in the superior court at Salem, the trial commencing Nov. 
21, at nine o'clock in the morning and continuing into 
the night until two o'clock, when the case was given to the 
jury, and the court adjourned until nine o'clock in the 
morning. Before the trial came off, to secure his own 
neck, Jonathan turned state's evidence against his mother, 
but both judges and jury placed very little dependence 
upon his testimony, as a son who would strive to hang his 
own mother would not shrink at lying to save his own neck. 
Three of the four judges thought that Mrs. Ames was 
guilty, but the fourth was very uncertain as to the weight 
of the evidence. The jury, after being out for a long time, 
reported that they had come to the conclusion that upon 
the evidence she was not guilty, and she, with her son and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 193 

daughter, was discharged. The family left the town as 
soon after this as possible. 

How long the old house has been gone is a question, but 
it is doubtful if it was occupied after the Ames family left 
it. The old cellar remains with the growth of sumach and 
blackberry vines in and around it, a memento of the ter- 
rible history that surrounds it. 

213. 

Old Cushing Cellar. — At the southwest corner of the 
junction of the roads near the residence of the late Capt. 
Enoch Wood, stood the residence of Job Tyler, son of 
Moses and Prudence (Blake) Tyler, who was born at No. 
89 in 1675. By his first wife, Margaret, he was the father 
of several children, one of whom, Job, settled at No. 219. 
Mr. Tyler married, secondly, Priscilla Peabody in 1736. 

In 1738, he sold out to Rev. John Cushing, the first min- 
ister of the second church in this town. Mr. Cushin<>- was 
a son of Rev. Caleb Cushing of Salisbury, where he was 
born in 1709. He was a grandson of the Rev. John Cot- 
ton, and a brother of Caleb Cushing, state counsellor, 
and of Rev. James Cushing of Phiistow, N. H. His grand- 
father Cushing was John, one of the governor's assistants 
in 1688. Mr. Cushing graduated at Harvard college in 
1729, and settled in the ministry here in 1736. He prob- 
ably built this house about the same time. Mr. Cushins 
married Elizabeth Martin of Boston in 1740, and they 
had but one child, John, who was born the year succeeding 
their marriage. The father died in 1772, in his sixty- 
third year, continuing the pastor of this church till his 
death. 

John, the son, graduated al Harvard college in 1761s 
and marrying Elizabeth Bagley in 1766, lived with his 
father, alter whose death he came into possession of the 



194 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

place. With his wife and five children, in 1780, he removed 
to North Yarmouth, Me., and afterward to Waterford, Me., 
where he died in 1815. He was a justice of the peace, 
and a very prominent man in the town. 

In the year of Mr. Cushing's removal (1780) he sold the 
place to Paul Spofford, who lived in that part of Rowley 
which is now Georgetown, for £13,000. The farm then 
contained eighty acres. Mr. Spofford was a son of Capt. 
Abel Spofford, who lived in what is now Georgetown on 
the west side of Baldpate, on the farm now in the posses- 
sion of Mrs. William P. Perley, and was thirty-one years 
of age when he bought this place. 

Mr. Spofford had a bondservant named Adam Simson, 
who ran away in the summer of 1781, and he advertised 
for him in the Salem Gazette, as follows: — 

"DUN-AWAY/wm the fubfcriber on the 20th of July 
-L^- laft, a bond fervant, named ADAM 8EMS0N, an 
Mfh fellow, about 18 years of age, of a middle ftature : 
Had on when he ran-away a brown wooling coat, blue wooling 
waiftcoat, checked Unning shirt, and striped linning and wool 
trowfers. Whoever will take upfaidfellow, or give informa- 
tion to his mafter fhall have one paper dollar (old emiffion) 
reward paid by PA VL SPOFFOBD. 

"N. B. Allperfons whatever are hereby forbid harboring, 
concealing, or employing f aid run-away , as they would avoid 
the penalty of the law. 

"Boxford, Auguft 1, 1781." 

Mr. Spofford never married. In 1784, he sold the farm 
to his father, and soon after died of palsy. His father 
conveyed the farm in 1785 to Jeremiah Harriman of Row- 
ley, who afterward lived at No. 216, selling this farm with 
the buildings thereon to Amos Kimball, who lived across 
the street (at No. 214). Of the house after this date the 
writer knows nothing. 

214. 
Residence of Rev. S. Rovve.— The farm owned and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 195 

occupied by Rev. Samuel Rowe and Mr. Isaac Wyatt was 
formerly in the possession of Zebediah Foster, son of Jona- 
than and Abigail (Kimball) Foster, who was born in 1702. 
He married Margaret Tyler in 1723-24, and settled here, 
where he died in 1772, at the age of sixty-nine. They 
had nine children, one of whom, Dudley, resided upon the 
place with his mother, who died in 1784, at the age of 
eighty-one. 

Dudley Foster was born in 1737, and married Rachel 
Steel of Andover in 1767. They had four children at 
least, Phebe, Mary, Mehitable and Rachel. Dudley and 
his mother sold the place in 1777, to Amos Kimball of 
Andover, blacksmith. Mr. Foster probably removed to 
Andover. 

The present house was built by Mr. Kimball about 
1780. He was a son of Amos Kimball, who lived at No. 
207, where he was born in 1 752. His early years were spent 
in Andover, where he learned the trade of a blacksmith. 
He came to this place and established a home and a shop. 
He married Mary Stiles of Andover in 1779, and she died 
in 1791, at the age of about thirty-eight. His children 
were Elizabeth, who died in 1821, at the age of forty, un- 
married ; Polly, who died in 1783, at theage of five months ; 
Amos, who succeeded his father on the place ; Mary, who 
married Frederic Spofford, and lived in No. 80; Charles; 
and Lucy who died at the age of sixteen. Mr. Kimball 
died in 1824, at the age of seventy-one. 

Messrs. Rowe and Wyatt, who were from New Glouces- 
ter, Me., in 1870, purchased the farm of John F. Kimball 
of Andover, who then owned it. Mr. Kimball was a son 
of Amos and grandson of the above named Amos Kim- 
ball who died in 1*24. Messrs. Rowe and Wyatt moved 
here April 29, 1870. They are deaf mutes, and Mr. Rowe 
is an evangelist of the Congregational church to the deaf 



196 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

mutes of Maine. He was the first Congregational minister 
thus ordained in the United States. His ordination took 
place in the church at West Box ford in 1878. 

215. 
Old Palmer Cellar. — A short distance west of the 
residence ot Rev. Samuel Rowe (No. 214) is an old cel- 
lar, over which stood a house wherein John Palmer lived 
from 17 06 to 1780. He came from Rowley, where he 
had married Mary Creasey. Here was horn his distin- 
guished son Timothy Palmer, the famous bridge builder. 
How long the house stood after 1780 is not known. 

216. 

Old Porter Cellar. — In West Boxford, near the 
North Andover town line, on the south side of the high- 
way leading from the residence of the late Capt. Enoch 
Wood to North Andover, is an old cellar. Near this 
cellar stood the old house in which George Blake lived. 
He came from Gloucester in or about 1675, having been 
born in 1611, and made a freeman in 1651. He died in 
1698, at the age of eight}^-seven. His wife Dorothy sur- 
vived him till 1702, when she died. They had six daugh- 
ters and one son, the latter surviving but sixteen days. 
The daughters were Rebecca, born in 1641, who married 
Robert Eames, lived near her father's and became the 
witch of 1692; Deborah; Prudence, who married Moses 
Tyler, and lived near her father; Elizabeth, who married 
Matthew Perry, and lived in Boxford and Bradford ; Mary, 
who married Zaccheus Curtis; and Ruth. In 1709, an 
old record reads, "On the south side of said road near 
where George Blake's old house stood." So his residence 
survived him but a few years. 

John Ames, or Eames, as the name was then commonly 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 197 

spelled, probably bought this place after the decease of Mr. 
Blake, as in 1709 he was living in the house which stood 
over the cellar named at the beginning of this sketch, and 
in which he lived several years previously. He was a son 
of Robert Eames, and grandson of Mr. Blake, and was 
born at No. 212 in 1670. He married Priscilla Kimball 
and had seven children. 

In 1716, Mr. Ames sold the place, then containing one 
hundred acres of land, to Benjamin Porter of Wenham, 
for £350, and probably removed from town. He was a 
son of John and Lydia (Herrick) Porter, and was born in 
Wenham in 1692. He probably built the house himself, 
as he was a carpenter, a trade characteristic of this branch 
of the Porter family. Mr. Porter married Sarah, daughter 
of Moses and Ruth (Perley) Tyler, who may have lived 
at the Captain Wood place (No. 89). She was born in 
1696, and died here in 1767, at the age of seventy-one. 
Mr. Porter died in 1778, at the age of eighty-six. Their 
remains lie' in the ancient cemetery near their dwelling. 
Their children were Mary, who married Dea. Thomas 
Chadwick; Moses, who settled, we believe, where Edward 
E. Pearl, Esq., resides (No. 221) ; Benjamin who was his 
father's successor on the homestead ; Sarah ; Tyler ; and 
Lucy, Avho died in 1755, at the age of nineteen. 

Benjamin Porter, his father's successor on the farm, was 
born here in 1721. Before his marriage it seems that he 
resided in Exeter, N. II., and had become a member of 
the church there. He married, first, Ruth Foster of An- 
dover, in 1744. She, after becoming the mother of nine 
children, died in 1760, at the age of thirty-seven. He 
married, second, Mary Sherwin, in 1763, by whom he had 
four more children. Mr. Porter died in 1784, at the ago 
of sixty-two. In his will he bequeathed four pounds to 
the Second church. His children were: Lydia, who 
2G 



198 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

married Daniel Farnham of Andover; Mehitable, who 
married Asa Sherwin ; David Foster, who married Susan- 
na Towne of Londonderry ''formerly of Boxford) in 1771, 
and removed to Denmark, Me., afterward settling in 
Dixmont, Me. (it is said that his six children were born 
in Boxford) ; Lucy, who married Asa Barker of Andover at 
the age of fifteen ; Sarah, who married Samuel Kimball ; 
Benjamin, bom in 1754, married Polly Sargent and re- 
moved to Winthrop, Me., in 1780, and in 1788 to Vienna, 
Me., where he died in 1837 ; being father of Dr. Byron 
Porter of Bangor and Waterville, Me., and grandfather 
of John C. Porter, professor of mathematics in New York 
Central college; of Col. Thomas W. Porter, Boston, 
Mass., a lawyer, and colonel of the 14th Mass. regiment; 
of Dr. Byron Porter of Newport, Me. ; and of Dr. Parker 
Cleveland Porter, a surgeon in the Army of the Potomac ; 
Ruth, who died at the age of twenty-two in 1779 ; Tyler, 
into whose hands the homestead came ; Jonathan, who died 
in infancy; Susanna, who died in 1799, at the age of 
twenty-six; Jonathan, who died in 1782, at the age of 
sixteen; Mary, who died in 1824, unmarried, at the age 
of fifty-seven; and Mehitable, who married Stephen Pea- 
body in 1791. 

Tyler Porter, who succeeded his father on the farm, was 
born here in 1758, and married Abigail Johnson of An- 
dover in 1779. He lived on this old place until 1800, 
when he sold out and removed to Sebago, Me., where he 
died in 1842, at the age of eighty-four. Their children, 
all born in Boxford, were as follows: Ruth, who married 
Jonathan Poor of Sebago ; Jonathan, who lived in Boxford 
and was the father of Capt. J. J. Porter ; Tyler, who re- 
sided in Weston, N. Y. ; Stephen, who resided in Portland, 
Me. ; Benjamin, who lived in Merrimac, N. H., and Seba- 
go and Buxton, Me. ; Rufus, born at this place in 1792, died 



THE DWELLINCxS OF BOXFORD. 199 

in New Haven, Conn., in 1884, at the age of ninety- 
two ; and Henry, who died in Portland, Me., in 1870. The 
son Rufus was proficient in his youth as an artist, as some 
of the houses in the parish, whose walls he ornamented, 
bear proof. Having removed to Maine with his parents, 
he settled first at Portland, and served in the 1812 war 
with the Portland light infantry, being its last survivor. 
He afterwards lived at New Haven, Conn. He became 
an inventor, and was the founder of the Scientific Amer- 
ican, a journal of world-wide fame. The number of his 
inventions were legion, and many of them were of great 
utility. 

It may be interesting to know that this house was the 
home of quite a number of Africans in early times. Mr. 
Benjamin Porter, first named, owned more slaves than any 
one else in the town. Candace, a negro woman, was 
baptized in 1758. Ammy married John, who belonged to 
Joseph Noyes of Newbury, in 1734. Tamsin had a hus- 
band, probably, somewhere, and her three children, Caesar, 
Pompey and Phillis, were baptized in 1737, together with 
herself. She, however, was not much benefited by the 
baptism, for she would still get drunk. These were only a 
part of Mr. Porter's slaves. He had quite a family in 
all. 

Tyler Porter sold this farm in 1800 to Simeon Foster of 
Andover, and in 1804 Mr. Foster conveyed it back to Mr. 
Porter, who, two days later, conveyed it to Jeremiah Har- 
riman and Jeremiah Harriman, jr., of Boxford. Mr. Porter 
had already removed to Pleasant mountain gore, York 
county, Maine. Mr. Harriman was from Rowley, and had 
been living in town for several years. He and his wife died 
on the same day, February 25, 1824, he, at the age of eighty- 
four, and she, who was a second wife, at seventy-one. Mr. 
Harriman was the grandfather of the late D. F. Harriman. 



200 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

The old house was taken down by Jeremiah's son Dan- 
iel Harriman and converted into the "Ocean house," No. 
223, in 1836. 

217. 
Residence of L. G. Whittier. — Mr. Levi G. Whit- 
tier built his new house in the West parish, on the road 
leading from the sand pit to the Hubbard place in North 
Andover, in 1883. 

218. 

Peter Pearl House. — The Peter Pearl farm was origi- 
nally in the possession of Job Tyler, a son of Job Tyler, 
who lived at No. 213. He was born in 1705, and married 
Elizabeth Parker of Bradford in 1730. He had a negro 
woman servant, who was called "Notur." Mr. Tyler was 
the father of Abraham Tyler, who lived in No. 81. His 
son Phineas, born in 1736, was the first baptized in the 
first West-parish church, the service occurring Dec. 12, 
1736. After living in Boxford many years, Phineas re- 
moved to Leominster. Bradstreet Tyler was another son. 
There were twelve children in all — eight sons and four 
daughters. Mr. Tyler probably moved to No. 286. 
Bradstreet Tyler lived here after his father. 

In 1802, Stephen Tyler, who had owned the place some 
years, sold to James Fletcher of Ashby. The farm con- 
sisted of a hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Tyler's wife 
was named Patty. 

Mr. Fletcher resided here, and died about 1805. In 
1807, his widow Rebecca Fletcher, and children Jonas 
Fletcher, a cooper, Betsey Fletcher, Susanna Fletcher, 
single-woman, and Abel Fletcher, carpenter, all of Box- 
ford, sold the place to Billy Bradstreet of Rowley. 

The present house was probably built by Mr. Bradstreet 
about 1810. He occupied it a few years; and after his 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 201 

death it came into the possession of widow Nabby Killam, 
who sold it in 1819 to Jacob Perley of Boxford. 

]\Ir. Perley was a son of Benjamin Perley, who lived in 
No. 32, and was born in Topsfield in 1783. He married 
Sarah Perley of Boxford in 1814, and they had two children, 
daughters, Harriet Newell and Apphia Ann. Mr. Per- 
ley died in 1821, aged thirty-seven. His administrator 
then sold the place in the spring of that year to Peter 
Pearl, who was the eleventh and youngest child of John 
and Elizabeth (Kimball) Pearl of Boxford, where he was 
born in 1791. Mr. Pearl was a prominent man in the 
town. His two daughters Misses Eunice and Hattie Pearl 
reside upon the place. Mr. John T. Wood also lived there 
a few years ago. 

The Rev. Charles M. Pierce resided in this house during 
his ministry in the parish at the beginning of the war of 
the Rebellion. 

219. 
Job Tyler Cellar. — On the same farm and a short 
distance in the rear of the Peter Pearl house (No. 218), 
is what is known as the "Job Tyler cellar." This is the 
site of the house in which Job Tyler resided early in the 
eighteenth century. Sketch No. 218 gives an account of 
him. How long the house was standing has not been de- 
termined. 

220. 
Greenleaf Cellar. — Near the sand-pit in West Box- 
ford, on the north side of the road stood the Greenleaf 
house, which was moved about 1871 to South Groveland, 
near Johnson's pond, where it now stands. 

221. 
Residence of E. E. Pearl. — The farm of Edward E. 



202 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Pearl, Esq., was originally an old Porter homestead. 
Moses Porter, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Tyler) Porter, 
was horn in No. 216 in 1719. In 1741 he married Mary, 
daughter of Edmund Chadwick of Bradford, and built this 
house at about that time, it is supposed. He died here 
in 1811, at the age of ninety-one years and eleven months. 
He had two other wives, Sarah Ayers of Haverhill and 
Mary Low of Wenham, both widows, the last being his 
cousin. He had eight children, all by his first wife : Asa, 
the oldest, graduated at Harvard college, 1762, and set- 
tled in Newburyport, as a merchant. He was a gentleman 
of the old school ; during the Revolutionary war he was a 
devoted loyalist; and removed to Haverhill, N. H., before 
1780, where he was a large landholder. Sabine's History 
of the Loyalists says of him : "He suffered in person and 
property, in consequence of his adherence to the royal 
cause, and was compensated by grants of crown land in 
Canada. He was on terms of intimacy with Governor 
Wentworth, and other gentlemen of rank, and was him- 
self a person of highly respectable character." He died 
in 1818 at the age of seventy-six. He had two sons who 
graduated at Dartmouth college. William resided on the 
homestead. Mary died at the age of four years. Moses 
was a wild young man, and is said to have married Ann 
Kay. Fie lived here for many years. Aaron, born here 
in 1752, was a physician of eminence in his profession, 
first at Biddeford, and afterward at Portland, Me., where 
he died in 1837, at the age of eighty-five. He married 
Paulina, daughter of Richard King of Scarborough, Me., 
and sister of Hon. Rufus King, the first United States 
Senator from New York, minister to England, etc., and 
half-sister of Hon. William King, the first governor of 
Maine. His granddaughter, Sarah Leland Coffin, mar- 
ried Rev. Charles Beecher of Georgetown ; another grand- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 203 

daughter, Isabella Porter Jones, married Rev. Edward 
Beecher ; and his daughter Harriet was the second wife 
of Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher and the mother of Rev. 
Thomas K. Beecher of Elmira, N. Y. This shows how 
the Beechers and this family have such complicated re- 
lationships. Mary married Joseph Hovey of Boxford. 
Lucy married Col. Benjamin Towne ofMethuen, and died 
in Belfast, Me., at the age of eighty-one. James, the 
youngest child, died at the age of three. Among the de- 
scendants, not already named, of this Moses Porter, first 
mentioned, are the wife ofjRev. Charles E. Blood of Man- 
hattan, Kas., and Wataga, III. ; Prof. William Coffin of 
Illinois college; the wife of Rev. John W. Bradshaw of 
Batavia, 111. ; the wife of Rev. Edwin E. Bliss, mission- 
ary near Constantinople, Turkey ; Rev. Frederick William 
Beecher of Wellsville, N. Y. ; Eugene Francis Beecher, 
editor of the Brooklyn Monthly; Rev. William B. Jones 
of St. Louis, Mo. ; Rev. Francis Jones ; Henry A. Jones 
of Albany, N. Y., state librarian ; Rev. George Wash- 
burn of Constantinople, Turkey ; the wife of John Hooker, 
Esq., an attorney of Hartford, Conn. ; Rev. James C. 
Beecher ; Dr. John Tyler Goddard of New York City ; 
and the wife of Rev. Samuel Phillips of Groton, Mass. 
William Porter, born here in 1744, married, in 1767, 
Mary, daughter of Isaac Adams, who lived at No. 84. 
He always resided here, and died in 1822, at the age of 
seventy-eight. He had nine children, one of whom, Mary, 
married Amos Carleton at Haverhill about 1805, and 
settled upon her father's place. Among Mr. Porter's 
descendants are the wife of Rev. Peter MeVieker of To- 
peka, Kas. ; the wife of Henry H. Markman, Esq., of Mil- 
waukee, Wis; Gen. Charles Porter Mattocks, now a law- 
yer of Portland, Me., having been several years attorney 
for Cumberland county ; the wife of Hon. Isaac Dyer of 



204 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Baldwin, Me.; Hon. Charles William Porter of Platts- 
burg, Mo.; Rnfns King Porter, Esq., of Machias, Me.; 
and Dr. George Thatcher Porter of Calais, Me. 

In 1860, Amos Carleton sold out to James Carleton, 
who resided here until 1876, when he sold to Mrs. Pamela 
AV . Tyler. He then removed to Georgetown, where he 
afterward resided. Mr. Pearl came into possession of the 
some fourteen years since, and shortly afterward erected his 
large and convenient barn. 

222. 

Residence of C. R. Anderson. — The late Capt. Jon- 
athan Janus Porter built his mill-dam in 1836, splitting 
the stone and doing the work generally himself, and erected 
the mill the following year, Oscar G. Ingalls being associ- 
ated with him in the conduct of the mill. Mr. Porter 
built his late residence in 1837, and his barn in 1845. 
After the decease of his wife, he conveyed the farm in 
1878 to Mr. Charles R. Anderson the present owner, with 
whom he resided, and died in 1891, at the age of eighty. 

223. 

"Ocean House." — The house near the late D. Francis 
Harriman's, known as the "Ocean house," was built for 
"Aunt Polly Foster" and D. F. Hairiman out of the old 
Porter house, No. 216, with the addition of new lum- 
ber, in 1836, a four-tenement house being constructed. 
Joseph Brown lived here for six or eight years, and Thomas 
B. Parker eight or ten years. It has also been occupied 
by Samuel Jenkins, Charles R. Anderson, Mrs. Lucy 
Harris, William Newhall, J. B. Frost, Warren Noyes, 
George Hudson, John Baker, William Merrill, Frank W. 
Chase and many others. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 205 



224. 
Residence of G. A. Harriman. — The residence of the 
late D. Francis Harriman was built by his father, Daniel 
Harriman, about 1816. Mr. Harriman was born in Row- 
ley in 1783, and his father (Jeremiah) removed to Boxford 
when Daniel was less than ten years of age. Daniel mar- 
ried Jane Dole of Methuen, and died of dropsy in 1863, 
at the age of eighty years. His son, Daniel Francis, 
afterward possessed and carried on the farm until his death 
in 1884, since which time his son Mr. George A. Harri- 
man has lived there. 

225. 
Residence of J. Horace Nason. — The house of Mr. 
John Horace Nason was early occupied by a family bear- 
ing the name of Willard, and was afterward owned by 
Greenleaf Dole, who lived here. About 1850, Mr. Dole 
sold the place to the late D. Francis Harriman, and on the 
death of Mr. Harriman in 1884 it came into the possession 
of Mr. Nason and his wife, who was Mr. Harriman's 
daughter. They have lived there many years. 

226. 
Residence of Spoffordand Rokes. — This house was 
built by Henry C. Sullivan in 1830, on land he bought of 
Greenleaf Dole the year before. The timber for this house 
was hewn near Fish Brook on the Towne road by Capt. 
J. J. Porter, William Henry and Mr. Sullivan. In 1831, 
he sold it to William Henry, who had lived at No. 242. 
In 1836, Mr. Henry sold to Francis Perley Robinson of 
Boxford, cordwainer, who in 1842 conveyed itto Solomon 
Wildes, a tavern keeper of Boston, and then removed to 
Boston. Mr. Wildes was originally of Topsfield. In 1850, 
27 



206 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

he sold out to Aaron L. Parker of Boxford, who removed 
from No. 234, and resided here until his death in 1875. 

It is now owned by his widow. 

Mr. Benjamin French resided here awhile, removing to 
the Foster house, No. 93. On the same day that Capt. 
Porter was married in one part of this house, a daughter 
of Mr. French was buried from the other part. The house 
is now occupied by Messrs. Alden Spofford and Meander 
Rokes. 

227. 

Morse's Store. — The country store kept by Mr. G. S. 
Morse near the West Boxford church is located in a build- 
ing erected for that purpose about ten years ago by E. E. 
Pearl, Esq. The second story is finished into a tenement 
in which has resided Mr. Frank Jaques. 

228. 
West Parish Parsonage. — The parsonage in the West 
parish was built by the parish in 1875, at a cost of about 
$5,000. It has been occupied by but two clergymen, Rev. 
James McLean, from 1876 to 1878, and Rev. Charles 
Lawrence Hubbard trom 1879 to the present time. 

229. 
Residence of W. R. Kimball. — The house of William 
R. Kimball, Esq., was built by Mr. James Carleton in 
1840. Mr. Carleton lived in it for some time, renting half 
of it to Mr. Samuel W. Jenkins and afterward to Mr. 
Franklin Jaques. Mr. Carleton sold to Robert Carleton 
and John William Brown. Mr. Brown was son of John 
Brown, who lived at No. 242, and was born in Methuen 
in 1815. He married, in 1836, Mary C. Ayer of Ando- 
ver, by whom he had five children, the oldest two of whom 
served in the war of the Rebellion ; one of them dying at 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 207 

the front. Mr. Brown bought out Mr. Carleton, and in 
1871 sold the place to Mr. Kimball, the present owner 
and occupier, who is a native of Bradford. 

230. 

Timon's Cellar. — Where the barn of Mr. Eobert 
B. Anderson stands, once stood the house which, was 
occupied and owned by Timon, a negro. The following 
note concerning Timon and his wife is of value and inter- 
est : 

"Timon Freeman & Flora his Wife came to Boxford to 
live the 5th of November 1788, and were taken into Town 
by wee the Subscribers. They came last from Andover. 

"Thomas & Samll Chadwick. 

"Boxford Novr 19th 1788." 

He was sometimes called Timon Chadwick. He lived and 
died in this house, his death occurring July 10, 1805, at the 
age of eighty-four. His wife died on New Year's day, 
1815, at the age of eighty. 

231. 
R. B. Anderson House.— This house was owned, May 
8, 1804, by Willard Lane. He was a blacksmith and his 
shop stood on Moses Porter's land. On the day above 
mentioned, he sold out to Benjamin Ames, jr., of An- 
dover, an innkeeper. A year later Mr. Ames sold to 
Joseph Damon Woodworth and Gardiner Ames, both of 
Boxford. In 1825, it was occupied by a Mr. Stiles, who 
married a sister of Amos Carlton. It was owned by 
Thomas Chadwick and descended from him to Samuel and 
Mary Chadwick. When Mr. Anderson came from Salem 
N. II., he lived here, and boarded Miss Mary Chadwick 
as long as she lived. The place was purchased by Mr. 



208 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Anderson's son William, and thence came into Mr. Ander- 
son's possession. 

Mr. Anderson came to Boxford in 1829, to teach his 
trade' of a blacksmith to the late Moses Kimball who had 
bought out Thomas W. Durant on his removal to Canada. 
Mr. Anderson worked for Mr. Kimball until about 1845, 
when he built a shop for himself near his residence, and 
continued to work at his trade in this new locality till 
about 1874. He married, first, Irene Cluff of Salem, 
N. II. , and, second, widow Harriet Chase of North Andover. 
Mr. Anderson and his wife both died a year ago. He 
had eleven children, one of whom, Charles R., lives in No. 
222 ; and another, David Mighill, was a soldier in the war 
of the Rebellion. 

232.. 

Residence of J. A. M. Spofford. — In 1804, the Sam- 
uel Clement house was called a "new" house, having been 
erected just before that date by Phineas Cole, who kept a 
tavern in it, and soon afterward removed to Pelham, 
N. II., where he instituted another public house. Mr. Cole 
was a son of Samuel Cole, and was born in No. 236 in 
1744. 

In 1811, Mr. Cole sold the place to Samuel W. Cle- 
ment of Boxford who lived in this house for many years. 
After the decease of his widow in 1877, at the age of 
ninety, the place was occupied by Fred Thomas. In 1881, 
it was sold to Mr. Patrick Duffy of Groveland, but as his 
wife would not come here to live, he sold out the next year 
to the late Edwin S. Adams, who had formerly lived at 
No. 238. Mr. Adams moved here in the fall of 1882, and 
remained until his death, which occurred in 1887. His 
widow, a second wife, survived him but six days. The 
estate was inherited by Mr. Adams' sister, Mrs. Julia A. 
M. Spofford, who has since resided upon it. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



209 



233. 
Residence of A. P. Hovey. — The residence of Mr. 
Albert Parker Hovey was erected by Franklin Jaqnes 
about 1848, and he resided in it until about 1889, when 
he died, the place being sold to Mr. Hovey, who now re- 
sides there. 

234. 
Residence of G. S. Morse. — The residence of Mr. 
Gardner S. Morse was built by his grandfather Jacob C. 




MORSE HOUSE. 



Parker in 1799. Mr. Parker, who had been living in No. 
239, removed to this house as soon as it was ready, and 
resided there until his death, which occurred in 1 <s2">, at 
the age of fifty-three. His widow died there in 1850, at 

the age of eighty-four. The three children born to them 



210 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

have all died within a few years at advanced ages, leaving 
a numerous posterity. 

After Mr. Parker's death, the house was occupied by 
his son Aaron L. Parker and his son-in-law Samuel Morse. 
These two men had nine sons, all of whom enlisted into 
the service of their country, one of them being starved 
to death in the rebel Libby prison. 

In 1850, Mr. Parker removed to No. 22G, where he died 
in 1.875. Mr. Morse continued to reside here until his 
death, in 1872 ; and his widow died here in 1881. 

Among the children of Aaron L. Parker are Chandler 
L. Parker, the musician, formerly leader of the Groveland 
brass band, Thomas B. Parker of Georgetown, and Gil- 
man P. Parker of Bradford. Anions; the children of Mr. 
Morse are Mrs. Charlotte N. S. Horner of Georgetown, 
and Gardner S. Morse, who has lived upon the old place 
since the death of his parents. 

235. 
Dowen Cellar. — Robert Do wen married MarySnelling 
in Haverhill Nov. 13, 1719. They had several children, 
and after the husband died the widow came to Boxford and 
lived in a pasture, on the hills near Mare pond, a short 
distance east of the residence of Mr. Gardner S. Morse. 
Sixty years ago, there were here three cellars, and an old 
well partly filled up. These can still be defined, though 
time has brought them nearly to a level with the surround- 
ing surface. Her house is said to have been a sort of cave, 
an excavation made in the side of a hill, stoned up at the 
sides, and the top covered with boards or similar material. 
Around these cellars was what was known in the early 
days of this century, as Dowen's orchard. No trace of it 
now remains. Among their children was Mary, who was 
admitted to the Second church in 1744, and in 1751 
married Amos Foster of Upper Ashuelot, now Keene, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 211 

N. H. Another child, John, born about 1727, was bound 
out by the selectmen, June 21, 1739, to Ebenezer Web- 
ster, a farmer of Haverhill, for nine years and six months. 
Mrs. Dowen was known as "Mother Dowen," and was 
also known to live principally by stealing. Sheep and 
other animals were her general prey. To hide her thefts, 
she threw the refuse into Mare pond, having done her 
slaughtering in the hollow of a large buttonwood tree, which 
stood near. Dr. David Wood supplied her with rye, wheat, 
corn, etc., at different times, as his account book shows, 
which was paid for by her brother Mark Snelling's labor. 
She was living in August, 1736, but probably died very 
soon afterward. 

This Mark Snelling was a mulatto, born about 1720, 
and lived most of his time with Dr. Wood, though he 
probably made "his home with Mrs. Dowen. At length he 
took to himself a wife, and became the father of Asa Snel- 
ling, whom our old residents remember as living at Phineas 
Perley's and dying there in 1823, at the age of eighty-six. 

Mrs. Horner adds : "The very little that is known of 
that little settlement hardly saves it from oblivion, but 
with charity we may conclude that they had some of the 
virtues as well as the vices of humanity." 

236. 

Residence of George Doherty. — The house of Mr. 
George Doherty was probably built by Samuel Cole about 
a century ago. The house that formerly stood on the 
same site was occupied by Ebenezer Burbank, who in 
1717 sold the farm to John Cole of Lynn, formerly of 
Maiden, who was a cooper by trade. This tract of land 
was the sixty-seven acres laid out to Thomas Leaver 
in 1666. Mr. Cole settled here with his children, Samuel 



212 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 

and Anna. Samuel was born in 1687. The father died 
in 1737, very suddenly, at the aire of sixty-eight. 

Samuel Cole inherited the place from his father and set- 
tled upon it. lie died in 1765, and his widow Susanna in 
1785, at the age of ninety-five. Samuel hadfive children, 
one of whom, John, settled in Amherst, N. H., and Samuel, 
the first-born, resided on the old homestead. 

Samuel Cole, the last named, was born in 1716, and 
married Bethiah Hardy of Bradford in 1738. By her he 
had fifteen children, and she died in child-birth in 1764, 
at the age of forty-one. He married a second wife, Abi- 
gail Currier of Haverhill. She died in 1795, aged eighty 
years, and he in 1805, at the age of eighty-eight. Four 
of his sons, Daniel, Benjamin, Solomon and Simeon, 
settled in Boxford. 

Simeon Cole, the youngest son of Samuel, lived on his 
father's place. He was born in 1762, and married Polly 
Smith of Rowley in 1785. One of his sons was Manly 
Cole, who settled on the homestead. He was the father 
of David Mighill Cole and Caleb M. Cole who reside in the 
West parish. In 1878, the farm was sold by Caleb M. 
Cole, who then owned it, to Mr. Doherty, the present 
owner and occupier. 

237. 
Residence of Daniel With am. — Mr. Daniel Witham 

built his house, on land given him by Edwin S. Adams, 
in 1877, and has since resided in it. 

238. 
Residence of Michael Murphy. — Mr. Michael Mur- 
phy resides upon the Adams farm, which was probably 
the land of Theophilus Binder of Ipswich, whose daughter 
Martha married William Knowlton of Ipswich in 1729, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 213 

and they settled on this place. Among their children 
was Thomas, who was a lieutenant-colonel in the Revolu- 
tionary war, and the friend of Putnam, Reed and Wash- 
ington, of whom the latter said "He would he an honor 
to any country." He was born here in 1740. Mr. Knowl- 
ton was a housewright. In 1748, he sold out to Stephen 
Merrill of Boxford, and removed to Ash ford, Conn. 

Mr. Merrill lived here until his death, which occurred 
in 1785, at the age of seventy-eight. His son Jesse doubt- 
less succeeded him on the place. 

In 1823, the place was purchased by Daniel Adams, 
who had been living in No. 291. Here, Mr. Adams re- 
sided until his death, which occurred in 1828, at the age of 
fifty-two. He was a small and an active man, and quite 
musical in his tastes, having taught a singing school in his 
neighborhood several winters. Mrs. Adams survived un- 
til 18G8, when she died at the age of eighty-eight. They 
had two children, one daughter, the widow of the late 
Leverett W. Spofford of Georgetown ; and one son Edwin 
Strong, who was born in 1806, and who married his cousin 
Miss Elvira Chase in Troy, N. Y., in 1843. She was a 
native of Groveland. 

The son settled on his father's place, and here the couple 
passed all their married life. The separation came at last, 
in the summer of 1879, and Mrs. Adams crossed the 
bounds of life at the age of seventy. She was a lady of 
taste and benevolence and was esteemed by all who knew 
her. Mr. Adams sold the farm to Mr. Murphy three years 
later ; and marrying, secondly, Amanda Davis in 1882 he 
purchased the Clement place (No. 232), where he after- 
ward lived. 

239. 

Old Ross Cellar. — Opposite the residence of Mr. 

28 



214 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Isaac C. Day is an old cellar. We do not know when, or 
by whom, the house that once stood over it was built. 

Toward the close of the eighteenth century, the house 
was occupied by Jacob C. Parker, son of Aaron and Lydia 
(Chandler) Parker of Andover, where he was born in 
1772. He married Sally, daughter of John and Rachel 
(Lufkin) Smith in 1793, and began housekeeping in this 
house. In 1799, he built the Morse house, No. 234, and 
removed thither. 

Moses Davis then lived here. He married Sarah . 

In 1805, he sold out to Daniel Adams of Boxford, who be- 
gan housekeeping here immediately. 

He was born in North Andover, Mass., in 1775, and 
was the son of David Adams of that place. When Daniel 
was very young his father removed from North Andover 
to Deny, N. H., and while yet in his teens Daniel came 
to Boxford, and worked out as a farm-laborer. At the 
age of twenty-nine, he married Sophia Kimball of Brad- 
ford, she having removed from Boxford with her step- 
father and mother a few months before. The couple lived 
in this house until 1815, Avhen Mr. Adams sold out to 
William Ross of Boxford, who resided here until about 
1835, when he built the Day house (No. 241), and removed 
there. The work on the new house was done by James 
Carleton, to whom Mr. Ross conveyed the old house as 
part pay for his labor on the new edifice, and it was torn 
down. 

Mr. Ross married, first, Martha Carleton in 1818. She 
died in 1833, having been the mother of Harriet A., Harri- 
son O., Martha Elvira, William Warren and Julia Ann. 
He married, second, Mary F. Tyler, in 1834, and she be- 
came the mother of Mary Jane, Caroline Maria, and Char- 
lotte Frances. 

Mr. Adams, who was the father of the late Edwin S. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 215 

Adams, then removed to the house now occupied by Mr. 
Nathan K. Fowler (No. 291). 

240. 

Residence of B. P. Hale. — Mr. Benjamin P. Hale 
built his fine residence in 1889, and has since lived in it. 
He is a principal owner of the Groveland mills. 

241. 

Residence of I. C. Day. — The residence of Mr. Isaac 
C. Day was built by William Ross, who lived on the op- 
posite side of the road at No. 239. This was about 1835. 
The carpentry work was done by James Carleton. Mr. 
Ross moved to this place, where he continued to reside un- 
til his death. It was then occupied by his son Harrison O. 
Ross, who devised it in his will to his wife, Martha Ann 
Ross. In 1877, she sold the place to John T. Day, who 
died a few years ago, after making great improvements. 

242. 

Residence of John I. Ladd. — The timber for the 
house of Mr. John I. Ladd was cut in the summer of 
1830, and it was immediately framed and erected. The 
builder of the main part of was a carpenter named 
Henry C. Sullivan. He had an apprentice at that time 
named William Henry, who the next year completed the 
house. He put on the ell, and the next year sold the place 
to Ephraim Foster of Boxford, who settled here. Mr. 
Foster's father was Simeon Foster, a native of the lower 
part of North Andover, called Pilfershire. Ephraim's 
mother was Polly Harriman, aunt to the late D. F. Har- 
riman. Mr. Foster married Orrissa, daughter of Parson 
Wilmarth of Georgetown. 

Mr. Foster died here in 1835, leaving a fund to the 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 217 

schools of his parish, and the house and laud to his widow, 
who married Dr. John T. G. Leach of Lowell the follow- 
ing winter. The next year, she conveyed the place to 
EHsha G. Bunker of Barnstead, N. H. Mr. Bunker kept 
a tavern here for about a year, and, in 1837, having sold 
the homestead to John Brown, removed to No. 99. 

Mr. Brown was a son of Joshua and Rachel (Buck- 
minster) Brown (see No. 25(3). He continued the tavern 
business for a short time only, but resided here until his 
death, which occurred in 1855. Mr. Brown was born in 
New Hampshire, and was reared at the Hubbard place in 
North Andover, near the Boxford line. He married Alice 
Jennings, and removed here from No. 98. He was a 
butcher, and had six children. 

By foreclosure of a mortgage the place next came into 
the possession of John Tyler, and the next year, in 1857, 
he sold it to Orville L. Hovey who resided here till his 
death, which occurred in 1872. He willed this place to 
his wife who still retains it. She married Mr. John I. 
Ladd of Groveland in 1875, and they have passed their 
married life at this place. 

In 1873, Mrs. Hovey took down the large barn and 
four sheds, which stood back of the present barn. These 
sheds were standing there fifty years ago, and had been 
used, probably, in connection with the church. In 1878, 
Mr. Ladd made some alteration in the house and place. 

Ephraim Foster, while he owned it, put some paper on 
the walls of three of the rooms, representing Bonaparte's 
campaign in Egypt. It was considered a great curiosity, 
and many came to see it. It was in sheets and very hard 
to match, costing, it is said, seventy-five dollars. A part 
of it remained on the walls until 187(5. 

It is thought by Mr. Ladd thatEzekiel Ladd, who died 
in 1714, resided on this corner. 



218 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



243. 

Eesidence of Albert Morris. — A Mr. Mears built a 
house in a clearing in the pine woods on the Uptack road 
near the late Mr. Timing's about 1879. The authorities 
required him to take up his abode elsewhere, and the own- 
ers of the materials, of which the house was built, sold 
it in 1881 to Mr. Albert Morris, who removed it to near 
Harriman's hall, and finished it. Mr. Morris has since 
that time resided in it. 

244. 

Residence of Mrs. W. R. Cole. — The residence of 
Mrs. William R. Cole was built by Simeon (?) Pearl about 
1814, the carpenter being Samuel W. Clement. Mr. Pearl 
was a son of John Pearl, and was born at No. 259, in 1774. 
He lived here until his death which occurred in 18 — , and 
then his widow owned it, renting it a number of years, 
and finally selling it to Richard Smith, who afterward sold 
it to Miss Charlotte Barker. She made extensive repairs 
upon it, and resided in it about ten years, from 1865 to 
1874. The next year (1875) she sold out to Mrs. Cole, 
who has since lived in it. Mrs. Cole had lived first at the 
Ephraim F. Cole place (No. 209), and after her husband's 
death removed to No. 271, where she remained but a 
short time, moving to this house. 

This, with a number of houses in the neighborhood, had 
the walls of the best room decorated with landscapes of 
various descriptions, containing figures of men, horses, 
trees, etc. In two houses in the village the walls remain 
as thus originally decorated. The artist was Rufus Porter, 
who died in New Haven, Conn., in 1884, at the age of 
ninety-two. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



219 



245. 

Residence of W. F. Harriman. — The residence of 
Mr. William F. Harriman was erected by Samuel Kim- 
ball and son for Thomas Wendell Durant, a blacksmith, in 
1824. Mr. Durant's shop stood in what is now the yard 
in front of the house of Mr. William E. Perley. He 
was an exceptionally fine workman. His father lived in 
Georgetown. He sold out to Joseph Pike of Bradford in 
1829. 

Mr. Durant was a typical New Englander. He is said 
to have been born in Boxford in 1790, and to have spent his 
boyhood in that town and at Topsfield, beginning to do 
blacksmithing in Boxford on his own account in 1812. 
After selling out in 1829, he went to Canada, but about a 
year later returned, settling in Boston, where he became a 
trader, and soon afterward a note broker. About 1845, he 
returned to Canada, living at Stanstead. In 1865, his 
wife died, and he brought her remains to Haverhill, Mass., 
in his carriage, which was a combination of runners and 
wheels. He then lived with his wife's relatives in Haver- 
hill. The assessors learned that he had wealth, and taxed 
him two thousand dollars, which they collected. Being 
averse to paying taxes, he gave the Massachusetts bible 
society fifty thousand dollars, which was all his property, 
upon condition that they pay to him ten per cent annually. 
He was then seventy-seven years of age. He died in 1889, 
at the age of ninety-nine, bequeathing to the same society 
all his estate which amounted to about one hundred and 
thirty-live thousand dollars more than his previous gifts. 

In the same year that Mr. Pike bought out Mr. Durant 
he sold to Elbridge Little of Bradford. Mr. Little kept 
a store ; and, in 1830, he sold the blacksmith's shop to 
Moses Kimball. The shop stood in what is now the front 



220 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

yard to the house of Mr. William E. Perley. When Mr. 
Little bought the plaee he mortgaged it back to Mr. Pike 
for all it was worth. In less than a year Mr. Pike re- 
sumed possession. He was a shoe-manufacturer. Upon 
his death in 1830, the place Avas sold by auction to Capt. 
William Farnham of Boxford for $840. Mr. Pike always 
lived in Bradford. 

Mr. Farnham lived here and at the Crowninshield place 
in Topstield. When he died in 1844, the place descended 
to his wife's brother and sister, Moses Kimball and Mrs. 
Capt. George Pearl. While they owned it, the house was 
occupied by A. P. Hovey and E. E. Bean. Mr. Kimball 
and Mrs. Pearl, in 1875, sold out to D. F. and William F. 
Harriman. The latter has resided here since that time, 
and now owns the place. 

246. 

Residence of W. E. Perley. — Mr. William Elbridge 
Perley's house was built by Benjamin Woodbury about 
1860. He was a blacksmith, and worked in the shop here, 
mentioned in No. 245. He died in 1862, and his adminis- 
trator sold the place to John G. Harriman of North An- 
dover. Mr. Harriman resided here until 1865, when he 
sold out to Sarah E., wife of Augustus Williams of North 
Andover. In 1871, she sold the place to Mr. Perley, who 
has since resided there. 

247. 

Residence of A. J. Henly. — Mr. Alonzo J. Henry 
built his house in 1867, and his barn the year before. He 
built his blacksmith's shop about the same time, hired a 
man to teach him the trade, and carried on an :ictive and 
lucrative business until his health failed, nearly a score of 
years ago. Since then, he has devoted most of his time to 
agricultural pursuits. 



THE DWELLINGS *0F BOXFORD. 221 

248. 

Eesidence of I. W. Andrew. — The residence of Mr. 
Isaac W. Andrew was built by Thomas Chadwick shortly 
after he bought the land here of Samuel Chadwick in 1788. 
In 1808, he sold the farm to Edmund Kimball a merchant 
of Newburyport. Mr. Chadwick was son of Dea. Thomas 
and Mary (Porter) Chadwick, and was born in Boxford in 
1751. He married Susanna Porter in 1796, and resided 
here until he sold out. Among his children were Mary P. 
and Thomas R. Chadwick. 

Mr. Kimball conveyed the farm to Abijah Northey, jr., 
a merchant of Salem, in 1814. Mr. Northey resided here 
until 1835, when he sold out to Samuel Groce, another mer- 
chant of Salem, who lived here till 1837. He then sold the 
place to Jonathan Andrew of Boxford. Mr. Andrew was 
a native of Maine, and a lineal descendant of Robert An- 
drews, one of the first settlers of Boxford. One of his sons 
was John Albion Andrew, the loved war-governor of 
Massachusetts, who was reared on this farm. After the 
decease of Mr. Andrew, his son, the present owner and 
occupant, came into the possession of the place and has 
since retained it, having been for many years an official in 
the Boston custom house. 

249. 

Dr. Eaton House. — Rev. Peter Eaton was born in 
Haverhill in 1765, graduated at Harvard college in 1787, 
and was ordained over the church in West Boxford in Oc- 
tober, 1789. The next spring he bought of Moses Porter 
for two hundred pounds, about forty acres of land a quarter 
of a mile west of the church, and on it erected his resi- 
dence, lie married, first, in 1792, Sarah, daughter of 
Rev. Eliab Stone of Reading. An infant daughter, Mary, 

2*J 



222 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

died :it the age of fourteen months in 1797, and the follow- 
ing is her epitaph : — 

"Early, bright, transient as the morning dew- 
She sparkled was exhal'd and went to heaven." 

Mrs. Eaton died in the winter of 1823-24, and the fol- 
lowing obituary notice appeared in the column of deaths 
of the Salem Gazette, in its issue of January 20, 1824 : — 

"In Boxford, on Thursday evening, Mrs. Sarah Eaton, 
wile of Rev. Dr. Eaton. She appeared as well during the 
day as usual, rode out to visit a sick friend, and in the 
evening, while sitting with the family, her work was ob- 
served to fall from her hands ; she was speechless, and ev- 
idently deprived of her reason. She continued to breathe 
until 12 o'clock, when the lamp of life was extinguished." 

He married, secondly, the widow Sarah Swett of Ando- 
ver. In this house he resided through his ministry of 
filly-seven years, and died in 1848, at the age of eighty- 
three. 

He was distinguished for his generous spirit and moral 
worth, and was loved by the flock over which he had the 
spiritual charge. Among Dr. Eaton's children were Pe- 
ter Sidney, born here in 1798, a clergyman at Amesbury, 
now Merrimac ; John Hubbard, born here in 1806, a min- 
ister, and connected with the American Tract society ; and 
Mary Stone, who married the late Moses Kimball of Box- 
lord. 

Dr. Eaton sold his farm to Jonathan T. Barker of An- 
dover in 1847, the year before his death. In 1864, Mr. 
Barker sold out to Henry Barker of Boxford, who resided 
upon it till 1880, when he conveyed the place to Lawrence 
Carey of Lawrence, who afterward resided here. Mr. 
Barker removed to Peabody, where he died three or four 
years later, upward of eighty years of age. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 223 

250. 

Residence of J. Henry Nason. — The farm of Mr. 
James Henry Nason was in the possession of Joseph Eames 
before 1730. In that year he sold it to his brother Nathan 
Eames. The farm then consisted of a hundred acres, with 
house, barn, etc. Joseph Eames was a son of Robert and 
Rebecca (Blake) Eames and was born in Boxford in 1681. 

He married Jemima , and had nine children born here, 

viz. : Abner, who died in 1745, at the age of thirty-four, 
unmarried ; Jonathan, who lived at No 212 ; Joseph ; Na- 
than ; Jacob, who married Anne Wallis of Salem in 1744 ; 
Moses, who married Rebecca Johnson of Andover in 
1752, and died in 1754; Mary, who died in 1749, aged 
twenty-eight; Jemima, who died in 1745-6, aged twenty- 
one; and Hannah, who married Jacob Buck of Haverhill 
in 1752. 

Nathan Eames (or Nathaniel, as he was at first called) 
was born in 1685. He married, and lived on this farm 
from the time of his purchase of it in 1730 to 1762, when 
he sold to Joseph Robinson, a yeoman of Andover, for 
£800. The farm then consisted of one hundred and thirty- 
one acres, with the house, barn, etc. Nathan married 

Mary , who survived him. He died suddenly Jan. 11, 

1765, aged eighty years. His widow died July 17, 1765, 
at the age of seventy-eight. They are not known to have 
had any children. 

Joseph Robinson was son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Ste- 
vens) Robinson of Andover, where he was born in 1710— 
11. He married Mehitable Eames of Boxford in 1733. 

In the spring of 1770, he advertised this farm for sale 
in the Essex Gazette in its issue of March 13-20, 1770. 
The following is a copy of the advertisement : — 

"To bo fold, by the Subfcriber, in the North Parifh in Boxford, a 
FARM of about one hundred Acres of good Land, confisting of good 



224 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



Mowing, Tillage, Pa (luring and Orchard, with a large Dwelling-Houfe, 

with throe Cellars under it, two of which are pointed with good white 
Lime; alio ;i large Barn, a Cyder Houfe, Mill, and Prefs under it. — Said 
Farm is well wooded and watered, and chiefly well fenced with good 
Stone Wall, and is one Mile and a Quarter from the Meetiug-Houfe in 
faidPariih. Joseph Robinson." 

Probably Mr. Robinson did not find a purchaser for his 

place as he continued to reside here until his death, which 

occurred in 1777, at the age of sixty-seven. His wife died 

in 1783, at the iige of seventy. Their six children were 

born in what is now North Andover, and were as follows : 

Nathan, who died in infancy ; Mary, who married Henry 

Bodwell of Andover; John, who succeeded his father on 

the homestead : Mehitable, who was the wife of James 




JOSKPH KOBINSON HOUSE. 

Frye of Andover; Elizabeth, who died in 1777, at the 
age of thirty-one, unmarried ; and Jeremiah, who died un- 
married in 1780, at the age of twenty-six. 

John Robinson was a major in the militia, served in the 
French war, and also in the Revolution, and was a justice 
of the peace. He was instrumental in preventing a mutiny 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 2 25 

among the soldiers during the terrible winter they spent 
at Valley Forge, and for this and other valuable services 
General Washington presented him with a sword, which 
is now in the possession of his great-grandson Prof. John 
Robinson of Salem. Mr. Robinson was born in Andover 
in 1739, and married Rebecca, daughter of Daniel Wood 
of Boxford in 1763. He was also a deacon of the Sec- 
ond church ten years. About 1790 he built on his own 
land the house now in the possession of Mr. Paul C. Davis 
(No. 251), to which he removed. He died there in 1810. 

Mr. Robinson's daughter, Rebecca, married Isaac Bar- 
ker of Andover in 1790. To Mr. Barker, Mr. Robinson 
conveyed this farm in 1804. Mr. Barker lived here until 
after 1820, and then removed. He sold the place to his 
brother-in-law Nathan Robinson of Salem in 1827. 

The place was next occupied, but not owned, by Oliver 
Foster who was son of Israel Foster, and was born in No. 
93 in 1799. He married Rebecca Foster, his cousin, in 
1823, and resided here. He had but one child, Charles 
Oliver Foster, born in 1824, who resided upon the place 
with his mother and died unmarried in 1875. Mr. Foster 
died a year after his marriage, and when his son was only 
eighteen days old. In 1828, his widow married her old 
lover Benjamin Robinson, jr., who wasason of Benjamin, 
and a grandson of Major John Robinson, who formerly 
owned this place, and was probably born here in 1797. 

In 1831, Mr. Robinson bought this farm of the owner, 
Nathan Robinson of Salem, having resided here since his 
marriage. About 1845, he took the old house down, and 
erected, from rocks taken from the south shore of Mitchell's 
pond, the present stone edifice. Over the front door are 
two parts of a stone in which are imperfections having 
the appearance of a fossil butterfly. An old stage-driver 
has told us that he often stopped his horses here, and let his 



226 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

passengers take :i look at the curious stone. Mr. Robin- 
son died here in 1855, having been the father of Eliza Ann, 
Rebecca Jane Foster, John Vose, Charlotte Priscilla, and 
Enoch Kimball. The sons now reside in Peabody. 

Mr. Nason has owned and occupied the place several 
years. 

251. 

Residence of Paul C. Davis. — The residence of Mr. 
Pan! C. Davis was erected by Maj. John Robinson (who 
lived at No. 250) about 1790. He died here in 1810, at 
the age of seventy. The following obituary notices of him 
are copied from the Salem Gazette, the first from the death 
column of its issue of Feb. 2, 1810, and the second from 
the issue of Feb. 9, 1810. 

"At Boxford, on the 22d alt. Joiin Robinson, Esq , aged 70. He 
had been to a neighbour's, and complained of feeling a little unwell, but 
being better, set out for home with a Mr. Carlton ; they rode together 
about half a mile, and parted; Mr. R. rode about fifty rods further, 
when it is supposed he got off his horse, fell on his face, and instantly 
expired. He was seen by a woman, who alarmed Mr. C. when he re- 
turned and found him a little out of the path, dead : this was not more 
than five minutes from the time they had parted. He was subject to 
fainting fits; and when on horseback, he felt one coming on, he us- 
ually got oft' and sat down. He was a good man. Blessed ai-e the dead 
that die in the Lord." 

"■Tribute to departed worth — We lately mentioned the sudden death 
of John Robinson, Esq., of Boxford. We have since received the 
following notice of his character: — Few characters have been more 
endeared to the circle of their acquaintance than the deceased. His 
disposition was mild and amiable; his manner modest and unassuming. 
Through life, he was the open, undeviating friend of morals, religion 
and good government. Endowed with a sound understanding and 
discerning mind, his conduct was regulated by the maxims of wisdom 
and experience. The offices which he sustained, both civil and mili- 
tary, were discharged in a manner honorable to himself. In the com- 
mencement of the revolutionary contest, he discovered himself the firm 
and inflexible patriot. Taking an active part in the Held, his bravery 
in the hour of peril secured to him the confidence of his associates in 
danger. Since the establishment of independence, he has regarded the 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 227 

fortunes of his country with anxious solicitude. Pure in his morals, 
rational in his religion, the beauties of each were exemplified in his 
life. In his death, his family have lost a tender friend, society a val- 
uable member, religion an ornament, and his country a useful citizen." 

Major Robinson's widow died about three months after 
himself, at the age of sixty-seven. His large family of 
eleven children were born at No. 250, and were as follows, 
viz. : Israel ; John, who became a physician, and died in 
1790, at the age of twenty-five; Rebecca, who married 
Isaac Barker of Andover, and lived at No. 250 from 1804 ; 
Benjamin, who also probably lived at No. 250 before his 
brother-in-law 7 Isaac Barker died ; Nathan, who settled at 
Salem, and who was the father of Dr. Horatio Robinson of 
that place; Aaron, who lived in Andover, Danvers and 
Salem, and who was the grandfather of Prof. John Robin- 
son of Salem; Deborah, who married Samuel Spofford, 
and lived at No. 252 ; Elizabeth ; Joseph ; Sarah ; and 
Jeremiah. 

The next year after Mr. Robinson's death, his adminis- 
trator, Charles Foster, sold the farm to the deceased's son 
Aaron Robinson. In 1813, he sold it to Joshua Emery of 
Newbury, a housewright. 

Mr. Emery lived here four years, till 1817, when he sold 
out to John Bacon, Esq., of Boxford. The Rev. Samuel 
Hopkins Emery of Taunton was a son of Joshua, and was 
born here in 1815. 

In 1818, Mr. Bacon sold the farm to SethBurnham, son 
of Rufus Burnham, who lived at No. 63. On the after- 
noon of Saturday, August 8, 1829, there was a thunder 
shower, during which Mr. Burnham's barn was burned. 
The tol lowing account of it is copied from the Salem Ga- 
zette of August 11, 1829:— 

"The; storm commenced at Dr. Eaton's parish, West: Boxford, about 
3 o'clock in the afternoon, . . . attended with very severe thunder and 
lightning. The wind veered from South West to North Eastand Mew 



228 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

almost a hurricane. The rain fell in torrents, accompanied with hail 
about the size of walnuts, prostrating the corn and grain in every di- 
rection, and destroying more or less glass. A barn, belonging to Mr. 
Burnham, was struck by the lightning and burnt to the ground, with 
its contents, — hay, grain, farming tools, chaise and wagon, &c. The 
dwelling house of Mr. Burnham was saved by the active exertions of 
his neighbors. The wind blew so violently atone period of the storm, 
that the people hastened to the parts of their houses most remote from 
their chimneys, in the expectation that they would be blown over." 

Mr. Burnham lived here until 1857, when he soM out 
to Rev. Gabriel H. DeBevoise of Andover. Mr. Burn- 
ham married, in 1818, Caroline, daughter of Edmund 
Herrick, who lived at Nos. 153 and 170, and had one child, 
Charlotte. Mrs. Burnham is still living, and, we believe, 
resides in Waltham. 

Mr. DeBevoise sold out to Hon. William A. Russell of 
Lawrence in 1867, having removed to Walpole, N. H. 
We believe he is now residing in western Massachusetts. 

In 18(38, Mr. Russell sold the place to Mr. John Barker 
of North Andover. Mr. Barker lived here until 1873, 
when he sold to Mr. Davis, the present owner and oc- 
cupier. 

252. 

Residence of Miss R. W. Cakleton. — Where Miss Re- 
becca W. Carleton resides stood the Samuel Spotford house, 
which was probably built, about 1805, by Isaac Barker, 
who owned No. 250. Mr. Spotford was living here in 1808, 
and probably hired the house of Mr. Barker, their wives 
being sisters. Mr. Barker sold out to Mrs. Spoflord in 
1817. Mr. Spotford was born at No 83, in 1764, being 
son of Amos Spotford, married Deborah Robinson in 1793, 
and was drowned in Great pond in Andover, in January, 
1833. He had lived a short time in Portland, Me., before 
going to Andover, and came from Andover to Boxford in 
1817. They had nine children: Rebecca, who married 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 229 

Peter Pearl ; John, who was drowned in the Merrimac 
river; Joseph, who died in Haverhill; Amos, who was 
drowned in the pond near the house in 1814, when in his 
seventh year; Sarah, the mother of Hiram N. Harriman, 
Esq., of the Georgetown Advocate; Harriet, the mother 
of Mr. George B. Austin, now residing in No. 280; Na- 
than, who was lost at sea; and two others. The house 
was burned some years ago. 

Miss Carleton's residence was a shop that was moved 
there, we believe. 

The place is now owned by Mr. James H. Nason, who 
bought it of Robert E. Carleton of Lawrence in 1877. 

253. 

Sargent Cellar. — There is an old cellar in Mr. D. M. 
Cole's orchard, between the late John Pearl's and Miss 
Carleton's houses, over which stood a house once occupied 
by a family named Sargent. The orchard is now known 
as the Sargent orchard. The head of the family was Mo- 
ses Sargent, who came from Methuen, and married, in 
1767, Esther, daughter of Stephen Runnells. The house 
has been gone nearly a century. 

254. 

Residence of J. M. Pearl. — The residence of the 
late John Pearl was probably built by Daniel Mitchell 
about the time he purchased this land, and the old Ilovey 
place across the street, of the heirs of Luke Ilovey in 1812, 
as stated in No. 255. 

Mr. Mitchell lived here until about 1860, when John 
Pearl bought the place. He lived here until his death in 
1890, since which time his widow and son John M. Pearl 
have resided on the place. 
30 



230 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

255. 

Luke Hovey Cellar. — There is an old cellar across 
the road from the residence of the late John Pearl known 
as the Luke Hovey cellar. This land, bounded on the 
northwest and northeast by the roads and on the south by 
Mitchell's, or Rush pond, and containing about forty-five 
acres, was owned in the seventeenth century by John 
Hovey of Topsfield. His son Luke, born in Topsfield 
in 1676, married Susanna, daughter of Moses Pillsbury, 
probably of Newbury, in 1698, and on this land of his 
father built himself a house in 1700. Aug. 28, 1706, 
his father deeded the land to him. Old Mr. Hovey had a 
"great English bible," which he gave in his will to his son 
Luke, to be bequeathed by him to his son, and so down pos- 
terity. In the will of the son, who died in 1787, he ear- 
ned out the wishes of his father, and the bible is probably 
still in existence. Mr. Hovey died here in 1751, at the 
age of seventy-five, and his widow in 1767, at the age of 
ninety. They had nine children, viz. : — Susanna, who was 
born in 1699, and married, first, Aaron Brown, and, second, 
William Lake man of Ipswich ; Dorcas, who married John 
Foster of Andover; Hannah; Elizabeth, who married 
Benjamin Kimball of Wenham ; Luke, who lived here and 
at No. 254 ; Abigail ; Joseph, who lived at No. 283 ; 
Mary, who married William Woster of Newbury ; and 
Abijah, who married Lydia Graves of Haverhill, und re- 
moved to Lunenburg about 1750. 

In his will, Mr. Hovey devised this place to his son Luke. 
Mr. Hovey had built a house near the brook at the south- 
east end of his lot in which he lived the last few years of 
his life. The latter house came into the possession of bis 
son Joseph, who resided there. The old place was occu- 
pied by Luke Hovey, jr., who was born here in 1708, and 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 231 

who married, first, Dorcas Kimball of Bradford, second, 
widow Esther Runnells, and, third, Mehitable English, 
having by the three marriages eleven children, whose names 
were Thomas (died at the age of three), Thomas (married 
Sarah Carlton), Elizabeth (married Brown), Abi- 
gail (married Baker), Olive (married Gage), 

Phineas, Luke (died in infancy), Luke (resided on the 
homestead), Washington, and Mehitable. 

Mr. Hovey's barn was struck by lightning in a thunder 
shower, July 14, 1772, and burned. The following is a 
copy of the notice of the fire which appeared in the Essex 
Gazette the next week : — 

"SALEM, July 21. 
"A large Barn, belonging to Mr. Luke Hovey, of Boxford, was fet 
on Fire, laft Tuefday, by a Flafh of Lightning, and entirely confutned, 
■with four Tons of Englifh Hay." 

Mr. Hovey died in 1787, and his widow continued to 
reside in the west end of the house. 

His son Luke was given the farm, and he resided on it. 
He was born in 1749, married Hannah Kimball of Bradford 
in 1775, and died here in 1798. His heirs conveyed it, 
December 17, 1812, with the buildings thereon, to Daniel 
Mitchell, a cordwainer of Bradford. There were forty-six 
acres, of land, and the consideration was twelve hundred 
dollars. The heirs were Hannah Hovey of Boxford, widow, 
Isaac Hovey and Luke Hovey, both of Boxford, cordwain- 
ers, Celinda Hovey of Boxford, singlewoman, Leonard 
Hovey of Bradford, cordwainer, Dorcas Hovey of New- 
buryport, Guy Carleton of Roxbury, and his wife Abigail, 
and John Barnes of Deerfield, N. H., and his wife Susanna. 
The house was probably taken down about that time. 

25 fi. 
Residence of D. M.Cole. — A short distance southeast 
of Mr. David Mi-dull Cole',^ residence once stood a house 



232 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

built by a Mr. Sherwin, who resided here until near the 
close of the last century. 

This was a part of "Mr. Nelson's Great Farm" of two 
thousand acres, which was laid out to him in 1667. This 
particular portion of it was owned in 1708 by Capt. John 
Peabody of Boxford. Then, the line between this and the 
Pearl farm, was one rod east of this house. In 1708, Mr. 
Peabody let the place to Jabez Dorman of Topsfield, who 
married Hephzibah Perley of Boxford in 1715, had a son 
Jabez, born the next year, and both mother and son died 
before the year was out. In fact before the year had ex- 
pired he had married Abial Foster, and the next year had 
another son born, who was called by the same name. He 
immediately removed to Arundel, Me., where he was liv- 
ing in 1728. 

John Buckminster, or Buckmaster, as the name was of- 
ten spelt, also resided here in 1788, having come from Es- 
sex. His father probably lived here with John and John's 
sister Rachel, who married Joshua Brown in 1788, and lived 
in New Hampshire. (See No. 242.) John married Deb- 
orah, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Varnum) Wood of 
Boxford Nov. 29, 1788. She was born in No. 284 July 
2, 1763. Mr. Buckminster was a seaman, and about all 
of his married life was spent on the ocean. In 171)1, when 
he was at Martinique, in the West Indies, his wife received 
from him the following letter : — 

"Martinique, Feby 28th 1791 
"Ever Pear and Loving Wife once More I take this opportunity to 
inform yon that I am Well at Present and hoping these fe"\v lines Will 
find you the Same by the blessing of God I have Nothing New to Write 
you only We are in hopes to Sail in 25 Days — I Should have Wrote to 
Joseph but have Not time So beg to be Excused Likewise to fanny 

"Give My Duty to father and Mother and kind Love to all Enquir- 
ing friends 

"I Remain your Loving husband 

"John Buckminster." 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOKD. 233 

He came home after the writing of this letter, and went 
away for the last time early in 1794. While at the port 
of Charleston, S. C, he sent the following letterto his wife : 

"Charleston March 8th, 1794 

"My Dear — 

'•I Take this opportunity to Inform you that I am very well 
and Hope these few Lines will find you and the Children the Same. We 
had seventeen Days passage to Charleston We are now Lying Wait- 
ing for a freight and Expect to go to some part of Holland And Ex- 
pect to be back in about Seven Months. I Should be Glad the joiner 
would go on with the House as fast as possible. I wish you to Speak 
to your Uncle about a Deed of the Land. I was there the Day before 
I sailed, but He being Gone from Home I Could not see Him. If Ba- 
ker does not Get the boards as soon as the Joiner wants them, Send 
for them. If Carleton Does not take the leather of Baker Let him 
wait till I Come Home — If the Clapboards are not sentdowneto Chad- 
docks from Derry Let the Joiner Try and Get them. Get somebody 
to plough a Garden spot In the Spring 

"Remember me to Your father & mother &c And so I remain your 
Dear and Loving Husband 

"John Buckminster. 

"I send you something more than twenty pounds of Indigo which 
you may sell for what you Can or keep it till I come home The Indigo 
is to be left at Mr. Abel Greeuleafs in Newburyport." 

He brought from sea at one time a red silk umbrella, 
the first umbrella ever seen in this parish. His wife's moth- 
er, Granny Wood, called it a "brillio." 

His wife never heard from him again after she received 
this last letter. He sailed for Holland, as intimated in 
his correspondence, and when near there a shot from an 
armed vessel, engaged in the French revolution, took off 
his head. This was the first and only shot tired upon them. 
His age was only twenty-five. The young bride was thus 
left a widow with three children, the oldest of whom was 
only four years of age. She became insane, and afterward 
lived in a part of her mother's house, No. 284. Their chil- 
dren were as follows: Elizabeth, born Nov. 11, 1789, 
John Blake, Sept. 8, 1791 ; and Mary, April 20, 1793. 



234 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mrs. Buckminster died in October, 1804, at the age of 
forty-one. Of the children, Mary died Aug. 29, 1797, 
aged four years. Elizabeth, or Betsey, as she was com- 
monly called, was unmarried in 1813, when she was living 
in New Rowley (now Georgetown), and when visiting her 
brother John in Danbnry, N. H., became acquainted with 
Dea. John Taylor, whom she married. John B. was a 
member of the West Boxford company of foot in 1812, 
and married Charlotte Crombie of Georgetown (then a part 
of Rowley) in 1813. In the spring of 1815, he moved from 
Georgetown, where he had lived since his marriage, to Dan- 
bury, N. H. He stayed there until 1822, when he returned 
to Georgetown. In 1832, he built the house afterward 
belonging to his son, the late G. N. Buckminster, in which 
he resided during the remainder of his life, dying from the 
effects of a frozen toe, at four-score years of age, leaving 
a memory sweet with kindnesses, benevolence and Chris- 
tian fortitude. 

Probably from his marriage in 1792 with Hannah Por- 
ter this old house was occupied by Zachariah Bacon, who 
came from Bradford. The house was also occupied, at the 
beginning of this century, by William Porter and James 
Cobnrn. Mr. Coburn was living here in 1820. He was 
a son of David Coburn, who lived at No. 263, and was 
born in Nottingham-west, N. H., in 1783. 

The last occupant was Theodore Reynolds. The house 
was taken down in 1836 by its owner, Joshua T. Day. 

Mr. Cole built his residence in 1853, and has since re- 
sided in it. He is a son of Manly Cole, and was born in 
No. 236. 

257. 
Doctor Bacon House. — The residence of the late EI- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 235 

bridge Perley was erected by Dr. Josiah Bacon. He was 
a son of William Bacon, who is said to have moved here 
from Boston, and who is claimed to have been a descendant 
of Lord Francis Bacon, the distinguished philosopher and 
scholar of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Doctor 
Bacon bought this land in 1814 of his brother John Bacon, 
and probably built the house the same year. 

Doctor Bacon was born about 1785, and married Abi- 
gail Ayer about 1813. They had three children, Edward, 
Sally Ayer, who was born in 1816, and died, unmarried, in 
1854, and Abigail. He practised medicine here from about 
1813 to about 1840, when the influence of intoxicating 
liquor drove his patients from him, and shortly after led 
him to the town almshouse, where he died in 1855, at the 
age of seventy. His widow was for several years the 
housekeeper of General Lowe, and after his marriage with 
Mrs. Merriam, Mrs. Bacon built what is now the public 
library building in the East parish, and lived there until 
her death. Her daughter Abbie, born in 1821, lived there 
after her mother's decease until death released her from 
her loneliness in 1878. Edward Bacon, born in 1814, was 
found drowned in a pond in Groveland, Dec. 23, 1881, hav- 
ing evidently committed suicide. He was the last of the 
Doctor's children. John Bacon, Esq., the author of Ba- 
con's Town Officer, was the Doctor's brother. Squire Bacon 
lived in that part of Boxford, which is now in Groveland. 

The farm was quit- claimed to Elbridge Perley by Brad- 
street Tyler in 1841. Elbridge was a son of Benjamin 
Perley, and was born in Dunbarton, N. H., in 1810. Mr. 
Perley died here in 1876, and his widow and son John E. 
have since resided upon the place. Mr. William E. Per- 
ley, who resides in No. 246, is another son. Three of his 
sons served in the war of the Rebellion, and two died from 
the effects of the service. 



236 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

258. 

Residence of M. P. Whittier. — The residence of Mr. 
Marshall P. Whittier was erected by his father Francis C. 
Whittier about 1850. He removed here from No. 278, 
and died some two or three years ago, since which time 
his son has resided upon the place. 

259. 

Residence of J. H. Webster. — The old Pearl place 
was the tract of two hundred acres laid out to John Sandys, 
in right of his father Henry Sandys, in 1667. It was bound- 
ed on the southwest by "Mr. Nelson's Great Farm" of 
two thousand acres, and came into the possession of Joseph 
Dowding, a merchant of Boston, who sold it to Cornelius 
Browne, a farmer of Reading, for £70, Sept. 10, 1703. 
Mr. Browne probably came here the following spring and 
built the present house. His wife Susanna died here in 
1734, at the age of seventy-four. 

In 1738, the place was sold by Mr. Browne to Richard 
Pearl of Bradford, housewright. Mr. Browne retained half 
of the house and barn. The farm then consisted of one 
hundred and forty acres. Mr. Pearl's father was John 
Pearl, from Skidby, Yorkshire, England, a miller by trade ; 
and his mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Holmes 
of Rowley. Richard was born in what is now Groveland 
in 1702. He built the original mill, in connection with 
another man, that occupied the site of the first factory of 
E. J. M. Hale in South Groveland. Richard lived first in 
Andover, and came to Boxford as above. About that time 
he erected in the rear of his house the first grist-mill that 
existed in the 'West parish. Richard died in 1793, at the 
age of ninety-one, his wife Sarah having died seven years 
previously. His daughter Elizabeth married Lt. Ebenezer 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



237 



Peabody, who resided in No. 260, and his son Richard died 
of the small-pox in 1760, at twenty years of age. 

Mr. Pearl's son John succeeded him on the place. He 
was born in 1738, and married Eunice Kimball in 1765. 
He had a family of eleven children, the youngest of whom 
was Peter Pearl, who resided in No. 218, and another of 
them was Simeon Pearl, the grandfather of Mr. J. M. 
Pearl, who resides in No. 254. 

After Mr. Pearl's death his son John came into the pos- 
session of the place. He was born in 1768, and in 1794, 
married Mehitable Hall. He died in 18—. Their son Ru- 
fus died in the summer of 1797, aged but one year. The 
following is his epitaph : — 

"Fresh in the morn, the summer rose 

Hangs withering ere 'tis noon 

We scarce enjoy the balmy gift 

But mourn the pleasure gone." 

His son, George Pearl, was the next proprietor of the 
ancient homestead. He was born in 1798, and always re- 
sided there. When the old meeting-house in this parish 
was taken down in 1843, Mr. Pearl purchased the porch, 
and annexed it to the east end of his house where it still 
remains. He died in 1878, and his widow survived him 
several years. His family still reside upon the place. This 
is also the home of James H. Webster, Esq., a son-in-law 
of Mr. Pearl. Mr. Pearl was a prominent man, being the 
representative of the town to the state legislature in 1857. 

260. 
Benjamin Peabody House. — The residence of the late 
Benjamin Peabody was built by his father, Lt. Ebenezer 
Peabody, about 17 — . Ebenezer was born in 1742, and 
served through the Revolutionary war, his special service 
being prosecuted with Col. Alden in his New York expe- 
dition in 1778 against the Indians, lie married, first, Eliz- 

31 



238 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

abeth Pearl in 17(54. She died in 1776, at the age of thirty- 
two, and he married, secondly, in 1780, her sister Sarah. 
He died in 1829, at the age of eighty-three. 

Mr. Peabody had twelve children, one of whom, Benja- 
min, horn in 1789, settled on the place in 1819. His wife 
was Rachel Hunting of Boston, whom he married in 1815. 
He went to Boston when quite young to live, and continued 
to reside there four years after his marriage. Mr. Peabody 
was a man of large size, and of an iron constitution. Mrs. 
Peabody was quite diminutive in stature, and was distin- 
guished for her kind and motherly qualities. He died in 
1879, and she followed him three years later. 

Of their family of eight children, the oldest is the widow 
of Jonathan Edwards Foster, and resides in No. 92. The 
next married John P. Foster of North Andover. The next, 
Thomas Isaac, was a teacher of the Farm school in Boston 
harbor, and, in 1842, went out sailing with the boatman and 
twenty of his pupils, when the boat was upset and all were 
drowned. He was twenty-two years old. Caroline A. is 
the widow of the late Samuel H. Batchelder of Methuen. 
Eliza O. is the wife of Mr. Isaac W. Andrew, who resides 
in No. 248. Ada B. is the wife of Mr. William P. Cleave- 
land, who resides in No. 13. Benjamin Franklin, the 
youngest son, was the last of the family to reside on the 
old place. He died a few years ago, and the homestead is 
now owned and occupied during the summer months by a 
Mr. Wilmarth of Boston. 

261. 

Residence of V. V. Moulton. — Mr. Valorus Valentine 
Moulton built his house in 1849, and has since lived in it. 



262. 

ODGI 

Dodge built his residence about 1870. 



Residence of G. S. Dodge. — Mr. George Stanwood 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 239 



263. 
Residence of Charles Stiles.— The house of the late 
Elijah Stiles was occupied in 1820 by David Coburn, 
who came from Nottingham-west, N. H. , about 1788. By 
his wife Sarah he had at least three children : David, who 
married here in 1797 ; James, who lived in No. 256 ; and 
William Merrill, who was born here in 1790. Dr. Jere- 
miah Spofford of Groveland, as guardian of Sarah Coburn, 
of Boxford, a person non compos mentis, sold this place to 
Benjamin Robinson of Boxford, yeoman, in 1840. The 
farm then consisted of twenty acres. Upon Mr. Robinson's 
death, his administrator sold it to Elijah Stiles of Boxford 
in 1842. Mr. Stiles died here in 1881, and his son Charles 
resides upon the farm, which lies on the northwest border 
of Johnson's pond, on a part of which he has fitted up 
a pleasure resort known as Stiles' grove. 

264. 
Enos Reynolds House.— The old house that stood 
where the residence of Miss Harriet Reynolds stands, was 
built quite early in the eighteenth century, as in 1799 it 
was very old and dilapidated. In the old house, from the 
time of his marriage probably in 1754, lived Stephen Rnn- 
nells, as the name was then spelled and pronounced. His 
wife was Hannah Pearl. He was a cooper by trade, and 
died young in 1771, having had seven children. His widow 
continued to live here, and died in 1822, at the age of 

eighty-six. 

One of Stephen Rnnnells' children was Enos, who was 
born in 1757. He was a soldier in the Revolution, and 
was at the battle of Bunker hill, and went with Arnold to 
Quebec, where he was taken prisoner by the British, and 
afterwards escaping, swam across Lake Champlain on a 



240 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORB. 

board and returned to his family who had given him up 
as dead. He was so disguised by small pox, from which 
he had suffered at Quebec, that his mother at first supposed 
him a stranger while drinking at the family well in the 
door-yard on his return. He was also with General Sul- 
livan in 1777 in his expedition against the Indians in the 
state of New York, — at Cherry Valley, Saratoga and other 
places. He was also one of the personal guard of Major 
Andre in his cell on the night before his execution, and was 
much touched by the demeanor of the condemned. 

In 1782, Mr. Reynolds married Sarah Simmons, and 
settled on the old place, which he carried on during the 
rest of his long life. He erected the presenthouse, raising 
the frame Sept. 11, 1799. Mr. Reynold* was a carpenter 
and did the work himself. It has been shingled twice and 
clapboarded once since it was built. Some of the timber 
and some of the finishing of the old house were used in 
the new. The panelling at the end of the dining-room and 
one side of the sitting-room was old when it was used 
again. 

Mr. Reynolds died in 1845, at the age of eighty-nine. 
He was a prominent man in the town, and possessed excel- 
lent qualities of mind, body and heart. He had twelve 
children, eight of whom we would specially mention as 
follows : — 

1. Stephen, who became a sailor and ship owner, and 
about 1825 sailed to the Hawaiian Islands where he sold 
his vessel to King Kamehameha, w r ho sailed to England in 
it. The king died in England, thereby causing so long a de- 
lay in the payment for the vessel that Mr. Reynolds became 
firmly established in business at Honolulu, and remained 
there until 185(5, when he came home and died the next 
year, at the age of seventy-four. It is said that the natives 
tried to persuade him to become their king. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 241 

2. Eliphalet, who was a shoemaker, and died in New 
York in 1838. 

3. Samuel, who was a morocco dresser, and died in 

West Boxford in 1855. 

4. Frederick, who was a carpenter, and died at the 
homestead in 1867, at the age of eighty-two. 

5. Matilda, who married Jedediah Barker of Boston. 
Her husband died in 1868, and she returned to the old 
homestead where she died in 1884, at the age of ninety-six. 

6. William, who was a sailor, being drowned in Bos- 
ton harbor in 1818. 

7. Rebecca Eveline, who visited the Sandwich Islands 
alone at different times, going around Cape Horn the first 
time in 1851-52 and crossingthe Isthmus of Panama the sec- 
ond time in 1856-57, when her brother Stephen returned 
with her. She was a teacher distinguished for force of 
character, remarkable intellect, energy of will, integrity of 
conscience, and a spirit of self-sacrifice. She died in 1865, 
at the age of sixty-one. 

8. Harriet, who was born in 1799, was the survivor of 
the family. In early life she taught school for ten years 
in her own district, and afterwards elsewhere. She was 
very pleasant and graceful in her manners. She died at 
the homestead in 1891, at the age of ninety-two. 

Miss Harriet Reynolds had a blue platter, brought from 
Delfthaven, presumably by the first Pearls who came over. 
It is of Delft ware, and used to stand on the dresser in the 
old Pearl house, No. 259. The groove of the dresser was 
not deep enough to secure it, so a nail was driven in, and 
the constant wear against the nail wore the edge of the 
platter to the depth of nearly an inch, so long had it been 

there. 

265. 

Sessions Cellaij.— A hundred and twenty years ago 



242 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Josiah Sessions lived on Sessions hill near the Reynolds 
place (No. 264) in West Boxford. 

Mr. Sessions was born in Bradford April 14, 1721, being 
son of Josiah and Anna Sessions of that town, lie mar- 
ried Martha , by whom he had a son Stephen born in 

Boxford, December 2(3, 1775, who married, in 1 7 i) 7 , Polly 
Adams of Epping, N. II. The family possessed but little 
character, and obtained their living mostly by stealing. 
The cellar of his house yet remains. The house was torn 
down in a search for stolen goods, some fifty years ago. 
The barn was taken down in 1840 or 1841, and part of the 
timber used in building on the kitchen part of the Reynolds 
house, No. 264. 

Joseph Sessions, who died "in ye strong-house" in 1779, 
was probably a member of this family. 

266. 

Runnells Cellar. — Beside the Sessions house, No. 
264, another one used to stand on the top of Sessions hill in 
the West parish, on the same side of the road as the res- 
idence of Mr. Daniel Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds lived there 
when he built his house. 

267. 

Thomas Peabody Cellar. — On the opposite side of the 
road from the residence of Miss Harriet Reynolds, near 
the brook, is the site of an old house. It was probably 
built by Ensign David Peabody (from Xo. 140). He died 
in 1726, at the age of forty-eight, and his widow, in 1736, 
married Joseph Kinsman of Ipswich, whither she removed. 
She died here, very suddenly, in 1756, at the age of sev- 
enty-two, and was buried in the old cemetery in this parish. 

Mr. Pea body's son Thomas, born in 1705, lived here after 
his mother's marriage. He married Ruth Osgood of Ando- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



243 



ver in 1738, and died here in 1758, at the age of fifty-two. 
His widow continued to reside here until she married Ben- 
jamin Milliken of Bradford in 1763. Mr. Peabody had 
nine children— four sons and five daughters. 

His son Ebenezer, who was born in 1742, married in 
1764 and resided here until about 1790, when he built the 
house lately owned and occupied by his son Benjamin 
Peabody. See No. 260. 

Mrs. Barker, who was born and reared in the immediate 
neighborhood and who died at her residence in Boxford in 
1884 at the age of ninety-seven years, said the house was 
destroyed before her remembrance. But the old-fashioned 
dark red roses, that used to grow in the garden, still spring 
up and bloom in the hay- field. 

268. 
Kesidence of George Reynolds.— Mr. George Rey- 
nolds built his house in 187-, and has since resided in it. 

269. 

Residence of D. L. Reynolds. — Mr. Daniel Lakeman 
Reynolds' farm was the Sherwin place. Ebenezer Sherwin 
from Linebrook parish, Ipswich, came to Boxford about 
1695, probably with his parents. He died in 1712. By 
his wife Susanna, he had children, Hannah, Jonathan and 
Ebenezer. 

Ebenezer Sherwin, jr., was born in 1705-6, and married 
Hephzibah Cole in 1726. They had eight children born 
here, Ebenezer, John, Susanna, Elnathan, Samson, Mar- 
tha, Silas, and Hephzibah. In 1747, he sold the farm to 
Samuel Runnells of Bradford, and removed to Dunstable. 

Samuel Runnells resided here. He was born about 1674 
at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, and came to Bradford, where 
he married Abigail Middleton about 1700. 



244 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

Mr. D:miel L. Reynolds built his residence about 18-. 
He was a son of Theodore Reynolds, who lived in No. 256. 

270. 

Micajah Kimball Cellar. — Near the Perry house in 
"West Boxford on the Bradford line, stood the Kimball 
house. It is said that on this place lived Thomas Kimball, 
who was slain by the Indians May 3, 1676, and his wife 
and five children, Joannah, Thomas, Joseph, Priscilla and 
John, carried away into captivity. The wife and children 
returned home on the thirteenth of the following month. 
The age of John, the youngest of these children, was but 
six months. The well to this house was rilled up by the 
owner of the lot, Mr. George W. Chadwick, about 1845. 
The house has been gone for a century, probably. 

271. 

Kimball Cellar. — On the town line near Little pond 
was an old Kimball house. It stood about three rods 
from house No. 270. It is supposed by some people to 
have been built by the grandfather of the late Micajah 
Kimball, who lived in it. It was a long one-story house 
at first, but raised to two stories by David Kimball, 
father of the late Micajah, about 1780. In making this 
change, tradition says that the first cut nails used in this 
vicinity were driven. Another tradition is, that, in 1796, 
or the next year, Micajah Kimball, who then owned the 
place, raised the house to two stories. Mr. Kimball was a 
carpenter, and, it is said, worked in the erection of the 
Bradford and Haverhill bridge at that time, and carried 
home enough of cut nails, that had just come into use, to 
remodel his house with. 

Micajah was a son of David and Abigail Kimball and 
was born in Bradford Nov. 14, 1765. He had two brothers, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 245 

Benjamin, born Aug. 28, 1765( ?) , and Nicholas, bora Sept. 
28, 1763. Micajah's father died early in this century, 
and the house continued to be occupied by Micajah and 
his wife until they became a charge to the town, about 1842, 
when it came into the possession of Mr. Chadwick's family. 
Micajah's sister Hannah and her daughter Sarah, who were 
both born here, remained some time after the removal of 
Micajah, and they too became town charges about 1847 or 
1848. 

The house was then occupied by Francis C. Whittier 
(who moved from No. 276) for some years, until he re- 
moved to the Peabody house (No. 278) about 1849. It 
was taken down by Mr. George W. Chadwick in 1882. 

272. 

The Perry Cellar. — The Perry house was built by 
Benjamin Kimball in 1821. Mr. Kimball married Betsey 
Pritchard of Bradford in 1819, and had two children born 
here, Elizabeth and Benjamin. 

John W. Perry lived here a number of years, and the 
family then removed to Bradford, where one of the sons, 
Benjamin G., was town clerk, and treasurer and collector. 

The place was latterly occupied for three years by Eu- 
nice, widow of the late Capt. Jonathan Chadwick of Brad- 
ford. Mrs. Chadwick died in 1879 at Mr. D. M. Cole's, 
whose wife was her daughter, and with whom she lived 
the last few months of her life. The house was then taken 
down. 

273. 

Residence of G. W. Chadwick. — In Mr. George W. 

Chadwick's front yard stood a house, built by his mother 

in 1830. She was Eunice, a daughter of Dea. John Day 

(see No. 274). She was born in Bradford in 1799, and 

32 



246 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

married Jonathan Chadwick, a sea-captain, who was a son 
of Joseph Chadwick, Esq., in whose house he resided at 
the time of his death in 1830. George W. Chadwick and 
his brothers were born there. His sister Eunice was born 
in 1830 in Mr. Charles Perley's house (No. 274), in 
which her mother's father lived, and to which her mother 
removed after her husband's death, and lived until she built 
the house mentioned at the beginning of this article. She 
moved into it in December, ]830. 

Mrs. Chadwick lived here until 1856, then two years at 
North Andover with her sister Mrs. Harriet D. Brown, 
then came back to Box ford and lived at the Perry house, 
No. 272, which see. 

Mr. G. W. Chadwick built his house in 1856, and 
h:is occupied it ever since, all his children having been 
born there. 

274. 

Residence of Charles Perley. — The farm of Mr. 
Charles Perley of West Box ford belonged to Samuel Kim- 
ball about 1790. Mr. Kimball was a son of Ephraim and 
Hannah (Potter) Kimball, and was born in Boxford in 
1744. His parents removed to Shrewsbury, when Samuel 
was about eighteen. He stayed behind, and marrying 
Anna Webster of Haverhill, in 1768, settled on this place. 
His wife died here May 6, 1778, leaving one child, Anna, 
who died in 1794, unmarried, at the age of twenty-three. 

Mr. Kimball married, secondly, Elizabeth (Gage), 
widow of Benjamin Cole of Boxford in September, 1778. 
Mr. Kimball and his wife first belonged to the Bradford 
church, and in the spring of 1779, were dismissed from that 
tot lie Second church in Boxford. Mr. Kimball died Sept. 7, 
1 71)0, at the age of forty-rive. By his second wife, he was 
the father of another child, Elizabeth, who was born in 
1779. This daughter married Dr. William Gage, and con- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 247 

tinned to reside here with the mother until 1805, when they 
sold the farm to John Day, jr., of Bradford. The family 
removed from town. Dr. Gage has descendants now oc- 
cupying important stations. One of them, Dr. William H. 
Gage, a grandson, was assistant physician at the Taunton 
insane asylum, and another is a superintendent of schools 
in the District of Columbia. 

The old house stood a little to the left of the lane lead- 
ing up to the west end of Mr. Perley's barn. 

Mr. Chadwick says he cannot remember the old house, 
but some of the out-buildings were standing in his younger 
days, about 1833-35. 

Mr. Day removed to this farm, where he lived during 
the remainder of his long life, and most of his children were 
born in this old house. His wife was Mary, daughter of 
Bradstreet Tyler, who lived at No. 279. Their first living 
child was Eunice, who was the mother of Mr. George W. 
Chadwick, and she was born at Ward hill, in Bradford, 
where her father then lived, in 1799. Mr. Day erected 
Mr. Perley's house in 1830, or shortly before. He was a 
deacon of the Second church from 1814 to 1848, and died 
in 1868, at the great age of ninety-one years and seven 
months. He was a son of John and Elizabeth (Ingersol) 
Day, and was born in Bradford in 1776. 

After Deacon Day's death, his son John became the owner 
of the place. He was born and always resided here, and 
was accidentally killed in his mill in 1879. He was dis- 
tinguished for his modesty, ingenuity and good farming. 

Since Mr. Day's death, his son-in-law, Mr. Pcrley, has 
been in possession of the farm. 

275. 

John Hovey Cellar. — Toward the North Andover 
line from Mr. Charles Perley's residence (No. 274), in a 



248 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

pleasant, picturesque valley, some distance in at the right 
hand side of the road, is an old cellar where a family of 
Hoveys lived. 

The house was probably built by John Hovey, nephew 
to Luke Hovey, the first of the name to settle in Box ford 
(see No. 255) , and son of John and Mary Hovey. He was 

born in Topsfield Aug. 27, 1699, married Mary in 

1725, and probably immediately settled on this farm. 
They had six children, four daughters and two sons, John 
and Richard. The father died in 1778, aged seventy-eight, 
and the mother in the same year, six months later, at the 
age of seventy-seven. 

The son Richard, born in 1733, resided on this place. He 
was a great beekeeper. His brother John probably erected 
the Parker house (No. 276). Richard married Sarah 
Wood of Andover in 1757, and had eight children. 

His son John Hovey was born in 1770, and was a twin 
with Betty. Twins are apt to bepindling, but this case 
was a great exception. Mr. Hovey was a strong man of 
great endurance. He would carry a grist of two bushels 
of corn on his back to the mill at North Andover, a good 
two miles away. He would also bring his peat from the 
meadow in the same way in two-bushel creels. Of his great 
peach orchard, two ancient trees yet remain. John Hovey 
married Hannah Weed of Haverhill in 1796, and became 
the father of Richard, Moses, and other children. He was 
living here in 1820, but probably survived but a short time 
after that date. 

The house was gone shortly after 1820. It was two 
stories in height, about 32 x 24 feet, and had one of the 
large old-fashioned chimneys. The place is now owned by 
Dea. Nathaniel Gage of North Andover. His grandfather 
Gage first spread plaster in this vicinity, on this place as 
a fertilizer. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 249 

276. 

Parker Cellar. — Towards the North Andover line 
from No. 275, and on the same side of the road in Mr. 
Nathaniel Gage's field, stood the Parker house, which was 
doubtless built by John, son of John and Mary Hovey, who 
was born in No. 275, in 1727. He married, first, Marcy 
Jackson of Rowley in 1753 ; she died in childbirth, probably 
in 1755, at the age of twenty-four. He married, sec- 
ondly, Mary Cole in 1757, by whom he probably had no 
children. His only child was Marcy, born in 1755. She 
married William Parker of Andover in 1781, and they re- 
sided on the place. They had eight children, the first 
seven of them being baptized at their house on one day, 
Aug. 15, 1797. The parents had been admitted to the 
church here the June before. William, the oldest child, 
on the day of his baptism, "was admitted to ye ordinance 
of the chh, upon condition of considering himself under 
the watch and subject to the discipline of the church." He 
was but fifteen years of age ; very young indeed to become 
connected with the church in those times. They had three 
sons and five daughters — William, Abigail, Hannah, Es- 
ther, Mary, Susanna, John and Benjamin. 

Mr. Parker either died or removed from the town in 
1826, as he is taxed for the place and not for his poll that 
year. His sons Benjamin and John were taxed here for 
the last time in 1825. 

Mr. Parker had a remarkable dream, which, unlike most, 
came to pass to the letter. A man seemed to appear to him 
near the barn (which is yet standing) and told him that he 
would lose his whole family, naming them in the order they 
would die, the family then consisting of his wife and the 
four youngest children. The dream was fulfilled soon 
after. 



250 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

In 1827, Aaron Henry came hereto live. He was away 
1831-1833, here the next year, and from 1835 to 1843, 
inclusive, was taxed for the farm. He removed in 1844 to 
Bradford. He went to Springfield soon after, and was in 
trade there, then to Holyoke, and afterward to Charlton, 
Mass., where he died in 1858. His widow died at Chic- 
opee, in July, 1883. Their three sons, William, Parker 
and John C, lived here probably, during the interval when 
Mr. Henry was away, 1831-1833. 

John Thompson lived herein 1845, andFrancis C. Whit- 
tier soon after, subsequently moving to the Kimball house, 
No. 270. 

The house was taken down about 1853, and a part of the 
lumber was used in building a house on Ward hill, in 
Bradford, now owned by John Richardson. The house 
was two stories in height and measured about 32x28 feet, 
being finished with dado boards. It faced the west, and the 
chimney was in the middle. The well was about three rods 
south of the house. 

John Day bought the farm about 1853, and took the 
house down. About four years later he sold to Dea. 
Daniel K. Gage. It is now owned by Dea. Nathaniel 
Gage. 

277. 

Warren Perley Cellar. — About 1850, John Day, jr., 
built a house for Warren Perley near No. 276. Mr. Per- 
ley lived in it two or three years, and then removed to 
Bradford, where he now resides. After his removal, it 
was sold by Mr. Day to Joshua Ellis of Ward hill, Brad- 
ford, whence it was removed by twenty-eight yoke of oxen. 
It measured 32x16 feet, and had an ell. 

278. 
The Hanson Cellar.— The old black house that lately 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 251 

stood near the residence of Mr. Geo. B. Austin, was known 
as the Hanson house ; why, we do not know. This house was 
probably built by a Mr. Hovey. Esther Hovey married 

Peabody, which gave it the name of the Peabody 

house. It came to Mr. Peabody's son Daniel, after the 
death of his parents, and he died while dressing to be 
married to Sally, daughter of Abraham Tyler. 

Francis C. Whittier moved from No. 270 to this house 
about 1849 ; and after living here two or three years moved 
to his new house No. 258. 

THE RUINED HOUSE. 

"Gloom is around thy lonely hearth, 
silent house, once filled with mirth." 

Mrs. Hemans. 

"0 lonely ruin, that erewhile didst lift 

Thy time-worn frame against the tempest's shock, 
But met it firmly, e'en as breasts the wave 
In its wild wrath, the surge-repelling rock,— 

"Lonely and silent,— silent ! no, a voice 

Comes from the wakened echoes of the past, 
Through the dim vista of departed years, 
I see their lengthened shadows broadly cast. 

"Gay sounds of mirth were in those dim, old walls, 

In those bright days when time went lightly by, 

There were glad voices round the pleasant hearth, 

And love beamed kindly from th' approving eye. 

"Then childhood's careless glee in merry shout, 
And pleasant song in joyous strain were poured, 
Old age was tended with endearing care, 
And friends were bidden to the welcome board. 

"They parted, and all desolate and lone 

Thou stood'st awhile, like them to pass away, 
And I a moment muse beside the spot 
That saw thee slowly yielding to decay." 



252 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 



279. 

B. Tyler House.— The house near Mr. George B. Aus- 
tin's residence was formerly owned by Bradstreet Tyler. 
It descended to his daughter, and her heirs sold it many 
years ago to Mr. Austin, who still owns it. It is a tene- 
ment house. 

280. 

Residence of G. B. Austin. — The house of Mr. 
George B. Austin was built by Bradstreet Tyler about 
1800. He died in 185-, and the farm descended to his 
daughter Charlotte, who had married Charles Pearl. After 
Mr. Pearl's death, his widow married Mr. Austin, who 
bought the farm in 1879, and ha since resided upon it. 

281. 

Residence of Mrs. J. P. Cole.— The residence of 
Mrs. Joseph P. Cole was built by Mr. Caleb M. Cole in 
the winter of 1854-55. Mr. Cole bought the land, one 
half acre, of Bradstreet Tyler in October, 1854, and sold 
it with the house thereon in March, 1855, to Joseph P. 
Cole, whose widow has owned it since his death. 

282. 

Residence of J. W. Chadwick.— Dea. Joshua T. Day 
bought the place now in the possession of Mr. James War- 
ren Chadwick in 18—, and died in 1875. Shortly after- 
ward the place was purchased by Mr. Chadwick, who has 
made the farm one of the most productive in New Eng- 
land. 

283. 

Ivory Hovey Cellar.— Near the brook, on the west 
side of the road between the houses of Mr. J. Warren Chad, 
wick and the late Asa Kimball, stood an old Hovey house. 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 253 

It was erected by Luke Hovey, who settled at No 255, and 
he and his wife spent the last few years of their lives here. 
Mr. Hovey died in 1751, and this place then came into the 
possession of his son Joseph Hovey, who was horn at No. 
255, in 1712. He married Rebecca Stickney of Bradford in 
1744, and resided here. He was a deacon of the church in 
thisparish from 1759 till his death, which occurred in 1785, 
when he was seventy-three years of age. His wife died in 
1788. Their children were, Dolly, who married Samuel 
Clark of Danvers. Joseph, who lived here awhile, and then 
settled at No. 289. Lucy, who married Thomas Cross of 
Bradford. Ivory, who lived on the homestead. Lois, who 
died at the age of six years. Rebecca, who married Amos 
Perley. Amos. Lois, who married Amos Gage. Thomas. 

Joseph Hovey was succeeded on the place by his two 
sons, Joseph and Ivory. Joseph was born in 1746 ; and 
he married Mary Porter in 1773. In November, 1790, he 
was the lucky owner of ticket Mo. 760 in the fifth-class 
of the state lottery, which drew a prize of a thousand dollars. 
With this money he wisely purchased farm No. 289, to 
which he removed. 

Ivory Hovey, the other son, continued to reside on the 
homestead. He was born in 1750 ; married Lucy Peabody 
in 1772, and lived here until his death. He became a cap- 
tain in the militia, and was also an officer in the war of the 
Revolution. He died in 1832, at the age of eighty-two, 
and in the death column of the Salem Gazette of the next 
week appeared the following obituary notice: — 

"In Boxford, August 27, Capt. Ivory Hovey, aged 82 Aii ardent 
patriot and revolutionary soldier — who was in the hottest of the bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill — sustained theofficeof orderly Sergeant under ('apt. 
Robinson in the trying scenes in New Jersey and Long Island— was in 
the battle of Trenton and distinguished himself at sundry times by 
many fearless and heroic deeds — was a man of noble and generous 
heart — an obliging personal friend, and an active friend of humanity." 
33 



254 THE DWELLING8 OF BOXrORD. 

Captain Hovey had several children, one of whom, 
Charles, removed to Warren, Me., in 1803, and established 
the tanning business there, being joined two years later 
by his brother Ivory. 

A few years after Captain Hovey 's death, there remained 
no vestige of this home, but the narcissus of the old gar- 
den, which still springs up near the brook. 

284. 

Joseph Wood Cellar. — Between the houses of Mr. J. 
Warren Chadwick and the late Asa Kimball on the same 
side of the road, and reached by a lane, was the dwelling of 
"Granny Wood." This was probably the home of Daniel 
Wood, son of Dr. David Wood, who willed to Daniel in 
1744 a farm bought of Nathaniel Peabody. Daniel was born 
in 1706, and married Sarah Peabody in 1731. They had 
three sons and four daughters. The eldest son and second 
child was Joseph, who was born in 1734. He married, in 
1753, Mary, or Molly (as she was generally called), Var- 
num of what is now North Andover, and from the district 
called Pilferville. Joseph Wood died in 1801. 

His wife had the notoriety of being the first to bring 
tomatoes into this neighborhood, about 1809. She called 
them Jacobins, from the political opinions of the person of 
whom she obtained them. She used to go to Salem to 
market on horse-buck, and it is said she, through her horse, 
first brought to this place that farmer's pest known as 
white- weed, or by whatever name it may be called. 

Granny Wood was a good neighbor, and beloved by all 
for her kind disposition. Her nick-name vvas"for-ti-knavv," 
a favorite expression of hers, and a contraction possibly of 
''far as I know." She used to relate with glee how, once 
when she was riding to Salem horseback, she saw a bird fly 
from its nest. She dismounted, took the nest, which had 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 255 

three young birds in it, and on getting to Salem sold nest 
and birdlings for three coppers. 

The children of Mr. Wood were as follows : — 

1. Josiah, horn in 1754, was a revolutionary soldier, 
and at last lived in New York state. 2. Sarah, born in 1757, 
married Joseph Carleton, who lived in No. 85. 3. Judith, 
born in 1759, lived in North Andover. 4. Joseph died 
at the age of thirteen months. 5. Deborah married John 
Buckminster, who lived in No. 256, and died here in 1804. 
6. Daniel was born in 1765. 7. Nathan, born in 1767, 
was a shoe-maker, and lived in Salem. He had several 
daughters and one son, the latter having deformed hands. 
8. Joseph lived on the place with his parents. 9. Fanny, 
born new year's day, 1774, married George Underwood of 
Salem in 1799, and lived in that town. Their children 
were, Sally, who was the originator of the expression, com- 
mon in this neighborhood, "too tough to die," because 
granny was seventy-five years old and still alive ; Joseph ; 
and Fanny. 

Mr. Wood's son Joseph always lived at home. He was 
born in 1770, and married Polly, daughter of Runnells 
Foster in 1796. She was a pretty woman. Of their 
children, Mary died of a fever, at the age ot ten; Isaac 
disappeared, and at last turned up at Saybrook, Conn. ; and 
Deborah, who was brought up by her aunt Judith Wood 
in North Andover, still resides in Boxford, at the age of 
nearly ninety. 

Joseph Wood had a rosebush, which bore white double 
blossoms. This was the original of several in the neigh- 
borhood. He used to train his that he might gather the 
flowers from the second-story window. 

The barn here stood in the field for some years after the 
house was gone; and there were quince bushes near the 
cellar. 



256 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

285. 

Asa Kimball House. — The residence of the late Asa 
Kimball was built by James Carleton in 1846. Mr. Kim- 
ball lived here many years, and died about 1885. His 
widow has since resided here. 

286. 

Moses Hale Cellar. — Across the street from the res- 
idence of the late Daniel Wood was an old cellar. The 
house that stood here was built by Pelatiah Lakeman, 
probably about 1767, the time of Mi-. Lakeman's marriage 
with Eunice Barker of Andover. He was a son of William 
and Susannah Lakeman, and was born in Boxford in 1742. 
His father came from Ipswich about 1731. Pelatiah had 
six children born here, Nathan, Daniel, Jedediah, Isaac, 
Stephen and Betty. The family moved out of the West 
parish in 1780-81, and in 1793 were dismissed from the 
church here to the Second church in Exeter, N. H. His 
father William Lakeman lived until 1739 in the old Pearl 
house, No. 259. 

Jan. 3, 1777, this place was owned by Job Tyler (whose 
wife was Elizabeth), who had probably lived in No. 218. 
On the date named, he sold this place to the Rev. Moses 
Hale, for £240, and removed to Rindge, N. H. There 
were then thirty-two acres of land, a house, barn and shop. 

Mr. Hale lived here. He was born in Rowley, Feb. 19, 
1749. He was a son of Rev. Moses Hale of Newbury, a 
graduate of Harvard college in 1771, and was settled over 
the Second church in 1774. Mr. Hale married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Col. Stephen Emery of Newbury (now West 
Newbury), about a year after his ordination, and his father 
thus records the event in his diary : "Dec. 28, 1775. 
Fair ; moderate and pleasant for ye season. We were at 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 257 

Col. Emery's p. m., married my son Moses," etc. They 
had five children. Mrs. Hale died in April, 1785, and Mr. 
Hale followed her in May of the following year. Mr. Hale's 
epitaph is as follows : — 

"In the dark caverns of the fflent Tomb, 

The old, the young, the gay, all ages come. 

Here lies inter r'd the Prieft in fable urn ; 

Here meet his flock & each to duft return. 

Thefe iron gates no more fhall e'er be burft, 

Till heav'ns command fhall wake the fleeping duft, 

And then Creations vaft, immenfe fhall rise, 

And men with Angels throng th' etherial fkies. 

The God of Nature thus from heav'n hath fpoke, 

Nor Men nor Angels can his word revoke. 

It muft be fo ! then let my foul refign, 

And be prepared for his will divine." 

The following is Mrs. Hale's epitaph :— 
"Daughters of Eve of every age draw near 

Drop o'er this hallow'd urn the friendly tear 

Here lies Y e Pious Prudent cheerful Kind 

An active, vigorous Yet a Gentle Mind 

How Bright her virtues in Domeftic life 

The Careful Parent & the faithful Wife 

But what Sacred Peace what joy Serene 

Graced & Perfumed her dying words & mien 

With all Y e Chriftian Speaking in her Eyes 

She bids this World adiue & Gains her native Skies." 
After Mr. Hale's death the place came into the posses- 
sion of Lemuel Wood, father of the late venerable Daniel 
Wood. Mr. Wood died in 1819, at the age of seventy- 
seven. He had seven children, the sixth of whom was 
Daniel, who was born here Feb. 10, 1793. The house 
was afterward used as a school-house, from about 1836, by 
Miss Eveline Reynolds, who titled young ladies for teach- 
ing. She generally had about twenty-five scholars. The 
house was taken down about 1845. 

287. 
Daniel Wood House.— The late venerable Daniel Wood 



258 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXPORD. 

built his residence in the summer of 1820, hut it was not 
occupied till the following April. In 1835, he built on the 
back part. In 1849, he made some repairs, and in 185G 
shingled, clapboarded and painted the house, and added 
the pediment. In 1880, he put in the modern windows of 
four panes each, and the next year painted both outside and 
inside of the house. Mr. Wood was a son of Lemuel 
Wood, who lived across the street, in No. 286. He died 
in 1888 at the age of ninety-six, being until a few months 
before his decease as hale and hearty as in his prime. 

His son, William Hale Wood, always lived at home, and 
died in 1891 at the age of sixty-seven, leaving a widow. 
He was town clerk during the years of the Rebellion, and 
tilled other public offices. 

288. 

A. P. Hovey House. — The house lately occupied by 
Mr. Albert P. Hovey was built by himself in 1885. He 
moved from this house to No. 233. 

289. 

Barker Free School. — Where the residence of the 
principal of the Barker free school stands, was formerly 
the Clark house. William Clark, who was probably its 
builder, came from Reading, and bought the land in 1705. 

lie married Jean and had a son John born here in 

1712, who died at two years of age. Mr. Clark was a 
weaver by trade. About 1730, he sold the place to Dr. 
David Wood. Shortly after, he became a pauper, and was 
boarded out in different families until he died at the house of 
Benjamin Porter, Feb. 8, 1742-43, being treated by Dr. 
Benjamin Foster. The place was occupied from 1733 by 
Dr. Wood's son David, to whom he gave the farm in his 
will which was proved in 1744. 

David Wood was born in 1709, married Matey Pea- 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 259 

body ( ?) in 1733, and died in 1785, at the age of seventy- 
five. His widow was living in 1791. His children were, 
Huldah, who was of Box ford and unmarried in 1791 ; 
Mary, who married James Boynton, and lived across the 
street; Mercy, who died in 1753, at the age of* twelve; 
Irene, who died in 1753, at the age of four; and David, 
who died in 1762 at the age of eight. Irene died the next 
day after Mercy. In 1791, the heirs sold this place to 
Joseph Hovey, and removed to Methnen. 

Joseph Hovey was a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Stick- 
ney) Hovey, and was born at No. 255 in 1746. He mar- 
ried, in 1773, Mary Porter, who died in 1819. They had 
eight children, the youngest of whom, Thomas Stickney 
Hovey, born here in 1792, resided on the place. He was 
the father of Mr. Albert P. Hovey, and the last resident 
of this farm. Mr. Hovey's widow still resides in town. 
The house has been down for some ten years. 

The Barker free school buildings were erected in 1888, 
and the two principals who have lived in the house have 
been Stephen Cutter Clark and N. B. Sargent. 

290. 

J. Boynton Cellar. — On the opposite side of the road 
from Xo. 289 was an old cellar, over which stood the house 
in which resided dames Boynton, who was killed at the bat- 
tle of Blinker Hill in 1775. He was a son of Nathan Boyn- 
ton of what is now Georgetown, and was born there in 
1739. He married Mary, daughter of David Wood of Box- 
ford in 1763. They had live children. It is said that the 
musket he used on the dayof his death is preserved in some 
museum. Of the house we know nothing more. Mr. 
Boyutou's family removed to Methuen about 1780. 

291. 
Residence of N. K. Fowler. — The house of Mr. Na- 



260 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

than K. Fowler was erected by a man named Chadwick 
about 17 — . Before 1817 this place belonged to Moses 
Chadwick. The land, three acres, and buildings were set 
off to George H. Ingersoll of Charlestown, N. H., on an 
execution against Chadwick. He sold it to Daniel Adams, 
who lived at No. 239, in 1817. In 1823, Mr. Adams 
sold to Hannah Dale of Boxford, single woman. 

William R. Kimball, Esq., owned and occupied this 
house many years previous to the death of his first wife, 
and made extensive repairs on it about 1850. Mr. Fow- 
ler has lived here many years. 

292. 

Dr. Foster Cellar. — A short distance north of the late 
residence of Mr. Albert P. Hovey is the site of the house 
of Dr. Benjamin Foster. Dr. Foster was born in Ipswich in 
1700, being son of Benjamin and Ann Foster. His father 
was born in Ipswich in 1670, removed to Boxford from 
Topsfield in 1720, and had two children born here. Mr. 
Foster was a weaver by trade, and probably lived on this 
place. He removed to Billenca about 1729, and died at 
Lunenburg in 1735. Dr. Foster, the son, married Lydia 
Burbank in 1730, and by her he had several children, Caleb, 
Benjamin, Asa (these three, all they then had, died of the 
throat distemper in the fall of 1736, within a space of 
thirty-seven days, being aged five, three and one year re- 
spectively), Lydia, who married Jonathan Woodbury of 
Salem, N. H., in 1758, and Hannah, who died at the age 
of ten years. Jan. 17, 17(50, his wife died of the small- 
pox : and he married, the following year, widow Sarah Low 
of Ipswich. He died, of the asthma, Dec. 19, 1775, at 
the age of seventy-rive. Felt, in his History of Ipswich, 
says of him: "He had been in the practice of his profes- 
sion over fifty years, was a distinguished botanist, and a 
successful and skillful physician." 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 261 

The following obituary notice of Doctor Foster appeared 
in the Essex Gazette, in its issue of Jan. 18-25, 1776 :— 

"Ipfwich, Dec. 23, 1775. Laft Tuefday evening died fuddenly of an 
afthmatic complaint, and yefterday were decently interred the remains 
of, Dr. Benjamin Fostkr. He feemed to be one of thofe genmfes 
defigned by nature for the practice of the medical art. In this em- 
ployment he fignalized himfelf by his uncommon fuccefs, for upwards 
of fifty years. In confequence of his extenfive fkill in Botany he made 
ufe chiefly of the Materia Medica of our own climate. He had a com- 
prehenfive undemanding of the animal economy; and had not only a 
thorough knowledge of the caufe diagnofticks, and prognofticks of a 
diftemper; and could accurately diftinguifh one difeafe from another; 
but was alfo moft ready in his application of the moft fuitable and 
proper remedies ; fo that he was at once a moft fkillful, able, and fuc- 
cefsful phyfician; and the many feeble and infirm fubjects in this and 
the neighbouring towns muft fincerely lament his lofs. He was up- 
wards of 70 years of age." 

Dr. Foster must have had a second son by the name of 
Benjamin, who survived him; as, April 21, 1777, Benja- 
min Foster of Boxford (who in his deed mentions no occu- 
pation), conveyed the homestead to Samuel Porter of 
Boxford, cordwainer, for £20. The description of the 
property, as given in the deed, is as follows : "bounded 
beginning at the northeaft corner of the Rev d 
M r Hales land thence running up the hill as the fence 
now ftands on the fide of the road to Deacon Chadwicks 
land, thence northwefterly on s d Chadwicks line to the 
pond, thence northeafterly on the pond to M r Hale's land 
& fo on f 1 Hales line as the fence now ftands to the first 
mentioned bounds together with the houfe & barn now 
ftanding on s d land containing about two acres & an half." 
Mr. Porter sold the place the following year, for £60, to 
John Barker, 3d, of Andover, yeoman. In 1781, Mr. 
Barker sold out to Rev. Moses Hale who owned the ad- 
joining homestead. The house and barn had probably 
been taken down by Mr. Barker, as they are mentioned 
in the deed to him, but in the deed he gives to Mr. Hale 

34 



2G2 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 

no mention is made of them, and the consideration paid by 
Mr. Hale was only £13, 10s. The lot was afterward 
identified as a part of the homelot of Mr. Hale, who lived 
at No. 280. 

293. 

M. Chadwick House. — The house vacated six years 
ago by Mr. Albert P. Hovey, near Mr. N. K. Fowler's, 
was a building used as a store by Benjamin Pearl, which 
stood where Mrs. William P. Cole's house now stands. It 
was eventually purchased by Moses Chadwick, then living 
at Mr. Fowler's house, who moved it to its present site, and 
modeled it into a house. Mr. Chadwick's widow afterward 
married Turner, and died about 1853. Samuel Green- 
wood, who afterward lived there, made additions to the barn. 
Mr. N. K. Fowler and others, beside Mr. Hovey, also lived 
there. 

294. 

N. K. Fowler's Tenement House. — The building in 
which the free school was at first located was finished oil" 
for a house by Mr. N. K. Fowler, some eleven years ago, 
and we believe it had been used as a house in some stage 
of its existence. 

295. 

Residence of C. E. Park. — The residence of Rev. Cal- 
vin Emmonds Park was built by Mr. James Carleton for the 
Second parish in 1845. The L was afterward built by Cle- 
ment & Abbott of Andover. The house was purchased the 
following year, and has since been occupied, by Mr. Park. 
He was a son of Rev. Calvin Park of Providence, U. I., 
where he was born in 1811, and was settled as colleague 
with Dr. Eaton in 184(>, coming from a pastorate of six 
years at Waterville, Me. His son Charles is a clergyman, 



THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFORD. 263 

and was for several years a missionary in India, being now 
settled in the ministry in Connecticut. Mr. Park resigned 
in 1859, but continued his residence here, teaching a pri- 
vate school. He is a brother of Professor Park of the 
Andover Theological Seminary. 

296. 

T. W. Dunn Cellar. — About where the West-parish 
public library building stands were two buildings, one a 
dwelling-house, the other a blacksmith's shop. Moses Chad- 
wick lived in the house, and worked at the trade of a black- 
smith in the shop. He was a son of David and Sarah Chad- 
wick, and was born in 1767. He married Sarah Sargent in 
1789, and had five children, Mary, Sally, Dane, Permelia 
and Moses, who died in 1806. He sold his land, house, 
blacksmith's shop and his "trading shop," which stood on 
land of Moses Porter, in 1797, to Phineas Cole of Brad- 
ford. There was one acre of land. This afterward came 
into the possession of Benjamin Pearl, who built the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Wm. R. Cole. Subsequently, the place was 
owned by Thomas W. Dunn. At last, some one set fire 
to the buildings, and they, with their contents, were totally 
destroyed. 

297. 

M. Chadwick Cellar. — At the east end of Mr. John 
I. Ladd's residence, near the highway, stood a two-story 
building, which was owned and occupied by Moses Chad- 
wick, who had lived at No. 296. In a part of the house 
Mr. Chadwick kept a store. The store was afterward kept 
by Albert Hervey, and later by Stephen Peabody. It was 
subsequently owned by Ephraim Foster, who, at his death 
in 1835, gave the Foster school fund to the parish ; and 
eventually came into the possession of Mis. Hovey, the 
owner of Xo. 242, who took the building down in 187.'). 



264 THE DWELLINGS OF BOXFOED. 

298. 

Residence of John Cass. — Mr. John Cuss, who had 
been living at No. 162, built his present home in 1891. 
He is a son of Mr. Thomas Cass of Topsfield, and a 
farmer. 



INDEX. 



Abbott. 100, 262. 
Academy, 105, 163. 
Accident-, 6.31. 53, 78, 121, 

162, 172, 23s, 247. 
Adams, 5, 12, 25, 26, 33, 37, 
73, 77, S5-87, 92, 97, 99, 
162,165, 183,203,208,212- 
215,242,260. 
Daniel, 97, 213, 214, 260. 
D. Lewis, 97. 
Edwin S., 208, 213. 
Isaac, 85. 
Israel, 87. 
Dea. John, 165. 
Joseph, 26. 
Joseph I! , 97. 
Sam'l, 165, 183. 
Advertisements, 72. 77, 160, 

194, 223. 
Albany, N. Y.. 114. 203. 
Alcott', 54, 101, 103, 150. 

Rev. Win. P., 51, 10!. 
Alden, 207. 
Alexander, N T . Y., 26. 
Allen, Prof. Frederic D., 

104, in:,. 
Almshouse, L6. 73.82, 179. 
Ambrose, David, 97. 
America, 166. 

Ames, l'.io-lit:;, 196, 197, 207, 
223. Sec Karnes. 
John, 196. 
Jonathan, 191. 
Joseph, 191. 
Rebecca, 191. 
Robert, mi. 
Amesbury, Mass., 39, 222. 
Amherst, Mass., 132. 

N. II., 64, 65, 212. 
A in in ii, 199. 
Anderson, 204, 207, 208 
Chas. R., 204. 
Roberl B., 207. 
Andover, Me., 20, 10. 
Mass., 3,20, 2K, 36, I!, 53, 
r,r,, 63, 75, 82, 83. 
'.111. in, 100, lor,, 106, 124. 
151, 154, 172, IT:;. 177. 
JTs, 180, 1,-1. 186-189, 

195, 197-199, -Jo,, 207, 
211, 222-22;.. -221. 22S, 

230. 236, 212, 2is, 249, 
250, 201-20:;, 

Andre, 240. 

Andrew, l-aac W., 221, 238. 
Gov. John A., 128,221. 

Jonathan, 221. 



Andrews, 32, 46, 50-52, 09, 
107, 116-118, 122, 121, 
125, 127-1-2!). 131. 133, 
142. 146, 15S. 160, 100, 
171, ISO, 187,221. 

Asa. 52. 

Daniel, 115, 131. 

Dean, 115. 

Jacob, 116, 128. 133. 

James, 160, 171. 

John, 50, 124. 

Dr. John, 171. 

Joseph, 50. 

Mehitable, 187. 

Nathan, 124. 125, 171. 

Robert, 121, 127,221. 

Sam'l, 125. 

Tims.. 158. 

\Vm. M., 46. 
Andros, 131. 
Anecdotes, 12, 37, 12:;, 125, 

111, 102. 
Angouleme, 135. 
Aquitaine, 135. 
Arnold, 239. 

Arrington, Walter 11., 13. 
Artist'; I'H'. 218. 
Arundel, Me., 232. 
Ashby, Mass., 200. 
Ashford, Conn.. '.19, 21:;. 
A sington, Bng., 00. 
Atheling, 135. 
Atherton, 155, 176, ITS, 187. 

Prof. Ceo. W., 155, 178. 

Otis, 155. 

Win. II., 170. 

Alkius N. II., 68. 

Auburn, X. Y., 01 
Auctions, ;.' 109, 117, 10:;. 
Augusta, Me., 102, 103, 129, 
L30, 101. 

Austin, 229, 251, 252. 

Geo. B., 252. 
Averill, 54, 150, 159, 169, 

170. 
Elijah, 109. 
John, 54, I .9. 
Joseph, ir.o. 
Aver, 201 

107-109, II':, 189,202. 
s Prank, L08. 
Sam'l N., n>;. bis, no, L89. 



Bacon, ', ;, L07.227, 234, 235. 
Abigail, io7. 
John, 227, 235. 



Bacon, Dr. Josiah.234,235. 

Zachariah, 234. 
Badger, Wm. J„ 47. 
Bagley, l»:i. 
Bailey, John G., 7. 
Baker, 15.22,201, 231, 233. 

John, 201. 
Balch, 10, 75. 

Cornelius, 16. 
P.ald hill, 136. 
Baldpate hill, 75, 194. 
P.ald win. 23, 87. 

Eben S., 23. 
P.ald win, .Me., 204. 
Ballon, Murray R., 76, 80. 
Baltimore, Md., 129. 
Bansror, .Me., 32, 59, 103, 
198. 

Barbers, 53, 133. 
Barker, 03, 82, 88, 100, 187, 
198 2IS, 222, 225. 227, 
22S, 211, 213, 250, 25S. 
259, 261. 
Charlotte. 21S. 
Henry, 222. 
Isaac, 225, 228. 
John, 22s. 2oi. 
Jonathan T., 222. 
Barker Free School, 258, 

259. 2^2. 

Barnard, 31 35 
Panics. 11, 19, 21. 37, 10, 41. 
43.44, 70. 101,231. 

Benj. s., u. 

Phineas, 10, 11. 

Phincas W.. 40, ! 1 
Barnstead, N. II., 217. 
Barre, Ml . 101. 
Bartlett, Dr. Cyrus K., 149. 

Dr. Joseph K , 113. 149. 
B itavia, III.. 203. 
l'. itchelder, 68, 70, 79, so, 

163, 105. 100, 238. 

Edward G., 80. 
Jacob, 79. 
John Q.. 80. 
Sam'l II., so. 
Baxter. 87. 
134. 

. I ■:. E., 220. 
Bears, 142. 
Beam 
Beaufet, An old, 169. 

203. 
Belfast, Me., 203. 
Bennington, \ I . SO, 64. 
Bentley, Jas., 179. 

(265) 



266 



INDEX. 



Bentlev, John, 177, 179. 
Berlin, Vt., 28, 63. 
Berry, 107, 170, 186, 187. 
Amos, 187. 
Horace, 187. 
Bethel, Me., 129, 145. 
Bevcrlv, Mass.,!), 111. 24, 03. 
73, 84. 162, 164, 169, 170, 
177, 18!). 
Bible, An old, 230 
Biddeford, Me., 202. 
Billerica, Mass., 29, 260. 
Bixhv, 2. 8,9, 14, (JO. 7S. 105, 
107, 114, 115, 136, 158, 
159, 183. 
Daniel, 2, 8, 9. 
George, 60. 
Gideon, 00,158. 
Hasket, 14. 
Jonathan. 114. 
Joseph, 60. 
Sam'l, 105. 
Stephen A., 105. 
Black, 43, 44, 188. 
Daniel, 44. 
James, 43, 188. 
Blackburn, Geo., 177-179. 
Blacksmiths, 14, 15, 40, 51, 
61,62, 69, 72, 107-109, 
116, 117, 162, 195, 207, 
208, 219, 220, 263. 
Blaine, 103. 
Blaisdell, 25. 
John S., 25. 
Blake, 90, 193, 196, 197, 223. 
Geo.. L96. 

Bligh, ,146. 

Blindness, 70, 83, 123. 
Bliss, 203. 
Blissville, N.B., 9. 
Blood. 203. 
Blue Hill, Me., 84. 
Bly, Win., 7. 00. 
Boardman, is, id. 

Daniel, 18, 19. 
Bod well, II, 72,82, 224. 
Daniel, 72. 
L. Warwick, 11. 
Nelson, 82. 
Bokenson, 3. 
Bolton, Mass., 51,122. 
Bonaparte, 217. 
Booth, 146. 
Win., 146. 
Boscawen, N. II., 72. 
Boston, Me. 31. 
Mass., 23.34,36, 45,46,61, 
00, os, 72, so, s;, 88, '.'0. 
94,104, 105, 110,111,130, 
111, 119. 163, 165, loo, 
L69, 170, 174, ITS, 193, 
198, 205, 219. 221, 235, 
2:;o, ^;;>, 211. 
Bound out, 211. 
Bowers. 72. 
Boxford, Eng., 127. 
Mass., 1-201. 
Washington Guards, 150. 
Boynton, 170, 259. 

Jas.. 259. 
Braekett, 131. 



Bradford, Mass., 8, 32, 50, 
71. 71. S3, ss, 89. 93. 97, 
132, 102, 170, 185, lot;. 
200, 202, 207. 210, 21.', 
211. 210, 220, 231. 234. 
230, 242-245, 217. 250, 
253, 263. 
P.radshaw, 203. 
Bradstreet, 25, 70, 137, 110, 
lis, i.-,s, 200. 
Billy, 200. 
Moses, 70. 
Bremner, Rev. David, L83, 

184. 
Bridge builder, 196. 
Bridges. 1."., 10. 

Josiah, 1"). 
Bridgton, Me., 9. 10, 20, 

100, 122, 150, 100. 
Briggs, Rev. Isaac, 156, 157, 
104. 105. 
Orchard, 150. 
Brighton. N. V., 144. 
British Provinces, 17. 
Brookfleld. Mass.. 78, 132. 
Brooklvn, N. Y.. 58, 86, 87, 

122." 
Broughton, 135. 
Brown, 50, 59. 75, 100, 109, 
134, lid, 186, 2oi. 2n ;. 
207, 217, 230-232, 230. 
246. 

, 146. 

Albert, 58, 104. 
Allied, 109. 
Cornelius, 236. 
John, 100.180,217. 
John W.. 200. 
Joseph, 204. 
Sam'l, 50. 
Bryant. 171. 
Buck, 223. 
Buekmaster. See Buckmin- 

Buckminster, 217, 232-211, 

255. 

John, 232-234. 
Buffalo, N. Y.. 132. 
Buford, X. B., 9. 
Bunker, Klisha G., 101. 102, 

107, 217. 
Biirbank,2U, 260. 

Ebenezer, 211. 
Burgoyne, 123. 
Burkbee, 85. 

Burn ham, 51, 70, 7'.), no. 
120, 122, 105,227, 228. 

Nath'l, 51. 

Rufus, 70, 79. 

.sell), 227. 
Burpee, 12, . 

Buswell, 3:1,50. 57. no 

John. 56. 

.Sam'l. 50. 
Butchers, 11,40. 43. 68, loo, 

104,217. 
Butler, is;, 
Butman, 21, 40, 56, 57, 104 

David. 57. 

John, 24. 

Matthew, 24. 



Butman, Thos.. in. 
Buxton, Me., 42, 198. 
Byam, 179. 
Byfield Parish, Ma>s., 17. 

22, 25. 71, 71, 102. 



Caesar, 199. 

Calais, Ale., 204. 
Calcutta. India. 17. 

Calligan, . 185. 

Cambridge, Ms., 19.29, lit. 

Camp Stanton, 23. 37. 
Canada, 97,202. 208, 21'.). 

Candace, 199. 
Candia, X. II.. 21. 68. 
Cane, An old. 177. 
Canmore, 135. 
Canterbury, X. II., 190. 
Cape Ami, 52. 
Cape Horn, 241. 
( larey, Lawrence, 222. 
Caiieton, 63, 87,88, 179, 203, 
204, 200, 207, 214. 215, 
226, 22s, 229, 231, 230, 
255, 250, 202. 

Amos, 201. 

James, 204, 200. 

Joseph, 88. 

Leonard, 88. 

Kebecca W., 229. 

Robert, 200. 

Sam'l |l. , 88. 
Carpenters, n, 51. 70, 71, 

107, 108, 110, 123-125, 
13:;, 134. 140, 101, 173, 
174, 170, 189, 197, 200, 
204, 213, 215. 218, 
2 01.241. 

Carriage building. 18. 

Cass, 158, 2oi. 

John. 158, 204. 

Cemeteries. 30. 
Ate dent. Ot. 

Harmony, 19. 24. 37. 3!). 
40, 48, 75. 78. 
Centenarians, 20. 39, 03. 
Chadwick. si, 167, 197. 202, 
207, 221. 233, 244-247, 
252, 251, 260-263. 

Mrs. Eunice, 215. 246. 
Geo. W.. 215, 210. 
Jas. W.,252. 

Mo>es. 200. 202, 203. 

Thos., 221. 
Chan, Her, 121,211. 
Chapman. 7. 39. 40, 72. 79. 
69, 92, 118, 127, 134. 

Daniel 39. 

Edward A., 118. 

lonathan, 7. 
Charlemont, Ms., 132. 
Charleston, S.C., 233. 
Charlestown, Ms., 18, 15, 

119, 173, 179. 

\. 11., 260. 
Chase, 204, 208, 213. 

I- rank W., 204. 
Chatham, Ms., 105. 
Cheese. 23. 



INDEX. 



267 



Chelmsford, Ms., 25, ITS. 
Cheney, Leander II.. 154. 
Cheraw Co., S. C, 84. 
Cherry Valley, N. V., 240. 
Chester, N. i'l.. 32,44, 159, 

164. 
Chicopee, Ms., 250. 
Church, 9. 
Churches, 
First, 12, 23, 44,58, 65, OS, 
78, 106. 108-110, 113,119, 
130, 132, 156, 167. 
Second, 44. 86, 197, 200, 
221, 225, 237, 247. 249, 
■J.-)!;. 262. 
Third, 105-107. 
Chute, 21. 22. 

Jas. ,21. 
Cider, 59, 99. 

Clark, 5, 32.41, 73. 75, 114, 
183, 253. 258. 259. 
Sam'l, 41. 73. 
Stephen C, 259. 
Win., 258. 
Cleaveland, 4, 9, 11. 238. 
Jas. P., 4, 9-11. 
Win. N., 10. 
Wm. P., 11, 238. 
Cleaves, 9. 

Clement, 208,213, 218,262. 
Sam'l W., 208, 213, 218. 
Clergymen, 16, 21, 54, 07, 
68, 73, 77, 93, 103, 100, 
108-111, 145,140,105, 184. 
190, 193. 195, 201, 206, 
221, 222, 227, 228, 256, 
257, 202, 263. 
Clifton, 104. 
Clinton, Ms., 76. 
Clothing, 21. 23, 86. 
Clough. 24. 

Daniel, 21. 
Chill'. 208. 

Cobum. 178,234,239. 
David, 234, -239. 
Jas., 234, 239. 
Justus, 177, 178. 
Cocheco, N. 11., 166. 
Collin, 202,203. 
Coggin, Hev. Win. S., 106, 

108, 150. 
Cogswell, 11. 
Col burn. 83. 

Cole. 84, 155-157, 159, 180, 
1S9, 208. 211, 212, 218, 
2211, 231, 234. 213. 215, 
246,249, 252, 202, 203. 
Caleb M., 212, 252. 
David M., 231. 
Ephraim !•'., L89. 
.John, 211. 
John K ., 155. 
Joseph i'., 252. 
Manly, 212. 
Phineas, 208. 
Sam'l, 211,212. 
Simeon, 212. 
Win. K., 189. 
Mrs. U in. K , 218. 
"Colleges," "The," 175. 
Collyer, Mrs. Chas., 147. 
1 olutan, 22. 
Conant, 26,112,113,116, 117 



Conant, Daniel W.. 112. 
Concord. Ms., 42, 71. 

N. II., 82. 
Condon, Thos., 184. 
Congress, Provincial, 5, 

34. 
Connecticut, 203. 
Constantinople, Turkey, 

•20:;. 
Cook, 62. 

Coopers, 12, 14, 16. 57, 60, 
158, 169, 177, 200. 211, 
239. 
Corinth, Me.. 66. 
Coshocton, O., 26. 
Cotton, 193. 
Crane, 22. 
Creasey, 196. 
Creels, 248. 
Crombie, 234. 
Crooked pond, 134. 
Cross, 49,253. 
Crowninshield, 220. 
Crown Point, 114. 
Cumberland Co., Me., 203. 
Cummings, 56, 76, 79, 113, 
151, 153, 174, 175, 178. 

Jacob, 151, 174. 

Sylvester, 76. 

Thos., 151. 
Cunningham, Joshua W., 

179, 185. 
Curious Stone, 225. 
Currier, 18, 212. 
Curtis, 132, 134-139, 142-146, 
148, 151, 152, 164, 189, 
196. 

Ebenezer, 132. 

Francis, 142. 

Geo. W., 143. 

Jas., 143, 146. 

John, 143. 

Justin, 139. 

Zaccheus, 137. 

Zachariah, 134. 
Cushing, 89. 193, 194. 

Rev. John, 193. 

John, 193, 194. 



Dacey, Jeremiah, 81, 82. 

Dado boards, 250. 

Dale, 70, 159, 172, 260. 
Osgood, 159. 
Sam'l, 172. 

Danbury, N. II., 234. 

Danvers, Ms., 12, 18,32,33, 
16, 50, 57. 63, 64, 71, 79. 
100, 101, 108, 113, 130, 
131, 133, 131. 110, 147, 
151. 152, 157, 161, 104, 
171, 182, 183,227,253. 

Darling, , 20. 

Dai I mouth, Ma . 167. 

Davis, 32, 58, 70, 101, 104 
114, 213. 2M. 225, 220 
'22S 

Moses, 21 1. 
Paul ('., 70 

lol. lol. 
Day, 214, 215, 234, 245,247 

"250. 



Day. Isaac C, 214, 215. 
John, 245, 247. 
John T., 215. 
Joshua T., 231, 252. 
Deal mutes, 195. 
Deaths, accidental. etc., 6, 
20. 31. 32, 35.45. 48,53, 
68, 72, 73,78,84,88, 121, 
159, 162, 172, 174, 220, 
■»'>S, 229. 233-235, 238, 
241,247,251,259. 
De Bevoise, Kev. Gabriel 

H., 228. 
Deerlield, N. H., 231. 
Delft ware, 241. 
Delfthaven. 241. 
Denmark, 77. 

Me., 198. 
Denver, Col., 104. 
Deny, N. II., 214, 233. 
Dewksbury, 109. 
Dickinson, 61, 182. 
Diseases, etc., 27, 29,31,38, 
54, 83, 87, 95, 117, 167, 
179, 237,260. 
District ol Columbia, 247. 
Dixmont, Me., 198. 
Dodge, 151, 104, 169, 188, 
238. 
Geo. S., 238. 
Nicholas, 169. 
Doherty, Geo., 211, 212. 
Dole, 3, 205. 

Greenleaf, 205. 
Dollot, Sylvester, 70, 71. 

79. 
Dorchester, Ms., 166. 
Dorman, 40, 48, 51-54, 82, 
83, 94, 104, 116-120, 122- 
124, 140, 114, 176, 186, 
187, 232. 
Ancill, 104, 118. 
Elijah, 54. 
Ephraim, 54. 
Jabez, 232. 
John, 40, 119. 
John S., 118. 
Moses, 121. 
Nath'l, 122. 
Sam'l, 53. 

Timothy, 116, 119, 122. 
123. 
Dover, N. H., 166. 
Dow, Win.. 13. 
Doweling, 236. 
Dowen, 210, 211. 

Mrs. Mary, 210. 
Dream, A, 249. 
Dresser, ■">. 20, 21. 40, 61, 62, 
109, 170. 182, 180. 
Daniel, 01. 
John, 01. 
Nathan, 62. 

Tlln.s,, 40. 

Win W., 109, 170. 
Duffy, Patrick, 208. 
Dummer, 17. 
Dunbarton, N. H., 82, 39. 

235. 

Dunn, Thos. W.. 20:;. 
Dunnell. See Dtvinntlls. 
mm table, Ms., 213. 
Durant, Thoa. W., 208,219, 



268 



INDEX. 



Dwinnells, 51, 116, 125, 150. 
160. 173, L75-177. 

Elijah. 160, 173. 

Jacob. 51, 175, 

Thos.. 125. 
Dyer, 203. 



Eames. See Ames. 

Joseph, 223. 

Nathan, 223. 
Earl, 146. 

East An. lover. Me., 17(1. 
Eastman, 93. 
Easty, 16, 134. 

Jacob, Hi. 
Eaton, 32, 70. 93, 162, 221, 

■2-22. 227, 262. 

Rev. Peter, 221, 262. 

Edward I., 1:15. 

Egypt, 217. 

Elliott, 1, 130, 150, 185, L86. 

Jas. A., 185. 

Stephen, 150. 
Ellis. 250. 
Elmira, N. V , 203. 
Emerson. 31, 32, 74, 100, 108, 
112, 133, 171, 17M. 

Benj., 31. 

Rufus W., 74, 108, 171. 
Emery, 0."., 156, 157, 17:;. 227, 
256, 257. 

John, 157. 

Joshua, 227. 

Stephen, 157. 
"Emery's Gate," 157. 
Endico'tt, 148. 

Joseuh, 148. 

Zerubbabel, lis. 
England, 16, 145. li 
English, 231, 210. 
Epitaphs. <;, 24, 30, 30, 41, 
43. 70, 78, 79, 86, 94, 115, 
172, 180, 222, 2:;7, 257. 
Epping, N. II.. 242. 
Esney, 71. 
Essex Co., Ms., 136,166, 223. 

231. 
Exeter, N. 11., 10, 
256. 



Fabens, 101. 

Factory, ( otton, 177-17'.*. 

Match, 170. 
Pagan, Law rence, 88. 
Fairfax, Vt., 64. 
"Fair Rosamond," 26. 
Farley, 07. 
Farnham, 106, 198, 220. 

Will., 220. 

Faulkner, 181. 

Fegan, John, 7. 

Felt, 260. 

Felton, 182. 

Fires, l, 12, 14,22,27. :;2. :;:;. 
37,48. 71,95, 99, 106, 109, 
128, 131, 145, 156, 227, 
229, 231, 203. 

Fish Brook, 1 17, 205. 

Fisk, 132, 143, 185. 
Amos, 143. 
Joseph li., 185. 



i- isk, sam'l, 132. 
Fitzalan, 135 
Fletcher, 71, 174,200. 

Jas.. 200. 
Hint, 126, 114, Is.!. 
Flora, 207. 
Fogg. Oliver!;.. 7. 
Foi i 1 dward, 114. 
Washington, 77. 
Fort Wayne, Ind., 22. 
Foster, 51, 60, 81, 89, 94, 95 
98, 105, 110,113, 110, 119 
124, 126,*48, 149. I53-155 
104. 105, 167, 172, 173 
178-182, 186, 195, 197 
T.iO, 204, 2i 0,21(i. 215, 21 7 
225,227,230,232,238.255 
25s, 260, 261, 203. 
Benj., 200. 
Dr. Benj., 200. 
David, 51. 
Dudley. 195. 
Ephraim, 215. 
Geo. W., 182. 
Israel. 05. 
J. Edwards, 95, 
Jeremiah. 180. 
J. dm, 180. 
John F.. 105. 
Jonathan, 04, 95. 
Joseph. Iso. 
Oliver, 225. 

Peres, 178. 
Phineas, 126. 
Polly, 204. 
Richard, 154. 
Richaid A.. 154. 
Richard K., 154. 
Sum'l, in. 
Simeon, 199. 
Timothy, 186. 
Wm.. li:;, in;. 
Zebediah, 195. 

Fowler, 20. 80, 00. 215, 250, 
200, 262. 

Nathan K., 259, 260, 262. 

Sam'l, 89. 

Stephen K.. 00. 
Foxboro', Ms., 178. 
Frame, Andrew, 133, 134. 
Fiance. 135, 100. 
Frankfort. Me., 66. 
Frazier, 58. 
Freeman. Miss Alice, 166. 

Tiinon. 207. 
French, Benj., 95, ill, 122, 
200. 

Elvin, 111. 

Joshua 115. 

Walter. 157. 
French Neutrals, 71. 
Friend, 7. 8, 20. 

John, 21;. 
Frost, J. B., 204. 
Five, 75, 110, 124, 156, 157. 

' It 0, 224. 

[saac, 119. 

Sam'l A , 150. 
Fi yeburg, Me., 84. 
Fuller, 108, ill, 140. 147,140, 

153. 
Thos., 147. 
Funerals, 48, 52, 159. 



Gape, 50, 106,231, 246-250, 
253. 
Roscoe W.. 100. 
Dr. Wm.. 210. 

Galbraith, 10:;. 

Gallop, 134-136. 
Thos., 131130. 

Galloway. 21. 

Gammell, Kev. Sereno D.. 
54. 

Gardens, Old. 213, 254,255. 

Gardner, Chas. W., 47. 

General < ourt, 3-5, 2:;. 34- 
36, 41, 45. 47, 08, 70. 86, 
05, 1(18. 121,150, 161, 100, 
237. 

Geneva, Switzerland, 50. 

Georgetown, Ms., 6, 12. 15, 
10, 20. 22. 24, 27, 32, 33, 
41, 5:;. 56, 5s, i.l, 62, 66, 
70. 71, 73. 75, 70. 81-83, 
85. 96, 08, 118. 156, 172. 
101. 202, 204, 210. 213, 
215. 219, 220, 234, 259. 

Gerry, 170. 

<;iit>', 2:,. 08. 115. 

Cillis. Daniel S.. 157, 159. 
Gilman. 64. 

Gloucester, Ms., 138, loo. 
Goddard, 203. 
Goodale, sam'l, 10. 
LGoodridge. 8, 58. 59, 03. 83, 
89, 03. 137. 
Benj., 59, 137. 
Sam'l, 58. 
Goodwin, Geo., 117. 

Wm., 124. 
Goshen, Conn.. 29. 
Gould, 1,8, 33,52,68-60,100, 
111, 117, 121, 125-133, 
136, 137, 130-140,140-152, 
155, 15:i, 162, 164, 171. 
172. 186, 188. 
Amos, lio. 
Andrews 143. 
Cornelius, 132. 151. 
Daniel, 50, 136. 
Eben s., 139. 
Elisha, loi. 
Jacob, 130, 144. 
Gen. Jacob, 144. 
John. 120, 130, 140, 152. 
Joseph, 130. 
Mary A. B., 59. 
Mosee, 129. 
.Mrs. Rebecca, 159. 
Robert, 1. 
Samuel, 131, 132. 
Solomon, 125. 
Stephen, 128, 152. 
Thos., 130. 171. 
Zaccbeus, 143. 
Gragg, 88. 

Reuben, 88. 
Grave-diggers, 52, 56. 
(■raves, 137, 230. 
(.lay. 177. 178. 
Greencastle, Ind.. 2. 
Greenleaf, 201, 233. 

, 201. 

Greenslip, 10. 
Greenwood. Sam'l, 202, 
Groce, Sam'l, 221. 



INDEX. 



269 



Groton, Ms., 30, 159, 203. 
Groveland, Ms., 93, 96, 156, 
165,2(1,208,210,213,215, 
217, 235, 230. 239. 
Grover, 129, 142. 

Leonard. 129. 
Groveton, Va., 84. 
Gunnison, Win., 7, 49, 50. 
Gurley, 67, 09, 117, 163. 170, 
ISO, 181. 

E.Choate, 170. 

E. Scidmore, 69. 

Richard F., 181. 

Sam'l 1'.. 180. 

Win.. 117, 163. 



Hale, 1-3,6-9, 13,14, 44-47, 
65, 73, 78, 84, 101, 103, 
118, 124, 102, 178, 183, 
188, 215, 236, 250, 257, 
261, 202. 

Benj.P., 215. 

Isaac, 6. 

John, 7, 44-47. 

Joseph, 7, 13, 14, 45. 

itev. Moses, 256. 

Sarah S., 118. 

Dr. Win,, 101. 
Hall, 237. 

Ham. Mrs. Laura. 96. 
Hamilton, Ms., 165. 
Hammond, 47, 117. 

Stephen, 117. 
Hampden, Me.. 161. 
Hampstead, N. II.. 13. 
Hanover, Ms., 100. 

Hanson, . 250, 251. 

Hardi, 135. 

Hardy, 27. 28. 84,97, 212. 

Chandler B., 27. 
Harriman, 26, 61, 150. 165, 
194, 199,200,204,205,215, 
218-22H, 229. 

Daniel, 205. 

Daniel F.. 204, 205. 

Geo., 105. 

Geo. A., 205. 

Jeremiah, 194, 199. 

John G., 220. 

U 111. F.. 220. 

Wm. II.. 156. 
Hani.-. 02. 144. 170. 182,204. 
Gilnian, 170. 
Lucy, -Jot. 
Harrison, 102. 
Hartford, Conn., 203. 

Vt..28. 
Hartland, Conn., 64, 
Hartwick, N. Y.. 64. 
Harvard, Ms.. L10. 
Haunted houses, etc. I ().">, 

162. 
Havanali. Annv of the, 26. 
Haverhill. M>.,"7. 8, 27, 31- 
:;:;, 70, 7:;, 81, 82, B9 94 
96, 99, 181 202, 203, 210- 
212,219,221,223,229,230, 
244, 210, 248. 
N. 11., 93, Ml. 
Hawaii, 240. 
Hayes, Junius D., 76. 



Hayward, 02, 156, 157, 159, 
178, 187. 

Aug. A., 150, 157,187. 

Jabez, 17^. 
Hazeltine, 85. 89. 
Hazen, 20. 21. 25, 28, 29. 
40, 100. 

Edward, 29. 

Israel, 25. 

Jacob, 20. 

John, 25. 

Thos., 28. 
Heard. Oil. 
Heath. Ms., 132. 
Hemans, 251. 
Henly, Alonzo J., 220. 
Henniker, N. H., 107, 190. I 
Henry, 20:.. 215, 250. 

Aaron, 250. 

Win.. 205, 215. 
Henrv I, II, III, 135. 
Hermits, 1. 27. 
Herrick, 37, 00, 61,64, 60, 
94, 122. 140,148. 151,158. 
104, 175. 197, 228. 

Edmund, 151, 104, 175. 

Israel, 01. 

John, 00, 158. 

Wm. A., Esq., 01;. 

Wm. H., 01. 
Hervcy. 263. 
Hessians, 09. 
Hill, Abraham, 185. 
Hilliard, 102. 
Hills, 31. 
Hillsboro', N. II , 64, 128, 

146, 152. 
Hilton, (has. (.. 96. 
Hobart, 30, 31. 
Holden, .las., 185, 186. 

Josenh, 1, 186. 
Holden, .Ms., 14 63. 
Holland (surname), 111. 

(place), 135,233. 
Hollis, N. H., 8, 30. 
Holmes, 230. 
Holt, 149. 

Holyoke, 95, Ml. 105, 109- 
111, 132. 

Rev. Elizur, llo. 

Sam'l, 111. 
Holyoke, Ms., 250. 
Honolulu, S. I., 240. 
Hood, 49, 50, 53, 70, 74. 

Bern'., 49. 

David w. de la F.. 71. 
Hooker, 203. 
Hooper, Ebenezer I... 136, 

137. 
Hopkinton, N. ll., 170 190. 
Homer. 210, -II. 
Hotel Landei 

Placidia, 46. 

Redington, 168, 169. 
Houghton, 110. 
HouTd, Jules, 7. 
Hovev. 7, 203,209, 217, 220, 
229-231, 217 249 J51 254, 
268 260, 262, 203. 

, 261. 

Alheri P., 209, 220, 268, 
262. 

Ivorv, 253,251. 



Hovey, John, 248, 249. 

Joseph, 253, 259. 

Luke, 230,231, 252.253. 

Orvdle L., 217. 

Richard, 248. 

Thos. S., 259. 
Howard, 135. 

Howe, 2. 3, 7-9. 20, 39, 40, 
56, 65, 95, 104, 106-108, 
113, 110, 124, 125, 131, 
158, 179. 

Abraham P., 7, 125. 

Edward, 2, loo. 

Fred A., 50. 

Leverett S., 2. 

Solomon W.. 110. 

WillardP., 179. 

Wm. A., 8, 107. 

Wm. P. , 108. 

Wm. W.,2. 
Ilowlett, 28. 
Hubbard, Rev. Chas. I... 

200. 
Hudson, Geo., 204. 
Hunting, 238. 
Huntoon, Albert G., 131. 
Hurlbutt, Albert G., 47. 
HllBSey, Franklin, 182. 



lies, 145, 140. 
Jacob. 140. 
Wm., 145. 

Illustrations, 4, 15, 17, 18 
42. 55. 85, 91, 121, 10,s 
109. 209, 210, 224. 

Ilslev, 98. 

India, 17.28,263. 

Indiana, 22. 

Indians, 18. 22, 58, 0:;, 07 
190, 237, 240, 214, 

Ingalls, 204. 

Ingersol, 247, 200. 

Inventors, 65, 199. 

[pswich, Ms., 2, 10, is, 20 

21, 29, 3.3, 39, 44. 45, 47 
48, oo. 119, 122, 123, 127 
144. 147, 151-153, 107 
174, ls2, 212, 230, 242 
243, -'50,200, 261. 

Ireland (surname), 186. 
(place), 82. 

Iron works, 131, 177. 



Jackman, 96. 

Jackson. 8, 51, 52, 111. 119, 
123, 210. 

Joshua, 51. 
Jacksonville, Fla.. 64. 
Jaffrey, N. II. 68. 
Jail, 242. 
I 18 49, oo, 122. 

Hem \, p.i. 

Joseph H., 
Jaque . Fran i. 

in, 200. 209. 

Jo 'ph N , 71. 
Jay, v v., oi. 
Jeffersoi 
Jenkins, 161,204, 206. 

Sam'l, 204. 

8am'] w.,200. 



270 



INDEX. 



Jennings, 217. 
Jewett, 20, 21, -24, 69. 

Ezekiel,21. 

Thos., 21. 

John, I:!;"), 109. 

Johnson, 7:5. 77, 105. L39, 
L81, 198, 201, 223, 239. 

, 139. 

Sewall T., 73. 
Jones, 20;!. 



Kalcr, Cornelius, 184. 

Edmund, 185. 
Kamehameha, 240. 
Kay, 202. 

Keene, X. II., 54. 210. 
Kendall, Rev. Robert It., 

54. 
Kennett, Henry K., 74, 152 

John T., 19. 
Kenney, 107, 117, 170,180. 
Benj., loT. 
Dexter, 117, 180. 
Kent, Jacob, 7. 
Keyes, 41, 56. 
Wm. P., 41. 
Kilbourn, 34, ls2. 
Kilhun, 11. 13,20,22,23,32, 
33, 43, 61, 68, si. 97, L26, 
147-153, 165, 107, 188-190, 
201. 

, 149, 150. 

Chester. 20, 22. 2.'!. 
Ebeuezer, 152. 
Geo. B., 149. 
John, 1 is. 
Joseph, 32. 
Oliver, 151. 
Oliver 1'., lss. 
Sam'l, 119. 
Thos., 147, 148. 153. 
Thos. 1'., 11. 13. 
Win. E., 22,23, 105. 
Killingly . Conn., 11. 
Kimball,5, 12, 17, :J0, 58, 77, 
80, si, 89, 92, 93, 95-97, 
107-109, 125. 150, [54, 
158, 161, 109, 170-17S, 
L82 Is.",, ls7, 1S8, 190, 
191, 194. 195, 197, 198, 
201, 200-208. 214.219-222. 
230, 231, 2:!7, 241-210, 
250.252. 254, 250. 200. 

, 190. 

Aaron. 170, 183. 
Amos, L95 
Asa, 1ST, 256. 
Benj., 245. 
Chas. P., 96. 
I taniel, 97. 
David, 182,244. 
Bbenezer, 5s, 80. 
Edmund, 221. 
Enoch, L88. 
Bphraim, 177. 
Jacob, 158. 
Jefferson, 107. 
John, 92, 187. 
Jonathan, so. 
Josiah. 36, is::. 
Lucy S., 93. 
Micajab, 244. 



Kimball, Moody, 188. 

Moses, 93. 

Nathan, 89, 9.;. L69. 

Richard. 187. 

Samuel, 9:., 184, 210. 

Stephen, 89. 

Thos., 241. 

Win. 11., 10S. 

Win. II.. 200, 200. 
King, 5. 202. 
"King David," 57. 
Kin. sm a 11, 107, 242. 

Knapp, , 2:;. 

Knight, 14, 75. 

Jacob, it. 
Knowlt 119, 212. 213. 

Col. Thos. 213. 

Wm.. 212. 



La. Id, 215,217. 263. 

Ezekiel, 217. 

John I., 217. 
Lake, 18,47, 121. 135, 142. 

Earns, 18. 

S. Page, 47. 
Lake Champlain. 2.'!'.). 

George, 00. 

Reynor, 74. 
Lakeman, 230, 250. 

I'elatiah, 256. 

Wm., 230, 250. 
Lambert, 45. 
Lamson, 132. 
Lan ;aster, Ms., 1 10. 

Lander, 103. 

Lane. 139, 140,207. 
Willard, 207. 

Lang. 170. 

Langley, 121. 

Lapeer, Mich.. 04. 

Laporte, Frank. 7. 

Lamed, 1 .0. 

Lathrop, 170. 

Lawrence, .Ms., 30, 88, 97. 
222, 228, 229. 

Lawyers, 0. 12, 17, 01, 66, 
87, 10.2. 

Leach, 179, 217. 

Leaded panes. 94, 140. 

Leavenworth, 106. 

Leaver, 211. 

Leavitt, Joseph, 40. 

Lebanon, Conn.. 85. 

Legacies, 12. 65, 68, 73. 

Lelian. Dennis, 1S4, 185. 
Thos., 185. 

Leighton, John J., 97. 

Leominster. Ms., i 

Letters, Old, 120, 139, 140, 
232. 

Lexington, Ms., 33, 31, 52, 
87, 140. 

Libraries, etc., 68, 107,235. 

Lightning, 22, 113. 115, L62. 

Linebrook Parish. Ip- 
swich, Ms., 2. 3:1. 11. 

96, ISO, 191,243. 

Liquor, 18, 235. 

Literary people, 17, 20, 01. 

103. 
Little, Elbridge, 219,220. 

Lofty, Jacob. 1 1. 



London, Eng., 75, 107. 
Londonderry, X. II., 52. 

173. 198.* 
Long. 02, LSI, ISO. 

Nath'l, 02. iso. 
Long 1-l.ind. N. V.,253. 
Lord, 17. 

Lottery ticket, 253. 
London, X. H.,78, 98. 
Louisiana, 00. 
Love, 57. 
l.ovejov. 170. 
Lowe, '2, 5, 44, 47, 48, 100, 

100-108, 117, 118, 202. 

235. 200. 
Nathan, 47, 48. 
Solomon, 47. 
Solomon \\\, 107, 108. 
William, 48, 106, 118. 
Lowell, Ms.. 87. Ill, 119, 

217. 
Lufkin,214. 
Ltiminus, 152. 
Lunenburg, Ms., (JO, 122, 

132, 230, 200. 
Lyman, 100. 
Lyme, Conn., 25. 
Lyndsboro', N.H., 170. 
Lynn, Ms., 0. 45. 80, 90, 97, 

117, 172, 211. 



Machias, Me. ,204. 
Macoon, 114. 
Madison, Ind.. 22. 
Maine, 5, in, 12, 17,32, 45, 

46,118, 134, 140. 159, loo. 

162, 179, 190, 199, 202. 

221. 
Maiden, Ms.. 100. 
Manhattan, Kas., 203. 
Mansfield, .Ms., 1.55. 
Marblehead, Ms., 40, 126, 

137, L84. 
Maiden, Alvin, 32. 

Francis, 27, 28, 30-32. 
Mare pond, 210. 
Market woman, 0, 254. 
Markman, 203. 
Mai ston, 134. 
Martin, 74, 193. 
Jonathan, 74. 
Martinique, W. I.. 232. 
Masons. 19.31, 107, 134,110. 
Massachusetts, it, 45, 00, 

12S, 219. 221. 228. 
Masurv. Thos. 1;.. 25-27. 
Matthews, 52. 54, 163, 104. 

Joseph, 52. 

Wm. C . 163. 
Mattocks, 203. 
Maugerville, X. B., 9, 65. 
McCiibe, John, 88. 
Mclntire, its. 
McKenzie, Sam'l, 47. 
McLaughlin, Benj., 96. 

John C, 112. 
Mei.. .hi. Rev. Jas., 201;. 
McVicker, 203. 
Meacham, 129. 
Mears, 87, 21s. 
Meraassir, 155. 
Merchants, 202, 221, 236. 



INDEX. 



271 



Merriam, 235. 
Morrill, 8, 13, 204, 213, "239. 
Geo. B., 13. 
Jesse, 213. 
Stephen, '213. 
Win., 204. 
Merrimac, Ms., 222. 

X. II., 198. 
Mersay, 81. 
Messenger, 90. 
Metcalf, Greenleaf W., 74- 

76. 
Methnen, Ms., 16, 72, 73,7!), 
80, 82, 94, 151. 104, 18(5, 
189, 203, 205, 200, 229, 
23S, 259. 
Michigan, 59. 
.Middleton. 243. 
Middleton, Ms., 54, 114, 115, 
126, 133, 131, 137, 144, 
146, 151, 153, 164, 165, 
169-171, 174. 177. 
X. II., 97. 
Mighill. 16,71,73, 

David DeW. C, 73. 
Militia, 2, 4, 5, 10, 18,29, 
37, 45, 47, 52. 72. 73, 78, 
86. 87, 90, 140, 144, 162, 
166, 184, 198, 199. 203, 
210, 224, 234, 253. 
Miller's Corners, X. Y., 4.5. 
Milliken, 243. 

Mills, 47, 4s, 61, 63, 66, 77, 
131, 154, 158, 177-179, 
236. 
Milwaukee, Wis., 203. 
Ministers, Foreign, 202. 
Mitchell, 225. 229-231. 

Daniel, 229, 231. 
Mitchell's pond, 225. 230. 
Mont Vernon, X. H., 65, 

152. 
Moore, Prof. Chas. H 

Dennison, 181. 
Morrill, 154. 
Morris, Albert, 218. 
Morse, 32, 74, 206, 209, 210, 
214. 
Chas. E., 74. 
Gardner 8., 209. 
Samuel, 210. 
Mortimer, Caleb, 69. 

Caleb E.. 185. 
Moseley, 166. 
Moulton, Henry, l':0. 
Joseph W.. 119. 
Valorus V.', 238. 
Mowbray, 135. 
Mugford, 184. 
Mulatto, 210. 

Munday, U'nt. 11., 1 lo, 117. 
Murder, 191. 

Murphy, Michael, 212, 213 
Musicians, 2, 14, 53, 111 
210, 213. 



Nails, First cut, 244. 
Naples, Me., 10. 
Xason, .las., 97. 

Jas. II., 223, 226,229. 

John II., 205. 
Natick, Ms., 68, 96, 111. 



L9. 



Negroes, 199, 200, 207. 
Nelson, 26, 27, 96, 182, 232, 

236. 
Albert, 27. 
"Nelson's Great Farm," 

232, 236. 
New Brunswick, 9, 10, 49, 

65. 
Newbury, Ms., 3, 22, 25, 26, 

32, 45, 58, 59, 83, 89, 93, 

97, 114, 132, 135, 157, 162, 

164, 187, 199, 227, 230, 

256. 
Newburvport, Ms., 46,73, 

78, 102, 159, 162-164, 178, 

202, 221, 231, 233. 
New England, 3, 117, 135. 
Xew Gloucester, Me., 195. 
Newhall, Henry, 109. 

Wm., 204. 
New Hampshire, 6, 8, 19, 

21, 30, 66, 109, 132, 217, 

232. 
Xew Haven, Conn., 179, 

199, 2 is. 
New Ipswich, N. H., 41, 63. 
New Jersey, 1, 253. 
Newmarch, 151, 174. 
New Orleans, La., 66. 
Newport, Me., 198. 
New Portland, Me., 66. 
New York, 82, 237, 240, 241, 

255. 
X. Y., 10, 79, 122, 203. 
Nims, 132. 
Norcross, 45. 
North Atidover, Ms., 9, 97, 

107, 109, 150, 196, 200, 

20S, 214, 215, 217, 220, 

224, 228, 238, 246-249, 

254, 255. 
Northev, Abijah, 221. 
North Yarmouth, Me., 194. 
Norton, 16. 
Norton, Ms., ITS. 
Norwalk, O., 64. 
Norwich, Conn., 25, 28. 
Norwood, I. Walter, 107- 

109. 
Nottingham-west, N. H., 

234, 2;;'). 
Notur, 200. 

. is, 132, 164, 199,204. 
Daniel. Is. 
Warren, 201. 
Nurse, 32. 33, 130. 
Daniel, 32. 



Obituaries. 34, 35, 78, 101, 
120, 121, 127, 150. 171, 
171, 222, 220, 25:;, 261. 

'•Ocean h him-," 200, 204. 

Oliver, 75. 

Oniville, B. I., 155. 

Osgood, 3, 158, 242. 

< )m ii. An old, 74. 

Oxford, Ms., 132. 



Palmer, 62, 105, 168, 165- 

107, 100. 

Asher C. 104. 



Palmer, Prof. Geo. H., 163, 
165. 

John, 196. 

Julius A., 166. 
Panama, Isthmus of, 241. 
Park, 202, 263. 

Hev. Calvin E., 202. 
Parker, 81, 200, 204, 206, 
209, 210, 214, 248, 249. 

Aaron L., 206, 210. 

Jacob C, 209, 214. 

Thos. B , 204. 

Wm., '240. 
Parkhurst, Frank L., 176. 

John. 176, 179, 180. 

J. Wm., ISO. 
Parsonages, 

East parish, 54, 109, 110. 

West parish, 206. 
Parsons, B. Ford, 96. 
Patten, Geo. M., 74-76. 
Paulet, 135. 
Payson, 71, 152. 
Peabody, 3, 9, 14, 15, 17, 37- 
40, 47, 49, 53, 57, 63, 65- 
69, 75, 79, 81, 83,194, 95, 
101, 105, 106, 111, 115, 
117, 120, 124, 130, 134, 
136, 137, 144, 147-150, 
152,1 154, 15S, 159, 102- 
170, 177-180, 182, ISO, 
186, 193, 198, 232, 237, 
238, 212, 243, 245, 251, 
253, 254, 258, 203. 

, 251. 

Rev. Albert B., 68. 

Artemas, 115. 

Asa. 115. 

Benj , 238. 

Benj. F., 238. 

Bimsley, 150. 

Chas., ioi, loo. 

Daniel, 251. 

David, 100, 212. 

Ebenezer, 237, 243. 

Elisha B..1S2. 

Jacob, 166, 169. 

Jas. M., 150. 

John, 1.5. 17, 166, 167. 

Joseph, 69, 117. 

Lucy, 163. 

.Moses, 107. 

Oliver, 134, 150. 

Oliver T.. 65. 

Richard, 66. 

Samuel, 66, 68, 117, 159, 
183. 

Samuel I'., 182. 

Stephen, oo, os, 104. 

Thomas, 242. 

William, 07. loo. 
Peabody, Ms., 122, 156,222, 

226. 
Pearl, 84, 155, 197, 200-202, 
201, 206, 218, 220, 229, 
200, 20.!. 200-230, 241, 
252, 250, 202, 263. 

Benjamin, 263, 

Edward K.,201. 
George, 237. 
John, 220, 287. 
John M.. 220. 
1 Peter, 201. 



272 



INDEX. 



Pear), Richard, 236. 

■Simeon, 218. 
Pearsons.101, 163, 169, 1ST. 

i ornelius, 161, 163. 

Jonathan. 163. 
Peat, 2-48. 

Pecatonica, 111., 113. 
Pelliam, N. 11., 208. 
Pemberton, 99. 186. 
Pembroke, N. 11.. 63. 
Pennsylvania, 155, ITS. 
Perkins, 25,28-31,38,50, 72. 
76, 88,114, 1-26, 146, 152, 
157, 170, 171. 

Elbridge, 76. 

Jacob, 2!). 

John, I 16. 

Nathaniel, 29. 

Stephen. 88. 
Perley, 3-7, 9-20. 22, 23, .lo- 
ss, 35, 39-45, 49, 50, 52, 
53, 58, 62, 64. 611-76, 07. 
100, 101, 104, 10S, 110, 
112, 113. 115, 117, 118, 
123, 126, 132, 158, 161- 
164, Ki7, 169-171, L80, 
188, 101, 104, 197, 201, 
219. 22(1, 212, 2;;:.. 246, 
247, 250, 253. 

Aaron, 10. 11. 

Abraham, 73. 

Albeit. 70. 

Amos, 17,20,40. 42. 

Artemas W., 12. 

Asa, 4, 5. 

Augustus M., 70. 

Benjamin, 32. 

Charles, 15, 17, 74, 118, 
246. 247. 

Elbridge, L9, 235. 

Eliphalet, 75, ,0. 

Francis, 71. 

Frederic, 113. 

George, L64, L70. 

Benry, 52, 70. 

Humphrey, 15. 

Hon. Ira, 6. 

Isaac, 31 . 

Jacob, 16,32,74, 161, 201. 

Jesse, 19, 117. 

John, 7, 19. 

John ]■:.. 235. 

Leonard, 1 13. 

Mary A., 58, 108. 

Moody, 33. 97. 126. 

Moses, 75. 

Nathaniel, 11. 

Parker B.,50. 

Phinea , I'. 

Putnam. 112. 

Samuel, 5, 72, L70, 180, 

188. 
Solomon, 5il. 
Stephen. 132. 
Stephen P., 73. 

'Hi,, mas,:;, 9-11, 20,22. 
Warren, 250. 

William, 16, 73. 

William B„ 220. 
Perry, 196, 214 -246. 

John W., 215. 
Peine, 110. 
Pest-house, 30, 31, 38. 



Philadelphia, Pa., 170. 

Phillips, 10, 177-179, 203. 
Samuel 177. 

J'hillis, 57, 199. 

Physicians, 6, 29, II. 15. 61, 
66, 73, 76, 77, 80, 86, L01, 
103, 107, 144, 147, 149, 
153, 171, 202, 211, 227, 
234, 235. 246, 247. 

Piekard, 53, 62, 63, 182, 

1S3. 

James, 182. 

Otis, 5.3. 

Samuel. Is:;. 

Thomas. 182. 
Pickett, 102. 
Pierce, 157.201. 

Abraham T , 157. 

Key. Charles M., 201. 
Pike. 122, 219, 220. 
Pillershire (or Pilferville) , 
North Andover, Ms.. 

215, 251. 

Pillsbuiy, 23t». 
Pinder, 212 

Pingree, Parker P., 74. 
Pinkham, 36, 102. 
Pitts, Warren B., 96. 
1'lainlield. Conn.. 134. 
Plaisiow, N. H.. 193. 
Plantagenet, 135. 
Plaster, 248. 
Platteville, Wis., 81. 
Plaits. 8. 

Plattsburg, Mo., 204. 
Pleasant Mountain Gore, 

York Co., Me., 199. 
Plymouth, Ms., 77. 

X. II., 30. 
Politics, lii2. 
Pompey, 199. 
Poor, 81, 83, 89, 93, 19S. 
Pope, 149-151. 167. 

Joseph N\. 150. 
Porter. 5. 59, 88, 101, 151, 
153, 196-199,202-207,218, 
221, 231, 253, 25s, 25:), 
261, 26 :. 

Asa. 202. 

Benjamin, 197. 

Jonathan J.. 201. 

Moses, 202. 

Rllfus, 198, 218. 

Tyler, 198. 

William. 203. 234. 
Porter's Mill-. 204. 
Fort Hudson, La., 97. 
Portland. Me.. 10. 84, 198, 

199. 202, 203, 22s. 
Porto Kico, 42. 
Porl Royal, N. s., 243. 

POSt-OfficeS, etc., 30, 47, 56, 

101. 
Potash works, i ,; i • 
Potter, 11. Ttj, 216. 

Jacob s., 76. 
Powder-horns, 174, L77. 
Powers, ill. 
Pratt, loc 
Preston, 81. 
Price, 46, is. 
Frichard, 41. 42. 245. 

Paul, 41. 



Prince, 140. 

Professors, 2, 19, 106. 163, 

105. 

Provence, France, 135. 

Providence, R. I., 100, 155, 
262. 

Public bouses, 23, 36, 46, 
79, 113, 158, 159, 205, 
207, 208, 217. 

Publishment of Ruth Bus- 
well. 57. 

Putnam, 3, 9, 11, 71, 73, 
152, 161, 213. 
Gen. Israel, 3, 9, 11. 
Moses, 161. 

Pye brook, 127. 



Qn aides. 159. 
Quebec, Can.. 239. 240. 
Quimby, 1.3. 



Railroad. 46. 
Randall. 59. 
Rea. 105, 176, 177. 

Jeremiah, 105. 

Jonathan Fryc. 177. 

Joshua, 177. 

William, 177. 
Reading, Ms., 17, 71, 106. 
137. 144. 148, 149, 162. 
170. 221. 236, 258. 
Redington. 78, 153,151. 15s. 
101, 169. 
Abraham, 161, 169. 
Thomas, 158. 
Reed, 13, 213. 
Tobias, 13. 
Reid. 106. 

Removal id' Houses, 14. 16, 
32. 62, 65. 6S, 107, 163, 
ISO. 182, 201, 21S. 251'. 

Reynolds, 93, no, 189,228, 
231, 234, 239-244, 257. 
■_>!_>. 

Daniel L.,243, 211. 

Enos, 239. 

George, 213. 

Harriet, 241. 

R. Eveline, 241, 257. 

Sara'l, 213. 

Stephen, 239. 

Theodore, 234. 

Wm„ 119. 
Rhodes, 173. 
Richards, 27. 
Richardson, 4. 250. 
Richmond, Va., 29. 

Kicker, . 126. 

'•Ridges," The, I, 186. 
Rifle, Peabody, 65. 
Kludge, N. II'., 56. 87, 146, 

157. 256. 
Roads, 27, 131, 152. 
Roads, old, 27, 131,152. 
Robertson, 106. 
Robinson, 71, S3, 205, 223- 
228, 239, 253. 

Aaron, 227. 

Benjamin, 225, 239. 

Francis P., 205. 

John, 224-227. 



[NDEX. 



273 



Robinson, Joseph, 22 '>. 
Rochester, N. v., in. 
Rogers, 110 

Benj., 110. 

Rev. John, 110. 
Rokes, Meander, 205, 200. 
Rome, Italy, 90. 
Roof-ladder, 99. 
Room-paper, etc., 217, 218. 
Ross, 213-215. 

Harrison <>.. 215. 

Wm.,214, 215. 

Rowe, Rev. Sam'l, 194-196. 

Rowley, .Ms.. 3, 8. 20-23,25, 

■21,'-:*, 33, 34, 51, 52, 61- 

63, 71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 82, 

85. 86. 88, 96, 98, 99, 114, 

119, 123, 124, 1-27, 172, 
182, 183, 189, 194, 196, 
199, 200, 212, '234, 236, 
249, 256. 

Rowley-Canada, 63. 
Roxbiirv. Ms., 52, 178, 179. 

231. 
Runaways, 160, 194. 
Run (1 let f, 17, 104. 

Mrs. Abigail, 17. 104. 
Runnells. sec Reynolds. 
Rush pond, 230. 
Russ, Moses 1.".. 52, 53. 
Russell. 69. 109, 118. 119. 
129, 137, 170, 179,228. 

Arthur L., 119. 

Daniel. 109, 118,119. 

Jas., 137. 

Leander, 69. 

Peabody, 137, 

Sabine, 202. 
Safford, 148. 
.Sailor-, 17, 23, 72, 00, 92, 

101, 134, 137, 148, 160, 

232, 233, 240, 241. 
Salem, Ms., 3, 10, 23, 24. 27. 

34, 35, 51, 71, lol, 104, 

106, 108, 114, 115, 120, 

120. 127. 137, 142, 146, 
151. 159, 164, 165, 169, 
170, 174, 183, 191, 192, 
104, 221-223, 225-227. 
231, 25:;-255. 

N. II.. 02. 108, 207, 208, 

260. 
N. V., oi. 
Salisbury, Ms., 56, 60, 89, 

151, 193 
Sanborn, 107. 

nton, N. II., 170. 
San Diego, 1 al., 103. 
Sand\ 3, 

Saratoga, \. Y., 240. 
Sargent, L98, 229, 250. 263. 
Moses, 220. 

N. B., 259. 

Savage.37,39 11,51,74, 123. 
Johnson, 39. 

Win.. J . 41, 71. 
Savannah. Ga., 28. 
Savory, 1 leo. T., L3. 
Sawyer, 7, 26, 146, 147, L52, 
153. 175, 184, 185 

!> . Geo. w .. 117. 

Jas. B., 117. 



Sawyer, John, 7, 153. 
Thos., 147. 
Will., 185. 

Saybrook, Conn., 255. 
Sayward, .John S., 58. 102, 

" 103. 
Scales, 180, 10O. 

Jas., 181). 

Scarborough, Me., 202. 

Schenectady, N. Y., 144. 

Scl Is, etc., 30, 35, 38, 68, 

10 , 145, 162, 166, 107, 
171, 184,257-259,262,263. 

Scientific Imerican, 199. 

Scotland, 135. 

Sebago, Me., L98. 

Sessions, 14, 188, 211, 242. 
Josiah, 241. 

Settlements, New, 63, 65. 

•'Shaven-crown" hill, 81. 

Sheep, 211. 

Sheffield, Ms., 114. 

Shelburne, Ms., 132. 

shepherd, 7. 

Sheriff, 63. 

Sherman, 28. 

Sherwin, 107, 108, 232, 243. 

Ebenezer, 24.!. 
Shirley, Wm. II., 125, 126. 
Shirley, .Ms., 132. 
Shoe-manufacturing, 2, 7, 

45, 46, K), 107, 109. 
Shrewsbury. Ms., 246. 
Sias, John, 00. 

Saml., 05. 
Simmons, 51, 60. 210. 

Joseph, 00. 

Mrs. Lydia, 51. 
Simson, 194. 
Sin, David Wood's, 98. 
Singing school, 21.'!. 
Skidby, Yorkshire, Eng.. 

236. 
Sleigh, A, 70. 
Smith, 11. 48-50, 70. 81, 103, 

114, 110. 122, 126, 127, 
134, 139, 150, Hil, 172, 
173. 175, 212, 211, 218. 

Abraham, 134. 

Calvin. 127. 

Chas., 150. 

Elias, 172. 

Geo., 11. 

Jacob, 49, 121;. 

John, is, 11,1, 17:!. 

Molly, 139, no. 175. 

Nath'l, L26. 

Richard, 218. 

Walter, 127. 

Whipple I.. 127. 
Smoker, \. 110. 
Snelling. 210, .-11. 

Mark. Jin. 

Solart, 

ville. Ms., 170. 

South bYamingham, Ms., 

:;7. 
Spafard, so. 
Spain, 166. 
Spencer, N. 5 
spill, t, Nath'l G., 57,65 67, 

109 



Spofford, 20, 36-38, 12, 00, 

78, so, si, s:;-s7. 00, 08, 
00, Is:;. 194, 195, 205,206, 
208. 21;:, 227, 228,230. 
A a n 01, 84. 

Alden, 200. 

Amos, 81. 

Renj., 4 2. 

Chas. A.. 81. 

Frederick, 81. 

II. Merritt, 84. 

Israel F., 85. 

Mrs. Julia A. M., 20s. 

Parker. 36. 

Paul, 104. 

Richard. 0s. 

Sam'l, 8.3,22s. 

Stephen, 81. 

Thus., s4. 85. 
Spoon, White's, 117. 
Springer, 83. 
Springfield, Ms., 45, 111, 

250. 

N. II.. 121). 

Vt., 63. 
States, etc., 36, M2, 225. 
Stanstead, Can., 219. 
Stanton. 37. 
Stark, 30,31. 
Start, Ceo., 16. 
Steel, 105. 
Stetson, Chas. A., 09, 101. 

Geo., 101. 

Seth, loo. 101. 
Stevens, 32. 33,37.41. 10.5s, 
5:1, 69, 107, 113, 104. 105. 
223. 

Amos, 41, 10, 107. 

Chas. C, 32, 33, 37. 

Dr. Francis J., 58, 59. 

Sam'l, 113. 
Stevens' pond, 00. 
Stevenson. Burpy, 179. 
Stewart, 71. 
Stickney, 56, 62-65, si. 83, 

00. 120. 253, 250. 

Ancil, 01. 
Jedediah, 64. 

Jo ('I'll- 01. 

Sam'l. 01. 

Stile-. 40, 51, 50, 65. IP;. 132, 
153-157. 172, 18(1, 181, 
186, 105. 207, 230. 

, I5C, 207. 

Asa. 51 155. 

(Ims., 2311. 

Edmund. 151. 
Elijah, 239. 
Ezra, 181. 

111. 181. 

John, 40, 51, no. 151, 155, 

Simeon, 155. 
Timothy, 181. 

Mile.' K ri ve 

8t. Louis, Mo., 203. 

Stone, 151. 164, 221. 

Orrln, 164. 
Stone house. 225. 
Stonington, ( lonn , 13 1 . 
Stores, I, 7. 33, 56, 101, 104, 
123, 176, 206,219, 21 

18, 19, 67, 10". 227. 



274 



INDEX. 



Stowe. Yt., 8, 170. 
St. Peter, Minn., 149. 
Stratham, N. n . 68. 
Strout, Peter, 71, 108, ioo. 
Sudbury, Ms.. 134. 
Suicides, 71, 80, 100, 175, 

•2:;.-). 
Sullivan, 32, 205, 215, 240. 

Henry C, 205. 
Summers'^ orth, N. II.. 82. 
Suncook, N. II., 99. 
Sun-mark, 20. 
Surveyor, 69. 
Swan, 21. 

Swanzey, N. II , 17. 
Swett. 222. 

Sword-, Old, 177, 225. 
Symmes, Rev. Tlios., 109, 

110. 
Symonds, Is. 41, 05, 124, 120, 
128 i.;o, 133.134, 130, lis, 
lid. 162, 170, 187. 

Benj., IS. 

John, 128. 

Joseph, 1-29, 130, 162. 

Nath'l, 133. 

Sam'l, 129. 

Stephen, 130, 133. 



Tailors, 16,35, 160,173. 
Tamsiu. 199. 
Tanneries, 48, 71. 
Tarbow 129, 1(11. 
Taungeiul. Fng., 179. 
Taunton. Ms.. 56, 227, 217. 
Taylor, 102, 234. 
Temple, N. II ., 63. 
Templeton, M<., 80. 
Tennessee, 64. 
Tewksbury, Ms., 108. 
Theft, 71, 77, 125, 211, 242. 
Thomas, 133, 208. 

Fred, 208. 
Thompson, 148, 250. 

John, 250. 
Thownes, 170. 
Thunder showers, 227. 231. 
Thurston, 22. 
Thwing, 85, 87, 218. 

Chas. A., 87. 
Tibbetts, ('has. V, , 117. 
Ticonderoga, N. Y., 52, 00. 

Tidds, 27, 75. 

Tim on (Freeman), 207. 

Todd, 23, 1(15, 106, 165. 
Win. (i.. 23. 106, 105. 

Tomatoes, 254. 

Tomb, Gen. Lowe's, is. 

Topeka, Kas., 203. 

Topsfield, Ms , :;. 9, 10, 12. 
13, 16-18, 20, 21. 25. 28, 
29, 31-3:. :;7, 38, 49. 50, 
5:;, 54, 59. ci), 67, 7:;, 75, 
70. 79, 111, 117, 119, 122, 
12 1 120, 128 134, 136, 137, 
139 lio. lis, 151, 152, i;,.-), 
158, I id, 101, 171. 17.".. 
174, iso. is;;, is;,, iss.201, 
205, 219, 220, 230. 232, 

200, 201. 
Tories, 05, 75, 202. 
Towle. Sam'l, 129. 



Towne, 9. 16, 50, 05, 74, 96, 
118, 125, 132, 139, 150, 
157, 100,10,1. lo:'.,104,170, 
172470,178, ISO, 198,203, 

205. 

Albert II., 46. 

Asa. 17.:. 

Ezra, 9i;. 

Henry A., 174. 

Jacob, 71. 

John, 17.",, 171. 

John N., 56. 

Nathan. 156, 104. 

Sam'l, 174 

Sam'l II.. 163. 

Solomon, 172. 
Town hall. 105, 106. 
Town meetings, 113. 
Trask, 152. 

Trees, 5, 52, 67, 93, 155, 211. 
Trenton, N. J.. 253. 
Troy, N. Y., 213. 
Tufts, 118. 

Wm., I Is. 
Turner, 202. 
Tuttle, 107. 
Twisden, John B.. 102. 

J. Thos.. 172. 

Sam'l, 100, 171, 172. 

Win., 163. 
Twitohell, Geo. W., 126,1128, 

129, 131. 
Twombly, 45. 
Tyler, 37, 38, 03, 04, 70, 71, 

81-81, 87, 90, 92, 90-99, 

128, 193, 195JL97, 200-202. 

204, 214, 217, 235, 247. 

251, 252, 250. 

Abraham, 81. 

Asa, 98. 

Bert, 128. 

Bradstreet, 96, 97, 200, 
235, 252. 

Flint, 97. 

Gideon, 90. 

Job, 193, 200, 201, 250. 

John, 90, 92. 

Joseph s., 70, 90. 

Moses, 90 

Stephen, 200. 

Wm., 81. 
Tylney, 135. 
Tyngsborough, Ms., 40. 

Umbrella, First, 233. 
Underwood, 2.",;,. 
United Mates, 196. 
Upper Ashuelot, N. II., 

210. 
Uptack road. 218. 
Upton, lis. 

Valley Forjye, Pa., 225. 
Varnum, 232, 254. 
Verden, III., 65. 
Vermont, 34, 59, 137. 
Vienna, Me., 198. 
Vinegar, 23. 
Virginia, 132. 

Waehila. Kas., 87. 



Wallingford, 25, 26, 29, 90. 

Benj., 25. 
Wallis, 223. 
Walpole, N. II., 228. 
Waltham, Ms., 31. 13, 228. 
Warner, N. II., 107. 
Warning oul of Town, 13G. 
Warren. 31, 30, 181. 

donas. 3'',. 
Warren, Me., 251. 
Wars, 233. 
King Philip's, 135. 
French and Indian, 94, 

114. 14s. 171. 
French, 30, 224. 
Revolution, .-), 14, 10, 29, 
30, 33, 34, 40,41, 52,64, 
r,0, 69 71. 73. 75, 77,78, 
87. 88. 03, 119. 123, 139, 
110, US, 152, 157, 174, 
202, 213. 221, 237, 239, 
240. 253. 255. 250. 
War of 1812, SI. 102,146, 

149. 
Rebellion, 2s, 37, 45, 79, 
so. 84, 97, 117, 198, 206, 
210.235. 
Washburn, 203. 
Washington, 150, 213, 225. 
Washington, D. C, 5, 59, 

103. 
Wataga, 111., 203. 
Waterford, Me., 194. 
Watertown, Ms., 34. 
Waterville, Me., 161, 198, 

202. 
Watson, 14, 45, 47. 

Wm., 44. 
Weare, N. H., 94. 
\\ ebster, 1ST, 188. 211,236, 

237, 240. 

Jas. II., 237. 

John R., 188. 
Weed, 24s. 
Wellfleet, Ms., 103. 
Wells, 101. 11:;, 10:;. 

Daniel, 104, [63. 

Wellsville, \. v.. 203. 
Wenham, Ms., 10, 00, 03, 

lis, 151, 152, 160, 164, 

197, 202. 230. 
Wentworth, 202. 
Westford, Ms., 71, 170. 
Westminster, Yt., 8, 59. 
Wesl Newbury, Ms., 10. 

IS. 250. 
Weston, X. Y., 198. 
Wheeler, 135. 
Whipple, 56. 
White, 05, 117. 101. 

Wm., n;4. 
Whiteweed, 254. 
Whitney, lid. 
Whittemore, 101, 103. 

, 103. 

Jas., 101. 
Whittier, Francis C, 230,, 
215,250. 251. 

Levi <;., 2eii. 

Marshall P.. 236. 
"Widgen pond," 123. 
Wildes, 14, 10, 40, 76, 146, 
205. 



INDEX. 



275 



Wildes. Ezra, 14,40, 146. 

Zebulon, 14. 
Wilkin s, 81, 124, 153. 

Willard, . 205. 

Willet, 1(14. 

John, 134. 
Williams, 34, 134, 220. 

John, 134. 
Willis, Joseph, 177. 17'.'. 
Willis' woods, 17.">. 
Wilmarlh. 215, 238. 

Wilmington, Ms., 87, 14S. 
Wilson, 62, '.i7. 

Elijah, 62. 
Wilton. Me., 44. 
Winch, Chas. P., 87. 
Winchendon, Ms., 52, 122. 
Windham, Conn., 77. 
Winslow, Erving, 165. 
Winter Hill, 52, 119, 120. 
Winthrop, Me., L98. 
Witcher, 20, 40, 191. 
Witham, Daniel, 212. 
Woburn,Ms.,77, 170. 



Wolfsboro'. N. H., 108. 

j Wolves, 14-.'. 
Wood. Ki, 22, 29, 30, 33 36, 
3840, 61, 63, 69, 70, 75- 
79, 80-90, 92, 98-10(1, 136, 
159, 162, 106, 171, 176, 
184, 186, 187, 190, 193, 
196, 197, -201, 211, 225, 
•-!;;•-•. 233,248,254-259. 

Hon. Aaron, 'V.UiG. 

Daniel. 09, 254,257. 

David. 78, 258. 

Dr. David, 29, 01, 76, 25S. 

Enoch, 92. 

Hannah, 69. 

Jacob, 99. 

John, 69. 

John T., 92, 201. 

Jonathan, 77. 

Joseph, 254, 255. 

Lemuel, 257. 

Mrs. Lydia, :?4. 

Mrs. Margaret, 39. 

Moses, 100. 

Nathan, 99. 



Wood, Solomon, 09. 

Thos., :18. 

Win. II., 258. 
Woodbridge, Cal., 9. 
Woodbury, 70, 104, 222, 
200. 

Benj , 220. 

Josiab, 104. 
Woodman, John, 14. 
Woods, Timothy, 185. 
Woodwovth, 207. 
Worcester Co., Ms., 128. 
Woster, 230. 
Wright, 24, 88. 

Win.. 88. 
Wyatt, oo, 195. 

Isaac, 195. 
Wyman, 32. 
Wyoming, 111., 64. 



York, Me., 114, 105. 
Yorkshire, Eng., 179. 
Young, 162, 103. 
Jeremiah, 102.