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flass     F-JlJ- 


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  wras  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  wras  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 
Mr  Jonathan  Wood 
who  departed  this  Life 
June  ye  19"'  1781, 
In  the  65th  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  wras  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 

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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- 

1See  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.  H3 

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.  H7 

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,  0  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  Mi1.  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 


lJi 

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-law7  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,  wrho  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, 
0  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  Ye  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  0  what  Sacred  Peace  what  joy  Serene 

Graced  &  Perfumed  her  dying  words  &  mien 

With  all  Ye  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  Revd 
Mr    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  sd  Chadwicks  line  to  the 
pond,  thence  northeafterly  on  the  pond  to  Mr  Hale's  land 
&  fo  on  f1  Hales  line  as  the  fence  now  ftands  to  the  first 
mentioned  bounds  together  with  the  houfe  &  barn  now 
ftanding  on  sd  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,  NT.  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.'  Kri  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.