THE ESSEX ANTIQUARIAN.

VOL. II.

SALEM, MASS., JULY, 1898:

CENTRE OF GEORGETOWN IN THE YEAR 1800.
BY SIDNEY PERLEY.

THE frontispiece is a map of the centre of the West parish of Rowley, or New Rowley (now Georgetown), in 1800. It includes the territory measuring a mile and thirty rods in length and two hundred and twenty-five rods in width, and is drawn on a scale of fifty rods to an inch, being based on actual surveys and title deeds. It shows Andover street to a point about five rods beyond the Noyes house; West Main street to the Crosby house; North street to Summer street; Main street to the eastern end of Union cemetery; and Elm street to Chestnut street. It shows the location of the cemetery, church, schoolhouse, and all the houses standing in 1800.

On North street, the ditch at the blacksmith shop of Charles Holmes was the eastern boundary of the David Tenney house lot, the northerly boundary being the line between the estates of George H. Carleton and the late Daniel E. Moulton on West Main street. The dividing line between the estates of Capt. Benjamin Adams and William Dole is now within the railroad location. The line between the lots of William Dole and David Tenney is the present boundary between the estates of Orlando B. Tenney and William Kendall. The line shown on the map between the lots of David Tenney and Samuel Burbank is the present line between the brick schoolhouse lot and the Noyes shoe-factory building. The line bounding the rear of the three lots last mentioned runs from the southwestern side of the yard of the First church. The line dividing John Brocklebank's and

No. 7.

Benjamin Wallingford's estates at the Andover road began on the western boundary of the town-house yard.

The dotted parallel lines crossing Andover street shows the location of an old proprietor's road, running between ranges of lots in the three thousand acres.

Burying ground. The burying ground was only the eastern end of the present Union cemetery. This land belonged to Joseph Nelson, and when his wife died, June 5, 1732, he buried her body on this southern slope instead of carrying the remains to Byfield. Some other bodies were subsequently interred here, and, Feb. 27, 1733-4, Mr. Nelson conveyed to the "West parish of Rowley," for two pounds and ten shillings, the lot shown on the map, being " One quarter of an Acre of Land for a buryinge place which land is Scituate in y Township of Rowley afores and Near ye Meeting in sd parish which land includes the graves of those already buried in sa parish and is bounded as followeth (viz) ten rods upon yo Road or highway this being ye Northerly bound then bounded Easterly and Westerly four rods and Southerly ten Rods by ye Land Remaineing in my possession."

Gage, in his History of Rowley, says that the yard was enlarged by purchase of land from Rev. Moses Hale, in 1755, but there is no record of the transfer in the registry of deeds. Moses Hale, jr., gentleman, owned the adjoining land at that time, to be sure, but he was not the clergyman of that name. An addition of half an acre was made on the western end, however, Dec. 5, 1805, by purchase.

104

Job Brocklebank house. This house is still standing. It was owned by Ebenezer Boynton, husbandman, March 25, 1726, when he sold the house and other buildings and thirty-seven and one-half acres of land to Jonathan Bradstreet of Rowley, husbandman, for three hundred and fifty pounds. Captain Bradstreet conveyed the farm to John Spofford of Rowley, gentleman, March 21, 1739, for a thousand pounds. Mr. Spofford sold out to Joseph Nelson, who conveyed the place to Moses Hale, jr., of Newbury, gentleman, for two hundred and forty

JOB BROCKLEBANK HOUSE.

was built in 1739 it occupied a corner of the homestead adjoining the church. The horse sheds and schoolhouse were standing there in 1743, and were excepted in the deed of the farm from Nelson to Hale. At the time of the erection of the meeting-house Richard Boynton was living in the rear of this farm on the Long Hill road, and Captain Bradstreet gave him and other families living on that road the privilege to cross his land to meeting. This was done by laying out the lane that now exists there. The meeting-house occupied this site until 1769, when the old South meeting-house was erected at the junction of the roads as shown on the map. May 24, 1768, Solomon Nelson signed a deed to the Second parish

of the triangular lot
of land where the
meeting-house was
subsequently erected.
forits site and for a
road and training
field. The deed was
never ac-

pounds, Aug. 12, 1743. Mr. Hale lived knowledged
on the farm until his death, in 1776. He
probably removed here because he was
brother to Mrs. Chandler, wife of the pas-
tor of the church, who lived adjoining.
June 20, 1785, Nathaniel Hale and
Joseph Hale of Newbury, probably heirs of
the late owner of the farm, conveyed the
house, barn and land to John Tenney of
Rowley, cordwainer, for three hundred
and fifty pounds. Mr. Tenney sold out
to Job Brocklebank April 2, 1799; and
the place has since remained in the
Brocklebank family.

Meeting house. Capt. Jonathan Bradstreet was owner of the farm above mentioned in 1732, when he conveyed to the parish the southwest corner of it (at the *) for the site of the first meeting-house in the parish, it having been built there and raised June 5, 1729. The residence of David Brocklebank now occupies the site. The lot was so small that horse sheds were built upon Captain Bradstreet's adjoining land; and when the parish schoolhouse

a

OLD SOUTH MEETING-HOUSE.

or recorded. May 3, 1800, he gave new deed of the same. In this he also conveyed to the parish land sufficient to make the curve of the street where the Catholic church stands. The meeting-house was raised July 5, 1769, and occupied the site for upwards of a hundred years. The cut shows the meeting-house as it appeared originally; great wings being added on each side about fifty-five years ago,