Samuel Brown
Samuel Brown
| Born | 1788-11-16 Billerica, MA |
| Died | 1866-04-07 Billerica, MA |
| Father | Samuel Brown |
| Mother | Elizabeth Noyes |
| Spouses | Nancy |
Samuel Brown, called Samuel Brown 2d in his lifetime, was a farmer on Salem Road in East Billerica and the historian of his family. He was born on November 16, 1788, the son of Samuel Brown and Elizabeth (Noyes) Brown, and was a great-grandson of Lt. Samuel Brown. His father died in 1834 leaving a will that directed his real estate to be sold, but in 1836 the other children released the homestead of about sixty acres to Samuel for $1,250, and he farmed it for the next thirty years (see Brown Family Homestead). In 1852 he published a genealogical table of the descendants of George Brown, which Hazen used for his register of the family.
He married Nancy, and their children were Mary Elizabeth (1840), who married Albert Cram, and George Everett (1843). On November 4, 1854, "my wife being deceased," he sold School District No. 7 a quarter acre on Salem Road between his house and Henry Allen's, for $25, on condition that a school be kept there "and no longer," and that the district keep a tight board fence four feet high along his land; the Richardson School was built on it. He died on April 7, 1866, and that May his children sold "the homestead of the late Samuel Brown," sixty-five acres, to Albert R. Richardson. In 2002 the Superior Court found that the town's title to the school lot had ended under the condition of his deed, and the town returned the land to his heirs, who sold it in 2003.
References
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 20, BROWN 18
- Vital Records of Billerica (1908), births p. 32: the Brown family of Salem Road (Samuel, s. Samuel Jr. and Sarah, June 15, 1762)
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Property | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 6, 1854 | Deed | Samuel Brown of Billerica, yeoman ("my wife being deceased") | School District No. 7 of Billerica, "a corporation" | 1854 school lot to School District No. 7 | Richardson School | 697/283 (South) |
Signed and acknowledged Nov. 4, 1854 before George H. Whitman, J.P.; recorded Dec. 6, 1854 (copy in Billerica town book 20, pages 474-476). For $25, a parcel "beginning on the highway or Salem Road so called at the southeasterly corner of said parcel", running 6 rods westerly on the road, 6 2/3 rods northerly, 6 rods easterly and 6 2/3 rods southerly, "containing one quarter of an acre of land situated between the dwellings of said Brown and Henry Allen and upon which a new School-house is now being erected". Granted "upon the following express conditions viz. that a school for the children of that part of said Billerica be maintained and kept on said parcel and no longer", and so long as the district kept "a fence of tight boards four feet at least in height" on the three sides next to Brown's land. No title recital: the lot was cut from the Brown homestead, which Brown held under the 1836 quitclaim of his father's heirs. The site of the Richardson School until about 1973.
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| March 27, 2003 | Judgment (Quiet Title) | Middlesex Superior Court, C.A. MICV2000-03130: seven descendants of Samuel Brown v. Town of Billerica and unknown heirs | The heirs of Samuel Brown (seven living descendants) | 2002 quiet title judgment for his heirs | Richardson School | 14870/205 |
Action to quiet title under G.L. c. 240, ss. 6-10, begun about Aug. 8, 2000; judgment entered April 18, 2002. The court found the plaintiffs owners of "244 Salem Road, Billerica ... also known as the Richardson School Land" (Assessors Map 35, Lot 37; Plan Book 32 Plan 4 and Plan Book 101 Plan 56B), and that the Town "was an owner of the premises until divested of title in 1930 when the property was discontinued to be used as a school" under the condition of the 1854 deed from Samuel Brown to School District No. 7 (recorded as "Book 20, Page 474", i.e. Billerica town book 20). Findings on the descent: Samuel Brown died April 7, 1866, leaving his property to his children Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. Albert Cram, died 1897, her only child dying in 1874) and George Everett Brown (died Nov. 24, 1924 at Akron, Colorado), whose widow Abbie (Putnam) Brown left it in 1935 to their four sons; the living plaintiffs are their grandchildren.
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| March 27, 2003 | Quitclaim Deed | Town of Billerica, by its Board of Selectmen (James F. O'Donnell Jr., chairman) | The heirs of Samuel Brown, as tenants in common | 2002 town quitclaim to his heirs | Richardson School | 14870/208 |
Signed June 18, 2002. For $1,500, with quitclaim covenants, the 1854 parcel, "beginning on the highway or Salem Road ... at the southeasterly corner", six rods by six and two-thirds rods, "containing one quarter of an acre of land situated between the dwellings of said n/f of Brown and Henry Allen". "For title see deed recorded at Book 20, Page 474 and Middlesex Superior Court Docket Number MICV2000-03130." Attached Selectmen's minutes of April 8, 2002: "the deed was given to the Town for the purpose of school use and ... there is no use for the property"; the board voted 5-0 to return the land to the heirs, who would donate $1,500 to the Kennedy School.
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| April 9, 2003 | Quitclaim Deed | The heirs of Samuel Brown (seven descendants) | Jeffrey J. Mazzone, Trustee of Salem Realty Trust | 2003 his heirs sell the school lot | Richardson School | 14966/118 |
For $130,000, with quitclaim covenants, the quarter acre on Salem Road described as in 1854, "situated between the dwellings of said n/f of Brown and Henry Allen". "Meaning and intended to convey the same premises conveyed by deed recorded at Middlesex North Registry of Deeds at Book 20, Page 474", with references to the Town's 2002 deed (Book 14870 Page 208) and the Superior Court judgment (Book 14870 Page 205). The trust was declared April 8, 2003 (Book 14966 Page 111).
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.