Blaney Abbott House
The Blaney Abbott House stood on the east side of Boston Road just south of the Center, on the lot that is now 478 Boston Road, between the blacksmith shop lot of William G. Alley (later Mark Lund) on the north and the Cheever place on the south. It was the homestead of Blaney Abbot (1772-1855), who lived there unmarried and served as Billerica's town clerk from 1805 to 1809. He is shown as the owner on the 1853 map. How he acquired the land has not been found in the deed indexes.
Abbot made his will on July 2, 1855, two weeks before his death, leaving "all my Estate both Real and Personal, to my two nieces Lydia Wilson, and Betsy W. Wilson, of Marblehead". The will was proved that August with the consent of all his heirs at law. In March 1866 Betsy W. Wilson, then of Swampscott, sold the homestead, "a certain lot of land and buildings thereon" of twenty-seven acres "as the fence now stands", bounded west by the highway, north by Ordway and Lund and south by Eastman, Fuller, Colby and Tufts, to Mary H. Crosby of Billerica for $2,100.
Mary H. Crosby, a widow, sold the place in June 1873 for $2,500 to Henry Crosby, her stepson, who gave her back a $1,500 mortgage the same day. She held further mortgages from him in 1881 and 1886. Henry Crosby died on June 28, 1887, and that August his daughter and heir, Frances E. Crosby of Malden, released the farm to Mary H. Crosby in payment of his mortgage debt. Mary H. Crosby died before 1892, and the farm passed by inheritance to Clara E. Sexton, wife of William H. Sexton, "the only heir at law of said Mary H. Crosby". The Sextons had already bought the narrow Eastman lot next south of the homestead in 1879. In 1906 they sold the south five acres of the farm, "with the buildings thereon", to Frank A. Fitzgerald.
In 1912 Clara E. Sexton registered the land in the Land Court: 384.69 feet on Boston Road and running back more than 2,500 feet. Fitzgerald's five acres became Lot A on her plan, and in 1913 the north part, Lot B, passed from her to her husband, back to her, and then to Clarence A. Backer. Backer subdivided his Boston Road frontage in 1922 on a plan by John T. Brown, and Lot 1, with 73.16 feet on the road, went to John E. Hardy. The present building at 478 dates from about this time.
Lot 1 passed in 1925 to Charles R. Sherburne and a week later to Lloyd C. and Gladys M. Palmer of Woburn, in 1930 to A. Calvin Cruchet (who added his wife Annie to the title in 1931), and in 1935 to Robert L. and Elvah M. Farmer, who held it until 1962. After a series of private owners and a period when the Woburn Bank and Trust Company held the title in the 1970s, the lot was sold again in 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1992, and in 2004 and 2005 it went to Sandy Pond Ventures LLC, the present owner of the office building there.
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| August 21, 1855 | Will | Estate of Blaney Abbot of Billerica, yeoman | His nieces Lydia Wilson and Betsy W. Wilson of Marblehead | 1855: Blaney Abbot's will, all to his Wilson nieces | Probate #26034 |
Will dated July 2, 1855 (witnesses John Baldwin Jr., James A. Lovejoy, Mahala Lovejoy): "I give and bequeath all my Estate both Real and Personal, to my two nieces Lydia Wilson, and Betsy W. Wilson, of Marblehead", with George Wilson of Marblehead executor. The heirs at law (Joseph, Lydia, Betsy W. and George Wilson) assented July 20, 1855, and the will was proved at Charlestown Aug. 21, 1855. Abbot died July 17, 1855.
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| April 28, 1866 | Deed | E. W. Wilson of Swampscott, Essex County | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica (wife of Harvey Crosby), to her sole and separate use | 1866: E. W. Wilson to Mary H. Crosby, the 27-acre homestead | 48/339 |
For $2,100 (reading of "Twenty one hundred" uncertain), "a certain lot of land and buildings thereon" in Billerica "containing twenty seven acres two roods sixteen perches be it more or less as the fence now stands": "Westerly by the highway, then running Southerly by land of Mr. Eastman, Fuller, Colby and Tufts, easterly by land of Mr. Richardson, Northerly by land of Mr. Ordway and Lund to the first mentioned bound, as per plan." No title recital. Dated March 31, 1866, acknowledged in Essex County the same day. This is the farm later cut into Lots A and B of Land Court Plan 3956-A; the 1866 abutters Colby and Fuller are the H. Colby and Fuller places to the south.
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| June 30, 1873 | Mortgage | Henry Crosby of Billerica | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica, widow | 1873: Henry Crosby mortgage back to Mary H. Crosby | 94/586 |
For $1,500 payable in five years at seven per cent, the same "lot of land and buildings thereon containing twenty seven acres, two roods, sixteen perches", bounded west by the highway, south by Eastman, Fuller, Colby and Tufts, east by Richardson and north by Ordway and Lund, "Being the same premises conveyed to me this day by said Mary H. Crosby"; the buildings to be insured for at least $800. Dated June 28, 1873. Margin: "See Rel Book 149 Page 487."
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| July 7, 1873 | Deed | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica, widow | Henry Crosby of Billerica | 1873: Mary H. Crosby to Henry Crosby | 95/83 |
For $2,500, "a certain lot of land and buildings thereon containing twenty seven acres, two roods, sixteen perches", "Westerly by the highway, then running Southerly by land of Mr. Eastman, Fuller, Colby and Tufts, Easterly by Mr. Richardson's land, Northerly by land of Mr. Ordway and Lund ... as per plan. Being the same premises conveyed to me by E. W. Wilson, Deed dated March 31st 1866", Book 48, Page 339. Dated June 28, 1873 before Dudley Foster, J.P.
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| December 6, 1879 | Mortgage | Clara E. Sexton of Billerica (William H. Sexton assenting) | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica | 1879: the Sextons' Eastman lot next south, mortgaged to Mary H. Crosby | 136/583 |
Mortgage for $1,800 in five years of "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situate near the Centre", four rods on the road from Lowell to Boston between land formerly of the heirs of Blaney Abbott on the north and land formerly of Nathaniel Cheever on the south, forty rods deep, "the same premises conveyed to me by deed of Lund F. Eastman as Guardian of Addie E. Eastman" Nov. 29, 1879. Dated Dec. 4, 1879; discharged 1892 by Mary H. Crosby's administrator. The Eastman lot, the Sextons' first land next to the Abbot place.
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| August 15, 1887 | Quitclaim | Frances E. Crosby of Malden, unmarried | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica | 1887: Frances E. Crosby, heir of Henry Crosby, releases the farm to Mary H. Crosby | 190/563 |
For the payment of the mortgage debt, a release of "the following named and described lot or parcel of land together with the buildings and improvements thereon", bounded north by land "now or lately of Messrs. Ordway and Lund", east by Richardson, south by "Messrs. Eastman, Fuller, Colby and Tufts" and west by the highway, "containing twenty seven (27) acres two (2) roods and sixteen (16) perches", "being a part of the premises and real estate derived by me by inheritance from my father the late Henry Crosby who died on the 28th day of June A.D. 1887", and the land in Henry Crosby's mortgage to Mary H. Crosby of Dec. 14, 1886 (Book 186, Page 583, reading uncertain), which "and the note secured thereby are intended to be paid by this deed." Dated Aug. 2, 1887.
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| April 9, 1906 | Warranty Deed | William H. Sexton and Clara E. Sexton, his wife, in her own right, of Billerica | Frank A. Fitzgerald of Tewksbury | 1906: Sextons sell the south five acres to Frank A. Fitzgerald | 388/582 |
For one dollar, "a certain tract of land situate in said Billerica, near the center thereof on the easterly side of Main Street so called, containing five acres more or less": from a stone bound at the northwest corner of land "of one Burton, formerly of Martin", east eighty rods by Burton and William H. Fuller to other land of Clara E. Sexton, north ten rods, west eighty rods to the street and south ten rods on the street. "Said premises are conveyed with the buildings thereon. Being a portion of the same premises conveyed by Frances E. Crosby to Mary H. Crosby by deed dated August 2, 1887 ... Book 190 Page 563, and for my title see Probate records of said Mary H. Crosby ... said Clara E. Sexton being the only heir at law of said Mary H. Crosby." Dated April 9, 1906. The ten rods by eighty are Lot A of the 1912 Land Court plan (165.24 by 1320 feet).
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| November 8, 1912 | Land Court Decree | Land Court decree, case 3956 (petition of Clara E. Sexton) | Clara E. Sexton of Billerica, married to William H. Sexton | 1912: Clara E. Sexton registers the old Abbot land | Ctf 341 |
Original Certificate of Title 341 on the decree of Nov. 2, 1912 in case 3956: Clara E. Sexton is "the owner in fee simple" of land "Southwesterly by Boston Road three hundred eighty-four and 69/100 (384.69) feet", north by George S. Daniels 2,534.37 feet, northeast by Edwin H. Blakie 379.47 feet, southeast by "Nathaniel R. Jones et al." (756.61, 7 and 386.10 feet), west by Clarence A. Backer 556.98 feet and south by Backer, Walter H. Fuller and Susan E. Burton 1,569.25 feet, as shown on the plan by O. M. Snell, C.E., July 1912 (Land Court Plan 3956-A). The plan copy filed with the certificate divides it into Lot A (165.24 feet on the road, already Fitzgerald's) and Lot B (219.45 feet), with a house drawn near the road on each. Memoranda: Lot A deeded to Frank A. Fitzgerald Nov. 9, 1912 (document 464, Certificate 347); Lot B to William H. Sexton Feb. 1, 1913 (document 510, Certificate 385).
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| February 7, 1913 | Certificate of Title | Clara E. Sexton (from Original Certificate 341) | William H. Sexton of Billerica, married to Clara E. Sexton | 1913: Lot B to William H. Sexton | Ctf 385 |
Transfer certificate of Feb. 7, 1913: William H. Sexton owns Lot B on the O. M. Snell plan of July 1912 (3956-A), the north part of his wife's 1912 registration, southwest by Boston Road 219.45 feet, north by George S. Daniels 2,534.37 feet, with the Blakie, Jones and Backer bounds. Cancelled for certificate 424.
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| June 10, 1913 | Certificate of Title | William H. Sexton (from certificate 385) | Clara E. Sexton of Billerica, married to William H. Sexton | 1913: Lot B back to Clara E. Sexton | Ctf 424 |
Transfer certificate of June 10, 1913: Lot B on plan 3956-A, 219.45 feet on Boston Road, back to Clara E. Sexton (owner's address Concord Road). Cancelled for certificate 432, the transfer to Clarence A. Backer a month later.
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| 1913 | Certificate of Title | Transfer from the Sexton title (Lot B of plan 3956-A) | Clarence A. Backer of Billerica, married to Grace Lilian Backer | 1913: Lot B to Clarence A. Backer | Ctf 432 |
Transfer certificate of July 15, 1913: Backer owns Lot B on Land Court plan 3956-A (O. M. Snell, July 1912), cut from the Sexton farm: southwest by Boston Road 219.45 feet, with the Daniels, Blakie and Jones bounds of 1912, "Westerly by land now or formerly of Clarence A. Backer" 556.98 feet and southerly by Backer 243.23 feet, then by Lot A. Backer already held the old Howe farm and shop lot to the west and north as unregistered land.
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| June 26, 1922 | Certificate of Title | Clarence A. Backer (from certificate 432) | John E. Hardy of Billerica, married to Lura W. Hardy | 1922: Lot 1 (478 Boston Rd) to John E. Hardy | Ctf 1878 |
Partial transfer certificate of June 26, 1922: Hardy owns Lot 1 on subdivision plan 6093-B (John T. Brown, June 16, 1922), "Southwesterly by Boston Road, seventy-three and 16/100 (73.16) feet", northwest by Lot 2 123.51 feet, northeast by land of Clarence A. Backer 97.03 feet, south by Lot A 125.51 feet. The present 478 Boston Road; the house there dates from about this time.
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| September 9, 1925 | Certificate of Title | John E. Hardy (from certificate 1878) | Charles R. Sherburne of Woburn, not married | 1925: Lot 1 to Charles R. Sherburne | Ctf 2873 |
Transfer certificate of Sept. 9, 1925 for Lot 1 on plan 6093-B (73.16 feet on Boston Road). Sherburne, of 564 Main Street, Woburn, held it for six days: cancelled for certificate 2882.
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| September 15, 1925 | Certificate of Title | Charles R. Sherburne (from certificate 2873) | Lloyd C. Palmer and Gladys M. Palmer of Woburn | 1925: Lot 1 to Lloyd C. and Gladys M. Palmer | Ctf 2882 |
Transfer certificate of Sept. 15, 1925: the Palmers, of Lillian Street, Woburn, own Lot 1 on plan 6093-B as tenants by the entirety. Cancelled for certificate 4070 in 1930.
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| October 15, 1930 | Certificate of Title | Lloyd C. and Gladys M. Palmer (from certificate 2882) | A. Calvin Cruchet of Billerica, married to Annie Cruchet | 1930: Lot 1 to A. Calvin Cruchet | Ctf 4070 |
Transfer certificate of Oct. 15, 1930: A. Calvin Cruchet, of Boston Road, Billerica, owns Lot 1 on plan 6093-B (73.16 feet on Boston Road).
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| October 15, 1931 | Certificate of Title | A. Calvin Cruchet (from certificate 4070) | William V. Cochrane of Billerica, not married | 1931: Lot 1 through William V. Cochrane | Ctf 4216 |
Transfer certificate of Oct. 15, 1931, 11:16 a.m.: Lot 1 on plan 6093-B to William V. Cochrane, a conveyancing straw; one minute later it was transferred to Cruchet and his wife together (certificate 4217).
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| October 15, 1931 | Certificate of Title | William V. Cochrane (from certificate 4216) | A. Calvin Cruchet and Annie Cruchet of Billerica | 1931: Lot 1 to A. Calvin and Annie Cruchet | Ctf 4217 |
Transfer certificate of Oct. 15, 1931, 11:17 a.m.: the Cruchets own Lot 1 on plan 6093-B as tenants by the entirety (owners' address Boston Road), completing the transfer through Cochrane.
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| September 30, 1935 | Certificate of Title | A. Calvin and Annie Cruchet (from certificate 4217) | Robert L. Farmer and Elvah M. Farmer of Billerica | 1935: Lot 1 to Robert L. and Elvah M. Farmer | Ctf 4801 |
Transfer certificate of Sept. 30, 1935: the Farmers, of Boston Road, own Lot 1 on plan 6093-B as tenants by the entirety. Their title ran until 1962, when certificate 12366 was issued to a later owner of Auburn.
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| 1975 | Certificate of Title | Private owner (from certificate 12367) | Woburn Bank and Trust Company | about 1975: Woburn Bank and Trust Company | Ctf 21055 |
Transfer certificate for Lot 1 on plan 6093-B to the Woburn Bank and Trust Company of 327 Main Street, Woburn, after private ownership from 1962 (certificates 12366 and 12367). The bank sold in 1975 (certificate 21572); later private certificates followed in 1976, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1992.
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| 2005 | Certificate of Title | Private owner (from certificate 37724) | Sandy Pond Ventures LLC of Billerica | 2005: Sandy Pond Ventures LLC | Ctf 37739 |
Transfer certificate for Lot 1 on plan 6093-B, "All of said boundaries ... as shown on subdivision plan 6093-B", to Sandy Pond Ventures LLC, the present owner of 478 Boston Road, an office building. It follows certificate 37724 of Dec. 2004, issued on a $325,000 trustee's sale.
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.