George H. Whitman House
The George H. Whitman House stands at 33 Concord Road, south of the town center, on land that was for more than a century known as the Whitman farm. The farm was a long, narrow strip of thirteen to fourteen acres, about 11 rods wide on the road from Billerica to Bedford and running about 209 rods west to the Concord River, with the land of the Rev. Henry Cumings (later Francis Richardson and William Mann) on the south and the Parker homestead on the north. The house itself straddles the north line of the farm, part of it on a small lot cut from the Parker land in 1844.
The earliest deed found for the farm is the sale by Col. John Parker to the Rev. Nathaniel Whitman Jr. in 1816. For $1,650 Parker conveyed 13 acres with the buildings, reserving a shoemaker's shop, and the deed was recorded in 1826. How Parker himself came to hold the farm has not been found: his father's will of 1801 (probate 16643) gave him the tan-yard, woodland west of the river and other land, but no deed or devise of this strip was identified. Whitman was the minister of the First Parish from 1814 to 1835. In 1816 he mortgaged the farm for $1,400 to Blaney Abbot, treasurer of the town.
Whitman left Billerica after his pastorate ended, and on December 12, 1836 the town entered the farm for possession under its 1816 mortgage. In 1838 Whitman, then of Wilton, New Hampshire, quitclaimed the farm to John and Henry Baldwin for $100, and the Baldwins at once quitclaimed it to George Bacon of Woburn, subject to the town's mortgage. Bacon gave the town a new mortgage of $1,400 in 1839, which was discharged in 1842, and the old mortgage was discharged on April 1, 1839.
The north part of the house lot came from the homestead of Col. John Parker, who died in 1832. His daughter Ann Parker acquired the whole homestead in 1842 and divided the south end, which she called "her Whitman Lot", into house lots. On April 1, 1844 she sold lot no. 1, 44 square rods on Concord Road at the north-east corner of the Whitman farm, to George Bacon. The next lot to the north became the site of the First Baptist Church.
On November 6, 1848 Bacon sold the two parcels to George H. Whitman of Boston, "Esquire", for $4,300: 14 acres "with the buildings thereon" and the "Ann Parker lot". Whitman gave Bacon a $1,500 mortgage back, discharged on February 1, 1853. In the 1850 census George H. Whitman was an attorney, aged 45, with real estate valued at $30,000. He served as a trustee of the Howe School from 1852 to 1875. The house remained in his family for nearly eighty years, passing to his daughter Susanna T. Whitman, who died on November 5, 1925 at the age of 85.
Under a probate license of June 2, 1926, John H. Pearson, administrator of Susanna T. Whitman's estate, sold the property in July 1926 to William H. and Maud G. Smith; the deed recites that Susanna was "the daughter of said George H. Whitman" and that the land was his under the 1848 deed. William H. Smith appears in the MACRIS inventory as "Harry Smith, an artist". On September 10, 1945 the Smiths sold the road end of the farm, about five acres bounded west by Parker Road, together with the Ann Parker lot, to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, keeping the land toward the river. It became the rectory of the new parish of St. Theresa's Catholic Church, whose first pastor, the Rev. Daniel J. O'Keefe, had until then lived across the street. In 1974 the rectory moved to Sunnyside at 80 Concord Road, and this house became the parish's religious education center.
In 1985 the Archbishop sold the property to a private owner for $125,000. A 1992 plan (Plan Book 177, Plan 135) divided the land between Pages Court and Richardson Street into four lots running from Concord Road to Parker Street, leaving the house on Lot 1A of 40,195 square feet. The house has changed hands several times since, most recently in 2025.
The deeds correct several dates in earlier accounts. Bacon bought the Whitman farm in 1838, not 1836, by quitclaims from Whitman and the Baldwins after the town had entered under its mortgage; Ann Parker's lot was sold in April 1844, not 1845; the sale to George H. Whitman was in November 1848, not 1849; and the "Harry Smith" of the 1926 sale is William H. Smith of the recorded deed. MACRIS dates the house to about 1845, while the assessor gives 1890.
References
- MACRIS BIL.59
- Billerica assessor's record, 33 Concord Road (parcel 61-7-1): 0.923 acres, Lot 1A of the 1992 subdivision (Plan 177-135); sales from 1985
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| 1803 | Will | John Parker of Billerica, gentleman (tanner) | His sons Stephen Parker and John Parker (executors) and his other children | 1803: will of John Parker Sr.; his son Col. John Parker later owned the farm | Probate #16643 |
Will dated March 27, 1801, with a codicil of Feb. 28, 1803. To his son John the tan-house and tan-yard and a strip from the Common westward to the wall of the orchard, among other land; to his son Stephen "my dwelling-house, and the land adjoining" on the south side of the Common, on condition he support his sister Abigail, and "I also bequeath to my said son, Stephen, the whole of my farm on the west side of Concord road, commonly called the Ruggles farm, except that small parcel of it which I have given to my son, John. This bequest is to be understood as including the barn, and all other appurtenances belonging to said farm." Legacies to sons Daniel and Samuel and daughters Sarah Bowers, Anne Prichard and Elizabeth Breed. Witnesses Henry Cumings, Jacob Richardson and John Richardson Jr. Proved at Woburn Sept. 20, 1803 before Judge Oliver Prescott. This is the first record of the house in Parker hands. Middlesex probate case 16643.
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| May 31, 1816 | Mortgage | The Rev. Nathaniel Whitman Jr., pastor of the church in Billerica (Sarah his wife releasing dower) | Blaney Abbot, Esq., treasurer of the Town of Billerica, and his successors in office | 1816: Whitman's mortgage to the town; town enters 1836; discharged 1839 | 216/419 (South) |
Billerica town book 13, pages 14-16. For $1,400, "a certain farm situate in said Billerica containing thirteen acres be it more or less, with all the buildings thereon standing, except the shoe makers shop," the same bounds (Rev. H. Cummings, Concord River, Capt. S. Parker, the road), void if $1,400 with interest was paid by May 3, 1817. Dated May 3, 1816. Margin: an assignment to the town at Book 360, Page 27. Appended: on December 12, 1836 the inhabitants of the town, assignees of the mortgage, by Marshall Preston, chairman of the town's committee, took "open and peaceable possession" for the purpose of foreclosing (recorded Jan 2, 1837); and on April 1, 1839 John Baldwin, town treasurer, acknowledged "full satisfaction" and released the mortgage, the day George Bacon gave the town a new mortgage.
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| 1816 | Warranty Deed | Col. John Parker of Billerica, Esquire (Susanna his wife releasing dower) | The Rev. Nathaniel Whitman Jr., junior pastor of the church in Billerica | 1816: Col. John Parker sells the farm to the Rev. Nathaniel Whitman | 269/451 (South) |
Billerica town book 13, pages 446-448. "In consideration of sixteen hundred and fifty dollars," "a certain farm situate in said Billerica containing thirteen acres be it more or less with all the buildings thereon standing, Except the Shoemakers' shop": from the corner of the wall by land of the Rev. H. Cumings, westerly as the wall stands to Concord River, northerly by the river eleven rods to stake and stones by land of Capt. S. Parker, easterly as the fence stands to the road about 209 rods, southerly by the road eleven rods to the first corner. Full warranty. Dated May 3, 1816 (witnesses Samuel Whiting, Margaret Bradley), the same day Whitman mortgaged the farm to the town; not recorded until September 1826. No title recital.
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| December 11, 1837 | Warranty Deed | Stephen Parker of Billerica, gentleman, and Sibel his wife | His brother John Parker of Billerica, Esq. | 1819: Stephen Parker to Col. John Parker, the land north of Whitman's line | 368/529 (South) |
For $1,200, "the following described piece of land containing five acres & the same more or less," beginning "at an Elm tree near the said John Parker's dwelling house," westerly by John Parker's land about twenty rods to a stone wall running south, southerly by the wall seven or eight rods, westerly again by John Parker's land about twenty rods, southerly by Stephen Parker's land about eighteen rods to land of the Revd. Nathl. Whitman, easterly by Whitman "by the wall as it now stands to the road leading south from the meeting house" about forty rods, and by the road to the beginning, "the said piece of land being now enclosed with a stone wall all round with all the buildings thereon standing." Dated Oct. 13, 1819, witnessed by M. Preston and Elizabeth Parker, acknowledged Oct. 30, 1819 before Blaney Abbot, recorded Dec. 11, 1837. By 1819 John Parker Jr. was living in the Ruggles house; this completed the twelve-acre house lot of his will. On the same page is Stephen's 1829 release to John of half the "City Farm." Billerica town book 15, pages 487-488.
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| 1832 | Will | John Parker of Billerica (d. 1832) | His wife Susan Parker and daughter Ann Parker; other children and grandchildren | 1832: Col. John Parker's will; the house lot south to Whitman, later Ann Parker's | Probate #16646 |
Will dated Dec. 20, 1831: to his wife Susan Parker "two undivided third parts of my House Lot in Billerica, consisting of about twelve acres of land, with a Dwelling House, Barn & outbuildings thereon: bounded easterly on the road, southerly on land of the Rev. N. Whitman, westerly on land of Gardner Parker, and northerly on land late of Stephen Parker & Samuel Foster to said road," with a wood lot and the Oliver Abbot lot for life; to his daughter Ann Parker "one undivided third part of my House Lot containing about twelve acres of land, with Dwelling House, Barn & out buildings"; to his son David half the tanyard; to his daughter Maria, wife of Marshall Preston, the Minister Lot; to his grandsons Francis James Parker, Charles Henry Parker and Frederic Augustus Parker and granddaughter Henrietta Parker, other land and money; son-in-law Marshall Preston executor. Witnesses Phineas How, Tilly Merrick and Nathan Brooks. Proved at Lowell June 5, 1832. Middlesex probate case 16646.
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| December 8, 1838 | Quitclaim | The Rev. Nathaniel Whitman of Wilton, Hillsborough County, N.H., clerk (Sarah Whitman releasing) | John Baldwin, Esq., and Henry Baldwin, gentleman, both of Billerica | 1838: Whitman quitclaims the farm to John and Henry Baldwin | 379/125 (South) |
Billerica town book 14, pages 567-568. For $100, quitclaim of "a certain farm situate in said Billerica containing thirteen acres more or less with all the buildings thereon standing": from the corner of the wall by land of Francis Richardson, westerly to Concord River, northerly by the river eleven rods to land late of Capt. Stephen Parker deceased, easterly by the Parker land "and land of the heirs of Col. John Parker deceased" about 209 rods "to the road leading from Billerica to Bedford," southerly by the road eleven rods; "the same being subject to a Mortgage given by me to Blaney Abbot Esqr. Treasurer of said town ... to secure the payment of Fourteen hundred Dollars dated May 3d 1816." Dated April 9, 1838, acknowledged at Hillsborough April 19, 1838.
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| 1838 | Quitclaim | John Baldwin and Henry Baldwin of Billerica, gentlemen (Clarissa and Anne Baldwin releasing dower) | George Bacon of Woburn, yeoman | 1838: the Baldwins quitclaim it to George Bacon | 379/126 (South) |
Billerica town book 14, pages 568-569. For $100, quitclaim of "a certain farm situate in said Billerica containing thirteen acres more or less with all the buildings thereon standing," the same bounds (Francis Richardson, Concord River, late Capt. Stephen Parker and the heirs of Col. John Parker, about 209 rods "to the Road leading from Billerica to Bedford"), "subject to a Mortgage given by Revd Nathaniel Whitman to Blaney Abbot Esqr. Treasurer of said Town ... $1400 dated May 3d 1816." Covenant against their own encumbrances only. Dated November 13, 1838 (witnesses Marshall Preston, Charles Goodwin); recorded in December 1838 with the Whitman quitclaim. MACRIS dates this purchase 1836, the year the town entered for possession.
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| 1839 | Mortgage | George Bacon of Billerica, yeoman (Sophronia Bacon releasing dower) | John Baldwin, Esq., treasurer of the Town of Billerica, and his successors in office | 1839: Bacon's mortgage to the town | 385/433 (South) |
Billerica town book 14, pages 554-556. "In consideration of Fourteen Hundred Dollars," mortgage of "a certain farm situate in said Billerica containing thirteen acres more or less": from the corner at land of Capt. Francis Richardson, westerly by Richardson to Concord River, northerly by the river eleven rods to land of the late Capt. Stephen Parker, easterly by the heirs' land and land of Susan and Ann Parker to the Concord road, southerly by the road; void if $1,400 was paid in one year with interest at six percent. Dated April 1, 1839, the day the town discharged Whitman's 1816 mortgage: Bacon took over the town's loan on the farm. The index gives the discharge in 1842 (Book 394, Page 182).
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| 1841 | Will | Susan Parker of Billerica, widow of John Parker | Her son George Parker; her daughter Maria Preston | 1841: will of Susan Parker | Probate #38954 |
Will dated Oct. 11, 1841: to "my son George Parker, two undivided third parts of the Homestead where I now live, consisting of about twelve acres of land, with a Dwelling house, barn and out buildings thereon, bounded Easterly on the road, Southerly on land of George Bacon, westerly on land of Gardner Parker and Northerly on land of said Gardner Parker, and of Samuel Foster, to said road"; to "Ann Parker the daughter of my late Husband, John Parker," a wood lot for life and furniture; the residue to her daughter Maria Preston, wife of Marshall Preston, the executor. Witnesses Thomas Shed, Chas. E. Parker and Mary Wilson. Proved at Concord Nov. 9, 1841, with George Parker's assent. Middlesex probate case 38954.
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| April 14, 1842 | Deed | George Parker of Clinton, Oneida County, N.Y., merchant, and Catharine Ann his wife | Marshall Preston of Billerica, Esq., and Maria Preston his wife, as joint tenants | 1842: George Parker sells his two thirds of the homestead to the Prestons | 414/358 (South) |
For $2,000, "two undivided third parts of a certain messuage the homestead of the late Susan Parker deceased mother of the said George and Maria situate in said Billerica containing twelve acres more or less," bounded easterly on the Concord road and the Common, southerly by George Bacon, westerly by Gardner Parker, and northerly on the widow Sybil Parker's dower land, Capt. Samuel Foster, the heirs of Doct. Wm. Bowers and in part the Billerica Academy, "being the same devised to me in the last will & testament of my said mother." Dated March 22, 1842, witnessed by John Baldwin, John Baldwin Jr. and Rufus Mills, acknowledged the same day, recorded April 14, 1842. Billerica town book 17, pages 275-276.
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| September 30, 1842 | Mortgage | Ann Parker of Billerica, singlewoman | Marshall Preston of Billerica, Esq. | 1842: Ann Parker's mortgage of the homestead | 416/559 (South) |
Billerica town book 17, pages 310-311. Dated September 9, 1842, the day the Prestons conveyed their two thirds to her (S.421/4). For $2,000, mortgage of "a certain tract or parcel of land situate in said Billerica late the Homestead of Col. John Parker decd and containing twelve acres more or less", from the corner at the Billerica Academy and "the Common so called", south by the Common and "the Concord Road so called to land of George Bacon", west by Bacon to Gardner Parker, and around by the widow Sybil Parker's dower, Capt. Samuel Foster, the heirs of Dr. William Bowers, the horse stables and the Academy lot back to the Common. To be void if $2,000 with interest is paid within five years. Discharged by Preston, "received full satisfaction", October 20, 1846 (recorded November 24, 1846).
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| October 11, 1842 | Warranty Deed | Marshall Preston of Billerica, Esq., and Maria Preston his wife in her right as joint tenant | Ann Parker of Billerica, singlewoman | 1842: the Prestons sell the two thirds to Ann Parker | 421/4 (South) |
For $2,000, "two undivided third parts of a certain tract or parcel of land situate in said Billerica late the homestead of Col. John Parker deceased & containing twelve acres more or less," from the northeast corner at the Billerica Academy and the Common, southerly by the Common and the Concord road to George Bacon, westerly by Bacon to Gardner Parker, northerly by Gardner Parker to the widow Sybil Parker's dower, then by the dower, Capt. Samuel Foster and the heirs of Wm. Bowers to the horse stables, and by the stables and the Academy land back to the Common. Dated Sept. 9, 1842, witnessed by Lovice M. Preston and John Baldwin, recorded Oct. 11, 1842. With her own third under her father's will, Ann Parker now owned the whole house lot. Billerica town book 17, pages 388-389.
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| May 10, 1844 | Release | Marshall Preston of Billerica, Esq., and Maria Preston his wife | Ann Parker of Billerica, singlewoman | 1844: Preston releases "her Whitman Lot" | 442/272 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 538-539. Dated April 1, 1844, acknowledged April 3 before Dudley Foster. For $1, Preston remises and quitclaims "all my right title and interest in and to a certain tract of land situate in said Billerica called her Whitman Lot containing four acres more or less": from the northeast corner "at the Concord road so called at the corner of the wall nearly opposite the dwelling house of Cornelius Sweetser", west by the stone wall to Gardner Parker, south by Parker to George Bacon, east by Bacon to the Concord road, and by the road back to the corner. Maria Preston releases dower. A partial release of the 1842 mortgage, signed the same day Ann Parker began selling the Whitman lot in house lots.
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| May 10, 1844 | Warranty Deed | Ann Parker of Billerica, singlewoman | George Bacon of Billerica, yeoman | 1844: Ann Parker sells lot 1 of her Whitman lot to George Bacon | 442/274 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 539-541. For a sum faint in the copy (apparently two hundred and thirty-six dollars), "a certain tract or parcel of land situate in said Billerica being a part of my Whitman lot so called containing about forty four square rods": from the southwest corner at land of said Bacon, northerly by land "this day conveyed to Revd Benjamin Knight" about 114 feet to the centre of a passage way "as marked on a chalk Plan of my said Whitman lot drawn by George W. Randall dated April 1, 1844," then about 120 feet to the Concord road, southerly by the road about 108 1/2 feet to Bacon's land and westerly by it about 96 feet; "reserving a strip of land twenty five feet in width across the northerly end ... to be used as a public pass way forever," "being lot numbered one on said chalk Plan." Dated April 1, 1844. This is the "Ann Parker lot" of all later deeds; the house stands across its line with the farm.
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| November 8, 1848 | Warranty Deed | George Bacon of Billerica, yeoman (Sophronia Bacon releasing dower) | George H. Whitman of Boston, Esquire | 1848: Bacon sells the fourteen acres and the Ann Parker lot to George H. Whitman | 544/437 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 152-154. "In consideration of four thousand and three hundred dollars," "a certain parcel of land situated in said Billerica containing fourteen acres more or less, with the buildings thereon": from the corner at land of William Mann and "the road leading from Billerica to Bedford," westerly by Mann to Concord river, northerly by the river eleven rods to land of the late Stephen Parker, easterly by Parker and land of Ambrose F. Page, John Brown "and my 'Ann Parker's' land" about 209 rods to the road, southerly by the road; "Also another parcel ... adjoining to the above premises called my 'Ann Parker lot', containing about forty four square rods," with the 25-foot passageway reserved. Dated November 6, 1848 (witnesses Marshall Preston, Susan M. Bacon). No title recital. MACRIS gives 1849.
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| November 8, 1848 | Mortgage | George H. Whitman of Boston, Esquire | George Bacon of Billerica, yeoman | 1848: Whitman's mortgage back to Bacon, discharged 1853 | 544/439 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 154-156. For $1,500, mortgage of the same fourteen acres "with the buildings thereon" and the "Ann Parker lot," "being the same premises this day conveyed to me by the said Bacon," void if $1,500 was paid in four years with interest. Dated November 6, 1848. Discharged at Billerica February 1, 1853 by George Bacon "for full payment of the note and interest."
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| July 17, 1926 | Administrator's Deed | John H. Pearson, administrator of the estate of Susanna T. Whitman, late of Billerica | William H. Smith and Maud G. Smith, his wife, as tenants by the entirety | 1926: Susanna T. Whitman's administrator sells to William H. and Maud G. Smith | 738/525 |
"By the power conferred by the license granted by the Probate Court for the County of Middlesex, June 2, 1926," for the consideration stated in the license, "A certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon ... containing fourteen (14) acres," bounded by William Mann and "the road leading from Billerica to Bedford," the Concord River (eleven rods), the late Stephen Parker, Ambrose F. Page, John Brown "and my Ann Parker land" (about 209 rods), and the road; also "my 'Ann Parker Lot'" of about 44 square rods, with the 25-foot passageway. "Being the premises granted to George H. Whitman by George Bacon by deed dated November 6, 1848 ... Book 544, Page 437; said Susanna T. Whitman being the daughter of said George H. Whitman." Dated July 13, 1926.
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| September 11, 1945 | Quitclaim | William H. Smith and Maude G. Smith of Billerica, husband and wife | Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole | 1945: the Smiths sell the house and five acres to the Archbishop of Boston (rectory) | 1029/219 |
For consideration paid, "the land with the buildings thereon" containing five acres: from the corner at William Mann and the road from Billerica to Bedford, by Mann to Parker Road (about 1,410 feet), by Parker Road about 165 feet, by the late Stephen Parker, Ambrose F. Page, John Brown and other land of the grantors about 1,410 feet back to Concord Road, and by the road; also "My Ann Parker Lot," 44 square rods, with the 25-foot passageway. "Conveyed to us by deed of John H. Pearson, Administrator of the Estate of Susanna T. Whitman dated July 13, 1926 ... Book 738, Page 525." Dated September 10, 1945. The Smiths kept the rest of the fourteen acres west of Parker Road; the house became the rectory of St. Theresa's parish.
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| August 22, 1985 | Quitclaim | Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole (by Bernard Cardinal Law) | A private owner | 1985: the Archbishop sells to a private owner; later private sales | 3149/22 |
For $125,000, "the land with the buildings thereon," five acres between Concord Road and Parker Road, and the adjoining "Ann Parker lot" of about 44 square rods with the 25-foot passageway, property address 33 Concord Road; "Meaning to convey all the land lying between the road from Billerica to Bedford, now called Concord Road and Parker Road," conveyed by William H. and Maud G. Smith, September 10, 1945 (Book 1029, Page 219). Dated August 6, 1985; the same day the archbishop sold the former Baptist church next door. In 1992 the land was subdivided (Plan Book 177, Plan 135, the house on Lot 1A, 0.923 acres); the house was sold by private owners in 1993, 1996, 1997, 2017 and 2025 (Book 6511, Page 183; 8370/198; 8560/131; 30830/156; 39542/264).
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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.