Structure · Built 1852 · Demolished 1961
Ephraim Crosby House
The Ephraim Crosby House stood east of Baldwin Road in the south part of Billerica, between the road and the Shawsheen River, on land that is now lot 83 of the Castlewood East subdivision at 1 Kensington Drive. The 1853 Walling map marks it "J. Crosby", a short walk from the Ephraim Crosby Jr. House and the Samuel Baldwin House. The house was gone by the time the subdivision was built in 1962.
The homestead was Ephraim Crosby's. On April 22, 1793 he divided his farm between his sons. To John Crosby (born 1765) he sold, for 250 pounds, "the first lot ... on which my dwelling house stands", beginning at the highway "between my two houses", running to the Shawsheen and to "Colledge farm, so called", and bounded by "the highway leading from my house to the meeting house", with half the wood lot by the Cove and "one half of my new dwelling house and one half of the barn". The same day Ephraim Jr. received the neighbouring house and land, which Ephraim sold in 1815 to Solomon Cutter and which became the Cutter farm. The two deeds were not recorded until 1807 and 1809.
John Crosby died without a will before May 1834. A petition for administration of his estate, brought in 1835 by the guardian of two Kendall children whose guardian he had been, was dismissed, and instead his daughters Abigail (wife of Jeremiah Rogers of Andover) and Harriot released to their brother John all their rights in "the lands, tenements and hereditaments" of their father in Billerica and Saugus. This second John Crosby (born 1805), who married Isabella H. Goodwin, is the "J. Crosby" of the 1853 map. He enlarged the farm with purchases from relatives and neighbours in the 1830s and 1840s and borrowed against it repeatedly; his mortgage of 1860 to John Aiken lists his titles back to "Ephraim Crosby to his son John Crosby", 1793. In 1868 he sold the adjoining Gleason homestead on the Wilmington road to his son Francis L. Crosby, describing it as bounded by "land of my own".
The mortgages were assigned and foreclosed, and the Crosby lands came to Cornelius Sweetser of Saco, Maine, who sold them in 1875 to Ruel Carter, Henry Sheldon and James T. Eames, of Woburn, Wilmington and North Reading. When they divided the purchase in April 1876, they sold "about one hundred and two" acres "with the barn thereon standing", south of "the highway leading to the village" (Baldwin Road), to Mary E. Crosby, Francis L. Crosby's wife, keeping the standing wood for two years. Its bounds ran around "land of John Crosby" on several sides, "as the fences now are", so John Crosby kept part of the family land for himself. Francis and Mary Crosby mortgaged the farm back to the sellers the same day. The mortgage passed to the Bailey family, and in June 1892 Phebe J. Bailey had the farm sold at auction on the premises; the buyer, George H. Towle of Boston, deeded it straight back to her.
Phebe Bailey sold the farm in January 1893 to Olive M. Sanders, and in December 1893 Mrs. Sanders sold it to William H. Lewis of Malden. The Lewis family held it until 1931, when the administrator of William H. Lewis sold the 102 acres to Nykolai and Sofijoe (Nicholas and Sophie) Pickowicz, who were gathering the farms along Baldwin Road. Every deed from 1876 to 1962 repeats the old bounds by "land formerly of John Crosby", long after the Crosbys had left.
In May 1962 the Pichowiczes sold the farm with five other parcels to Roberts Homes, Inc. of Concord, which laid out Castlewood East (Plan Book 96, Plan 120). Lot 83 on Kensington Drive was sold in 1967 to Yvon Cormier Construction Corp., which sold it with a house in 1968; it has since changed hands among private owners.
References
- Billerica assessor, 1 Kensington Dr (account 6791, parcel 54-42-0): Castlewood East lot 83, 0.689 acres, house of about 1962, sales history.
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register: Crosby 16 (Ephraim), 28 (John, b. 1765) and 34 (John, b. 1805, m. Isabella H. Goodwin; son Francis Lyman).
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| December 18, 1807 | Deed | Ephraim Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | His son John Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | Ephraim Crosby deeds his dwelling house lot to his son John, 1793 | 177/230 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 84-86. April 22, 1793, acknowledged April 30, 1793 before Jonathan Brown, recorded Dec. 18, 1807, for 250 pounds, "several lots of land": "the first lot is that on which my dwelling house stands", beginning by the highway "between my two houses", east on land "I have this day deeded to Ephraim Crosby junior", by John Baldwin, the Shawsheen River, Samuel Richardson, Reuben Kendall, "Colledge farm, so called", Major Crosby and "the highway leading from my house to the meeting house"; a piece east of the road to John Baldwin's; and the east half of the wood lot by Isaac Marshall and the Cove; "likewise one half of my new dwelling house and one half of the barn, they being and standing on the first mentioned lot". Witnesses Ephraim Crosby Jr. and Jonathan Brown. Earliest record of the homestead found.
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| February 17, 1835 | Quitclaim | Jeremiah Rogers of Andover, yeoman, Abigail C. Rogers his wife in her right, and Harriot Crosby of Billerica, singlewoman | Their brother John Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | heirs of John Crosby Sr. release to John Jr., 1834 | 338/477 (South) |
Billerica town book 15, pages 46-47. May 10, 1834, acknowledged in Essex Feb. 16, 1835, recorded Feb. 17, 1835, for one dollar, all their right "in and to all and singular the lands, tenements and hereditaments of which John Crosby father of said Abigail and Harriot late of said Billerica deceased seized and possessed" in Billerica and in Saugus, and their claim on his personal estate as heirs. With no administration granted (probate 5346), the son gathered the homestead by releases from his sisters.
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| 1835 | Administration | Estate of John Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | Petition of Samuel Brown 2d, guardian of Cyrus and Jerome Kendall | John Crosby Sr. died intestate; administration petition dismissed 1835 | Probate #5346 |
Feb. 9, 1835: John Crosby "late of said Billerica, yeoman, deceased ... within a year last past, died intestate, possessed of goods and estate remaining to be administered"; he had been guardian of the Kendall minors and had not settled his account, and the widow and next of kin had not taken administration. Order of notice Feb. 10, 1835. Feb. 17, 1835 "John Crosby, a son, appears"; April 14, 1835 no one appearing, "the same is dismissed". No administration was granted.
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| 1860 | Mortgage | John Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | John Aiken of Boston, gentleman | John Crosby Jr. mortgages the Crosby lands, 1860 | 26/318 |
Nov. 30, 1860, for $1,047.55, repayable in one year at six per cent, "the following several parcels of land" described in his 1857 mortgage to Artemas R. Holden: the premises conveyed to him by Lyman Haynes (1848), Josiah B. Gleason (1843), Isaac Flint (1835), Haslet McKay (1846), Oliver Crosby (1835), Abner Shed, administrator (1843), Marshall Preston (1840), and Ephraim Crosby (1813, 1817, and "Ephraim Crosby to his son John Crosby", 1793), with "the Marshall farm"; the buildings to be kept insured. One of the mortgages under which Cornelius Sweetser later took the Crosby lands.
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| March 28, 1868 | Warranty Deed | John Crosby of Billerica, yeoman, unmarried | Francis L. Crosby of Billerica | John Crosby sells the adjoining Gleason farm to his son, 1868 | 60/552 |
Dated Mar. 9, 1868. For $2,500, land "with the buildings thereon": the 91 3/4 acres, bounded northwest by the river "to land of my own" and northeast "by my own land and partly by road leading to Tewksbury," "with the dwelling house and barn thereon standing, being the homestead formerly of Wm. Gleason," and the ten acres, "being the same premises conveyed to me by Gustavus L. West's deed dated April 23rd 1867 ... Book 56, Page 249," subject to mortgages of $2,073 (John B. Cross $1,450, George V. Leicester $623). Witness Dudley Foster.
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| June 2, 1875 | Warranty Deed | Cornelius Sweetser of Saco, Maine | Ruel Carter of Woburn, Henry Sheldon of Wilmington and James T. Eames of North Reading | Crosby lands sold after foreclosure, 1875 | 110/364 |
Signed about June 1, 1875, recorded June 2, 1875, for $9,000, "all those several tracts, lots or parcels of land situated in Billerica" described in John Crosby's mortgages (to the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, Daniel Sumner, Zadok Howe, Sewall Stearns, Marshall Preston, Artemas R. Holden, Abraham Woods, John M. Read, John Baldwin, Haslet McKay and John Aiken, Book 26, Page 318) and in the 1866 deeds to Sweetser (Book 48, Pages 124 and 126), which Sweetser had acquired "under and by force of the above named mortgages, the assignments and foreclosures thereof and the deeds."
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| April 29, 1876 | Warranty Deed | Ruel Carter of Woburn, Henry Sheldon of Wilmington and James T. Eames of North Reading (wives releasing) | Mary E. Crosby of Billerica, wife of Francis L. Crosby, "in her own right" | the 102-acre Crosby farm to Mary E. Crosby, 1876 | 117/223 |
April 28, 1876, recorded April 29, 1876, for $2,557.50, "a certain lot of land with the barn thereon standing situate in the southerly part of Billerica ... containing about one hundred and two 30/160 acres": from the northwest corner on the south side of "the highway leading to the village" at the Edmunds heirs, by John Baldwin's heirs and "our other land" to John Crosby, by Crosby to Perkins Holden, "sixty five feet by land of John Crosby", by the river, "westerly, northerly, easterly and southerly by said Crosby's land as the fences now are to the river again", by the river and Joel Baldwin, and "zigzag" by Crosby to the highway. "Reserving all the wood on the above described lot" except what Eames allowed the grantee, with two years from Oct. 1, 1876 to cut it, and all existing rights of way. No title recital (part of the land of N.110/364).
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| April 29, 1876 | Mortgage | Francis L. Crosby of Billerica and Mary E. Crosby his wife, in her own right | Ruel Carter, Henry Sheldon and James T. Eames | Crosby mortgage, 1876 | 117/225 |
April 28, 1876, recorded April 29, 1876, for $2,257, the same lot of 102 30/160 acres "with the buildings thereon standing", same bounds. Assigned in 1878 to Jennie G. Bailey and later held by Phebe J. Bailey, who foreclosed in 1892 (margin: see Book 234, Pages 270 and 272).
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| September 16, 1878 | Assignment of Mortgage | Ruel Carter of Woburn, Henry Sheldon of Wilmington and James T. Eames of North Reading | Jennie G. Bailey of Billerica, wife of John M. Bailey | mortgage assigned to Jennie G. Bailey, 1878 | 131/22 |
July 27, 1878, recorded Sept. 16, 1878, for $2,035, assignment of the mortgage given by Francis L. Crosby and Mary E. Crosby his wife in her right on April 28, 1876 (Book 117, Page 225), with the note and the land.
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| July 11, 1892 | Foreclosure Deed | Phebe J. Bailey, assignee of the mortgage of Francis L. and Mary E. Crosby | George H. Towle of Boston | foreclosure sale, 1892 | 234/270 |
June 15, 1892, acknowledged at Lowell July 5, 1892, recorded July 11, 1892, for $1,500: under the power of sale in the 1876 Crosby mortgage, "duly assigned to Phebe J. Bailey", after notice in the Lowell Morning Times on May 14, 21 and 28, 1892, sold at auction on the premises on Monday, June 13, 1892 by Charles F. Hartshorne, auctioneer, to Towle, the highest bidder: "a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon standing, situated in the southerly part of Billerica containing about one hundred and two" acres, same bounds by the Edmunds heirs, John Crosby, Perkins Holden, the river and Joel Baldwin, "reserving all rights of way now existing across the above lot". Affidavit of sale on page 272.
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| July 11, 1892 | Quitclaim | George H. Towle of Boston | Phebe J. Bailey of Billerica, wife of John M. Bailey | Towle to Phebe J. Bailey, 1892 | 234/273 |
Recorded with the foreclosure deed, for $1,500, Towle "do hereby remise, release and forever quitclaim" the same lot to Phebe J. Bailey, so that the mortgage holder took the farm through the auction buyer.
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| January 19, 1893 | Warranty Deed | Phebe J. Bailey of Billerica, wife of John M. Bailey, in her own right (husband releasing) | Olive M. Sanders of Billerica | Bailey to Olive M. Sanders, 1893 | 240/178 |
Jan. 4, 1893, acknowledged before Dudley Foster, recorded Jan. 19, 1893, for $1,500, "a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon standing situated in the southerly part of Billerica ... containing about one hundred and two acres and 30 rods", the 1876 bounds (the Edmunds heirs on the highway to the village, John Baldwin's heirs, John Crosby "as his fences now stand", Perkins Holden, the river, Joel Baldwin), "reserving all rights of way now existing". No title recital.
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| December 12, 1893 | Warranty Deed | Olive M. Sanders of Saugus, wife of Asbury Sanders, in her own right (husband releasing) | William H. Lewis of Malden | Sanders to William H. Lewis, 1893 | 250/310 |
Dec. 1, 1893, acknowledged at Saugus Dec. 11, recorded Dec. 12, 1893, for one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain lot of land with the buildings standing thereon" in the southerly part of Billerica, "about one hundred and two acres and 30 rods", bounded now "easterly by land of Phebe J. Bailey ... southerly by land of said Bailey to a corner at land of John Crosby", by Perkins Holden, "sixty five feet by land of John Crosby", by "said Crosby land as his fences now stand to the river again", Joel Baldwin and the highway; reserving rights of way. No title recital.
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| December 5, 1931 | Administrator's Deed | William T. Sheppard, administrator of the estate of William H. Lewis | Nykolai and Sofijoe Pickowicz (Nicholas and Sophie Pichowicz) | Lewis estate to Pickowicz, 1931 | 809/491 |
Dec. 4, 1931, recorded Dec. 5, 1931, for $3,000, 102 acres 30 rods in "the southerly part of Billerica" on the south side of the highway leading to the village, bounded by the Edmonds heirs, John Baldwin heirs, Phebe J. Bailey, "land now or formerly of John Crosby", Perkins Holden, the river, "by said Crosby land as his fences now stand to the river again", Joel Baldwin, and "zig zag in course by land now or formerly of said Crosby to said highway". Title from Olive M. Sanders, 1893.
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| December 5, 1931 | Deed | Lizzie J. Lewis | Nykolai and Sofijoe Pickowicz | Lizzie J. Lewis to Pickowicz, 1931 | 809/492 |
Dec. 4, 1931, recorded with the administrator's deed: Lizzie J. Lewis conveys her interest in the same 102-acre Lewis farm on Baldwin Road to the Pickowiczes; the 1962 deed names it with the administrator's deed as the Pichowicz title.
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| May 31, 1962 | Quitclaim Deed | Nicholas Pichowicz (Mike Pickowicz, Nykolai Pickowicz) and Sophie Pichowicz, husband and wife, of Billerica | Roberts Homes, Inc. of Concord | Pichowicz farm to Roberts Homes, Castlewood East, 1962 | 1557/560 |
Pages 560-565. Acknowledged May 1962, recorded May 31, 1962, "for consideration paid", six parcels: meadow and College Farm lots (from Mary A. Lynde), the 20-acre River Lot (from Mary C. Alexander, 1929), the 60-acre Cutter farm (from the Lewis estate, 1943), and FIFTH "a certain lot of land, with the buildings thereon ... about one hundred two acres and thirty rods" on the south side of "the highway leading to the village, now known as Baldwin Road", bounded by "land formerly of John Crosby" on every side but the road and river, being the 1931 Lewis farm, excepting lots sold in 1959 and 1960. Laid out in 1962 as the Castlewood East subdivision.
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| July 24, 1967 | Quitclaim Deed | Roberts Homes, Inc. of Concord (Robert S. Wildes, president and treasurer) | Yvon Cormier Construction Corp. of Burlington | Roberts Homes to Yvon Cormier Construction, 1967 | 1805/237 |
Pages 237-239. July 1967, "for consideration paid", lots 1, 45 and 46 on Baldwin Road (Plan Book 96, Plan 119), lots 47, 48, 80, 81, 82 and 83 on Kensington Drive "as shown on Sheet 3" of the Castlewood East plan (Plan Book 96, Plan 120, May 7, 1962), and lots on Castlewood and Buckingham Drives, with the fee in Kensington Drive opposite lots 47-49 and 80-83. "For title see deed of Nicholas Pichowicz et ux, dated May 29, 1962 ... Book 1557, Page 560." Subject to protective covenants and utility grants.
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| July 3, 1968 | Quitclaim Deed | Yvon Cormier Construction Corp. of Bedford (Yvon Cormier, president) | Private owners | lot 83 to its first private owners, 1968 | 1849/535 |
July 3, 1968, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon being shown as Lot 83 Kensington Drive" on the Castlewood East plan, north by Kensington Drive 150 feet, southwest by lot 84 202.10 feet, south by lots 86 and 87 150 feet, northeast by lot 82 202.10 feet, 30,002 square feet; "For title see deed of Robert Homes Inc. ... Book 1805, Page 237". Later private sales: 1973 for $34,900 (Book 2076, Page 56), 1997, 1998, 2005 and 2019 (current deed).
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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.