First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church
| Address | Salem Rd |
| MACRIS ID | BIL.9 |
| Built | 1830 |
| Moved | 1844 |
| New Address | 29 Concord Rd |
The First Baptist Church of Billerica was the first congregation in town to break away from the old First Parish meeting, which had stood alone for 165 years. Baptists met in the schoolhouse near the Fordway in the spring of 1828 and organized a church of twenty members on September 30, 1828, with Joseph Dows and Amos Spaulding as its first deacons. Before that, Billerica Baptists had driven to South Chelmsford to hear Baptist preaching.
The church first stood by the Middle Bridge. On January 2, 1830, Artemas Rogers, a lawyer in Henniker, N.H., his wife Lydia and her sister Elizabeth Richardson sold the "First Baptist Society in Billerica", for $100, a lot of 9 by 4 rods "near Concord River", on the highway by land of the Widow Frost. They were daughters of Thomas Richardson, who had kept the tavern at the corner until he died in 1828, and the lot was cut from his Tavern at the Corner on the east side of the river. The grant was made "upon condition that said Baptist Society shall use and occupy said land as a building spot for a Meeting house only". The frame was raised on November 30, 1830, and the house was dedicated on September 14, 1831. It was 50 feet long and 40 feet wide, with 48 pews, and could seat 300 people. Members were baptized in the river nearby. The site is the present 2 Salem Road. When the 1836 deeds sold the tavern farm to Anthony Jones, they set aside the meetinghouse site. After the building was moved away, the society's committee, Amos and Edward Spalding and George C. Gilman, released the empty lot "near the corner bridge" to Jones for $5 on April 6, 1865, and it became part of the farm again.
The present site, the lot at 29 Concord Road, was once part of the homestead of the Rev. Samuel Ruggles (1712-1749), which later became the house lot of John Parker next to the Samuel Ruggles House. Parker's 1831 will left one third of his twelve-acre house lot, "southerly on land of the Rev. N. Whitman", to his daughter Ann Parker. Her stepmother Susan Parker's two thirds passed to Susan's son George and then to Marshall Preston and his wife Maria, and Ann bought them from the Prestons on September 9, 1842, and mortgaged the twelve acres to Preston the same day. On April 1, 1844 Preston released "her Whitman Lot", four acres at the south end of the homestead. That same day Ann Parker sold its "north east corner lot", 66 square rods, for $200 to "Amos Spaulding and Edward Spaulding ... Deacons of the Baptist Church of the first Baptist Society in Billerica", to hold for the church. The lot was marked out on "a chalk plan of my said Whitman lot sketched and drawn by George W. Randall", who had been the church's minister in 1841-1842. It measured about 125 feet on Concord Road and 150 feet deep, and a 25-foot strip across its south end was kept open as a way for the buyers of the other Whitman lots. That strip is the line of Pages Court, where houses went up on the other lots in 1844-1846. Every later deed down to 1998 repeated these bounds word for word.
In the spring of 1844, after a dispute in the congregation, the meetinghouse was hauled from the river to its new lot on what Hazen called Bedford Street, facing the Common. By local tradition it took 120 oxen and help from Lowell, and the building slid into a ditch on the way. A bell was hung in 1872 and a chapel was added at the rear in 1877. In 1869 twenty-two members left to form the Baptist church at North Billerica. The deacons held the land for the church until June 22, 1890, when Deacons Peter B. Bohonan and W. Wayland Wilson deeded it to the newly incorporated First Baptist Church in Billerica.
After the Baptists left, the building passed to the Grange, then by foreclosure to a savings bank, and then to the Catholic Church. As the congregation dwindled, the church voted on January 9, 1924 to give "all property of said Church" to the Massachusetts Baptist Convention, and it deeded the meetinghouse to the Convention on April 24, 1924. On April 8, 1925, the Convention sold "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" to the Billerica Grange No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry. The Grange paid for it with a $2,000 mortgage to J. Eva Towle and refinanced in 1926 with the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank. The Grange did not keep up the payments. The bank entered the premises and sold them at auction on March 3, 1939, buying them itself for $1,000. On June 7, 1939 it sold the "property in Billerica formerly belonging to the Billerica Grange" to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston. The Catholic Church added stained-glass windows and a single central entrance and used the building as a mission chapel of St. Andrew's parish in North Billerica, and later as a parish hall.
In August 1985 the Archdiocese sold the building to a private owner for $80,000. The new owner turned it into a rooming house with five bedrooms, re-sided it in 1989 and rebuilt the steeple after a fire in 1996. It was sold again in 1998 and is now an apartment house on a lot of 0.413 acres. It is part of the Billerica Town Common National Register district (1973) and the local historic district, and has been protected by a preservation restriction since 2004.
The deeds correct the MACRIS survey on several points. Its date of "c. 1828" is the year the church was organized; the meetinghouse was framed in 1830. The deeds show that the Grange bought the building in 1925 from the Massachusetts Baptist Convention, not in 1923 from the congregation, and that the Catholic Church bought it from the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank after the Grange lost it to foreclosure in 1939.
References
- MACRIS BIL.9
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 302: the first Baptist meeting-house "on the east side of Concord River, very near the middle bridge"
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| July 31, 1713 | Deed | John Rogers Jr. of Billerica | The Rev. Samuel Ruggles of Billerica | Ruggles homestead; the church lot was later cut from its south end | 16/343 (South) |
For 26 pounds, "one Messuage or Tenement situate in Billerica abovesaid Containing about nine acres be it more or less, bounded on the East by the High way, on the North by the Land of Samuel Ruggles & Enoch Kidder, on the West by the Land of Nathaniel Rogers, and on the South by the Land of Saml. ffassett with all the buildings, with all the Fences and Trees thereon standing (Excepting Nathaniel Rogers his orchard which is Contained within the bounds abovesaid)." Dated Dec. 8, 1712 (11 Anne), signed by the mark of John Rogers Jr., witnessed by Samuel Fassett, Thomas Ball and Jacob Danforth; acknowledged Jan. 16, 1712/13 before Jonathan Tyng; recorded at Charlestown July 31, 1713. Ruggles, the town's second minister, already owned the land to the north; with this purchase his homestead ran along the road south from the meeting house to the Fassett (later Danforth) line, the sixteen acres "Bounded Easterly on the Country Road ... westerly on Land of Capt. Enoch Kidder" of his 1749 inventory. Billerica town book 1, pages 518-519.
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| 1747 | Administration and Division | Estate of Thomas Patten of Billerica, cooper, intestate | William Patten, eldest son (the homestead); Thomas Patten, second son (18 acres); the widow Hannah (later Hannah Stickney) and the other children | Patten division: the eighteen acres north of the Bridge Lane, later the Richardson tavern farm | Probate #17031 |
Thomas Patten died in 1747; Jeremiah Abbot, then the widow Hannah, administered. The inventory of Oct. 28, 1747 begins with "the Home Stead About Twenty Seven acres & three quarters with the Buildings thereon standing bounded East & North by the high way west by Concord River & South by the land of Oliver Farmer," 1,100 pounds old tenor, with 18 acres near it by Ensign Sheds land, also running to the river. The accounts of 1749 pay for 132 squares of glass, window frames, boards and clapboards "all used about ye house." The real estate inventory of Feb. 4, 1754 describes "the Homestead Containing about forty one acres Bounded East and north on the Road that leads from Billerica to Chelmsford, west on Concord River, South on the Land of Oliver Farmer ... Together with all the buildings," and the committee settled it on William, the eldest son, the 18 acres north of "the Bridge Lane" going to the second son Thomas. Papers read, pages 2-17.
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| 1749 | Will and Inventory | Rev. Samuel Ruggles of Billerica, clerk | His sons Joseph Ruggles and William Ruggles; his daughters | Rev. Samuel Ruggles estate (the sixteen-acre homestead) | Probate #19569 |
Will dated June 29, 1748: to "my Beloved Son Joseph Ruggles the one half of my house viz. that half which stands towards the south," half the barn and yard and about seven or eight acres "lying between my Orchard and Mr. Jacob Danforth's land," with his silver tankard, Joseph to pay the debts and be sole executor; to his son William Ruggles "the other half of my house & barn and the other part of my Homestead Land," reserving to his daughters Lucy and Sarah the right to live in the north chamber while single; bequests to his daughters Elizabeth Rogers (wife of Rev. Daniel Rogers of Littleton), Martha (wife of John Whiting of Littleton), Dorothy (wife of Rev. Mr. Morrill of Wilmington), Lucy and Sarah Ruggles, and the sale of his "Negrowoman (Phillis)" with the money divided among three daughters. Witnesses Joshua Abbott, Jacob Danforth and John Chandler. The inventory of April 1749 lists his library at 228 pounds and, last, "the Real Estate to about Sixteen acres of Land Consisting of pasturing mowing & orcharding Bounded Easterly on the Country Road Northerly on a high way westerly on Land of Capt. Enoch Kidder Southerly on land of Lt. Jacob Danforth together with a Large Mansion House and other the Buildings thereon standing," at 2,300 pounds old tenor. Middlesex probate case 19569.
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| 1754 | Deed | William Ruggles of Billerica, clothier | His brother Joseph Ruggles of Billerica | Ruggles homestead, half to Joseph Ruggles | 53/455 (South) |
For 146 pounds 13 shillings 8 pence, "a Certain peice or parcel of Land & orcharding ... Containing by Estimation Eight acres," bounded northerly on a highway, easterly on a highway and Joseph Ruggles's land, southerly on Ruggles's land and westerly on land of Capt. Enoch Kidder, "together with the one half of a Mansion house & Barn being premises that were given to me the said William Ruggles in my Honrd Father's Last will & testament." Dated 1754 and recorded 1756 (per the index). With this deed Joseph Ruggles, who already had the south half of the house under the will, owned the whole house. Billerica town book 5, pages 365-366.
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| July 14, 1756 | Deed | Joseph Ruggles of Billerica, clothier, and Sarah his wife | The Rev. Daniel Rogers of Littleton, clerk | Ruggles homestead sold to Rev. Daniel Rogers | 54/451 (South) |
For 266 pounds 13 shillings 4 pence, "a Tract of Land lying in Billerica aforesaid near the Meeting House containing twelve acres be it more or less consisting of Orcharding Plowland Mowing and Pasturage with the Buildings thereon Viz. a Dwelling House which was my Father Ruggles's in which I now dwell also a Barn and a Shop," beginning at a stake and stones at the southeast corner of Mr. John Chandler's land, southerly by the Common and highway to the southeast corner, westerly by land of David and Timothy Danforth to the wall at a corner of Capt. Enoch Kidder's lot, then northerly, easterly and northerly by Kidder's land, and easterly by Mr. Chandler's land to the beginning; Sarah released dower. Dated Nov. 13, 1755, witnessed by Saml. Whiting and Oliver Abbot, acknowledged the same day before Thos. Kidder, recorded at Cambridge July 14, 1756. Rogers, minister of Littleton, was married to Joseph's sister Elizabeth. How the house then came to John Parker the tanner is not recorded: no deed from Rogers is in the Billerica books, and the inventory of Rogers's estate in 1782 lists land only in Littleton and Cambridge. Billerica town book 5, pages 393-395.
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| June 28, 1769 | Deed | Thomas Patten of Boston, sadler | Isaac Foster of Billerica, joiner | tavern farm to Isaac Foster | 69/331 (South) |
For 68 pounds 2 shillings 4 pence, "a certain Tract of Land consisting both of upland and Meadow situate in Billerica ... lying on the East side of Concord River it being part of the Estate of Mr. Thomas Patten late of Billerica dec'd containing by estimation eighteen acres more or less bounded Southerly on the highway leading to Chelmsford about eighty poles unto Concord River," westerly on the river, northerly on the heirs of Lieut. John Shed and easterly on the country road, "with all the fences & trees thereon" (no buildings are mentioned). Warranty. Dated April 5, 1756 (witnesses Ephraim Copeland Jr. and Jacob Foster), acknowledged at Boston the same day; recorded June 28, 1769. Billerica town book 6, pages 368-370. The seller was the second son of Thomas Patten (d. 1747), to whom the 1754 division had set off these 18 acres north of the Bridge Lane.
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| June 2, 1784 | Deed | Isaac Foster of Billerica, yeoman | His sons Joseph Foster and Samuel Foster of Billerica, husbandmen, half each | Isaac Foster settles the farm on his sons | 86/469 (South) |
In consideration of "a Bond conditioned for the payment of money and other services" given him by his sons, Isaac Foster conveys "all my real Estate of Lands and Buildings the contents of said Land and the bounds thereof being the same as is set forth in the Deeds I have of the same Lands," one undivided half to Joseph Foster and the other to Samuel Foster, provided that they "shall not come into possession ... until after their Father and mother Isaac and Sarah Fosters decease" and until the bond is fulfilled. No lots are described; the 18 acres at the Corner, which Isaac had bought of Thomas Patten in 1756 and on which the house now stood, passed under this deed. Dated Feb. 15, 1782 (witnesses Edward Pollard and Timothy Foster), acknowledged Feb. 10, 1783; recorded June 2, 1784. Billerica town book 7, pages 449-450.
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| 1783 | Will | Estate of Isaac Foster of Billerica, yeoman | His sons Joseph Foster and Samuel Foster, executors and residuary legatees; his widow Sarah | Isaac Foster will | Probate #8202 |
Isaac Foster's will of Feb. 1, 1783 (witnesses William Baldwin, Timothy Foster, Rispa Baldwin) gave his wife Sarah household goods, a cow and two sheep, "the improvement of the west Room in my Dwelling house as long as she shall Remain my widow" and a third of the income of his real estate, and left the rest to his sons Joseph and Samuel, noting "I have some time since given to them a Deed of all my Real Estate," they being bound to him by bond. Proved April 10, 1783, the sons executors. The inventory of April 23, 1783 (Joshua Abbot, Edward Farmer, Jacob Manning) lists no land, only apparel, live stock, "the Surveying Instruments," husbandry tools, an old chaise, "the Shop Joiners tools," and the sons' bond of 247 pounds 10 shillings. Middlesex probate case 8202.
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| September 9, 1789 | Administration | Estate of Joseph Hill Jr. of Billerica, yeoman, intestate | Lucy Hill, widow (dower), and his children | Joseph Hill estate | Probate #11481 |
Joseph Hill Jr. of Billerica, yeoman, died intestate Aug. 6, 1789. At the desire of his widow Lucy (Fitch), Isaac Stearns Esq. of Billerica was appointed administrator on Sept. 9, 1789 (bond 10,000 pounds with Edward Stearns and Samuel Lane Jr. of Bedford). The inventory by Deacon Joshua Abbot of Billerica and Edward Stearns and Capt. Timothy Jones of Bedford, allowed Oct. 14, 1789, lists notes and securities, furniture, stock and crops, and real estate: the Needham land of about 27 1/2 acres east of the Concord road (bought 1784, Middlesex South book 88 page 101), a seventh of land in Lexington, 50 acres of wild land in Templeton, and "the Foster land lying in Billerica one lot containing 18 acres with the buildings thereon, the other 10 acres." The committee of Oct. 14, 1789 set off the widow's dower and severed his share of land held in common, including "the northerly part of the house," part of a barn, mill house and wood house and 93 acres on the road to Hill's Bridge. The Samuel Hill house is not among these lands: it belonged to the Kidders until 1791 and to Peter Hill (Lucy's second husband, 1793) from 1805, and Joseph's son Joseph bought it from Peter Hill in 1808. The 1973 MACRIS story that Joseph and Lucy "took over" the house in 1782 is not borne out by the deeds. Middlesex probate case 11481.
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| February 25, 1789 | Deed | Joseph Foster of Billerica, joiner; Sarah his wife and his mother Sarah Foster releasing dower | Joseph Hill of Billerica, yeoman | Joseph Foster sells the farm to Joseph Hill | 100/39 (South) |
For 110 pounds, "one certain tract of Land situate in Billerica ... lying on the East side of Concord River containing by Estimation Eighteen acres ... bounded Southerly on the high way leading to Chelmsford about eighty poles to Concord River bounded Westerly on said River bounded Northerly on the land of John Shed bounded Easterly on the County Road ... together with all the Buildings thereon standing & being," with ten acres of woodland "at a place called Gilsons Hill" bounded by John Shed, Henry Newman, Jesse Manning and William Frost. Joseph's wife Sarah and "my Mother Sarah Foster" signed (by mark) to give up their dower. Dated Feb. 23, 1789 (witnesses William Patten and Edward Farmer), acknowledged Feb. 24 before Edward Farmer; recorded Feb. 25, 1789. Billerica town book 8, pages 209-211. This is the first deed of the lot that names buildings on it, confirming the house built by the Fosters after 1756.
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| May 18, 1793 | Administrator's Deed | Isaac Stearns of Billerica, Esq., administrator of the estate of Joseph Hill, late of Billerica | Reuben Duren of Bedford, housewright | administrator sells the farm to Reuben Duren | 113/114 (South) |
By order of the General Court and leave of the Judge of Probate, for 156 pounds 10 shillings paid by Duren, "he being the highest bidder when sold at Auction," "a certain tract or parcel of Land situate in said Billerica eighteen Acres more or less with a Dwelling House Barn & Joiners Shop thereon bounded Southerly on the road from Billerica Meeting house to Chelmsford about eighty poles to Concord River Westerly on said River Northerly on Land of John Shed and Easterly on a Country road to the bounds first mentioned," with ten acres of woodland elsewhere in Billerica. Recorded at Cambridge May 18, 1793. Billerica town book 8, page 425 (Southern Registry Book 113 Page 114). How Joseph Hill acquired the Foster farm was not traced.
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| May 18, 1795 | Warranty | Reuben Duren of Billerica, housewright, and Mary Duren his wife | Thomas Richardson of Billerica, gentleman | Duren sells the farm to Thomas Richardson, tavern keeper | 116/511 (South) |
For 500 pounds, "a Certain tract or Parcel of Land lying in said Billerica Twenty acres more or less bounded Southerly on the County Road leading from Billerica to Chelmsford begining at a Town Road from the Foardway so called to Billerica Meeting House thence Westerly to Concord River by the Old Bridge so Called, thence down said River to Land of John Shed, thence Easterly said Land to sd Town Road thence Southerly by said Road to the first mentioned Road or Bounds with all the Buildings thereon, reserving for myself the Crains and Trammils in the House and the Lathes Benches and Vices in the shope." Dated and acknowledged May 16, recorded May 18, 1795, witnesses Isaac Stearns and Stephen Parker. Billerica town book 9, pages 160-161 (Southern Registry Book 116 Page 511).
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| 1803 | Will | John Parker of Billerica, gentleman (tanner) | His sons Stephen Parker and John Parker (executors) and his other children | John Parker will: the Ruggles farm on the west side of Concord Road | 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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| December 11, 1837 | Warranty Deed | Stephen Parker of Billerica, gentleman, and Sibel his wife | His brother John Parker of Billerica, Esq. | five acres adjoining the Rev. Whitman land added to John Parker house lot | 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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| 1828 | Administration | Estate of Thomas Richardson of Billerica, gentleman, died intestate 1828 | Joseph Locke of Billerica, administrator; the heirs | Thomas Richardson estate; his daughters Lydia Rogers and Elizabeth Richardson took the tavern farm | Probate #19177 |
Thomas Richardson "has died within sixty days last past," his administrator wrote in October 1828. His son T. Richardson Jr. declined on Sept. 20, 1828 and joined the heirs in asking that Joseph Locke of Billerica be appointed, which the court at Chelmsford did on Oct. 7, 1828, on a $5,000 bond with Josiah Stevens of Billerica (Richardson's son-in-law, who had kept the tavern) and John French of Boston, merchant; Artemas and Lydia Rogers witnessed the bond. The file holds only the appointment papers and the notice to creditors; no inventory or division survives in it, and the heirs settled the real estate among themselves by deed (the tavern going to his daughters Lydia Rogers and Elizabeth Richardson). Middlesex probate case 19177.
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| April 17, 1830 | Quitclaim (heirs' division) | Heirs of Thomas Richardson: John and Mary French, John and Ann Thompson, Josiah Stevens and Abigail Stevens, Sarah Kendall (widow), George W. H., Hannah H. F. and Judith E. Rogers | His daughters Lydia Rogers, wife of Artemas Rogers of Henniker, N.H., and Elizabeth Richardson of Boston | the other heirs release the tavern farm to Lydia Rogers and Elizabeth Richardson | 296/237 (South) |
For $2,947.26 the other heirs release to Lydia Rogers and Elizabeth Richardson "a certain tract of land in said Billerica containing seventeen acres and thirty six poles with all the buildings thereon standing," beginning at the northeast corner on the west side of "the great road leading to Boston," running westerly by land of Josiah Crosby Esq. to Concord River, by the river "to the road near the great bridge," then northeasterly and southeasterly to the Boston road (excluding about a quarter acre owned by Noah Harrod and a small piece owned by the widow Frost), and northwesterly by the Boston road 57 rods to the start; "said place has been known by the name of Richardsons tavern." Dated March 7, 1829 (witnesses Joseph Locke and William Morton), acknowledged April 15, 1829; recorded April 17, 1830. Billerica town book 14, pages 281-282. The same day the heirs divided Richardson's Lewis place and White place among the others.
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| November 18, 1830 | Deed (conditional) | Artemas Rogers of Henniker, N.H., Esq., and Lydia Rogers his wife in her right; Elizabeth Richardson, spinster | The First Baptist Church | 1830 meetinghouse lot near Concord River bought by the First Baptist Society | 301/174 (South) |
For $100, "a certain parcel of land situate in Billerica ... near Concord River," beginning at the southeast corner "at the wall by the highway by land occupied by the Widow Frost," running northerly by the Frost land and land of Rogers and Richardson four rods, westerly nine rods, southerly four rods to the highway wall and easterly by the wall nine rods, "upon condition that said Baptist Society shall use and occupy said land as a building spot for a Meeting house only, and other buildings connected with and for the accommodation of the same," and that it build and keep a fence between the lot and the adjoining land. Dated Jan. 2, 1830 (witnesses Jeremiah Russell and Page Eaton), acknowledged in New Hampshire Feb. 26, 1830; recorded Nov. 18, 1830. Billerica town book 14, pages 343-345. This is the Baptist meetinghouse lot excepted from the 1836 deeds to Anthony Jones.
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| 1832 | Will | John Parker of Billerica (d. 1832) | His wife Susan Parker and daughter Ann Parker; other children and grandchildren | John Parker will: twelve-acre house lot to his widow Susan and daughter Ann | 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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| 1841 | Will | Susan Parker of Billerica, widow of John Parker | Her son George Parker; her daughter Maria Preston | Susan Parker will: her two thirds of the homestead to her son George | 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 | George Parker sells 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. | Ann Parker mortgages the twelve-acre homestead to Marshall Preston | 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 | Prestons sell two thirds of the homestead 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 | mortgage released on Ann Parker's four-acre Whitman lot before it was cut into lots | 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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| June 19, 1844 | Warranty Deed | Ann Parker of Billerica, singlewoman | Deacons Amos Spaulding and Edward Spaulding, for the First Baptist Church in Billerica | the society moved its meetinghouse to this lot in 1844 | 445/112 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 562-564. Dated April 1, 1844, witnessed by Maria and Marshall Preston, acknowledged April 8, recorded June 19, 1844. For $200 Ann Parker grants to Amos and Edward Spaulding, "Deacons of the Baptist Church of the first Baptist Society in Billerica", "and their successors in that Office to the use of said Church", a lot of 66 square rods: beginning "at the Concord Road so called and my land at a corner of the wall nearly opposite the house of Cornelius Swetser", west by her land about 150 feet, south about 125 feet, east about 139 feet to Concord Road and north by the road about 125 feet, "reserving a strip of land twenty five feet in width across the south end of said premises to be used as a public highway" in common with the buyers of "the other portions of my Whitman lot so called", and "being the north east corner lot as marked out on a chalk plan of my said Whitman lot sketched and drawn by George W. Randall and dated April 1st 1844". The meetinghouse was hauled here from Salem Road the same year. These bounds were repeated word for word in every later deed down to 1998.
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| April 17, 1865 | Quitclaim Deed | Amos Spalding, Edward Spalding and George C. Gilman, Committee of the Baptist Society in Billerica | Anthony Jones of Billerica, yeoman | the empty first site released to Anthony Jones, owner of the tavern farm | 41/543 |
Dated April 6, 1865, acknowledged before Dudley Foster. For $5, the society releases "a small tract of land" "near the corner bridge so called", "bounded on the south side by the Lowell and Boston Road, and on the east north and west sides by land of said Jones", "it being the lot of land deeded by Elizabeth Richardson and others about the year 1830 to the Baptist Society in said Billerica to be used by them as a site whereon to erect a Meeting house and appurtenances and for no other purpose" (S.301/174). Covenants against the society's own encumbrances only. Twenty-one years after the meetinghouse was moved to the Common, the empty first site went back to the owner of the Richardson tavern farm.
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| July 5, 1890 | Quitclaim Deed | Peter B. Bohonan and W. Wayland Wilson, Deacons of the First Baptist Church of Billerica | First Baptist Church in Billerica, a corporation | deacons convey the church lot to the incorporated church | 216/440 |
Dated June 22, 1890, acknowledged before Dudley Foster. For $1, the deacons, successors in office to Amos and Edward Spaulding, release to "First Baptist Church in said Billerica a corporation created by the Legislature of Massachusetts" "a certain tract of land situate in said Billerica, containing sixty six square rods more or less", beginning at Concord Road and "land of the heirs formerly of Ann Parker now of one Flanders", with the 1844 bounds and the 25-foot strip, "Being the same premises conveyed to Amos Spaulding and Edward Spaulding, Deacons ... and their successors in said Office" by Ann Parker on April 1, 1844. Title passed from the deacons as trustees to the newly incorporated church.
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| May 8, 1924 | Quitclaim Deed | The First Baptist Church in Billerica, a corporation (S. Annah Holden, clerk; Evelyn Spaulding, treasurer) | Massachusetts Baptist Convention | the church gives its meetinghouse to the Massachusetts Baptist Convention | 705/273 |
Dated April 24, 1924, under a vote of the church of January 9, 1924 "That Mrs. P. F. Holden, Clerk and Miss Evelyn Spaulding Treasurer, be authorized to convey to the Massachusetts Baptist Convention, all property of said Church". With quitclaim covenants, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" of 66 square rods on Concord Road, with the 1844 bounds and the 25-foot strip, "being the premises conveyed to the grantor by Peter B. Bohonan and W. Wayland Wilson, Deacons of the First Baptist Church in Billerica, by deed dated June 22, 1890" (N.216/440). The dwindling congregation thus handed its meetinghouse to the state Baptist body.
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| April 28, 1925 | Confirmatory Deed | The First Baptist Church in Billerica (Mrs. P. F. Holden, clerk; Miss Evelyn Spaulding, treasurer) | Massachusetts Baptist Convention | confirmatory deed of 1925 | 720/592 |
Dated April 7, 1925. A quitclaim of the same 66 square rods "given in confirmation of a deed by the First Baptist Church in Billerica to the Massachusetts Baptist Convention dated April 24, 1924" (N.705/273), reciting that S. Annah Holden, clerk, and Mrs. P. F. Holden named in the vote "is one and the same person", and likewise Evelen A. Spaulding and Miss Evelyn Spaulding. It notes that a copy of the 1844 Parker deed is recorded in the Middlesex North "Copies Billerica Book 16, Page 562". Made to clear the title for the sale to the Grange the next day.
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| April 28, 1925 | Quitclaim Deed | Massachusetts Baptist Convention (Hugh A. Heath, secretary; Leslie Langill, treasurer) | The Billerica Grange, No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc. | 1925 sale to the Billerica Grange | 720/593 |
Dated April 8, 1925, under votes of the Convention's executive and finance committees of March 2, 1925 to sell "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon situated in Billerica, containing 66 square rods more or less, formerly the property of the Billerica Baptist Church, corporation". With quitclaim covenants ($4 in revenue stamps), the 66 square rods on Concord Road with the 1844 bounds and the 25-foot strip, "Being the same premises conveyed to the said Massachusetts Baptist Convention by the First Baptist Church in Billerica by deed dated April 24, 1924" (N.705/273). The Grange financed the purchase with a $2,000 mortgage to J. Eva Towle recorded next (N.720/595), discharged in 1926.
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| April 28, 1925 | Mortgage | The Billerica Grange, No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc. | J. Eva Towle of Billerica | Grange purchase mortgage to J. Eva Towle | 720/595 |
Dated April 14, 1925 (date from the 1926 discharge). With mortgage covenants, to secure $2,000 "in ten (10) years with six (6) per centum interest", "A certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" of 66 square rods on Concord Road, with the 1844 bounds and the 25-foot strip. Margin: "See Discharge B.735 P.146"; Mrs. Towle acknowledged satisfaction on April 12, 1926, when the Grange refinanced with the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank.
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| April 13, 1926 | Mortgage | The Billerica Grange, No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc. | The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank | 1926 Grange mortgage to the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank | 735/146 |
Dated April 12, 1926, signed for the Grange by William J. Canning and Harry F. Waite, its executive committee, under a vote of the members of April 6, 1926. With mortgage covenants, to secure $2,000 payable in one year at six per cent, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" of 66 square rods on Concord Road, with the 1844 bounds and the 25-foot strip. "Being the same premises conveyed to said grantor by the Massachusetts Baptist Convention by deed dated April 6, 1925" (N.720/593). Immediately before it on the same page J. Eva Towle discharged the Grange's 1925 purchase mortgage to her (N.720/595). Foreclosed by the bank in 1939 (N.926/464).
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| March 13, 1939 | Certificate of Entry | The Billerica Grange No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc. (mortgagor) | The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank (mortgagee) | 1939 entry to foreclose the Grange mortgage | 926/463 |
Witnesses Douglas A. Davis and Burnham C. Stowers certify that on March 3, 1939, the day of the auction, they saw Edward F. Lamson, the bank's treasurer, "make an open, peaceable and unopposed entry on the premises situated in Billerica, described in said mortgage" of April 12, 1926 (N.735/146), "for the purpose ... of foreclosing said mortgage for breach of conditions thereof". Sworn at Lowell March 11, 1939.
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| March 13, 1939 | Foreclosure Deed | The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank, mortgagee of The Billerica Grange No. 225, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc. | The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank | 1939 foreclosure of the Grange mortgage | 926/464 |
Dated March 10, 1939. The bank, "holder of a mortgage from The Billerica Grange, No. 223, Patrons of Husbandry, Inc., to said Bank dated April 12, 1926" (N.735/146), by the power of sale, for $1,000 grants itself "the premises conveyed by said mortgage". The affidavit recites the notice printed in the Billerica News on February 9, 16 and 23, 1939: "A certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" of 66 square rods on Concord Road, with the 25-foot strip reserved under the 1844 Parker deed, to be sold at auction on the premises on Friday, March 3, 1939 at 3:30 p.m.; the auctioneer Burnham C. Stowers knocked it down to the bank, "the highest bid", for $1,000.
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| June 9, 1939 | Quitclaim Deed | The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank | Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole | 1939 sale by the foreclosing bank to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston | 930/215 |
Dated June 7, 1939. For consideration paid, with quitclaim covenants, "A certain tract of land with the buildings thereon" containing 66 square rods, beginning "at the Northeast corner thereof at the Concord Road so called and land formerly of Ann Parker, afterwards of one Flanders", about 150 by 125 feet, reserving the 25-foot strip across the south end "as provided in deed from Ann Parker to Amos Spaulding and Edward Spaulding, Deacons of the First Baptist Church in said Billerica, dated April 1, 1844" (S.445/112). "Being the same premises conveyed to said grantor under power of sale by deed dated March 10, 1939" (N.926/464). The bank's investment board voted June 1, 1939 to deed this "property in Billerica formerly belonging to the Billerica Grange". The building became a mission chapel of St. Andrew's parish in North Billerica.
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| August 22, 1985 | Quitclaim Deed | Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole (by Bernard Cardinal Law) | A private buyer | 1985 sale by the Archdiocese; later private owners | 3149/20 |
Dated August 6, 1985. For $80,000, with quitclaim covenants, "the land with the buildings thereon" of 66 square rods, with the 1844 bounds and "reserving a strip of land 25 feet in width across the south end of said premises to be used as a public highway ... as provided in the deed from Ann Parker to Amos Spaulding and Edward Spaulding, Deacons of the First Baptist Church in said Billerica, dated April 1, 1844", "Being the same premises conveyed to said grantor by deed dated June 7, 1939" (N.930/215). The property address is given as "Concord Road at the corner of Page's Court". The buyer converted the former church into a rooming house; it was sold again in October 1998 for $175,000 to a private realty trust (N.9662/249), which still owned it in 2026 (assessor parcel 61-202-0, 0.413 acres).
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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.