Heath Brook

Heath Brook is a brook in Tewksbury, in the part of old Billerica that became Tewksbury in 1734. It rises in a large swamp north of the East Billerica line, about half a mile from Content Brook, and runs east to the Shawsheen River, which it enters between the mouths of Content Brook and Strong Water Brook. Tewksbury's master plan notes that one branch of the town's eastern aquifer "parallels Heath Brook and Whipple Road," and the state's survey of Tewksbury places early Native sites on the terraces overlooking the Shawsheen, Heath Brook and the Great Swamp. The Heath Brook School in Tewksbury takes its name from it.

The brook and its meadow, Heath Swamp or Heath meadow, appear in Billerica's first divisions. In 1658 the committee was to lay out meadow from the mouth of Alewife Brook "upon Shawshin river untill we come to heth Brook; then to take all the meddow y^t is in that Brooke, so far as there is any toward contente meddow." Owners whose lots were cut off by Mrs. Winthrop's farm received other lots "near the head of Heath Brook in a plain called, no doubt for good reason, Recompense Plain," and the second division was to be taken, if needed, "between heath brook mouth and the highway." The Content highway of 1661 went "ouer heeth brook, cross Christopher Webb's meadow lott," the 1663 grant beyond Content Brook was on "that prt of the playne that Lyeth on the North side of heath swamp meadow," and in 1665 fourteen proprietors "accepted Heath meadow for forty acres, holding it in common." James Parker had "31 acres at the head of heath brook, (now in Tewksbury)." Inventories and deeds of the next century show the meadow divided among East Billerica farms: ten acres of Heath Swamp in Capt. Jonathan Danforth's gift to his son in 1709, a hundred acres there and thirty-one on Recompense Plain in the Patten inventory of 1718, and meadow in Heath Swamp in the Richardson gift of 1717/18 and the Sheldon estate of 1778.

Title References

Date	Type	Grantor	Grantee	Summary	Recorded
March 28, 1715	Deed of Gift	Capt. Jonathan Danforth of Billerica	Jonathan Danforth Jr., his son	Capt. Jonathan Danforth to his son: ten acres of Heath Swamp among other lots	17/297 (South)
	Dated Jan. 5, 1708/9. "For the love and affection which I have and do bear unto my son Jonathan Danforth," the surveyor gives his son "all my Land that joynes to his Dwelling house, which is bounded Westward and Southward by ye Country Roads, Eastward by the Land of John Dutton and partly by the Land that was John Trulls, North by the Land of John Baldwins and partly by that I sold to John Wilson Junr, which Land containes Twenty acres more or less," with the rest of his Andover meadow lot on the Shawshin, 27 acres by Daniel Shed's, five acres north of Shed's house lot, two acres of meadow at Treble Cove, ten acres of swamp at Gilson's Hill, a 52 acre second division lot, ten acres of Heath Swamp, fifteen acres of pine plain and a five acre town right. Witnesses Oliver Whiting and Samuel Danforth; acknowledged Jan. 7, 1708/9 before Jonathan Tyng; recorded Mar. 28, 1715. The deed shows the son's house already standing on his father's land. Billerica town book 2, pages 6-8. Title passed to: 1711 Administration and Division: Estate of Ensign Jonathan Danforth Jr. of Billerica (intestate) to Rebecca Danforth, widow; Thomas Danforth, eldest son; the other children (Probate #5890) (the house lot given to Ensign Danforth in 1709)
1718	Administration, Inventory and Dower Agreement	Estate of Nathaniel Patten of Billerica (1668-1718), intestate	Hannah Patten, widow and administratrix (later Hannah Emerson), and their sons Nathaniel and John Patten	Nathaniel Patten inventory: a hundred acres at Heath Swamp and thirty-one acres on Recompense Plain	Probate #17020
	Nathaniel Patten died early in 1718. On May 12, 1718 his widow gave bond as administratrix, with Thomas Patten and Thomas Ross. The inventory taken April 23, 1718 by Ephraim Kidder, Enoch Kidder and George Brown lists "the homestead about fifty acres of upland and meadow with the buildings" at 240 pounds; thirty-one acres "part of the first lot in the first part of the 2d division"; four acres on Rocky Hill; "about ninety acres of upland and meadow at Shawshin River" at 140 pounds; a hundred acres at Heath Swamp; thirty-one acres on Recompense Plain; thirty-two acres west of the great river; and swamp lots; with a weaver's loom among the goods. On May 18, 1733 Hannah Emerson, "the Relict Widow of Nathaniel Patton," then wife of Joseph Emerson of Haverhill, agreed with her sons Nathaniel and John Patten on her thirds: "the West end of the Dwelling house throughout," the west end of the barn, most of the orchard south of the house and the pasture from "William French southwest corner of his Houselot (which is a Great Rock by the Highway)," part of the field east of the house by John Marshall, "Six Acres of medow at Shawshin River, lying on the Westerly side of the River ... where the two sons agreed upon a line between themselves," and the Recompense Plain lot; acknowledged May 21 and Oct. 19, 1733 and recorded at the court's order (lib. 19, pp. 392-393). The fifty-acre homestead with William French and John Marshall as neighbours was on Allen Road, not Salem Road; the ninety acres at Shawshin River, divided by the two sons, is where the Salem Road house stands, and the eighteen acres Nathaniel sold John the same month (town book 3, pages 451-453) adjoined "said Pattens own land." Middlesex probate case 17020.
March 27, 1738	Gift	Thomas Richardson of Billerica	His son Jonathan Richardson of Billerica	Thomas Richardson to son Jonathan: swamp and meadow in Heath Swamp	39/1 (South)
	"For the Love and affection which I have and do bear unto my son Jonathan Richardson," several parcels: "one parcel of land lying on the northward of said Jonathan's house containing about seven acres ... which I bought of the Town"; one acre of swamp or meadow "lying between Thomas Ross his Pasture and my own land on the north side of my house"; meadow at the mouth of Strong Water Brook on both sides of the Shawshin bought of Capt. Joseph Tompson; his swamp and meadow in Heath Swamp (reserving seven acres); and two acres of meadow on Content Brook "a little above the old saw mill," reserving to himself liberty to set up a saw mill; valued at 57 pounds "in part of his portion in my Estate." Dated 1717/18; recorded March 1738. Billerica town book 4, pages 180-181 (Southern Registry Book 39 Page 1). The deed shows that Jonathan's house already stood on the corner lot by 1717/18. Title passed to: 1738 Administration and Division: Estate of Jonathan Richardson of Billerica, husbandman, died intestate 1720 to His widow Hannah (later Frost) for dower; his eldest son Jonathan Richardson for the rest (Probate #18990) (and the land given in 1717/18)
1778	Administration	Estate of Samuel Sheldon of Billerica, yeoman, intestate	Simon Blanchard and David Abbot, administrators (his sons-in-law); his five daughters, heirs	Samuel Sheldon estate inventory: meadow in Heath Swamp	Probate #20263
	Administration granted Jan. 27, 1778 to Simon Blanchard and David Abbot, yeomen, with Jonathan Pool of Reading and Isaac Lovejoy of Andover as sureties (all sons-in-law). The inventory of Feb. 4, 1778, sworn July 7, lists "The homestead containing about 83 acres with all the buildings" at 1266 pounds 13s 4d (inflated wartime currency), the Moffit place of 110 acres, the Dutton lot of 86 acres, 5 acres on Fox Hill, 18 acres of wood at Bedford, meadow in Content Meadow, Broad Meadow and Heath Swamp, and "A Pew in the Meeting house." The file has no division: the daughters divided the estate among themselves by deeds of 1778. Title from: November 4, 1771 Common Recovery (barring entail): Samuel Sheldon of Billerica, yeoman, tenant in tail (Solomon Pollard, demandant) to Samuel Sheldon and his heirs in fee simple (73/4) (homestead held in fee after the recovery) Title passed to: July 7, 1778 Heirs Deed (partition): Sarah Center of Woburn, widow; Jonathan and Mary Pool of Reading; Simon and Rebecca Blanchard of Billerica (heirs of Samuel Sheldon) to Isaac Lovejoy of Andover and David Abbot of Billerica, yeomen (husbands of the other two heirs) (79/363) (heirs of Samuel Sheldon) July 7, 1778 Heirs Quitclaim (partition): Sarah Center of Woburn, widow (heir of Samuel Sheldon) to Jonathan and Mary Pool, Isaac and Deborah Lovejoy, Simon and Rebecca Blanchard, David and Prudence Abbot (the other heirs of Samuel Sheldon) (79/364) (heirs of Samuel Sheldon) March 31, 1786 Warranty: Sarah Center, widow, and John Shelden Center, yeoman, and Phebe his wife, all of Billerica to Josiah Bowers Jr. of Billerica, gentleman (93/390) (the Centers homestead was Sarah Centers share of her fathers estate)

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.

Heath Brook

Heath Brook

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