Joseph Blanchard House
The Joseph Blanchard House at 49 Wyman Road is one of the best examples in Billerica of a mid-18th-century farmhouse. It stands on the west side of the road in the southern part of the town, on a lot of under half an acre kept out of a 1953 housing development. For two centuries it was the center of a farm of 130 to 140 acres on both sides of the road, which the deeds called "the road leading from Lowell to Brighton" and earlier "a Town Road leading from Wyman's Bridge ... to Billerica meeting house."
The land was Crosby land. In 1742 Nathan Crosby gave his son Nathan Jr. thirty acres, "the southeast Corner of my Land," beginning "by the Bridle way leading from my House to Seth Ross's" and bounded by Ross, Joseph Farley and Thomas Hosley. A six-acre piece by Ross and Hosley, bought from Joshua Johnson of Andover, lay next to it. In 1759 Nathan Crosby sold Simon Blanchard, husbandman, "my house Lot containing about forty acres," upland and meadow bounded by the heirs of Oliver Crosby, Abraham Jaquith, Thomas Haley and Seth Ross and "by the bridle Way." The deed names no buildings. That fits A. Warren Stearns's account that the land "was transferred to Blanchard without buildings, and the next year he was taxed for a mansion house," which dates the house to about 1759-1760. The identification of the 1759 lot rests on its abutters.
Simon Blanchard built the house. On March 20, 1794 he and his wife Rebecca deeded "my Homestead farm with the buildings thereon standing being about Sixty acres" to "my son Joseph Blanchard," and in 1810 Joseph added eighty acres "with the buildings thereon" from Isaac Blanchard, lying east of the town road from Wyman's Bridge. Joseph Blanchard, Esq., died in 1828. His will left his widow Sarah the use of a third of his real estate for life, gave each unmarried daughter "a comfortable home, at my dwelling house," and left the rest of the estate to his son Joseph, who is the "J. Blanchard" of the 1853 map. On March 30, 1855 the younger Joseph sold "a farm situated in the Southerly part of said Billerica on the Road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and forty acres ... with the buildings thereon" to Hananiah Temple of Dorchester, described as a clerk, for $6,500. The next day the widow Sarah Blanchard and his sisters Eliza and Jerusha released their rights in "the Joseph Blanchard Farm." The 1794 and 1810 deeds, never recorded until then, were put on record the same day. Joseph died about January 1856, leaving four young children.
Temple's son-in-law Loring G. Bryant, the "L. G. Bryant" of the 1875 map, lived on the farm, but Temple and then his estate owned it. Samuel Sage surveyed it for "the heirs of H. Temple" in 1873. In 1875 Temple's trustees sold the 132 acres to John A. Merriam of Billerica for $5,000. After his death his will, proved in 1882, passed the farm to his son William A. Merriam (the "W. Merriam" of the 1889 map). In 1886 William deeded it to Annie F. Merriam, who sold it in 1907 to Grover N. Dodge of Chelsea. In 1920 Dodge sold "a certain farm ... consisting of two tracts of land with the buildings thereon ... containing about one hundred and thirty two acres" to Harry Dunlap Brown, whose family lived there in the 1920s and 1930s. The farm was then known for its orchards. Brown's 1949 mortgage is the first record to call the road Wyman Road. In 1951 a natural gas pipeline was laid across the farm under an easement to the Northeastern Gas Transmission Company.
In July 1953 the Browns sold the whole farm. The same day the 50.7 acres west of Wyman Road went to Billerica Homes, Inc., a Boston developer, and the land east of the road to another buyer. The deed to Billerica Homes steps around a lot 100 feet wide and 183.53 feet deep on the road. That is the 18,353 square feet on which the old house stands, eight feet from the street. The house lot was sold separately in 1955 and has been privately owned since. By 1974 the house that had once looked south over open fields stood among the new houses of the development.
Simon Blanchard built the house; Joseph Blanchard, Esq. (died 1828) and his son Joseph owned it after him, and Loring G. Bryant lived there as the son-in-law of the owner, Hananiah Temple.
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Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| 1738 | Deed | Joshua Johnson of Andover, Essex County, tailor | Nathan Crosby of Billerica, husbandman | Probable part of the 1759 house lot: six acres by Seth Ross and Hosley | 49/123 (South) |
For 100 pounds, "a certain parcel of upland and swamp ... containing about six acres which my honored Father John Johnson gave unto me," bounded east by Seth Ross about 17 poles, west by Thomas Horsley [Hosley] about 20 poles, north by "the land of said Nathan Crosby" about 48 1/2 poles and south by Joseph Farley about 48 1/2 poles. Indexed as acknowledged in 1738 and recorded in 1749. Billerica town book 5, pages 150-152. Probably part of the forty-acre house lot Nathan Crosby sold to Simon Blanchard in 1759 (an identification by abutters only).
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| 1742 | Deed | Nathan Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | His son Nathan Crosby Jr. of Billerica | Probable core of the 1759 house lot: 30 acres by the bridle way to Seth Ross's | 43/346 (South) |
For 120 pounds, "one parcel of Land ... Containing about thirty acres be it more or less of upland and meadow being the southeast Corner of my Land," beginning "at a Stake & stones by the Bridle way leading from my House to Seth Ross's," bounded east by Seth Ross, south by Joseph Farley, west by Thomas Hosley and the grantor's land to "a small white oak," and north by the grantor's land, "with all the Buildings, fences & Trees thereon standing," the father reserving "the Improvement of the Premises free and clear during my Natural Life." Dated Nov. 5, 1742, witnessed by Benjamin Tompson and Oliver Crosby. Billerica town book 4, pages 384-385. With the 1738 Johnson lot this is probably the "house Lot containing about forty acres" by "the bridle Way" sold to Simon Blanchard in 1759.
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| 1759 | Warranty | Nathan Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | Simon Blanchard of Billerica, husbandman | Nathan Crosby sells his 40-acre house lot to Simon Blanchard (no buildings named) | 55/531 (South) |
For 143 pounds 6 shillings 8 pence, "one Parcel of Land upland and Meadow situate and lying in Billerica it being my house Lot containing about forty acres," beginning at the northeasterly corner, westerly by land of the heirs of Oliver Crosby to land of Abraham Jaquith, southerly by Jaquith and partly by Thomas Haley to Abraham Jaquith Jr., easterly by Jaquith, northeasterly by Seth Ross's land, "then running Northwardly by the bridle Way to the Bounds first mentioned." No buildings are named. Billerica town book 5, pages 432-433 (Southern Registry Book 55 Page 531); indexed as acknowledged and recorded in 1759. ASSUMPTION: this is the lot MACRIS describes as transferred to the builder "without buildings," the owner being taxed for a mansion house the next year.
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| March 31, 1855 | Warranty | Simon Blanchard of Billerica, yeoman, and Rebecca Blanchard his wife | Joseph Blanchard of Billerica, yeoman, his son | Simon Blanchard deeds his homestead farm with the buildings to his son Joseph | 699/564 (South) |
For 400 pounds paid "by my son Joseph Blanchard," "my Homestead farm with the buildings thereon standing being about Sixty acres," bounded northerly by Hezekiah Crosby, Oliver Crosby and Josiah Crosby, westerly by Hezekiah Crosby and the heirs of Thomas Hosley Jr., southerly by Abel Bowman and Oliver Crosby, "thence a Northeasterly course still by said Crosby's land to a highway," again southerly by Isaac Blanchard and eastwardly by Hezekiah Crosby; also about 20 acres of woodland in Bedford by Joseph Otis and the heirs of Joseph Hill, three acres at Content meadow by Capt. William Bowers, Capt. Josiah Bowers and Jeremiah Allen, five acres on Fox Hill bounded southerly on the Rangeway, and three acres of meadow by the Shawsheen River "against a Ford-way." Dated March 20, 1794, acknowledged March 12, 1795 before Isaac Stearns; not recorded until March 31, 1855. Billerica town book 20, pages 503-504 (Southern Registry Book 699 Page 564).
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| March 31, 1855 | Warranty | Isaac Blanchard of Billerica, yeoman | Joseph Blanchard of Billerica, yeoman | Isaac Blanchard sells Joseph 80 acres with buildings on the road from Wyman's Bridge | 699/566 (South) |
For $2,800, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situate in said Billerica containing by estimation Eighty acres," bounded "Westerly on a Town Road leading from Wyman's Bridge so called to Billerica meeting house," southerly by Oliver Crosby and Ebenezer Richardson, easterly by Richardson, and northerly by Richardson, Jeremiah Crosby "and on land of the said Joseph Blanchard to the aforesaid road." Indexed as acknowledged in 1810; recorded in 1855 with the 1794 deed. Billerica town book 20, pages 505-506 (Southern Registry Book 699 Page 566). This deed shows the Blanchard farm lying on the road from Wyman's Bridge, today's Wyman Road. Joseph Blanchard died in 1856; the 1853 map shows "J. Blanchard" at this house. How it passed to Loring G. Bryant (1875 map) and W. Merriam (1889 map) was not found.
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| 1828 | Will | Estate of Joseph Blanchard, Esq., of Billerica | His son Joseph Blanchard of Billerica, gentleman, residuary devisee and executor | Will of Joseph Blanchard, Esq. (d. 1828): the farm to his son Joseph | Probate #1900 |
Will of Joseph Blanchard, Esq., dated Oct. 11, 1827, with a codicil, proved at Chelmsford Oct. 7, 1828. He gave his wife Sarah $100, $12 a year and "the use, improvement, and possession of one undivided third part of all my real estate, wherever situated, during her natural life," cash legacies to his daughters (Mehitabel Rogers, Rebecca Sumner, Sarah, Eliza, Harriet Crosby, Mariah, Jerusha Brown and Mary Augusta) and to his sons Adolphus and Henry, and "to my son Joseph Blanchard all the residue and remainder of my property and estate ... both real and personal," naming him sole executor (bond $6,000). The codicil gave each unmarried daughter "a comfortable home, at my dwelling house." The homestead farm bought from his father Simon in 1794 thus passed to the younger Joseph.
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| March 31, 1855 | Warranty Deed | Joseph Blanchard of Billerica; Rhoda W. Blanchard, his wife, releasing dower | Hananiah Temple of Dorchester, Norfolk County, clerk | Joseph Blanchard sells the 140-acre Joseph Blanchard Farm to Hananiah Temple | 699/567 (South) |
For $6,500, "a farm situated in the Southerly part of said Billerica on the Road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and forty acres more or less with the buildings thereon," on both sides of the road: on the west side bounded by Jonathan Sanborn (88 rods), Jeremiah Crosby, Hannah Bowman and land formerly of Enos Woodbury, and 55 rods on the road; on the east side by William F. Burrows, Josiah B. Gleason and Jonas Merriam. Signed March 30, 1855 before John Baldwin Jr., J.P. (witness Josiah Rogers), recorded March 31, 1855, the same day as the long-unrecorded 1794 and 1810 Blanchard deeds. Billerica town book 20, pages 506-508.
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| March 31, 1855 | Quitclaim | Sarah Blanchard, widow, Eliza Blanchard and Jerusha B. Blanchard, single women, all of Charlestown | Hananiah Temple of Dorchester, clerk | Widow and daughters of Joseph Blanchard, Esq. release the farm to Temple | 699/568 (South) |
For one dollar and other considerations, a release of all their interest in "a certain parcel of land and the buildings thereon ... known as the Joseph Blanchard Farm as described and set forth in the Deed of Joseph Blanchard to the said Hananiah Temple dated the 30th day of March A.D. 1855," Sarah "as widow of the said Joseph Blanchard deceased" (her life use of a third under the 1828 will), and Eliza and Jerusha "as children of the said Joseph deceased, as daughters by inheritance or as devisees named in the will of said deceased" (the right to a home in the dwelling house). Dated March 31, 1855, witness James K. Frothingham. Billerica town book 20, pages 508-510.
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| 1856 | Administration | Estate of Joseph Blanchard of Billerica (died intestate about January 1856) | Henry E. Worcester of Tewksbury, administrator; widow Rhoda W. Blanchard and four minor children | Estate of the Joseph Blanchard who sold the farm in 1855 | Probate #27541 |
Henry E. Worcester of Tewksbury, yeoman, petitioned that Joseph Blanchard "who last dwelt in Billerica ... within two months last died intestate," leaving a widow and "four children, all of whom are minors"; he was appointed administrator Feb. 12, 1856 (bond $6,000). The inventory of Feb. 6, 1856 lists household furniture room by room, railroad bonds and shares, notes of hand including one "given by Lowering [Loring] Bryant" for $848.41, and a pew in the Unitarian meetinghouse, but only $972 of real estate (the Jaquith land, 10 acres; Crosby land, 18; meadow, 7; a farm lot, 10). The home farm was no longer his: he had sold it to Hananiah Temple ten months earlier. Bryant, Temple's son-in-law, was then on the farm.
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| November 1, 1875 | Trustees' Deed | Edmund J. Baker and Horace E. Ware, trustees under the will of Hananiah Temple, late of Boston, with the consent of his children John Temple, Henry W. Temple, Ellen F. Pierce and Mary F. Bryant | John A. Merriam of Billerica | Temple trustees sell the 132-acre farm to John A. Merriam | 113/312 |
For $5,000, "two certain tracts of land with the buildings thereon situated in the southerly part of said Billerica on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and thirty two acres," with the 1855 bounds and new abutters (Knowles, C. Crosby, Bowman and Gilligan on the west side of the road; Clough, L. Gleason and one Johnson on the east). "For a further description see Plan of the Farm of the heirs of H. Temple drawn by Samuel Sage A.D. 1873. For evidence of title see deed from Joseph Blanchard to said Hananiah Temple dated March 30th 1855 ... Lib. 699 Fol. 567," and the Blanchard heirs' release (Lib. 699 Fol. 568). Dated Oct. 21, 1875, recorded Nov. 1, 1875. L. G. Bryant, the husband of Temple's daughter Mary F. Bryant, witnessed the consent; he is the "L. G. Bryant" of the 1875 map.
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| November 1, 1875 | Mortgage | John A. Merriam of Billerica | Edmund J. Baker and Horace E. Ware, trustees under the will of Hananiah Temple | Merriam purchase-money mortgage to the Temple trustees, $2,000 | 113/314 |
Purchase-money mortgage for $2,000 on the same "two certain tracts of land with the buildings thereon ... on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and thirty two acres," given with the 1875 deed. The margin notes the release in Book 132 Page 46 (December 1878).
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| November 3, 1886 | Quitclaim Deed | William A. Merriam of Billerica; Mary J. Merriam, his wife, releasing dower and homestead | Annie F. Merriam of Billerica | William A. Merriam (devisee of John A.) to Annie F. Merriam | 184/587 |
For $1,500, "my farm in said Billerica consisting of two tracts of land with the buildings thereon situated in the southerly part of said Billerica on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and thirty two acres," as described in the trustees' deed to John A. Merriam (Book 113 Page 312); "for my title to said premises see the will of my father the said John A. Merriam which was probated in the Probate Court for said County of Middlesex." Subject to a $3,500 mortgage to the Middlesex Institution for Savings, which the grantee assumed. Dated Nov. 2, 1886. That month the town collector also sold the farm for the unpaid taxes of 1883-1885 (Book 185 Pages 230-236).
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| May 17, 1907 | Warranty Deed | Annie F. Merriam of Billerica, single woman | Grover N. Dodge of Chelsea, Suffolk County (named in the deed as Grover M. Dodge) | Annie F. Merriam sells the farm to Grover N. Dodge | 404/116 |
For one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain farm in said Billerica consisting of two tracts of land with the buildings thereon situated in the southerly part of said Billerica on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and thirty two acres," as described in the 1875 trustees' deed to John A. Merriam (Book 113 Page 312), "the same premises as conveyed to me ... by deed of Wm. Merriam dated Nov. 2, 1886 ... Book 184 Page 587. Said Wm. A. Merriam derived his title under the will of John A. Merriam proved and allowed in the Probate Court of said Middlesex County April 24, 1882." Dated May 11, 1907, recorded May 17, 1907, the same day the Middlesex Institution for Savings discharged William A. Merriam's 1884 mortgage on the farm (Book 164 Page 348), paid by Annie F. Merriam.
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| May 20, 1920 | Warranty Deed | Grover N. Dodge of Billerica, unmarried | Harry Dunlap Brown of Billerica | Dodge to Harry Dunlap Brown: the Brown farm of the 1920s and 1930s | 626/365 |
For one dollar and other consideration ($20 in revenue stamps), "a certain farm in said Billerica consisting of two tracts of land with the buildings thereon situated in the Southeasterly part of said Billerica on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred and thirty two acres," as in Book 113 Page 312, "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Annie F. Merriam by deed dated May 11, 1907 ... Book 404 page 116, wherein I was erroneously described as Grover M. Dodge"; the grantee to pay the 1920 taxes. Dated May 19, 1920, witnessed by Harry Dunlap, recorded May 20, 1920. Indexed at Book 626 Page 345; the deed is on scanned pages 365-366.
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| October 11, 1935 | Quitclaim (straw) | Harry Dunlap Brown of Billerica; Blanche L. Brown, his wife, releasing dower and homestead | Dora M. Barber of Lowell | H. D. Brown to Dora M. Barber, straw deed | 873/165 |
For less than $100, "two certain tracts of land with the buildings thereon situated in the Southerly part of said Billerica on the road leading from Lowell to Brighton containing about one hundred thirty-two (132) acres," with the 1875 bounds (J. Knowles, L. Crosby, Bowman and Gilligan; Clough, J. Gleason and Johnson); "For further description see 'Plan of Farm of the Heirs of H. Temple, drawn by Samuel Sage, 1873'. Being the same premises to me conveyed by Grover N. Dodge, dated May 19, 1920 ... Book 626, Page 365," subject to the Lowell Electric Light Corporation's pole easement of May 7, 1935 (Book 862 Page 417). Dated Oct. 1, 1935, recorded Oct. 11, 1935; indexed as Book 875.
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| October 11, 1935 | Quitclaim (straw) | Dora M. Barber of Lowell, unmarried | Harry Dunlap Brown and Blanche L. Brown, husband and wife, tenants by the entirety, of Billerica | Barber back to Harry Dunlap and Blanche L. Brown, tenants by the entirety | 873/167 |
For less than $100, the same two tracts "with the buildings thereon ... containing about one hundred thirty-two (132) acres," with the same bounds and reference to the 1873 Sage plan of the Temple farm, "Being the same premises to me conveyed by Harry Dunlap Brown by deed of even date to be recorded herewith," subject to taxes and the 1935 Lowell Electric Light Corporation easement. Dated Oct. 1, 1935, recorded Oct. 11, 1935. With the deed before it, this put the farm in Harry Dunlap and Blanche L. Brown as tenants by the entirety.
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| December 7, 1949 | Mortgage | Harry Dunlap Brown and Blanche L. Brown, husband and wife, of Billerica | Middlesex County National Bank | Brown mortgage of the 132-acre Wyman Road farm | 1129/435 |
Mortgage for $17,000 on "Two tracts of land with the buildings thereon, situated in the southerly part of said Billerica on Wyman Road, containing 132 Acres," with the 1875 bounds, "Being the same premises to us conveyed by Dora M. Barber by deed dated October 1, 1935 ... Book 873, Page 167," subject to the 1935 Lowell Electric Light Corporation easement. Recorded Dec. 7, 1949, the same day the Browns bought a house on Blanchard Avenue from the estate of Charles H. Eames (Book 1129 Page 436), where they moved. This is the first deed to call the road Wyman Road rather than "the road leading from Lowell to Brighton."
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| July 29, 1953 | Deed | A Boston conveyancer (private owner for one day; not named) | Billerica Homes, Inc., of Boston | 1953: the farm broken up; the house lot (100 x 183.53 ft) excepted from the Billerica Homes development | 1230/169 |
On July 29, 1953 Harry Dunlap Brown and Blanche L. Brown sold the whole 132-acre farm "with the buildings thereon" (Book 1230 Page 168, subject to the 1935 electric pole easement and the 1951 Northeastern Gas Transmission Co. right of way, Book 1171 Page 453) to a Boston buyer, who the same day conveyed "a certain parcel of land situated on Wyman Road in the Southerly part of the Town of Billerica," the west side of the road, "Containing 50.696 acres," to Billerica Homes, Inc., a Boston development company, and the east tract to another buyer (Book 1230 Page 174). The deed to Billerica Homes runs along Wyman Road but steps around a lot "South 82-07-10 West, 100.00 feet; South 7-52-50 East 183.53 feet and North 82-07-10 East, 100.00 feet to Wyman Road": 18,353 square feet, the lot of the old house, which was kept out of the development and sold in 1955 to private owners (Plan Book 83 Plan 49). Later owners of the house lot are private.
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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.