Structure · Built 1855
Lewis Johnson House (227 Andover Road)
The house at 227 Andover Road stands on an acre of roadside land that Lewis Johnson, a carpenter, bought in 1855 and built on. The land was part of the Lewis place, the farm on both sides of the road to Salem that James Lewis and James Lewis Jr. sold to Thomas Richardson in 1794 and that Henry Allen bought from Richardson's heirs in 1835. On February 19, 1850 Allen divided the southeast side: about sixty acres "with all the buildings thereon" went to J. Frederick Gustus, and twelve acres of bare land just southwest of it, eighteen rods on "the road running from Billerica Meeting house to Salem," went to Henry Sperry, a trader, for $400. The 1853 Walling map shows no house on this stretch of the southeast side; Sperry's house and George Frost's stood across the road.
Lewis Johnson had come from Boston to build a small house on two acres of back land he bought from the Gustus farm. In January 1855 he sold that house and bought one acre on the road from Henry and Mehitable P. Sperry: six rods of frontage, 26 3/4 rods deep, bounded on the northeast by the land of Mary H. Gustus, J. Frederick Gustus's widow. The deed names no buildings and binds Johnson "to build and keep perpetually in repair all the fence adjoining my land." The 1856 county map marks Johnson's name at the road on this side. On October 29, 1866, two years before he bought the house at 43 Andover Road, Johnson sold the acre "with the buildings thereon" to Levi P. Felton for $1,000, and in February 1867 Felton sold it to his neighbor, Mary H. Crosby, the former Mrs. Gustus, who had married Henry Crosby. In 1868 she also bought the rest of the Sperry land around it, and the 1875 Beers atlas shows "Mrs. Crosby" with a row of buildings along this side of the road.
In January 1889 Mrs. Crosby, now a widow, sold the acre and three adjoining acres "with the buildings thereon" to Lizzie S. Beardsley, wife of Frank C. Beardsley of Franklin, taking back a $1,200 mortgage. Her heirs, Clara E. Sexton and Elizabeth M. Brooks of St. Paul, joined her in a second deed in 1890 that described the lot as a single piece of four acres, 23 rods 16 feet on the road between "the Long property," formerly Henry Sperry's, and the Crosby land. That description was copied into every deed for the next fifty years. In May 1891 the Beardsleys sold the place for $1,800 to Charles E. Scott of Cambridge. Scott mortgaged it to William J. Rounds in 1904 and lost it at a foreclosure auction on the premises on November 9, 1905, when Sylvanus B. Chaney bid $775; Chaney sold it back to Scott in 1906, and Clara E. Sexton gave Scott a release in 1907 because the 1890 deed had called her Edith C. Sexton.
Charles E. Scott kept the house until his death. In May 1925 his administratrix, Mary T. Scott, sold it under a license of the probate court to Charles V. Scott for $2,500, and in August 1925 Charles V. Scott sold it to Bertha M. Cowell of Somerville. She and her husband, William H. Cowell, made it their home and in 1929 took the title together through Margaret L. Lord of Woburn. A plan of the Cowell land drawn by E. P. Simpson in August 1943 shows the dwelling near the road, a store and gas station with two pumps toward the southwest corner, where a service station still stands at 221 Andover Road, a poultry house and a cottage behind, and a 25-foot strip on the northeast "Reserved for Right of Way," now Governor Carver Road. The plan cut out Lot 1, 175 feet on Andover Road and 150 feet deep, around the old house, and in May 1944 the Cowells sold that lot "with the buildings thereon" to a Billerica couple whose family still owns it. Two narrow strips beside it were added in 1952.
The assessor's date of about 1790 for the house is an estimate. The deeds show the lot was bare land in 1850 and in January 1855, and name buildings on it first in 1866, so the house dates from Lewis Johnson's ownership, about 1855. Johnson's earlier house on the Gustus back land and his later home at 43 Andover Road also bear his name as the Lewis Johnson House; the Gustus Homestead stands two lots to the northeast.
References
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| April 17, 1830 | Quitclaim | Heirs of Thomas Richardson: Josiah and Abigail Stevens, John and Mary French, John and Ann Thompson, Artemas and Lydia Rogers, Elizabeth Richardson, Sarah Kendall | George W. H. Rogers, merchant, Hannah R. F. Rogers and Judith E. Rogers, all of Boston | 1829 Thomas Richardson heirs: the Lewis place, from which the lot was later cut | 296/236 (South) |
For $1473.63, "a tract of land situate in Billerica ... being a part of the Lewis place so called and lately belonging to Thomas Richardson decd containing about sixty nine acres with the buildings thereon standing": from the NE corner by "the road that leads from Billerica meeting house to Salem" at land occupied by Phillip Mills, SW by the road 95.9 rods, SE to a corner of land of the heirs of Joseph Foster, E 33.5 rods, NW 49.8 rods, E 47.8 rods to a white oak, and 132 rods to the beginning. Dated March 7, 1829, ack. before Joseph Locke JP. Billerica town book 14, pages 279-280.
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| March 3, 1836 | Deed | Joseph Chamberlain of New York, merchant, Hannah R. F. Chamberlain, George W. H. Rogers and Judith E. Rogers of Boston | Henry Allen of Billerica, innholder | 1835 the Lewis place to Henry Allen | 351/72 (South) |
For $1500, "a certain piece or parcel of land situate on the southerly side of the road leading from Billerica Meeting House to Salem and being a part of the Lewis place so called and containing about sixty nine acres", the same bounds (Phillip Mills, the road 95.9 rods, heirs of Joseph Foster, the white oak), "see a diagram annexed." Warranty, no title recital. Dated Feb. 23, 1835 (ack. New York and Boston). Billerica town book 15, pages 241-242.
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| 1850 | Warranty Deed | Henry Allen of Billerica, yeoman, Eliza E. Allen releasing dower | Henry Sperry of Billerica, trader | 1850 Henry Allen to Henry Sperry, the twelve acres that included this lot | 576/395 (South) |
Billerica town book 19, pages 54-56. Feb. 19, 1850, the same day Allen sold the rest of the Lewis place to J. Frederick Gustus, for $400, "a certain tract of land situate in said Billerica": beginning at the northeast corner "by land this day conveyed by me to J. Frederick Gustus of Boston", southwesterly by "the road running from Billerica Meeting house to Salem" 18 rods, S 30 E partly by other land of Sperry 110 21/100 rods, N 44 1/2 E 18 rods, and N 30 W by the Gustus land back to the road, "containing by estimation twelve acres being a part of the same premises conveyed to me by Joseph Chamberlain and others" (Lib. 351, Page 72). No buildings are named. Witnesses John Baldwin Jr. and Rufus Clement. Both the acre Lewis Johnson bought in 1855 and the three acres added to it in 1889 came out of this lot.
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| November 26, 1853 | Quitclaim Deed | Eben G. Berry of Danvers, yeoman (wife Elizabeth releasing dower) | Mehitable P. Sperry, wife of Henry Sperry of Billerica, trader | 1853 the Sperry lands to Mehitable P. Sperry | 666/251 (South) |
For five thousand dollars, to her sole and separate use "free from the Control or interference of her husband", three tracts "upon the Road leading from the Rail Road Depot in said town to the village": about thirty-nine acres Henry Sperry bought of Helen A. Pike in 1849 (Book 568, Page 374); about twelve acres adjoining on the northeast, "Beginning at the Northeasterly corner of land of the late Frederick Custus and running southerly on said road Eighteen rods", conveyed by Henry Allen to Henry Sperry in 1851 (Book 576, Page 395); and about seventy-five acres adjoining on the southwest, part of what Moses Foster, Moses Foster Jr. and John Baldwin conveyed to Henry Sperry in 1850 (Book 599, Page 369). Dated November 10, 1853; Billerica town book 19, pages 536-538.
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| January 8, 1855 | Warranty Deed | Henry Sperry of Billerica (Mehitable P. Sperry releasing dower) | Lewis Johnson of Billerica | Jan. 1855 Henry Sperry to Lewis Johnson, the bare road-front acre | 704/148 (South) |
The first deed of the one-acre lot "situate in said Billerica on the Road leading to Andover", beginning at the northeast corner at the road "and at land of Mary H. Gustus", six rods on the road and twenty-six and three-fourths rods deep, bounded south and west by the grantors own land, with Johnson to keep up "all the fence adjoining my land". Dated January 5, 1855, before John Baldwin Jr.; Billerica town book 20, pages 515-517. Because the land was Mehitable Sperrys, a second deed in her right followed in April (Book 709, Page 385).
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| April 17, 1855 | Warranty Deed | Henry Sperry and Mehitable P. Sperry his wife, in her right, of Billerica | Lewis Johnson of Billerica, carpenter | 1855 Henry and Mehitable P. Sperry to Lewis Johnson, the same acre | 709/385 (South) |
For one hundred dollars, "a certain tract or parcel of land situate in said Billerica on the road leading from Billerica to Andover. Containing about one acre": six rods on the Andover road and twenty-six and three-fourths rods deep, bounded east by land of Mary H. Custus and south and west by the Sperrys own land; Johnson to "build and keep perpetually in repair all the fence adjoining my land". "Being a part of the premises conveyed to me by Eben G. Berry by his deed dated November 10, 1853, Recorded Book 666, Page 251, and is the same premises described in the deed from Henry Sperry to said Johnson dated January 5, 1855, Recorded Book 704 Page 148." No buildings are named. Dated January 5, 1855; Billerica town book 20, pages 572-573.
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| October 31, 1866 | Warranty Deed | Lewis Johnson of Billerica, carpenter | Levi P. Felton of Billerica | 1866 Lewis Johnson sells the acre with the buildings he put up | 52/84 |
For one thousand dollars, "a certain tract or parcel of land situate in said Billerica on the Road leading from Billerica to Andover containing about one acre with the buildings thereon", six rods on the road, bounded east by land of Mary H. Crosby "(formerly Custus)" and south and west by Henry Sperry. "Being premises conveyed to me by Henry Sperry and Mehitable P. Sperry by deed dated January 5th 1855 and recorded ... at Cambridge in Book 709 Page 385", subject to a three hundred dollar mortgage to Asa Holden which the grantee assumes. Johnson signed by his mark on October 29, 1866, before Dudley Foster.
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| February 18, 1867 | Warranty Deed | Levi P. Felton of Billerica | Mary H. Crosby, wife of Henry Crosby, of Billerica | 1867 Levi P. Felton to Mary H. Crosby | 54/380 |
For one thousand dollars, "a certain tract or parcel of land with the buildings thereon situate in said Billerica on the Road leading from Billerica to Andover", beginning at the northeast corner on the road "at land of Mary H. Crosby (formerly Custus)", by Crosby and Henry Sperry, six rods on the Andover road, "containing about one acre Being the same premises conveyed to me by Lewis Johnson by deed dated October 29th 1866 ... Book 52 Page 84", subject to the three hundred dollar mortgage to Asa Holden, which the grantee assumes. The Johnson house lot thus joined the Custus land already held by Mary H. Crosby. Recorded on pages 380-381.
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| January 16, 1869 | Warranty Deed | Mehitable P. Sperry of Billerica | Mary H. Crosby, wife of Henry Crosby, to her sole and separate use | 1868 the rest of the Sperry lot to Mary H. Crosby, source of the adjoining three acres | 65/594 |
For one hundred and fifty dollars, about eleven acres on "the road running from Billerica Centre to Salem", bounded by other land of Mrs. Sperry and by land of Mrs. Crosby "till you come to land formerly owned by one Johnson now of said Crosby": "Being the same premises, with the exception of one acre sold to Johnson and now owned by said Crosby, that was conveyed to Henry Sperry by Henry Allen deed dated February 19th 1850 ... Book 576, Page 395." This is the "Sperry Lot" named in the later deeds of the fifty acres. Dated September 30, 1868, before Dudley Foster.
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| January 18, 1889 | Warranty Deed | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica, widow (formerly Mary H. Gustus) | Lizzie S. Beardsley, wife of Frank C. Beardsley of Franklin | 1889 Mary H. Crosby to Lizzie S. Beardsley, the acre and three acres | 203/25 |
Pages 25-26. Jan. 16, 1889, for one dollar and other valuable consideration, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situate in said Billerica on the road leading from Billerica to Andover": the one acre, six rods on the road and 26 3/4 rods deep, bounded by "my other land" and by land formerly of Henry Sperry, "Being premises conveyed to me by Levi P. Felton dated February 14th 1867" (the deed is in Book 54, Page 380); and "another tract of land adjoining the above described premises containing three acres", running along the road to land formerly of Henry Sperry deceased. The three acres were part of the Sperry lot she had bought in 1868. Witness and justice Dudley Foster.
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| January 18, 1889 | Mortgage | Frank C. Beardsley and Lizzie S. Beardsley his wife, of Franklin | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica | 1889 Beardsley purchase mortgage to Mary H. Crosby | 203/26 |
Jan. 1889, for $1,200, the same two tracts "with the buildings thereon" on the road leading from Billerica to Andover, the one acre from Levi P. Felton and the adjoining three acres: the purchase money mortgage. Discharged in 1900 (Book 317, Page 280); the 1891 buyer assumed it.
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| May 7, 1891 | Warranty Deed | Mary H. Crosby of Billerica, widow; Edith C. (Clara E.) Sexton of Billerica; Elizabeth M. Brooks of St. Paul, Minnesota | Lizzie S. Beardsley, wife of Frank C. Beardsley of Billerica | 1890 the Gustus heirs join in a deed of the four acres | 223/359 |
Pages 359-360. Sept. 4, 1890, for one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situate in Billerica on the road to Andover or leading thereto": from the southwest corner at the road "and at land formerly of Henry Sperry deceased and now known as the Long property", southeasterly along the Long property 26 3/4 rods, northeasterly "along the lands of Mary Crosby (one of the grantors herein)" parallel with the highway 23 rods 16 feet, northwesterly 26 3/4 rods to the highway, and along the highway 23 rods 16 feet, "the same containing four (4) acres of land". The first description of the lot as one four-acre piece, joined in by the Gustus heirs. Acknowledged before Dudley Foster; recorded May 7, 1891.
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| May 16, 1891 | Warranty Deed | Frank C. Beardsley of Billerica and Lizzie S. Beardsley his wife, in her own right | Charles E. Scott of Cambridge | 1891 the Beardsleys to Charles E. Scott | 223/201 |
Pages 201-202. May 6, 1891, for $1,800, "a certain piece of land with buildings thereon situated in said Billerica on the road to Andover or leading thereto", the same four acres by the Long property and the lands of Mary Crosby, "being the same land conveyed to Lizzie S. Beardsley by Mary H. Crosby and others by their deed dated September 4th 1890", free of encumbrances "except a certain mortgage for $1200 to Mary H. Crosby which mortgage this grantee agrees and promises to assume and pay". Acknowledged at Lowell before Frederick Lawton.
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| December 6, 1905 | Mortgagee's Deed | William J. Rounds of Cambridge, mortgagee of Charles E. Scott and Mary Scott | Sylvanus B. Chaney | 1905 foreclosure auction to Sylvanus B. Chaney | 384/158 |
Pages 158-160. Charles E. Scott and Mary Scott had mortgaged the place to William J. Rounds on July 18, 1904 (Book 367, Page 185). Charles A. Wright and Chester A. Wright certify Rounds made "an open peaceable and unopposed entry" on Nov. 9, 1905 to foreclose. The notice ran Oct. 17, 24 and 31, 1905 in the Woburn Daily Times, "there being no newspaper in said Billerica", offering "a certain parcel of land with buildings thereon situated on Andover Road Billerica", four acres by the Long property and Mary Crosby; at the auction on the premises Nov. 9, 1905, John W. Sands auctioneer, Sylvanus B. Chaney was the highest bidder at $775. Deed dated Nov. 9, acknowledged in Suffolk Dec. 5, 1905.
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| July 30, 1907 | Warranty Deed | Sylvanus B. Chaney and Almira W. Chaney his wife | Charles E. Scott of Billerica | 1906 Chaney back to Charles E. Scott | 407/364 |
Aug. 15, 1906, for one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain piece of land with buildings thereon situated in Billerica on the road to Andover or leading thereto", the four acres from the land formerly belonging to Henry Sperry deceased "and now known as the Long property", by "the lands of Mary Crosby Heirs" on the rear and "the land of Joseph Holt" on the northeast, "being the same land conveyed to Lizzie S. Beardsley by Mary H. Crosby and others by their deed dated September 4th 1890". Almira releases dower and homestead. Acknowledged before Dana H. Spiller; recorded July 30, 1907 with a $600 mortgage from Scott to Ellen M. Hews of Cambridge (page 366), so Scott bought back the house lost at the 1905 sale.
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| July 30, 1907 | Quitclaim | William H. Sexton of Somerville and Clara E. Sexton his wife, in her right | Charles E. Scott of Billerica | 1907 Clara E. Sexton release | 407/365 |
July 18, 1907, for one dollar and other valuable considerations, a release of "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica on the road to Andover", the four acres by the Long property, "the lands late of Mary H. Crosby" and "the lands of Katie and John Taylor, formerly of said Crosby", "being the same premises described in a deed from said Clara E. Sexton and others to Lizzie S. Beardsley, dated Sept 4, 1890 ... in which deed said Clara E. Sexton is described as Edith C. Sexton". A title cure for the misnamed heir. Clara acknowledged in Suffolk July 24, 1907.
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| May 27, 1925 | Administratrix's Deed | Mary T. Scott of Billerica, administratrix of the estate of Charles E. Scott | Charles V. Scott of Billerica | 1925 the Scott estate to Charles V. Scott | 723/173 |
Pages 173-174. May 27, 1925, "by the power conferred by license of Middlesex Probate Court on the thirteenth day of April Nineteen hundred twenty-five", for $2,500, "the land in Billerica with the buildings thereon situated on the road to Andover or leading thereto", the four acres by the Long property and the lands of Mary Crosby, subject to a $600 mortgage. The same morning William Sexton discharged the $600 mortgage Charles E. Scott had given him July 12, 1916 (Book 556, Page 290), and Charles V. Scott, unmarried, mortgaged the place to William Sexton for $1,100.
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| August 14, 1925 | Quitclaim Deed | Charles V. Scott of Billerica, unmarried | Bertha M. Cowell of Somerville | 1925 Charles V. Scott to Bertha M. Cowell | 727/40 |
Pages 40-41. Aug. 10, 1925 ($4 in revenue stamps), with quitclaim covenants, "the land in said Billerica, with the buildings thereon, situated on the road to Andover or leading thereto", the four acres from the Long property, formerly of Henry Speny deceased, by the lands of Mary Crosby, "Being the same premises conveyed to this grantor by Mary T. Scott Administratrix of the estate of Charles E. Scott by deed dated May 27, 1925", subject to the 1925 taxes. Recorded with William Sexton's discharge of the Scott mortgage and Bertha M. Cowell's $2,800 mortgage to the Woburn Co-operative Bank.
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| October 22, 1929 | Quitclaim Deed | Margaret L. Lord of Woburn, unmarried | William H. Cowell and Bertha M. Cowell, husband and wife, of Billerica | 1929 the Cowells as tenants by the entirety | 782/587 |
Pages 587-588. Sept. 3, 1929, "the land in said Billerica, with the buildings thereon, situated on the road to Andover or leading thereto", the same four acres by the Long property and the lands of Mary Crosby, "Being the same premises described in deed of Bertha M. Cowell to Margaret L. Lord dated September 3, 1929, herewith duly recorded". The two deeds of the same day passed the title through Margaret L. Lord so that the Cowells held it as tenants by the entirety. Acknowledged before John C. Maguire.
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| June 3, 1944 | Quitclaim Deed | William H. Cowell and Bertha M. Cowell, husband and wife, of Billerica | A husband and wife of Billerica, as tenants by the entirety | 1944 the house on Lot 1 sold to its present family | 1007/297 |
Pages 297-298. May 31, 1944 ($3.30 in revenue stamps), "the land with the buildings thereon": northerly by Andover Road 175 feet and westerly, southerly and easterly by other land of the Cowells, 26,250 square feet, "a portion of the premises described in a deed from Margaret L. Lord" (Book 782, Page 587), shown as Lot 1 on the Aug. 20, 1943 plan of the Cowell land by E. P. Simpson (Plan Book 66, Plan 26), which draws the dwelling on the lot and a store and gas station, a poultry house and a cottage on the land the Cowells kept. A $2,000 mortgage to the Woburn Co-operative Bank followed. The same family still owns the house: in July 1952 they added two narrow strips beside it, Lots A and B on an April 1952 Simpson plan of the former Cowell land (Book 1199, Pages 101 and 105), and no later sale is recorded.
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.