Small House
The Small House at 24 Old Elm Street in North Billerica is a modest single-family house built as worker housing for the Talbot Mills. It stands on Lot 35 of the company's 1936 division plan, a lot of 6,000 square feet with about 49 feet on Elm Street, next door to the Isaiah Bussey House.
The land was part of Richardson's Mills, the mills and forty acres that Thomas Richardson sold to the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal in 1794. In 1826 the Canal sold John Mixer a three-quarter-acre lot on the south side of the road "leading from O. Farmers house to the Canal Bridge at the Mills", twelve rods on the road. Mixer sold the easterly four rods to Isaiah Bussey, a clothier, in 1827, and that lot, with Bussey's house, went to Daniel Wilson in 1837 and to Lott Easty in 1857. Mixer kept the westerly eight rods, a half acre, mortgaging it in 1838 and 1844, and on December 4, 1849 sold it for $300 to Wilson's son Horace N. Wilson, "Easterly on said Wilsons land ten rods southerly on land of Daniel Wilson eight rods westerly on land of Daniel Wilson ten rods to the road". Horace sold it to his father in 1858 for $100, and in 1859 Daniel Wilson added an eleven-foot strip from its east side to Easty's lot.
Daniel Wilson died in 1861, and the half acre passed with his homestead farm through his administrator's sale of 1863 to Gardner Parker, his son-in-law. Meanwhile Easty's lot was sold in 1869 to Oren Sheldon and then to Charles P. Talbot and Thomas Talbot, whose mill stood nearby. In 1876 Parker sold the Talbots the half acre beside it, "one half acre" running 6 1/3 rods along the road to Lowell. The present lot straddles these two pieces: its eastern edge lies in the old Bussey and Easty lot and the rest in Mixer's west half acre.
None of the deeds of 1869 and 1876 mentions a second house, but the house appears on the 1875 map and the Massachusetts Historical Commission dates it to about 1874, so it was probably built by C. P. Talbot and Co. soon after they bought the Easty lot in 1869. The Talbot heirs conveyed their property to the new corporation, The Talbot Mills, on October 15, 1884, and the house was rented to mill workers; it is listed in the company's inventory of 1912.
When The Talbot Mills sold off its housing, it conveyed Lot 35, "the land in Billerica with the buildings thereon", to Louis G. and Flora T. Moss by a deed dated December 16, 1936 and recorded December 21, 1936 (later accounts give the year as 1937). The deed gave a right of way over the lane from Elm Street to Wilson Street, and the company reserved the common sewer that ran under the lots. The Mosses sold the house in 1945 to Roland and Eleanor Poirier, who kept it until 1970. It has since passed through several private owners, most recently by a sale in 1977.
References
- MACRIS BIL.251
- Billerica assessor, parcel 9-119-0, 24 Old Elm St: 0.138 acres, Lot 35 Plan 60-25, current deed Book 2259 Page 730
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| April 21, 1794 | Deed | Thomas Richardson of Billerica, gentleman (Judith Richardson releasing dower) | Ebenezer Hall of Medford and Samuel Jaques of Wilmington, a committee for the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal | 1794: Richardson's Mills and farm sold to the Middlesex Canal | 115/259 (South) |
For 1350 pounds, "about forty acres of Land" bounded easterly by Concord River, westerly by the highway and northerly and southerly by the road; the reversion of half the dower of the widow Hannah Carlton, conveyed to him by Solomon, Moses and Nathan Carlton; five sixths of a small piece at the northeast end of the mill dam, bounded easterly "by Timothy Sprague's Ditch that conveys Water to the Fulling mill"; "together with all the Buildings ... including the Mills Mill priviledges ... commonly known by the name of Richardson's Mills being the same which was formerly granted by the Town of Billerica to Christopher Osgood together with the Mill Dam and Stream", on the conditions of the town's vote of October 4, 1708, a passage for fish, and his 1791 agreement with Timothy Sprague. Dated March 25, 1794; recorded April 21, 1794. Billerica town book 9, pages 81-82. The Canal Mills land from which the proprietors sold their small house lots.
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| March 20, 1826 | Deed | Benjamin Guild of Boston, President of the Board of Directors of the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal | John Mixer of Billerica | 1826: the Canal sells lots 1-3 (the future Lot 35 land) to John Mixer | 265/208 (South) |
Under the proprietors' vote of March 13, 1826, for $600: a lot bounded easterly on land of Nathan Mears 10 rods, southerly on Mears 12 rods, westerly on Canal land 10 rods and northerly "on the road leading from O. Farmers house to the Canal Bridge at the Mills" 12 rods, three quarters of an acre (lots 1, 2 and 3 on Samuel Whiting's plan of May 1816); and "one other lot ... on the northerly side of the road leading from O. Farmers house to the Mills and directly on the opposite side of the road to the lot above conveyed", southerly on the road 12 rods, westerly on Canal land to "the towing path of said Canal", along the towing path 12 rods, easterly by Canal land about 7 1/2 rods to the road, "laid down as three lots marked number fourteen, fifteen and sixteen" on Whiting's plan of May 16, 1816. Dated March 15, 1826; recorded March 20, 1826. Billerica town book 12, pages 459-461. Lots 14-16 are the house lot.
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| 1827 | Deed | John Mixer of Billerica, yeoman (Nancy Mixer releasing dower) | Isaiah Bussey of Billerica, clothier | 1827: Mixer sells the easterly 4 rods to Isaiah Bussey (east edge of the lot) | 277/14 (South) |
For $120, "a lot of land situated in Billerica aforesaid near the Canal Mills so call[ed]": beginning on the road leading from the Mills to Oliver Farmer's, running on land of Nathan Mears southwardly 10 rods, westerly on Mears 4 rods, northwardly on land of John Mixer 10 rods, and on the road 4 rods to the first bound (forty square rods, the easterly end of the lot Mixer bought from the Canal in 1826). No buildings are named. Warranty. Dated July 6, 1827; witnesses Francis Faulkner and William E. Faulkner; acknowledged July 9, 1827. Billerica town book 11, page 501.
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| 1837 | Deed | Isaiah Bussey of Billerica, yeoman (his wife, signing as Nancy Bussey, releasing dower) | Daniel Wilson of Billerica, yeoman | 1837: Bussey sells his house lot to Daniel Wilson | 368/315 (South) |
For $1,500, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon standing, situate in said Billerica near the Canal Mills so called, containing thirty seven square rods": from the westerly corner at the road from the Canal Mills to Oliver Farmer's and land of John Mixer, south by Mixer 10 rods to Wilson's land, east by Wilson about 47 feet to a board fence, north by Wilson and others to land of "the Widow Anna Wood", still north to a point near "the said Anna's building formerly a Shoemaker's Shop, where the lot is four rods wide", north by Anna's land to the road and west by the road 4 rods; also 7 acres 15 rods "formerly a part of the Nathan Mears homestead" between the road, the schoolhouse, the passage way and Concord River. Dated September 25, 1837; witnesses William E. Faulkner and Marshall Preston. Billerica town book 15, pages 480-481. The first record of a house on the lot.
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| 1838 | Mortgage | John Mixer of Billerica, yeoman | John Baldwin of Billerica, Esquire, Treasurer of the town | 1838: Mixer mortgages the west half acre | 377/294 (South) |
For $452.70, the half-acre lot south of the road (by land formerly of Isaiah Bussey, now Daniel Wilson's); "also my homestead situate in said town on the northerly side of said road and directly on the opposite side of the road to the lot above described", southerly on the road, westerly on Canal land to the towing path, 12 rods along the south side of the towing path and easterly by Canal land about 7 1/2 rods to the road; and 21 acres "conveyed to me by Levi Sprake by his deed December 25, 1820" (Book 241, Page 291) with a piece north of the "Sprake Bridge" over the canal. A loan from the town funds; discharged 1844 (MHC). Billerica town book 14, pages 444-445.
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| 1844 | Mortgage | John Mixer of Billerica, yeoman | Doctor Zadok Howe of Billerica | 1844: Mixer mortgages the west half acre to Dr. Zadok Howe | 450/391 (South) |
For $900, the half-acre lot south of the road "leading from the Oliver Farmer house so called to the Canal Mills", bounded by Daniel Wilson; "also my homestead situated in said Billerica on the northerly side of said road & directly opposite to the above described lot", westerly on Canal land, "northerly on the towing path of said Canal", easterly on Canal land and southerly on the road, three quarters of an acre; the 21 acres by Oliver Farmer's and Joshua Radding's land; and a lot with a dwelling house north of the canal bridge "called the Sprake Bridge". Dated April 1, 1844. Billerica town book 20, pages 50-51. Assumed by the Talbots in 1852.
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| October 8, 1852 | Warranty Deed | John Mixer of Billerica, gentleman (Nancy Mixer relinquishing dower) | Horace N. Wilson of Billerica | 1849: Mixer sells the west half acre to Horace N. Wilson | 638/419 (South) |
For $300, "a certain lot of land containing one half acre more or less lying in Billerica bounded as follows Easterly on said Wilsons land ten rods southerly on land of Daniel Wilson eight rods westerly on land of Daniel Wilson ten rods to the road on said road to the bounds first mentioned": the westerly 8 rods of the lot (lots 1-3) Mixer bought from the Canal in 1826, which he had mortgaged in 1838 and 1844. No buildings are named. Dated December 4, 1849 (witness Saml. Rogers); acknowledged December 5, 1849 before Dudley Foster JP; recorded October 8, 1852. Billerica town book 19, pages 345-346.
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| December 15, 1857 | Deed | Daniel Wilson of Billerica, yeoman (Mary Wilson releasing dower) | Lott Easty of Billerica, trader | 1857: Wilson sells the Bussey lot to Lott Easty | 12/516 |
For $1,500, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon standing situate in said Billerica near the Canal Mills so called, containing thirty seven square rods": from the westerly corner at the road from the Canal Mills to I. A. Colson's at Wilson's own land, south by his land 10 rods to a stone wall, east by the wall and his land about 47 feet to a board fence, north by land of Wilson and others to land of Lott Easty and on to the road, west by the road 4 rods, "being premises conveyed to me by Isaiah Bussey by deed dated Sept. 25th, 1837 ... Book 368, Page 315". Dated December 14, 1857 (witness Dudley Foster); recorded December 15, 1857. Easty already owned the house to the east; two days later he deeded land at Wilson's and the Canal Mills to Wilson (N.12/520), the exchange remembered in the MHC form.
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| April 21, 1859 | Warranty Deed | Horace N. Wilson of Billerica (Sybil Wilson, his wife, releasing dower) | His father Daniel Wilson of Billerica | 1858: Horace N. Wilson sells the half acre to his father | 19/39 |
For $100, "a certain lot of land lying in said Billerica containing one half acre more or less bounded as follows viz Easterly on land of Lott Esty ten rods Southerly on land of said Daniel Wilson eight rods Westerly on said Daniel Wilson's land ten rods to the road on said road to the bounds first mentioned. It being land conveyed to me by John Mixer deed dated December 4th AD 1849 ... Book 638 Page 419." Dated November 3, 1858 (witnesses Dudley Foster and Thomas Simonds); acknowledged November 20, 1858 before Dudley Foster JP; recorded April 21, 1859. In April 1859 Daniel Wilson sold Easty an 11-foot strip off its east side (Book 36 Page 218); the rest passed with his homestead farm after his death in 1861.
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| December 2, 1863 | Deed | Daniel Wilson of Billerica, yeoman (Mary Wilson releasing dower) | Lott Easty of Billerica | 1859: 11-foot strip off the half acre added to the Easty lot | 36/218 |
For $55, a strip "beginning at the westerly corner thereof at the road leading from the Canal Mills to I. A. Colson's at my own land and eleven feet from land of said Easty", south by Wilson's land 10 rods to a stake and stones, east by his land 11 feet to Easty's land, north by Easty's land to the road and along the road 11 feet: an 11-foot strip added to the west side of the Bussey lot. Dated April 30, 1859 (witnesses Dudley Foster and Sophia Howard); recorded December 2, 1863.
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| 1861 | Administration | Estate of Daniel Wilson of Billerica, who died November 29, 1861 intestate | Gardner Parker of Billerica, administrator; widow Mary Wilson and eight children | 1861: estate of Daniel Wilson | Probate #44864 |
Gardner Parker, husband of Wilson's daughter Adeline, petitioned December 11, 1861 that Daniel Wilson had died November 29, 1861 intestate, leaving his widow Mary and children Mary J. Wilkins, Adeline M. Parker, Horace N. Wilson, Daniel A. Wilson (at Rattlesnake Bar, California), Israel N. Wilson (a captain then serving in Virginia), Frances A. Faulkner and Charles H. Wilson; he was appointed administrator at Cambridge December 24, 1861. The license of April 7, 1863 led to the sale of Wilson's third of the Mears Tavern stand.
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| April 6, 1864 | Administrator's Deed | Gardner Parker of Billerica, administrator of the estate of Daniel Wilson | James Faulkner of Billerica | 1863: administrator's sale of the Wilson homestead | 37/357 |
Under a license of the Probate Court at Lowell of April 7, 1863, after three weeks' notice in the Lowell Daily Courier, the administrator sold at public auction on December 7, 1863, to James Faulkner, the highest bidder, for $4,000, all Wilson's right at his death in "a certain piece or parcel of land situate in said Billerica, containing about twenty-eight acres being the homestead farm of the late Daniel Wilson", bounded west by the road from Billerica to North Billerica, north by that road and lands of Easty, I. N. Wilson, Foster, Lane and C. P. Talbot & Co., east by Easty, Foster, Lane and the Concord River, and south by the Concord River and the Common. Dated December 7, 1863; acknowledged April 5, 1864; recorded April 6, 1864.
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| April 6, 1864 | Quitclaim | James Faulkner of Billerica (Fanny A. Faulkner releasing dower and homestead) | Gardner Parker of Billerica | 1864: Wilson homestead to Gardner Parker | 37/358 |
For $4,000, the same twenty-eight acres "being the homestead farm of the late Daniel Wilson of said Billerica deceased", same bounds, "subject to a right of way over a portion of said premises, and to the dower of Mary Wilson, widow". Faulkner (husband of Wilson's daughter Frances) passed the farm to the administrator Parker (husband of his daughter Adeline) the day after the sale deed was acknowledged. Dated April 5, 1864; recorded April 6, 1864.
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| December 28, 1865 | Deed | Lott Easty of Billerica | W. S. Bates of Lowell | 1865: Easty to W. S. Bates (straw) | 46/210 |
For $2,000, "two certain parcels of land with the buildings thereon situate in said Billerica", the first the same conveyed by Daniel Wilson by deed of December 14, 1857 (Book 12, Page 516) and the second by Wilson's deed of April 30, 1859 (Book 36, Page 218), described by reference. Dated, acknowledged and recorded December 28, 1865 (A. B. Wright, justice and register). The first half of a straw conveyance to Easty's wife.
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| December 28, 1865 | Quitclaim | W. S. Bates of Lowell | Mary F. Easty, wife of Lott Easty of Billerica, in her own right | 1865: Bates to Mary F. Easty (straw) | 46/211 |
For $2,000, quitclaims "two certain pieces or parcels of land situate in said Billerica with the buildings thereon", the same conveyed to Bates by Lott Easty the same day, "to be held in her own right". Dated, acknowledged and recorded December 28, 1865. Completes the straw conveyance putting the title in Mary F. Easty.
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| November 1, 1866 | Mortgage | Lott Easty of Billerica and Mary F. Easty his wife, in her own right | Joseph Stearns of Billerica | 1866: Easty mortgage; Gardner Parker is the west abutter | 52/304 |
For $1,500, mortgage of "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon situate in North Billerica": from the westerly corner at the road from the Canal Mills to I. A. Colson's at land of Gardner Parker, south by Parker's land 10 rods to a wall, east by the wall and Parker's land about 57 feet to land of C. P. Talbot & Co., north by Talbot's land and land of I. N. Wilson to the road, and west by the road 4 rods 11 feet, "Being premises conveyed to said Mary F. Easty by W. S. Bates deed dated Dec. 28th 1865 ... Book 46 Page 211". Recorded November 1, 1866 (index date). Discharged in the margin by Joseph Stearns, January 9, 1867.
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| June 29, 1869 | Deed | Lott Easty of Billerica (Mary F. Easty, his wife, joining) | Oren Sheldon of Billerica | 1869: the Eastys sell to Oren Sheldon | 68/326 |
For $2,000, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situate in that part of Billerica called North Billerica": from the road leading to Lowell at land of Gardner Parker (the northwest corner), south by Parker 10 rods, east by land now or formerly of Parker to land of C. P. Talbot & Co., north by Talbot's land and land of Mrs. Alma Wilson to the road, and west by the road, "containing about one half acre more or less"; warranted free of encumbrances except a mortgage of [five?] hundred dollars "which the grantee is to pay and discharge being a part of the consideration". Dated June 28, 1869; recorded June 29, 1869.
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| July 3, 1869 | Quitclaim | Oren Sheldon of Billerica (Agnes Sheldon releasing dower and homestead) | Charles P. Talbot of Lowell and Thomas Talbot of Billerica | 1869: Sheldon sells the Easty lot to the Talbots | 68/379 |
For $2,000, quitclaims "a certain tract of land situate in that part of Billerica called North Billerica": from the road leading from North Billerica to Lowell at land of Gardner Parker (the northwest corner), south by Parker about 10 rods, east by land of or formerly of Parker to land of the grantees, north by the grantees' land and land of Alma A. Wilson to the road, and west by the road, "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Lott Easty, deed dated June 28th 1869". Dated June 29, 1869 (witness Dudley Foster); recorded July 3, 1869. From here the house was mill housing of C. P. Talbot & Co. and, from October 15, 1884, of The Talbot Mills (deeds N.169/468 and 169/472, whose registry images are unavailable).
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| March 30, 1876 | Deed | Gardner Parker of Billerica (Adeline M. Parker releasing dower and homestead) | Charles P. Talbot of Lowell and Thomas Talbot of Billerica | 1876: Parker sells the Talbots the half acre west of the Easty lot | 116/432 |
For $300, "a certain tract of land situate in North Billerica containing one half acre", beginning at a corner in the road leading from North Billerica to Lowell at land of the Talbots, about 18 rods south by their land to "my own land", then north by Parker's land to the road and 6 1/3 rods by the road, "as per plan of Samuel Sage A.D. 1876"; free of incumbrances "except a mortgage held by the grantees". A vacant strip of the Wilson farm east of the house, which Parker kept. Dated March 30, 1876.
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| October 16, 1884 | Guardian's Deed | Harriet Talbot et al., by their guardian | The Talbot Mills, Billerica | 1884: Talbot heirs to The Talbot Mills | 169/468 |
Known from the grantee index 1881-1900 (Talbot Mills-Billerica, index page 82): received October 16, 1884, "N Billerica. Several parcels, water rts, mill privileges &c, see record", recorded with the deed of Thomas Talbot et al. (Book 169 Page 472). Book 169 images are unavailable at the registry; not read.
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| October 16, 1884 | Deed | Thomas Talbot et al. | The Talbot Mills, Billerica | 1884: Thomas Talbot et al. to The Talbot Mills | 169/472 |
Known from the grantee index 1881-1900 (Talbot Mills-Billerica, index page 82): received October 16, 1884, "N Billerica. Several parcels, water rts, mill privileges &c, see record." Later Talbot Mills deeds cite it with Book 169 Page 468 as the deeds "from the Talbot heirs" to the new corporation (one recites a deed of Thomas Talbot et als. dated Oct. 15, 1884). The registry shows "Image is Unavailable" for Book 169, so the deed itself was not read; that it covered the land of the future Oval, part of the C. P. Talbot and Company property west of Wilson Street on the 1881 plan, is inferred.
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| December 21, 1936 | Quitclaim | The Talbot Mills, by Thomas T. Clark, Treasurer | Louis G. Moss and Flora T. Moss, husband and wife, of Billerica, tenants by the entirety | 1936: The Talbot Mills sells Lot 35 to Louis G. and Flora T. Moss | 892/312 |
For consideration paid ($1.00 in revenue stamps), "the land in Billerica with the buildings thereon" on the southeasterly side of Elm Street, being Lot 35 on Plan "A" of The Talbot Mills surveyed 1926-27-36 by J. C. and W. T. Monahan (Plan Book 60, Plan 25): northwesterly by Elm Street 48.95 feet, northeasterly by Lot 34 128.23 feet, southerly by Lot 33 60 feet and southwesterly by Lot 36 102.55 feet, 6,000 square feet; with a right of way from Elm Street to Wilson Street, the grantor reserving the common sewer. "Being a part of the third parcel of land described in two deeds to the grantor, one from Frank P. Putnam, Guardian, and the other from Thomas Talbot and others, both dated October 15, 1884 ... Book 169, Pages 468 and 472." Dated and acknowledged December 16, 1936 before Frederic S. Harvey JP; recorded December 21, 1936.
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| December 21, 1936 | Mortgage | Louis G. Moss and Flora T. Moss, husband and wife, of Billerica | Union Old Lowell National Bank, of Lowell | 1936: Moss purchase mortgage | 892/313 |
Mortgage of Lot 35 on Plan A (Plan Book 60, Plan 25) to secure $600 at 5 percent, payable in monthly installments of $6.57 beginning February 1, 1937. Recorded with the purchase deed, December 21, 1936.
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| September 28, 1945 | Quitclaim | Louis G. Moss and Flora T. Moss, husband and wife, of Billerica | Roland Poirier and Eleanor Poirier, tenants by the entirety | 1945: the Mosses sell to Roland and Eleanor Poirier (later private owners) | 1030/410 |
For consideration paid ($1.10 in revenue stamps), "the land in Billerica with the buildings thereon" on the southeasterly side of Elm Street, Lot 35 on Plan "A" (Plan Book 60, Plan 25), 6,000 square feet, same bounds, with the right of way from Elm Street to Wilson Street and the sewer reservation; subject to the 1945 taxes and a $2,000 mortgage to the Middlesex Co-Operative Bank, which the grantees assume. "Being the same premises conveyed to us by The Talbot Mills, by its deed dated December 16, 1936 ... Book 892, Page 312." Dated and recorded September 28, 1945. The Poiriers sold in 1970 to private owners for $16,600 (Book 1931 Page 669); later private sales followed in 1972 for $18,000 (Book 2002 Page 56), in 1973 for $1,800 and the assumption of an $18,000 mortgage (Book 2082 Page 723) and in 1977 for $25,990 (Book 2259 Page 730, the current deed).
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.