Structure · Built 1852 · Demolished 1956
William P. P. Pollard House
The William P. P. Pollard House stood on the west side of Allen Road in the southeastern part of Billerica, on a farm lot of about seven acres between the land of John Allen to the north and Sarah Richardson to the south, with the farms of Joseph White and Harvey Crosby behind it. The site is now 121 Allen Road, Lot 1 of the Brian Estates subdivision of 1990.
The lot was put together in 1848-1850 from three pieces. In April 1848 the widow Sarah Richardson quitclaimed to Andrew R. Pollard, a Billerica yeoman, "one acre and five eighths and three rods" at "the road leading from Sarah Richardson's to John Allen's", and Pollard mortgaged it the same spring to Rufus Cutter. In November 1848 the widow Judith Pollard released to William P. P. Pollard of Boston her right in two acres at the road by John Allen's land, and in 1850 Joseph White sold him five and a half acres behind "said Pollard's land", bounded "as the wall now stands around said lot". Andrew Pollard's own deed to William was never recorded, but the 1856 deeds say the seven acres were "purchased by him in part of Andrew B. Pollard and in part of Joseph White".
William P. P. Pollard was a Boston victualler, and in February 1856 he was declared insolvent. On July 8, 1856, his assignee, George H. Preston, sold the Billerica land to Pollard's wife, Emma Jane Pollard, "in her own right ... free from the control or interference of her husband": a five-acre "nursery" on the County road and "a certain other piece or parcel of land situated in the southerly part of said Billerica ... with the buildings thereon", seven acres. This is the first deed to name the house. Emma Jane, a widow by 1868, sold the place in 1869 for $650 to Emeline Mosman of Waltham, signing the deed in Quebec.
The little farm then changed hands often. The Mosmans sold it in 1875 to Mary H. Hadley of Lowell, who sold it in 1878 to Rhoda W. Davis of Tewksbury, taking back a $500 mortgage. That mortgage passed to Andrew C. Wheelock, who foreclosed in 1884 and in 1885 sold "a certain tract of land with buildings thereon" to John Cannon, a farmer, for $700. In 1889 Cannon put the title in the name of his wife Elizabeth, and in 1901, as the widow Elizabeth Canning, she sold the seven acres to Ellen M. Parkinson of Norwich, Connecticut. The Woburn Co-operative Bank foreclosed Parkinson's mortgage at an auction on the premises on October 17, 1911, and its treasurer, Arthur E. Gage, deeded the place a week later to William J. Canning of Billerica.
The Cannings held it for eighty years. In 1928 William J. Canning conveyed the land "with the buildings thereon, situate on the Westerly side of Allen Road" to his brother Charles O. Canning and his wife Lillian as joint tenants. Charles O. Canning left the property by will in thirds to the First Congregational Church of Billerica, the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children and a family devisee, who sold it in June 1991 to the Wildwood Realty Trust. The trust laid out Brian Estates and Duby Drive on the seven acres; the plan shows an existing house on Lot 1 at the corner of Allen Road, and that lot "with the buildings thereon" was sold to private owners in September 1991. The assessor dates the present Cape-style house to about 1957.
References
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| June 13, 1848 | Quitclaim | Sarah Richardson of Billerica, widow | Andrew R. Pollard of Billerica, yeoman | Sarah Richardson to Andrew R. Pollard, 1 5/8 acres (south part of the lot) | 537/274 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 119-120. For $50, quitclaim of "a certain lot of land situated in the southeasterly part of said Billerica, containing one acre and five eighths and three rods more or less", beginning at the northeast corner "at the road leading from Sarah Richardson's to John Allen's at land of Joseph White", westerly by White 8 1/2 rods to a corner of the wall, southerly by White 28 rods to a corner of the wall, easterly by Sarah Richardson's land 10 rods to the road, then by the road 26 rods to the beginning. Signed April 21, 1848, before Marshall Preston. No buildings named and no title recital. The 1856 deeds call the grantee Andrew B. Pollard.
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| June 13, 1848 | Mortgage | Andrew R. Pollard of Billerica, yeoman | Rufus Cutter of Billerica | Andrew R. Pollard mortgage to Rufus Cutter | 537/278 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 120-121. For $125, payable in three years with interest, mortgage of the same lot of "one acre and five eighths and three rods", beginning at the road leading from Sarah Richardson's to John Allen's at land of Joseph White, by White 8 1/2 and 28 rods, by Sarah Richardson 10 rods and by the road 26 rods.
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| 1848 | Quitclaim | Judith Pollard of Billerica, widow | William P. P. Pollard of Boston | Judith Pollard releases 2 acres at the road to William P. P. Pollard | 554/83 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 216-217. For $10, "all my right, title and interest in and to a certain parcel or piece of land situate in said Billerica ... containing two acres, more or less", beginning at the northeasterly corner "at the road and land of John Allen", westerly by Allen to land of Joseph White, southerly by White to land of Sarah Richardson, easterly by Sarah Richardson to the road, northerly by the road to the beginning. Signed November 22, 1848, witness M. Preston, acknowledged before Marshall Preston. No buildings named; no title recital.
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| 1850 | Deed | Joseph White of Billerica, yeoman, and his wife Martha W. White | William P. P. Pollard of Boston, yeoman | Joseph White to William P. P. Pollard, 5 1/2 acres (west part) | 593/81 (South) |
Billerica town book 18, pages 441-442. For $285, 5 1/2 acres in the southeasterly part of Billerica, from the northeasterly corner by the road southerly 4 rods to Pollard's land, then by Pollard about 8 and 27 rods, westerly by "my own land" about 31 rods, northerly by White and Harvey Crosby about 29 rods, easterly by the heirs of Zadock Allen about 30 rods, "as the wall now stands around said lot". The northeast part of the 14 acre lot bought in 1834, sold to the neighbor; the homestead stayed with White.
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| February 14, 1857 | Assignment in Insolvency | Isaac Ames, Commissioner of Insolvency for Suffolk County | George H. Preston of Boston, assignee | Pollard insolvent: estate assigned to George H. Preston | 7/516 |
Assignment, dated February 8, 1856, of the estate of William P. P. Pollard of Boston, victualler, an insolvent debtor, to his assignee George H. Preston, with "all his deeds, books and papers relating thereto", in trust for the purposes of the insolvency acts. Recorded at Lowell with the deeds that followed.
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| February 14, 1857 | Assignee's Deed | George H. Preston of Boston, counsellor at law, assignee of William P. P. Pollard, insolvent | Emma Jane Pollard of Boston, wife of William P. P. Pollard, in her own right | assignee to Emma Jane Pollard: 7 acres with the buildings | 7/517 |
For $25, quitclaim of two lots: the "nursery" of 5 acres on the County road (Josiah Rogers, Bernard Tufts, Tufts lane, Alley, Blanchard), and "a certain other piece or parcel of land situated in the southerly part of said Billerica ... with the buildings thereon", westerly on land of Joseph White and land of Harvey Crosby, northerly on land of John Allen, easterly on the road and southerly on land of Mrs. Sarah Richardson, "containing seven acres more or less and being part of the estate of said William P. P. Pollard and formerly purchased by him in part of Andrew B. Pollard and in part of Joseph White". She takes "as if a feme sole, free from the control or interference of her husband". Signed July 8, 1856.
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| February 14, 1857 | Quitclaim | William P. P. Pollard of Boston, victualler | Saul C. Tryon of Boston, provision dealer | Pollard releases to Saul C. Tryon | 7/518 |
For $1, "all my right, title, interest and estate" in the same two lots, the nursery of 5 acres on the County road and the 7 acres in the southerly part of Billerica "with the buildings thereon", bounded by Joseph White, Harvey Crosby, John Allen, the road and Mrs. Sarah Richardson, "formerly purchased by him in part of Andrew B. Pollard and in part of Joseph White". Signed July 8, 1856, witnesses Geo. H. Preston and Edward Castell.
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| February 14, 1857 | Quitclaim | Saul C. Tryon of Boston, provision dealer | Emma Jane Pollard of Boston | Tryon to Emma Jane Pollard | 7/519 |
For $1, Tryon passes the debtor's released interest in the same lots to Emma Jane Pollard, dated July 8, 1856; with the assignee's deed of the same day this vested the Allen Road farm in Pollard's wife (both deeds are recited in her 1869 sale).
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| September 17, 1869 | Warranty Deed | Emma Jane Pollard of Boston, widow | Emeline Mosman of Waltham, wife of Gardner Mosman, in her own right | widow Emma Jane Pollard to Emeline Mosman | 69/545 |
For $650, "a certain tract of land situated in the Southerly part of Billerica ... with the buildings thereon", westerly on land of Joseph White and land of Harvey Crosby, northerly on land of John Allen, easterly on the road, southerly on land formerly of Mrs. Sarah Richardson but now owned by John W. Essex, "containing seven acres more or less", being the premises conveyed to her by George H. Preston, assignee, and by Saul C. Tryon, July 8, 1856 (Book 7 Pages 517 and 519). Signed August 17, 1869, in the District of St. Francis, Province of Quebec. A mortgage back (Book 69 Page 558) was discharged in 1871 (Book 81 Page 431).
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| November 29, 1875 | Warranty Deed | Emeline Mosman in her own right and her husband Gardner Mosman, both of Billerica | Mary H. Hadley, wife of Edmund M. Hadley of Lowell | Mosman to Mary H. Hadley | 114/78 |
For $950, "a certain tract of land, with the buildings thereon, situated in the southerly part of Billerica", the same 7 acres (Joseph White, Harvey Crosby, John Allen, the road, land formerly of Mrs. Sarah Richardson now John W. Essex), being the premises conveyed by Emma J. Pollard, August 30 [17], 1869 (recited as Book 69 Page 535 for 545). Subject to one mortgage with $427.08 due, which Hadley assumed; the mortgagee, George R. Fowler, discharged it on the next page (mortgage of August 1871, Book 81 Page 31). Signed November 17, 1875.
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| March 16, 1878 | Warranty Deed | Mary H. Hadley of Lowell, wife of Edmund M. Hadley, in her own right | Rhoda W. Davis of Tewksbury | Hadley to Rhoda W. Davis | 128/126 |
For $800, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon, situated in the Southerly part of Billerica", westerly on land of Joseph White and land of Harvey Crosby, northerly by land of John Allen, easterly on the road, southerly on land formerly of Mrs. Sarah Richardson but now owned by John W. Essex, seven acres; being the premises conveyed by Emeline Mosman, November 17, 1875, Book 114 Page 78. Signed March 16, 1878, witnesses James Watson and John H. Ames.
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| March 16, 1878 | Mortgage | Rhoda W. Davis of Tewksbury, wife of Augustus F. Davis, in her own right | Mary H. Hadley of Lowell | Davis mortgage, foreclosed 1884 | 128/127 |
Purchase-money mortgage for $500, payable in five years at six per cent, of the same seven acres "with the buildings thereon", the buildings to be kept insured for $500. Assigned to Andrew C. Wheelock April 20, 1881 (recorded September 15, 1884, Book 168 Page 464) and foreclosed by him in October 1884 (Book 169 Pages 394 and 398, in the margin).
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| December 8, 1885 | Warranty Deed | Andrew C. Wheelock of Lowell | John Cannon of Billerica, farmer | Andrew C. Wheelock to John Cannon | 178/85 |
For $700, "a certain tract of land with buildings thereon situated in the southerly part of Billerica", westerly by land now or formerly of Joseph White and of Harvey Crosby, northerly on land now or formerly of John Allen, easterly by the road, southerly by land formerly of Mrs. Sarah Richardson but now supposed John W. Essex, seven acres; "being all and the same premises conveyed by mortgage deed from Rhoda Davis to Mary H. Hadley, dated March 16th 1878 ... Book 128, Fol. 127. Said mortgage was assigned to me April 20th 1881 ... Foreclosed and sold to George W. Cumings by me, by deed dated October 13th 1884, and by said Cumings conveyed to me by deed of same date." Signed December 5, 1885.
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| December 8, 1885 | Mortgage | John Cannon of Billerica | Philander D. Howe of Billerica | Cannon mortgage to Philander D. Howe | 178/86 |
For $550, mortgage of the same seven acres "with the buildings thereon" in the southerly part of Billerica (Joseph White, Harvey Crosby, John Allen, the road, John W. Essex). Margin: see discharge Book 298 Page 221.
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| February 9, 1889 | Quitclaim | John Cannon of Billerica | Patrick H. Guyton of Lowell | Cannon to Guyton (straw) | 203/438 |
For $1,000, "a certain tract of land with the buildings thereon situated in the Southerly part of Billerica", seven acres, westerly by land now or formerly of Joseph White and of Harvey Crosby, northerly on John Allen, easterly by the road, southerly by land formerly of Sarah Richardson now supposed of John W. Essex; "being the same premises conveyed to me by Andrew C. Wheelock by his deed dated December 5th A.D. 1885 ... Book 178 Page 85", subject to his mortgage to Howe. Signed February 9, 1889, before Martin L. Hamblet. A straw deed.
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| February 9, 1889 | Quitclaim | Patrick H. Guyton of Lowell | Elizabeth Cannon of Billerica, wife of John Cannon | Guyton to Elizabeth Cannon | 203/439 |
For $1,000, the same seven acres "with the buildings thereon", conveyed by John Cannon by deed of even date, to her and her heirs "free from the interference or control of her husband", except the mortgage. Signed February 9, 1889. Completes the transfer from husband to wife.
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| March 22, 1901 | Warranty Deed | Elizabeth Canning of Billerica, widow | Ellen M. Parkinson of Norwich, Connecticut | Elizabeth Canning to Ellen M. Parkinson | 329/14 |
For $1,000, "a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon situated in the southerly part of said Billerica containing seven acres, more or less", northerly on land now or formerly of John Allen, easterly by the road, southerly by land formerly of Sarah Richardson now supposed of John W. Essex, westerly by land formerly of Joseph White supposed now of George Pasho, and land of Harvey Crosby; "all the same premises conveyed to me under the name of Elizabeth Cannon by Patrick H. Guyton by deed dated February ninth, A.D. 1889 ... Book 203 Page 439." Signed March 22, 1901, witness F. A. Fisher.
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| October 27, 1911 | Foreclosure Deed | Woburn Co-operative Bank, mortgagee, by Arthur E. Gage, treasurer | Arthur E. Gage of Woburn | Woburn Co-operative Bank foreclosure, auction to Arthur E. Gage | 476/485 |
Under the power of sale in the mortgage of Ellen M. Parkinson of Billerica dated March 6, 1908 (Book 415 Folio 355), after notice in the Woburn Journal on September 22 and 29 and October 6, 1911, the bank sold at auction on the premises on October 17, 1911, by George A. Cammall, auctioneer, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon, situated in the southerly part of Billerica", about seven acres (John Allen, the road, Sarah Richardson now J. W. Essex, Joseph White now George Pasho, and Harvey Crosby), to Arthur E. Gage, the highest bidder, for $1,867. Being the premises conveyed to Parkinson by Elizabeth Canning, March 22, 1901, Book 329 Page 14.
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| October 27, 1911 | Quitclaim | Arthur E. Gage of Woburn and his wife Nena D. Gage | William J. Canning of Billerica | Gage to William J. Canning | 476/488 |
For $1 and other valuable considerations, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon, situated in the southerly part of said Billerica, on the westerly side of the Allen road, so-called, containing about seven (7) acres", northerly by land of Tutine, formerly of John Allen, easterly by the Allen road, southerly by land formerly of Sarah Richardson now supposed J. W. Essex, westerly partly by land of George Pasho and partly by land of William Crosby; being the premises conveyed to the grantor by the Woburn Co-operative Bank, October 17, 1911. Signed October 24, 1911.
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| October 27, 1911 | Mortgage | William J. Canning of Billerica | Woburn Co-operative Bank | Canning mortgage | 476/489 |
For $1,850, mortgage of the same "parcel of land, with the buildings thereon" on the westerly side of the Allen road, about seven acres, with the same bounds. Margin: see discharge Book 540 Page 478.
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| May 29, 1928 | Quitclaim | William J. Canning of Billerica | Charles O. Canning, unmarried, and Lillian R. Canning, wife of William J. Canning, as joint tenants | William J. Canning to Charles O. and Lillian R. Canning | 763/366 |
"The land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon, situate on the Westerly side of Allen Road, so-called, containing about seven (7) acres", northerly by land of Tutine formerly of John Allen, easterly by Allen Road, southerly by land formerly of Sarah Richardson now supposed J. W. Essex, westerly partly by land now or formerly of George Pasho and partly by land of William Crosby; "being the same premises conveyed to this grantor by Arthur E. Gage by deed dated October 24, 1911 ... Book 476, Page 488." Subject to the 1928 taxes. Signed May 24, 1928.
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| May 29, 1928 | Mortgage | Charles O. Canning and Lillian R. Canning of Billerica | Woburn Co-operative Bank | Canning mortgage 1928 | 763/367 |
For $1,800, with nine shares of the bank's 99th series as collateral, mortgage of the same seven acres "with the buildings thereon" on the westerly side of Allen Road; furnaces, ranges, fixtures and storm windows are made part of the freehold. Monthly payments $18.45. Signed May 24, 1928.
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| June 26, 1991 | Quitclaim | The First Congregational Church in Billerica, Inc. | George T. Allen Jr. and Brian P. Dube, Trustees of the Wildwood Realty Trust | Canning estate: church third to Wildwood Realty Trust | 5568/311 |
For $100,000 (registry index), "an undivided one-third interest in the land in said Billerica, with the buildings thereon, situate on the Westerly side of Allen Road", about seven acres, the 1928 bounds; "meaning and intending to convey and release any and all the rights title and interest of said Church acquired in the above premises under the will of the late Charles O. Canning", with title from the 1928 deed, Book 763 Page 366. Signed June 24, 1991, by the treasurer. A second third came from a private devisee the next day (Book 5568 Page 312).
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| June 26, 1991 | Quitclaim | Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children (Boston Burns Institute) | George T. Allen Jr. and Brian P. Dube, Trustees of the Wildwood Realty Trust | Canning estate: Shriners third to Wildwood Realty Trust | 5568/313 |
Its third of "a certain parcel of land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon, situated on the Westerly side of Allen Road, so-called, containing about seven (7) acres", northerly by land now or formerly of Tutine, easterly by Allen Road, southerly by land formerly of Sarah Richardson, westerly by George Pasho and William Crosby; "being the same premises conveyed by deed of William J. Canning to Charles O. Canning dated May 24, 1928 ... Book 763 Page 366 and see also Last Will and Testament of Charles O. Canning". Signed June 24, 1991. The trust divided the land as Brian Estates (Plan Book 176 Plan 39); the house lot, Lot 1, with the buildings, was sold to private owners in September 1991 (Book 5645 Page 138), and passed to their family trust in 2023.
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.