Laserfiche WebLink
Breadcrumb Navigation:
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address <br /> LEXINGTON 20 HANCOCK STREET <br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. <br /> MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING <br /> 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD © 105 <br /> BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 <br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: <br /> According to the present owner(E.Ashley Rooney),this house was originally a saltbox with an addition to the rear(?). <br /> Granite foundation culminates in brick at the last addition. The third floor(mansard roof)was added c.1870. Garage was <br /> a carriage house. A well was in it. <br /> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: <br /> The early history of this house remains somewhat unclear. According to the present owner, at one time the property was <br /> reportedly owned by Samson Adams. He died in 1785 and the land was sold to pay his debts. <br /> In 1846 Samuel and Maria Bridge sold the property to Jonathan and Abigail Parker for$125 (Book 956, Page 495). <br /> The 1853 map confirms that the house was then owned by J.S. Parker. Jonathan Simonds Parker(1812-1859)was <br /> captain of the Lexington Artillery,town treasurer from 1839 to 1844, assessor from 1850 to 1857 and 1859 and <br /> selectman in 1843, 1844, 1849. In 1835 he married Abigail Tuttle, daughter of David and Abigail Tuttle. <br /> The 1889 map shows it was then owned by Mrs. Seaver. Directories indicate that Miss Elizabeth Seaver was living here <br /> in 1894. She is last listed at this address in the 1915 directory. The peonies in the lower garden were planted in 1913 (as <br /> told by Doris Patrick to E. Ashley Rooney). <br /> Doris Patrick bought the property in 1925 (Book 4888, Page 451). She and her sisters were the seamstresses in town. <br /> Wedding and debutante gowns were fitted in the middle room. <br /> E. Ashley Rooney has owned the house since 1972 and purchased it from R. Murray and Frances Chastain. <br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY: <br /> Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Cambridge: The Riverside Press Co., 1913,vol. 2,p. 517. <br /> Lexington directories, various dates. <br /> Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Cambridge,Mass. <br /> Rooney, E. Ashley(present owner). Information on history of house, Sept. 2007. <br /> 1853 Map <br /> 1889 Map <br /> Supplement prepared by: <br /> Lisa Mausolf <br /> July 2009 <br />