USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Waltham > Waltham as a precinct of Watertown and as a town, 1630-1884 > Part 12
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father, Ensign Thomas Bartlett, in 1636. In 1681 he bought Lot No. 12 in the second squadron and No. 14 in 1682. In 1689 he moved to Lot 12 where he built a house at the present southwest corner of Lexington and Lincoln Streets. He was probably the first settler of the district then called Hosier's Corner now Piety Corner. Allen Flagg may have settled there about the same time at the present corner of Lexington and Bacon Streets as his father gave him a 20 acre lot there in 1691. After building his house Jonathan Sanderson bought two other lots thus making a total of 160 acres all adjoining and extending along the west side of old Bacon Street and Lexington Street for a mile and along Lincoln Street to its present junction with Winter Street. He also purchased other land outside. He soon became prominent in town affairs and was chosen deacon of Mr. Angier's church in 1703 and in the same year elected selectman. He held this office for ten years and was representative to the General Court for two years, declining another election several years later. The first meeting of the West Precinct was held in his house. He died in 1735 nearly eighty-nine years old. Previous to his death he gave portions of his farm to four of his sons, sold the remainder to his oldest grandson, Jonathan, the third of the name, gave land outside to his married daughter and to Thomas the second son probably gave a part at least of the latter's farm on Winter Street although there is no recorded deed. Thomas married Hannah Priest in 1702 and probably built his house near the southeast corner of Winter Street and Prospect Hill Road about that time. The cellar of this house was in existence until 1932 when the walls were removed and the ground leveled. He purchased a considerable land in addition to that probably given him by his father so that when he sold his farm to Robert Gage in 1726 it contained over 100 acres. He moved to Sudbury then to Framingham then back to Sudbury where he died in 1757.
John, the third son, was given the Bartlett lot by his father in 1711 and had purchased one-half of the lot next east in 1698. He married Hannah Stratton early in 1701 and probably built in time for that event for he was a housewright by trade. He was the principal assistant of Benjamin Wellington the builder of the first meeting house in the West Precinct. He was precinct clerk for two years and was very active in precinct affairs. In
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1728 he sold his homestead of 35 acres (10 acres having been previously sold to his brother Samuel) to Anthony Caverly and at the same time bought 227 acres in Leicester for £50 less than he received for his 35 acres. He died in Leicester in 1751. One of his grandsons was the first settler of Woodstock, Vermont.
The three remaining sons and the married daughter of Jona- than and Abiah Sanderson were living in Waltham at the time of incorporation.
Edward Sanderson was youngest son of Jonathan and Abiah Sanderson. He married Hannah Parkhurst in 1707 and probably built his house that stood on Lincoln Street on or near the site of the eastern of the two Sanderson houses now there, at that time. His father gave him 25 acres there including a large part of Lot No. 14 bought by him in 1682. He had two daughters but no sons and between 1737 and 1740 by several sales he disposed of his homestead mainly to his nephew Jonathan, son of his brother Samuel. He died in 1741.
From Jonathan, who also owned his father's farm, the Edward Sanderson place came to his son Nathan who built the house now standing at 107 Lincoln Street in 1787. It came to Nathan, Jr. in 1834. The latter erected the house now at 111 Lincoln Street in 1816. Both houses came to Nathan the 3rd in 1878 and the four houses now on the Edward Sanderson land are now owned by his three sons, Horace M., Edmund L., and Nathan H. A portion of the land has now (1935) been in the possession of the family for two hundred and fifty-three years.
Dea. Jonathan Sanderson was the oldest son of Dea. Jonathan and Abiah Sanderson. He married Abigail Fiske in 1699 and they had a large family. Two sons, Nathaniel and David, moved to Petersham where descendants lived for many years. Their house, built about that time, stood west of the brook back of the Piety Corner Clubhouse, in the 40 acre lot, No. 18 of the first squadron subsequently given him by his father. He was a member of the precinct committee, precinct treasurer for three years, selectman of Watertown for three years and a member of the board of selectmen of Waltham chosen in March 1738. In 1737 he sold his farm to his son Thomas. He died in 1743. (See Thomas Sanderson.)
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Jonathan Sanderson, Jr., the oldest son of Dea. Jonathan and Abigail (Fiske) Sanderson was a weaver but in common with many others having a trade carried on a farm as well. In 1728 he bought from his grandfather the latter's house and all of the land that had not been given to his uncles, 40 acres in all. He married Grace Barnard in 1736. He took his father's place as deacon of the church previous to 1745 although the records do not give the date of his election. He was precinct collector for one year and selectman of Waltham for seven years. He sold his homestead to his son Josiah in 1771 but continued to live on the old place. He died in 1790 ninety years old. His son and name- sake, Jonathan, the fourth of the name died when fifteen years old. Another son, John, was very prominent politically. He was selectman for sixteen years, assessor twenty-two years, town clerk three years and treasurer nine years. For three years in succession he held all four offices. He was chosen deacon in 1778 in the place of his father and held the office until his death in 1819 completing an unbroken line of 116 years in which that office was held by father, son, grandson and great grandson. Josiah, when he bought the place in 1771 built an addition on the east larger than the old house. This old part, believed by some to have been the original house built by Jonathan Sanderson in 1689, was preserved along with the new. There is a considerable doubt as to its being the original house as most of the early buildings were crudely made. It was, perhaps the second house on the same location.
Josiah married Hannah Bright and they had four children but only one, a daughter, Sybil, survived and she inherited the home where she lived until her death in 1851. She left it to her cousins Grace and Polly, daughters of Dea. John Sanderson. Grace died in a few years but Polly (Mary) made it her home for thirty years. Upon her death in 1881 at the age of nearly 101 years the estate passed from the family that had owned it for just two hundred years. The house was taken down in 1894.
Jonathan Sanderson the 3rd, was the son of Samuel and Mercy (Gale) Sanderson. In 1738 he was living with his father although he had in December of the previous year begun the purchase of the farm of his uncle Edward. The house on this place he bought in August 1740 and he may have lived there during his first
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marriage that lasted only a few months. In February 1740 he had bought his father's house and lands and as the latter died in 1744 before he married Mary Bemis, his second wife, he prob- ably lived at his birthplace. His mother lived to be nearly ninety-three years old. He seems to have been prosperous but held no important town office. As his cousin was fourteen years his senior he is generally referred to as Jonathan, Jr. He died in 1780 leaving his real estate to his youngest son Jonathan. The other five sons received legacies but one of them, Nathan, bought the larger part of the Edward Sanderson farm by several pur- chases. The son Jonathan died in 1808 and the farm was settled on a son John who in 1826 replaced the house built by his grand- father in 1707 or earlier with the one now standing. He died at sea in 1831 and his brother Charles bought the place. From him it came to his son Lowell and at the latter's death in 1915 it passed from the family having been in its possession for two hundred and thirty-four years, a few acres of woodland for two hundred and seventy-nine years or since 1636 when it was granted to his ancestor Thomas Bartlett.
Samuel Sanderson was the fifth son of Jonathan and Abiah Sanderson. He married Mercy Gale in 1708 and they lived in a house on the west side of Lexington Street near the house of his descendant the late Lowell Sanderson, and that was standing there in 1707 when that part of the street was laid out by the town committee. His father gave him 25 acres out of his home- stead and he bought 10 acres from his brother John. This 35 acres he sold with his house to his son Jonathan in 1740. His oldest son Samuel was killed by lightning when thirteen years old. Another son, Abraham, moved to Lunenburg and still another, Moses, to Littleton. Descendants of these two are now living in those towns. (See Jonathan Sanderson the 3rd.)
Thomas Sanderson was the second son of Dea. Jonathan and Abigail (Fiske) Sanderson. He bought his father's homestead to which he added some 23 acres and also purchased a houselot in Housatonic (Tyringham) of which he was one of the original proprietors. He died in 1762 and his estate was settled on his oldest son Abner. Daniel another son had settled in Roxbury and the third Jonas in Weston. Abner became very prominent
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in the town. He held some elective office nearly every year be- tween 1765 and 1814. He was town clerk two years, treasurer two years, assessor twenty-four years, selectman twenty-one years and representative to the General Court twenty-two years besides holding some minor offices. In 1778 he was at the same time representative, selectman, clerk, treasurer, assessor, special collector of debts, chairman of the committees to raise soldiers for the War and to report the names to whom the Town was indebted for service in the War. About 1819 he built the house on Lexington Street now (1935) owned by Mr. Frank Nichols. He was a justice of the peace and a surveyor. A plan of Water- town and Waltham drawn by him in 1795 is printed in volume one of the Watertown Records. He died in 1822 and his son Abner came into possession of his estate. In 1824 he sold it to the town for a poor farm. It was never used for that purpose but was sold in 1828 to Lewis Bemis who carried on a shoemak- ing business there. Abner Sanderson, Jr. bought the Samuel Peirce farm on West Street. (See Samuel Peirce.)
SAWTELL FAMILY. Richard Sawtell was in Watertown in 1636 or earlier. He was granted seven lots of land amounting to over 100 acres. He moved to Groton where he was the first town clerk for the years 1662-3-4 (Bond). He returned to Water- town probably about 1665 when Goodwife Sawtell was warned to explain why she had not attended meeting in March of that year. Included in his grants was Lot No. 8, 25 acres, in the fourth squadron of dividends. This lot was in the part of Waltham taken to help form the Town of Belmont. It was bounded on the north with the Cambridge line and Mill Street passes through it. Here he made his home. In 1672 a suit was entered against the Town of Watertown for not removing an obstruction in the ancient road to Concord (Mill Street) near the house of Richard Sawtell. He probably built this house soon after his return from Groton although he may have lived there in 1648 when the town granted him trees near William Clark's if he would make a foot bridge there. Clark owned the lot directly south of Sawtell's lot and Beaver Brook flowed near both lots. In 1647 the town had refused his request to have his township land laid out next to his dividend. He evidently at this early date had thoughts of living there although he may not have built until his return
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from Groton. In 1689 he was elected selectman but seems to have held no other prominent office. He died in 1694 and left all his Watertown land including his dwelling house and 25 acres adjacent to his son Enoch. To his son Obadiah who was living in Groton he left his rights to 20 acres there. His wife was named Elizabeth and they had eight children who lived to maturity. Three of their sons were among the first settlers of Groton. His son Enoch and grandson Richard were living in Waltham in 1738.
Enoch Sawtell, son of Richard and Elizabeth Sawtell inherited his father's lands in Watertown including his homestead on the present Mill Street in Belmont. He married Susanna Randall about 1686. They had one son Richard and four daughters. He died in 1741 leaving his real estate to his son. Only two of his daughters, Elizabeth and Mary were living at that time. There is no inventory of his estate but recorded deeds show that he added to the homestead about 30 acres "on the Rocks" just across the line in Cambridge. He was a weaver by trade and probably considerably over eighty years old when he died.
Richard Sawtell was the son of Enoch and Susanna Sawtell. He was nearly forty-nine years old in 1738. He and his wife Abigail Whitney whom he had married in 1717 lived on the home place with his father. He inherited this farm in 1741 but in 1747 sold it to Joseph Wellington of Watertown. It then consisted of nearly 70 acres in Waltham and 50 acres in Cambridge.
SMITH FAMILY. All of the Smiths in Waltham at the time of its incorporation were descendants of Thomas Smith who came to Watertown in 1635. Soon after arriving he married Mary, daughter of William Knapp. He was granted eight lots, 140 acres in all. His homestall of 8 acres was in the part of Water- town now Belmont. He sold this in 1651 and moved to his dividend grant of 20 acres, Lot No. 2 in the third squadron. His house was on the north side of Trapelo Road a little west of its junction with Waverley Oaks Road. He was a carpenter and also, as appears from the bounties paid him, something of a hunter or trapper. Seventeen foxes earned for him a shilling apiece and in 1658 a wolf brought in a pound. He died March 10, 1692-3, aged
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ninety-two years. His widow and son Thomas, executors, sold the homestead to Timothy Hawkins owner of Lot No. 1 just east of their home. Of the nine children in the family six sons and a daughter were living at the time of his death and children of a deceased daughter were mentioned in his will. Of the sons James and Thomas moved from town. The latter lived in Cam- bridge Farms and in 1705 gave his son Thomas 50 acres of divi- dend land in Watertown. This was a 60 acre lot, No. 25 in the third squadron. The remaining 10 acres he gave to his son-in-law William Fiske in 1707. (See John Viles.)
Joseph lived further west on Trapelo Road. His home was in Lot 10, 50 acres, in the fourth squadron. He did not record his deeds so it cannot be ascertained how much of this lot he owned nor when he built there. He married Hannah Tidd in 1674. His father in his will left him 10 acres in this lot with the state- ment that it was adjacent to land given by him to Joseph. Thomas Smith had bought 30 acres in that lot from John Eddy in 1679, that deed giving Joseph Smith as owner of the land on the west. The probabilities are that he at one time owned the whole lot but that he sold 20 acres on the north to Francis or Joseph Bow- man for when he deeded his homestead to his son John in 1704 it included only 30 acres and it did not reach to the Cambridge line as did the lot originally. One of the bounds was Joseph Bowman. He reserved a life residence in the farm. He died in 1712, aged 69 and his wife Hannah died in February 1735-6 then the widow or wife of -
Cutler. (See John Smith.)
John Smith, another son, also lived on Trapelo Road still further west. His home was on Lot No. 12, 30 acres in the fourth squadron. This lot was granted to John Doggett but purchased by Richard Waite previous to 1644. A 30 acre dividend appears in his inventory but when John Wincoll in 1678 sold 40 acres here to John Smith he states that he had bought the land from Richard Waite and Miles Ives. (Ives was owner of Lot 11 on the east.) He may have meant bought from Waite's estate. This deed also states that John Smith had been in possession for many years, had built upon it and fenced and planted it. In 1672 his house was mentioned when the present Woburn Street was laid out. In 1715 John Smith, then being old and infirm, sold his house and 30 acres of land to his sons-in-law Thomas Mead and John Peirce they to care for him the rest of his life.
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He died early in 1718 about seventy-seven years old. His wife was Mary Beech and was one day younger than he. They had six or seven children. A son, John, Jr. lived over the line in Lexington. In April 1718 Mead and Peirce sold the farm to Thomas Wellington.
The youngest son of Thomas and Mary Smith was named Jonathan. He was a soldier in King Philip's War and in later life bore the title of lieutenant. He married Jane Peabody in March 1682-3. It is uncertain where they lived during the first part of their married life, possibly on the home place. In 1687 he bought the east 40 acres of 80 acre Lot No. 21 in the third squadron and in 1695 Lot No. 20, 35 acres, joining it on the east. On the latter lot stood his house built perhaps soon after its purchase. He was chosen selectman of Watertown nine times and was prominent in precinct meetings. He bought many other lots of land and at the time of his death was owner of over 140 acres. Previous to that time he had given his son Zechariah 80 acres. He died in 1724, age sixty-five, and his wife in 1726. Four of their sons and a grandson were tax payers in 1738.
Elisha Smith was the second living son of Jonathan and Jane (Peabody) Smith. He was born in January 1691-2 and married Patience Brown in 1713. Their first two children, a son and daughter, were born in Weston but the third, a son, was born in Watertown in 1719. According to Benjamin Worcester they probably lived in a house on his father's farm on the north side of the present Lake Street. After his father's death he moved again to Weston where a son was baptized in 1727. His wife died about this time but her death is not recorded. In March 1729-30 he purchased of Robert Gage the Thomas Sanderson farm on Winter Street where he was living in 1738. About the same time of this purchase he married Abigail -. Three sons and a daughter of theirs were baptized in the West Parish meeting house. In 1739 he sold to Thomas Fisk and moved away. Nothing has been found in regard to his later life. In 1730, 200 acres were laid out for him on his right of houselot No. 80 in Lunenburg. This he turned over to his daughter Patience and her husband Abraham Sanderson who made it their home. He may have lived there or with some others of his family who seem to have lived in neighboring towns.
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John Smith, the second son of Joseph and Hannah (Tidd) Smith, was born in 1678 and married in 1713 Jane Barnard. He, a weaver, purchased his father's farm on Trapelo Road and made it his home. There were no children. In February 1746-7 he sold the homestead of 30 acres, a lot of 20 acres and 4 acres in Lexington to his nephew Jonathan son of his brother Daniel. In 1764 Jonathan sold the same lots to Josiah Whitney. John and his wife Jane may have lived with their nephew after the sale but no life interest was mentioned in their deed to him. The Waltham First Parish records show that on May 13, 1754, died John Smith, an old man. In the loan collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are two plain silver beakers, the property of this church, inscribed "The gift of Mrs. Jane Smith to the Church of Christ in Waltham, June 18, 1754." There is but little doubt that the two persons mentioned were John Smith the son of Joseph and his wife Jane Barnard. Jane, the wife (widow) of John Smith of Waltham, died in Lexington Sept. 16, 1763, age sixty-five.
Jonas Smith, the third living son of Jonathan and Jane (Peabody) Smith, was born January 7, 1692-3, and married Mary Barnard in November 1715. A year later he bought from John Flagg a house, barn and 58 acres of land on Lincoln Street, a highway known for a considerable period as the "way to Jonas Smith's." This farm included the greater parts of Lots Nos. 23 and 24 in the third squadron of dividends and a part of Lot 18 in the second squadron. The house was built by Edward Sherman about 1700 and sold to Flagg in 1714. In 1745 Smith sold his farm to Jonas Dix. He was married four times but had only a daughter, Lydia, born in 1725. There is no record of her marriage or death. Jonas Smith was prominent in precinct and town affairs being four years on the precinct committee and selectman of Waltham for eleven years. He died in 1765, seventy-two years old. His will dated April 6, 1762, left all his estate to John Coburn then living with Jonas Dix and to Jonas Dix, Jr. and his sister Mary. Jonas Dix, Jr. then a boy thirteen years old was living with Jonas Smith.
His farm in 1788 came into the sole possession of Nathan Smith, his grand-nephew and a part of it is now owned by the latter's great-grandson Nathan E. Smith.
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Nathaniel Smith, the youngest son of Jonathan and Jane (Pea- body) Smith was born in 1701. In 1723 he married Lydia Church and they probably lived in a house on his father's farm near the westerly end of College Farm Road. 25 acres including the site of this house were sold to him in January 1726-7 by his brother- in-law Daniel Simonds to whom the heirs of Jonathan Smith had deeded the larger part of their father's estate. Nathaniel sold his home to Anthony Caverly in 1728 and within a month bought from Jonas Cutting his house, barn and 44 acres of land on Winter Street. In February 1733-4 he sold to Thomas Fiske and bought the William Hager place on Worcester Lane. This farm was his home when the town was incorporated. He lived there eight years but in 1742 sold to Nathaniel Livermore and moved to Marlborough where he died in 1782 in his eighty-first year. The death of his wife is not recorded.
Zechariah Smith, the oldest living son of Jonathan and Jane (Peabody) Smith, was born in 1687. In March 1709-10 he married Susanna Grout. Their house stood on the east side of Wyman Street in Lot No. 26 in the third squadron of dividends. The west part of this lot was purchased by Jonathan Smith in 1713 and he in 1716 gave it with Lot No. 27 and Lot No. 23 in the fourth squadron and some meadow lots, 80 acres in all, to Zechariah in 1716. Zechariah's house that with a larger one built around it stood until 1892, is supposed to have been built in that year al- though it may have been built three years earlier. It is not known where he lived during his early married life. He was quite a prominent man in the precinct although he served only one year on the committee, one year as collector and one year as constable of Watertown for the West Precinct. He died about 1749, age sixty-two. His widow, Susanna, died in 1759 age seventy- eight although the church records state she was above eighty years old. The farm passed to their son Jonas and from him to his son Elijah to his grandson Converse and to his great-grandson Charles Frederick. A considerable portion of it including the site of the original house is now (1935) owned by the latter's son Charles Elmer Smith, having been in the possession of the family two hundred and twenty-two years.
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Zechariah Smith, Jr. was the oldest son of Zechariah and Susanna (Grout) Smith. He was in his twenty-second year when the town was incorporated. From the position of his name in the province tax list it would appear that he was living with his uncle Nathaniel Smith. In October 1738 he married Lydia Hastings and moved to Shrewsbury where they spent the rest of their lives. Both lived to be seventy-six years old, Lieut. Zechariah dying there in 1793 and Lydia in 1796.
STEARNS FAMILY. Isaac Stearns, or Sterne as the name was spelled in the early records, came with Sir Richard Saltonstall's company in 1630. He was one of the largest land owners in Water- town and served as selectman for four years. He died in 1671 leaving an estate of 535 acres in fourteen lots. His homestall was in the part of Watertown now Belmont near to Pequusset Meadow. He bought another that he gave to his son Samuel. This was at the corner of Belmont and Lexington Streets opposite to the site of Mr. Angier's meeting house. This homestead re- mained in the Stearns family for several generations. Isaac Stearns had three sons: John, Isaac and Samuel. John died before his father and Isaac before his mother so a considerable part of the estate came to the youngest son Samuel. The latter was constable for one year and selectman for five. He died in 1683 age forty-five but his widow, Hannah (Manning), was living in March 1723, "very aged and infirm in body and mind." A committee was appointed by the Court to divide the estate at that time and in the division the homestead where the grandfather (Isaac) had lived and died was awarded to the heirs of Samuel's oldest son Nathaniel. That of the father (Samuel) where he also had lived and died went to the youngest son John. One half of the dividend land and other lots were awarded each to the sons Samuel and Isaac. This dividend land consisted of Lots Nos. 15 and 16 in the fourth squadron. The former was granted to Isaac Stearns in 1636 and the latter purchased by him in 1645. Samuel was living in 1738. Isaac married Mary Bemis in 1708 and they made their home on the northern half of the dividend land above mentioned. They are supposed to have built there at about that time. He died early in 1737, the inventory of April 4 of that year shows that his homestead included 40 acres of orchard, mowing, plow and pasture land and five acres of meadow, just the amount
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