I thought that it would be fun to trace my propert back in time to see what I could find. Here is the Assessor’s Map:
I can tell my property as there is a long property behind it which was divided off at some point. Here is my house:
Next, I go to the Plymouth Registry of Deeds. I register myself and search for my name. There I find my deed. Here is the second page:
I am getting a watermark as I am not paying for an official copy. I suppose I have one somewhere already.
Next, instead of searching by name, I search by Book and Page. This is part of the first page of the deed:
I bought the propert from Mr. Southworth. He bought his from Mabel A.. Brunelle who died in 1975 (when I was in college). Note that this was part of the premises conveyed to Arthur L. Brunelle. So at some point the property was subdivided.
My Property in 1944
I will shortcut a little and look for Book 1866 page 210.
So the Brunelles buy the land and house which at that time went down the Sippican River and was a much larger property. I see that Arthur Brunelle had to pay unpaid taxes on the propert. It is also interesting to see who the neighbors were in 1944. I can’t say I have ever heard the name Archbow before. I believe that our house was built around 1934, so it was still pretty new then.
In 1950, Arthur was a Doctor living in New Bedford, so I suppose he rented out the property:
I had previously assumed that, as they were the owners, they lived here. But I see now that was not the case. I have tried to find out who lived here during the 1950 Census, but so far, I have not figured that out.
Archbow L. Hoyle
Archbow sold to Brunelle who was a New Bedford Doctor. Brunelle apparently bought the property as an investment. In fact, his two sons were real estate agents. One interesting thing about the previous deed is that Washburn and Ellis were neighboring owners as well as the ones who sold the property to Archbow.
I did find Archbow (transcribed as Archboro) in the 1930 Census on Rochester Road, Marion:
However, I believe that this would have been before my house was built. In addition, Archbow was Renting on Rochester Road. Another odd thing is that this Census skips all over. On this page are:
- Front Street
- Ryders Lane
- Water Street
- Vine Street
- Point Road
- Hiller Street
- Rochester Road
- Mill Street
Water Street is over 2 miles from where I live. Here is Archbow’s Mason’s Card:
I believe that the person who built my house was a carpenter, so perhaps this is the guy. Here is Archbow in 1940, recorded as Archibald:
If Archbow built the house in 1934, he would have been about 72 years old. That means he was born in about 1862. It looks like Archbow was renting a house nearby when he built the one I live in. The street is now listed as Front Street but with no street numbers. Listed 3 above Archbow is Ezra Washburn mentioned in the deed. Right above Archbow is the Dexter family. This could be from the Dexter Farm across from my house:
1932: Pre-House
This brings us back to Ezra R. Washburn and Ella R. Barden. My guess is that Ella was perhaps a Washburn and married a Barden. Ezra was 64 in 1940, so that means he was born about 1876.
Washburn is certainly a local Marion name. Washburn Park is not far from where I live:
Favorite Place is where I live and the red arrow is the access road to Washburn Park.
From this familly tree at Ancestry, Ella must be Ezra’s sister:
I see that their grandfather was a Reverend.
This lot was part of a lot the was conveyed from Myra Handy.
Myra Handy Deed from 1919
This gets us back over 100 years ago:
Here we are at the age of the personal touch handwritten deeds.
If I read this right, Myra L. D. Handy is from Raisin California. She is married to Jabez H Handy. Apparently Jabez was a carpenter as was Ezra:
Myra’s maiden name was Parlow. She married Jabez in 1894. Myra was probably born around 1867. Here is Myra in 1880:
Myra is living in Marion with her parents and her mother’s parents. Myra’s mother’s father is listed as a former sea captain.
I see the connection. Myra is Myra Parlow. Ezra and Ella’s mother was born in 1852 as Ella Parlow.
Other names I see on adjoining properties are:
- Paul W? Briggs
- Charles H. Briggs
- Jonathan Rider
One problem with this deed is that I do not see an earlier deed referenced. That makes tracing the land back past 1919 very difficult.
Anybody Dying to Give Myra Land?
If there was no transfer of deed mentioned, perhaps Myra inherite the land I live on. So far I have:
- Myra L. D. Parlow Handy transferred my land and more to Ezra Washburn and Ella R Washburn Barden in 1919.
- Ezra and Ella transfer the land to Archbow and Hattle Hoyle in 1932
- Archbow builds a house on the property, retires apparently and sells the house in 1944 to Dr. Brunelle of New Bedford. Dr Brunelle does not appear to live here.
- The Brunelles sell to the Southworths in 1977 who live at the property
- My wife and I buy the house from Southworth in 1996
So that is a short 77 year history of the property that started 107 years ago.
It would be best for me to start a short Washburn Tree to see what was going on in that family. The home person for my tree is Ezra Washburn:
Here I have not brought many of the Parlows in yet, but they seem important.
Here is Charles in 1900:
There is a lot of information on this page, but I see Ella B’s mother Almira Parlow. I see Paul W Briggs mentioned in one of the deeds and I see Jabez and Myra Handy living close by. Paul Briggs was born in 1832. I have a map of Marion that is dated 1855:
At the top right of the map there is a Grist Mill and Saw Mills. Also notice an E. S. Parlow. That must be the Ezra Parlow of the 1880 Census above (father of Myra). Ezra was 54 in 1880 so must have been born about 1826. In 1880, Ezra was an Agent for the Parlow Mills. I assume that could be the saw mills shown on the map. The Methodist Church apparently moved from where it was in 1855 to where Mrs. M. Briggs is shown on the map. I live across from the Dexter Farm, so that must be right across where Rufus Dexter is shown. So here I am getting a short history of North Marion.
Interestingly, someone at Ancestry posted this house for Ezra Smith Parlow’s profile picture:
This house looks familiar. I hope that it is still around. I finally found it right where it should have been on the 1855 map, facing County Road:
This is from Google Maps. So Myra, the daughter of Ezra Parlow, Parlow Mill Agent had a part in the ownership of the land I live on.
Now Almira dies around the time that Myra transfers the land to her nephew and niece, Ezra and Ella.
After looking at a lot of Probate Records, I went back to the Plymouth Registry Search web page and found this entry:
Here is an 1899 Deed from Almira Parlow to Jabez Handy:
I think that this 1899 Deed may be the one I was looking for. However, it is only 2 Acres and I think that the lot I am on was originally a lot more. This land, however, is bordered on the West by Rufus Dexter which I show as the Dexter Farm.
Here are some other deeds which mention Myra Handy:
Summary and Conclusions
- I thought that it would be fun to try to trace my property back
- I was able to get back to 1919 which is aboiut 15 years before my house was built.
- Before 1919, I ran into a dead end. That deed did not refer to an earlier deed and the Parlows and Washburns and Handys had many deeds.
- As part of the Blog, I found out some intersting history of North Marion where I live.