COLLECTION GUIDES

1841-1904

Guide to the Collection

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the additions to the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.


Collection Summary

Title: Additions to the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances
Dates: 1841-1904
Physical Description: 67 record cartons (stored offsite); 15 vols. and 1 box of indexes (stored onsite)
Call Number: OFFSITE STORAGE
Call Number: Ms. N-2045 (Tall, onsite) (Indexes only)
Repository:
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215library@masshist.org

Abstract

This collection consists of early land conveyance records for Boston and other cities and towns in Massachusetts, collected and transcribed in the 19th century by Boston lawyers, including William I. and Frederick C. Bowditch, as part of their work as conveyancers.

Biographical Sketches

George D. Bigelow (d. 1938) was a lawyer who, according to street directories, had an office in Boston from 1877-1938. He resided in Framingham from ca. 1903 until his death on 15 August 1938.

Frederick Channing Bowditch (1854-1925) was the son of William Ingersoll Bowditch (1819-1909) and Sarah Higginson Bowditch (1819-1919). He attended MIT and Harvard Law School. He was a lawyer and conveyancer and was the president of the Conveyancers' Title Insurance Company. He married Elizabeth Thompson Forster in 1897.

William Ingersoll Bowditch (1819-1909) was the son of Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838) and Mary Ingersoll Bowditch (1781-1834). (He was the brother of Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, the real estate lawyer who compiled the Boston conveyances in the Bowditch Titles collection.) William I. Bowditch graduated from Harvard University in 1838 and received the LL.B. degree in 1841. He was a conveyancer and estate trustee. He married Sarah Rhea Higginson (1819-1919), and they and their children resided in Brookline.

John Goldsbury (died 1878) graduated from Harvard University in 1842. According to street directories, he practiced law in Boston from 1846-68.

John Tyler Hassam (1841-1903) was the son of John Hassam and Abby Hilton Hassam. He graduated from Harvard University in 1863. After serving eight months as First Lieutenant of the 75th U. S. Colored Infantry, he returned to Boston and studied law in the office of Ambrose A. Ranney. In 1867, he was admitted to the bar. He was an active and well-respected conveyancer. He became a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1867 and wrote several genealogical articles. He helped oversee the publication of Suffolk Deeds and the indexes to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. He was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society from 1881 until his death in 1903. His use of historical records in his professional work and during genealogical research projects prompted him to advocate for the preservation of county court records and better access to the materials in the state archives. He married Nelly Alden Batchelder in 1878.

Edward Sprague Rand (ca. 1807-1884) graduated from Harvard University in 1828 where, in 1831, he received his LL.B. According to street directories, he had a law office in Boston from 1832-1883. He was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He died on 19 January 1884.

Edward Sprague Rand, Jr. (1829-1897) graduated from Harvard University in 1855, and in 1857, he received his LL.B. from the same institution. According to street directories, he shared a law office in Boston with his father from 1858-1876. He resided in Dedham and was an active member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

Luther L. White (dates unknown) was a Boston lawyer where, according to street directories, he maintained an office from 1857-1868.

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Collection Description

This collection consists of 443 volumes of real estate conveyances, 15 volumes of indexes and 1 box containing photocopies of tables of contents, and 1 additional volume (relating to office forms used by a conveyancer). The dates of the collection and in the carton list indicate the year the titles were examined and researched. The contents of the volumes--transcriptions of property deeds and probate records--span a wide range of dates, many including transcriptions of 17th-century information. Separate cumulative indexes exist for several series and are stored onsite. Many of the volumes of conveyance records include tables of contents or indexes that list the locations (streets) of the properties examined and the names of the vendor or purchaser of the properties. Photocopies of the tables of contents for the Bowditch series remain onsite for reference.

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Acquisition Information

Gift received in 1963 from Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster, through Massachusetts Historical Society member William L. Payson. (MHS Proceedings, November 1963, page 142.) Previously, in 1878, William I. Bowditch received the Goldsbury's Titles volumes from John Goldsbury's wife and daughter, Maria B. and Edith Goldsbury. (See the letter dated 12 October 1878, affixed to the inside cover of Goldsbury's Titles, volume 1.)

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Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the additions to the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.

Detailed Description of the Collection

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XVI. Indexes

The following index volumes are stored ONSITE at Ms. N-2045 (Tall).Close XVI. Indexes
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Preferred Citation

Additions to the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances, Massachusetts Historical Society.

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Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Bigelow, George D.
Bowditch, Frederick Channing, 1854-1925.
Bowditch, William I. (William Ingersoll), 1819-1909.
Goldsbury, John, d. 1878.
Hassam, John T. (John Tyler), 1841-1903.
Rand, Edward Sprague, 1807-1884.
Rand, Edward Sprague, 1839-1897.
White, Luther L.

Subjects:

Conveyancing--Massachusetts.
Land titles--Massachusetts.
Lawyers--Massachusetts--Boston.
Real property--Massachusetts.

Collection processed by Nancy Heywood, December 1998.

Revised 24 Nov. 2004

Encoded by Kathleen J. Barker, April 2004

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