Person talk:Peter Bulkeley (9)

Content Moved from Person Page [21 July 2017]

This somewhat randomly organized content is preserved in case someone, at some time, wishes to reorganize it and retain that which pertains to Colonel Peter Bulkeley.

Concord in the Colonial Period: Being a History of the Town of Concord

Nehemiah Hunt, son of William and lord of Punkatassett, lived on the estate bought by his father of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, and now owned and occupied by his descendant William H. Hunt.

Tradition places the house of Rev. Peter Bulkeley on the lot now owned and occupied by Charles H. Hallett, on Lowell Street. Thomas Dane owned a house-lot of six acres extending from the burial-hill to the mill-pond. Luke Potter's house-lot consisted of six and one half acres on both sides of Heywood Street (then known as " Potter's Lane "), including the land last occupied by Charles Bowers, and extending across Lexington Street. v Going eastward from this point by the Bay Road, the house-lots came in the following order, occupying both sides of the road and extending to the Mill Brook, — John Farewell, twelve acres, Thomas Wheeler, Senior, thirteen acres, and Moses Wheat, sixteen acres (the Staples place). East of Wheat, on the north side of the road, was the house-lot of William Baker, comprising seven acres. Then, running to the brook, as before, came the lot of Nathaniel Stow, fifteen acres, bought of William Fletcher in 1656, and a lot owned by Peter Bulkeley, Esquire.

Next to Bulkeley was Thomas Burgess, ten acres; then came Francis Fletcher, eight acres, Edward Wright, ten acres, Eliphalet Fox, eight acres, Nathaniel Ball, thirteen acres, William Hartwell, nine acres, John Hartwell, ten acres, and William Taylor, eight and three quarters acres.

Still farther eastward were Caleb and Joshua Brooke, Christopher Woolley and Richard Rice.

John Meriam's house-lot consisted of an acre and one half, situated in the corner made by the Bay Road on the south and the Billerica Road on the west. Joseph Dane and Thomas Pellet occupied one homestead on the Billerica Road.

South of the mill-pond, house-lots were laid out between the corner on Main Street and the Almshouse, — running to the brook or pond on the north, and extending towards the southwest, about as far as Thoreau Street. On the Hastings corner, opposite the Bank, was George Wheeler with eleven acres; and then came Joshua Wheeler, with fourteen acres, Robert Meriam, twenty-six acres (Trinitarian Church), John Wheeler, ten acres and one half1 (Nathan B. Stow's), Lieutenant Joseph Wheeler, twenty acres (George Everett's), George Merriam, thirty acres (the Bartlett place), Nathaniel Billings, six acres (Nathan Derby's), and Samuel Stratton, twenty-four acres 2 (Almshouse).

It may be remarked that some names which occur frequently in later years are absent from this list. Lee, Minot, Prescott, Whittemore, and Chandler, had not yet appeared. Several owners of large estates failed to make any return, — among them, Peter Bulkeley, Esq., Simon Davis, John Hoar, Edward Wright, Captain Timothy Wheeler, Thomas Burgess, and Christopher Woolley.

Captain Wheeler lived in the house built by Rev. Peter Bulkeley, and, with George "Wheeler, as joint owner, was in possession of most of the real estate left by Mr. Bulkeley,1 but not including the farm at the southeast, which soon passed into other hands. The house-lot and mill-lot comprised thirty-one acres, lying on both sides of the Mill Brook. If Captain Wheeler did not own the mill privilege at this time (16C6), he acquired it very soon afterwards.

John Hoar owned upwards of three hundred acres lying beyond the North River, in the west part of the town, and including land now owned by the Commonwealth. The bulk of this he conveyed, in 1671 or 1672, to Edward Wright, in exchange for an estate in the East Quarter.2

1 See deed of Grace Bulkeley to Timothy Wheeler and George Wheeler, September 30, 1663. Middlesex Deeds, L. 3, f. 128.

J Part of the consideration received by Hoar was " all the right title & interest wch Edward Wright of Concord aforesaid husbandman hath or should have in and to certain houses lands & hereditaments &c in the Lordship of Castle Browmick (?) in the Coun[ty] of Warwick in the Kingdom of England by virtue of a deed of gift made by Edward Wright of Castle Browraick aforesaid to feoffees in trust for the use of Francis Wright sonn and heyre apparent of the said Edward Wright and of Mary Wiggin, daughter of Jno: Wiggin of Aldridge in the Count[y] of Stafford (before the solemnizing of a marriage between the said Francis and the said Mary) & to their heyres &c the said deed of gift being now in the bands of mee the said John ll'oarc, and beareth date the 27th day of June in the 10°' year of King James [1813] &o." See Middlesex Deeds, L. 4, f. 409.

Peter Bulkeley, called "Esquire," was the most distinguished of Concord men in the later colonial days. He was the son of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, was born January 3, 1641, graduated at Harvard College in 1660, married Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Wheeler, and entered very early upon a public career.--jaques1724 18:36, 21 July 2017 (UTC)