From Chelmsford

This particular succession of owners represents a one century chain of descent from some of Chelmsford 's original settlers. ~ From the National Register of Historic Places

Our immigrant grandfather Richard Hildreth (9GGF) first settled in Cambridge ca. 1640. Then, in 1653, he set his sights on the greener pastures of Chelmsford, a newly created frontier town about twenty-five miles northwest of Cambridge. Richard owned land both in Chelmsford proper and what would become the offshoot town of Westford.

(1) Cambridge (2) Chelmsford (3) Westford

Many generations of our Hildreth family continued to live in Chelmsford and Westford for years to come. This post will explore some of Richard's descendants living in those two towns and a few others who ended up far afield.

The Hildreth Robbins house in Chelmsford

The Hildreth Robbins house was built ca. 1740 by our cousin Jonas Hildreth (2C8X) who was a great-grandson of Richard's. The house stands on part of the original land granted to Grandpa Richard. This piece of property first went to Richard's oldest son James (8U), then to James' son Richard (1C9X) who finally sold the 50 acre estate to his own son, Jonas. The property included "orcharding and a dwelling house barn, and cornhouse thereon. . ." Though Jonas purchased the land from his father in the 1730s, portions of the house that exists today may have been built before that.

According the the National Register of Historic Places, "the building is significant. . .as the farmhouse of one of south Chelmsford's principal 18th and 19th century families, as well as for its association with members of the Hildreth, Robbins, and Chamberlain families and their relatives. . . This particular succession of owners represents a one century chain of descent from some of Chelmsford 's original settlers. Each of the multi-generational households occupying the house from ca. 1740 illustrates, in their own way, important social, domestic, and economic trends of their respective eras."

We are related to the two subsequent owners of the house, one through marriage. Jonas' daughter Sarah (3C7X) married John Robbins (3C7X) and Phineas Chamberlain was married to Jonas' 3rd (and our 2nd) cousin Sybil Hildreth (2C8X).

Note: John Robbins was a grandson of our cousin Dorothy Hildreth Robbins (1C9X).

The registry points out that "the women in the house [are] also illustrative of changing patterns in domestic and community life. Three of the 18th century male owners outlived multiple wives, some of whom clearly died from complications of childbirth."

Cousin Jonas was 26 when he purchased the property from his father. Two years later he married his first wife Sarah and their daughter, another Sarah, was born in 1746. Sadly, a week after the child was born, mother Sarah died. Jonas raised his child alone, probably with help of family, until 1749 when he married his second wife Mary. It doesn't appear that Jonas and Mary had any children in their ten year marriage. A few months after Mary's death in 1759, Jonas married our aunt, Sarah Proctor (6A). That union also was not blessed with children.

The register notes that "[a]n intriguing aspect of the house is the signature of Sarah Hildreth, which appears in chalk on the joists in the southwest chamber, as 'Sarah Hildreth, her hand.'" It's impossible to tell if the signature is that of Jonas' first wife Sarah or their daughter, also Sarah.

When Jonas died in 1770 at age 54, he left a "widow's third" to Aunt Sarah and the rest to his 24 year old daughter. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the fact that Sarah "briefly owned the major South Chelmsford farm in her twenties is a rare instance of farm ownership by a young woman in the 18th century."

Cousin Sarah inherited fifty-six acres with "house, barn, cornhouse and root cellar." Her father was evidently a fairly wealthy man because he also left her seventy acres of land in Westford as well as "20 upland meadow (acres), orchard, lifestock, pair of oxen, horse, half dozen cows four pigs and 18 sheep."

Less than two years after her father died, Sarah married John Robbins. Shortly after their marriage, the couple sold Sarah's house and moved to property John had inherited from his father, also John (2C9X).

Phineas Chamberlain, husband of our cousin Sybil Hildreth (2C8X), was the next owner of the house. Phineas was a blacksmith and a farmer. Like Jonas, he married three times, twice more after Sybyl's death in 1797 at age 51. Today the property known as the Hildreth Robbins house, shown below, is also called Red Wing Farm.

the Westford property

Before our immigrant grandfather Richard died in 1692, he deeded his entire remaining estate over to his son Ephraim (8U). We wrote about that happenstance in our "Frontier Life Part I" post. The land that Ephraim inherited was in the area later incorporated as the town of Westford in 1729. In 1687, Ephraim built his house, now known as the Hildreth House.

The Hildreth House still sits, fittingly, on Hildreth Street in Westford. Below are two photos of the property.

The land that our Hildreth family owned lies in the lovely hills of Westford. Efforts have been made by Westford citizens to preserve as much of this land as possible into conservation areas. The community of Hildreth Hills, a collection of upscale townhomes built in 2013, was built with the idea of a rural oasis in mind. From their brochure:

The 108 dramatic townhouses sit high on scenic Sparks Hill in Westford, Massachusetts. Homes are spacious, airy, and sunlit, with fireplaces, soaring cathedral ceilings, and large skylights. The homes are sited for maximum privacy on 180+ acres of meadows and woodlands. The park-like setting is crossed by nature trails and surrounded by conservation land.

Below are two pictures of the community:

The Westford Land Preservation Foundation is interested in protecting the "former Hildreth properties." In 2015, the Foundation purchased 2.95 acres of meadow land that became Hildreth Meadows. The land has been restored to its "former state" and a half-mile trail was constructed in 2022.

More recently, a parcel of 51 acres has been targeted by the Westford Land Preservation Foundation as another property of interest. The foundation's description of the property:

The 52-acre Salt Box Farm on Hildreth Street in Westford Center is an iconic resource, and scenic views of the farm’s open meadow and hay fields are treasured by all who drive, walk or bike on Hildreth Street. Beyond the fields, the farm contains a variety of habitats including forested uplands, wetlands and a farm pond.

The owner of the property has, of course, been approached by developers but, according to the Foundation, she "would prefer to see the property permanently protected if it is financially feasible." Looking for grants and donations, the Foundation hopes to raise enough money to preserve the land for future generations.

Prospect Hill Farm

Across Hildreth Street from the 52 acre Salt Box Farm currently tagged for preservation is the house that was built by our cousin Charles Lewis Hildreth (5C5X). The Hidreth house, aka Prospect Hill Farm, was subsequently owned by Charles' daughter Ella Francella Hildreth (6C4X). Below is a picture of the home which has been lovingly restored by the current owners.

Joseph Hildreth's slave, Peggy

It's a sad fact that our cousin Joseph Hildreth (1C9X) was a slave owner. Joseph was a grandson of our immigrant ancestor, Richard Hildreth. I discovered the fact that Joseph owned at least one slave from a 1985 doll series created by a group of women belonging to the First Parish Church United of Westford. The series called "The Women of Westford" highlighted various historic women who lived in Westford. One of the women chosen was Peggy, the slave owned by Joseph Hildreth.

Below is the portion the "Westford Women Remembered" dedicated to Peggy:

The information on Peggy goes on to say that Westford had no disignated area for burial of slaves. "If Peggy died in Wesford, she may have been buried in the corner of an orchard or along a stone wall."

Below is the Peggy doll created by the women of the Westford church.

the Hildreth cemetery in Dracut

One of Joseph Hildreth's (and our) first cousins, Ephraim Hildreth (1C9X), was born in Chelmsford in 1680. In the winter of 1704, he was one of Captain John Tyng's “snow shoe scouts” who received £200 for the scalps of five Wabanaki people. In 1707, Ephraim married another cousin of ours, Mercy Richardson (3C8X). Four years after their marriage, the couple moved to the newly formed town of Dracut, about 6 miles from Chelmsford and close to the New Hampshire border.

(1) Chelmsford (2) Westford (3) Dracut

Ephraim was a surveyor who was repeatedly employed by the towns of Chelmsford and Dracut. He served as town clerk of Dracut almost continuously for 27 years, from 1713 until his death in 1740. Fittingly, his son Ephraim, Jr. (2C8X) took over his father's postion and the remarkable succession continued through four more generations.

Ephraim and Mercy had ten children and lived happily in Dracut for 20 years. Shortly before he died in 1731, Ephraim made a verbal promise to leave a portion of his property to the town for a new burying ground. The plot of land donated was indeed made into a cemetery and Ephraim himself the first person buried there.

In 1752, twenty years after Ephraim's death, three of his sons made the gift official with a written deed to the land. Below, in a cover letter to the deed, Ephraim (2C8X), William (2C8X) and Elijah Hildreth (2C8X) state that they "conform to our honored father's promise verbally made relating to the burying place."

In 1752, the section of Dracut where the cemetery lay was annexed to the nearby town of Lowell. To honor Ephraim's initial intent in donating the land, a friendly agreement was made between the two towns insuring that the cemetery would be still belong to Dracut.

Many generations of Hildreths have been buried in the Hildreth Cemetery. The most famous person interred there is Civil War Major General Benjamin Butler who married one of Ephraim's descendents, Sarah Hildreth (5C5X). Four other generals who married into the Hildreth family are buried there as well. We'll have some of those stories in future posts.

Israel Hildreth homestead

Another Hildeth who settled in Dracut was Israel (3C7X). We wrote the story of that fiddling privateer cousin in our "Continental Navy" post. In 1792, Israel built what would become known as the Hildreth Homestead.

In August of 2018 the The Lowell Sun ran an article on the Hildreth Homestead:

For 124 years the corner of Lakeview Avenue and Farmland Road was the site of the Hildreth Homestead. The Hildreth family was one of Dracut’s oldest and most prominent families. . . the Hildreth Homestead was built in 1792 by Israel Hildreth. . .He served the town in several capacities including Selectman, Town Clerk, and State Representative. The house was part of a large farm that covered several acres and. . .extended right down to the Merrimack. Hildreth also owned a sawmill and had numerous fishermen working for him. They would use seine nets to catch shad and salmon. . .Hildreth employed many farmhands to work the several acres of farmland he owned. The farm produced potatoes, cabbages, turnips, beets, carrots, and apples which were then turned into cider. . .

Hildreth’s granddaughter, Rowena Reade (5C5X) recalled the bustle of the farm, “When the ovens were to be used, they were filled with fuel which was lighted and allowed to burn for about two hours. . .and the loaves of bread and pies or beans inserted. . .Then what appetizing odors permeated the house as the oven doors were opened!”

The Hildreth Homestead remained in the family until it was sold in 1916 to developer E. Gaston Campbell. The Lowell Sun described the sale of the Hildreth Homestead in1916 by saying, “This will mean a great boost to the district.” Looking back on the sale of the landmark home and the loss of open space 102 years later, this observation is debatable.

Below is a drawing of the Hildreth Homestead in Dracut:

Timothy Hildreth homestead

Our cousin Timothy Hildreth (2C8X) was born in Westford, MA in 1756. In 1790, he purchased property in Sterling, MA complete with a house and out buildings already built. A 1799, town records shows that town meetings were to be held at either Timothy's house or Josiah Kendall's. Tim was a carpenter who helped build the First Church of Sterling in the Village Center.

Either his health or life in general got to be too tough for Timothy and in 1816, at age 73, he

committed suicide. The house was left to his wife Hannah. At Hannah's death the property went to their seventh child Richard (3C7X). The property finally ended up in the hands of Timothy's grandson Richard Hildreth of Boston (4C7X) who was a well known historian of the time. He wrote six volumes of the History of the United States, was a New York Tribune journalist under Horace Greeley and an abolitionist. We'll have more on that Richard in a future post.

Below is a picture of the Hildreth House in Sterling.

the Jonathan Hildreth House

Our cousin Jonathan Hildreth's (3C7X) father Oliver (2C8X) was born in Chelmsford but moved to Townsend where Jonathan was born. Family ties to the Hildreth's in Westford may have been strong because he married Eunice Warren there in 1779. Shortly after the marriage, the couple moved to Concord, MA. There Jonathan had a house and store built by local architect and builder, Ruben Duren. The Hildreth family operated the store, which was in a separate building on the property, until it burned down in 1909. The house was sold out of the Hildreth family in 1922.

The Society of Architectural Historians has this to say about Jonathan's house:

An important example of late Georgian architecture, the Jonathan Hildreth House was the focus for the first village developed outside of Concord Center. Hildreth, a lieutenant and provisioner for the Revolutionary Army, purchased a modest midcentury clapboard house and commissioned local builder-architect Reuben Duren to design a new principal residence and store (since demolished). For Hildreth, Duren provided a brick facaded double-pile, two-story block facing Barrett's Mill Road. The quality of the design can be seen in details such as the pilastered and pedimented entrance and handsome stair hall, both influenced by English pattern books such as Batty Langley's The Builder's Jewel. . .In 1922, architect Andrew H. Hepburn purchased the property as his residence. The following year he became a partner in Perry, Shaw and Hepburn, a firm best known for its restoration work at Colonial Willimsburg, Virginia, during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1941, Hepburn added one bay to the north end of the half house and a two-story wing to the west. He copied the details of Duren's woodwork for this sensitive addition. Surrounding the intersection of Lowell and Barrett's Mill roads is a fine collection of extended farmhouses and barns from the nineteenth century.

The intersection of Lowell Road and Barretts Mill Road is known locally today as Hildreth Corner. The beautiful homes in this upscale neighborhood are ideally spaced to create a lovely rural setting. Zillow values the home today at just over $4,500,000.