139 



From the Eiiclicott family it passed through Samuel, a 

 grandson of Zerobabel, by deed March 4, 1687-8,'^ to 

 Richard Reed of Marblehead, and in this family, always 

 cons[)icuous in the affairs of that town, the title remained 

 for many years. On March 25, 1732, it came into the 

 hands of Samuel Reed,^ by virtue of an indenture of par- 

 tition executed by the children of the late Samuel Reed, 

 his father, and by Ebenezer Lowell, w^ho married a 

 daughter, and from him, after being mortgaged Feb. 20, 

 1738-9,^ to "the Honorable James Bowdoin of Boston, 

 Esquire" (afterwards the successor of John Hancock as 

 governor of the Commonwealth), as " Catt Island to- 

 gether with the House and Woods thereon," the prop- 

 erty passed in equal parts, Feb. 12, 1746-7,^ to "Joseph 

 Willson, Gentleman, and John Oliver, Victualler," both 

 of Maiden, in the county of Middlesex. In this and 

 subsequent conveyances, mention is made of the house 

 but not of the woods, and since several of these con- 

 ve}'ances are made to inn-holders of Maiden, Charles- 

 'town and ^larblehead, it is a fair presumption that the very 

 considerable value attaching at this time to Catt Island 

 Avas due to its being occupied as a place of pu])lic enter- 

 tainment. September 2, 1773, the property passed in 

 equal shares to Elbridge Gerry (afterwards Governor and 

 Vice President), Col. Azor Orne, Captain (afterwards 

 Gen'l) John Glover, and Jonathan Glover, Esq.,^ all of 



3 Essex Reg. Deeds, vol. XII, fol. 168. * Essex Reg. Deeds, vol. CXV, fol. 103, 

 also vol. LXI, lol. 156-8. ^ Essex Reg. Deeds, vol. LXXVIII, fol. 121. e Essex 

 Reg. Deeds, vol. XCllI, fol. 16, and vol. XCVIII, fol. 30. 



^Honoved names in Marblehead. Hon. Col. Azor Orne, son of Joshua and 

 Sarah (Gale) Orne, b. in Marbleliead, July 22, 1731, d. at Boston, June 6, 1796. He 

 was a descendant trom Deacon John Orne of the 1st church in Salem, who died at 

 an advanced age in 1681. 



Elbridge Gerry, son of Thomas Gerry, born in Marblehead, July 14, 1744, died in 

 Washington, Xov. 13, 1S14, in tl;e office of Vice President of U. S. A. 



