74 



originally owned by Richard Graves ; and between that 

 and Summer street was an acre of land, with a dwelling 

 house on it, conveyed by the heirs of Philip Veren, in 

 1655, to Wm. Lord, and by him to Wm. Lord, Jr., 

 in 1658. 



South of the last two lots (those of Richard Graves 

 and Philip Veren) and extending on Broad street from 

 Summer street to a line one hundred and twenty feet 

 west of Cambridge street, was the homestead of Francis 

 Lawes, which, together with the Richard Graves lot 

 which he also owned, making in all about five acres, he 

 left by will, in 1666, to his son-in-law, John Neal, and his 

 wife, and after their death to their son Jonathan Neal. 

 Part of this estate has been retained in the same family 

 to the present time. Francis Lawes lived on the east cor- 

 ner of Cambridge and Broad streets, and the hill where 

 the burying ground now is was in the earlier years called 

 "Lawes Hill." In 1721, Samuel Gaskill, aged eighty 

 years, testified "that the dwelling house upon the hill by 

 ye Almshouse in Salem, where Jonathan Neal now 

 dwells, built by Francis Laws, was standing there before 

 ye year 1660." The Almshouse was where the Normal 

 School building is now. Jonathan Neal left his home- 

 stead, by will, in 1732, to his sous Jonathan and David, 

 and in the division, in 1753, the dwelling house was 

 assigned to Jonathan. In a deed by him in 1774, he 

 mentions "my old &$use," as being on the eastern corner 

 of Cambridge street; and in the inventory of his estate, 

 in 1795, is mentioned the dwelling house, now standing, 

 on the west corner, and also "an old dwelling house" on 

 the east corner of Cambridge and Broad streets. This 

 last was no doubt the one referred to in the above deposi- 

 tion. 



Francis Lawes also owned the Antrum lot, above men- 



