131 



about 1679 from there directly south to the site it now occupies. The 

 following is a brief statement of the evidence : — 



The precise locality where the Newhall house now stands was, as 

 far back as it can be traced, a yard belonging to the house of Thomas 

 Oliver who lived where Dr. S. M. Cate now lives. The land to the 

 north and east of this between Washington and St. Peters streets, and 

 extending north so far as to include the estate now occupied by Elea- 

 zer Hathaway, baker, was first owned, so far as our records show, by 

 Governor Endicott, and was known as the " Governor's Eield," or 

 " Endicott's Field." In two conveyances of the land next north of the 

 "Governor's Field," one dated Jan. 28, 1658, and the other March 10, 

 1659, it is described as " on the South, bounded by the house and land 

 of Mr. Endecott." The Inventory of Gov. Endicott's estate mentions 



" a House at the toune w^i^ 3 acres of land belonging to it £100." 



The " Governor's Field" consisted of about three and a half acres. 

 By the Commoners' Eecords it appears that in 1711: a share in the 

 " Commons " was assigned to Major William Browne for " Governor 

 Endicott's Cottage Right in Town." Therefore Major Wm. Browne 

 must have owned in 1714 the land whereon stood a dwelling-house of 

 Gov. Endicott's before 1661. The only land then owned by him to 

 which this could apply was half an acre where Federal street now 

 enters Washington street, which was bought by him of the heirs of 

 Gov. Endicott, March 3, 1686, no house being mentioned in the deed. 



The ground where the Newhall house now stands was sold by 

 Thomas Oliver to Robert Gray, Jan. 11, 1668; and bought by Daniel 

 Epps, April 16, 1679, at Avhich time there was evidently no house on 

 it ; this is shown not only by the absence of any mention of a house in 

 the deed, and by the price paid for it, but also by the manner in which 

 possession was given, namely, "by turf and twig," according to the 

 custom of that time in conveyances of land alone. (See Blackstone, II. 

 315.) About the same time the whole of the " Governor's Field" was 

 sold to different parties, but no mention is made of any house on it in 

 either of the deeds. We can hardly suppose that a house in which the 

 Governor had lived so short a time before could have already fallen to 

 decay, neither is it probable that it could have been destroyed by fire, 

 as some mention would have been made of it. The tradition has been 

 unbroken (see Essex Inst. Hist. Coll., Vol. II. p. 39, notice of the 

 " Old Planter's House ") that this same house which now stands on 

 the northern corner of Church and Washington streets was Gov. En- 

 dicott's house. We may then reconcile this tradition with the record 

 evidence, and very reasonably conclude that after Gov. Endicott's 

 death, none of his family living in town and there being no need of a 

 dwelling-house there, it was sold to Epps, and moved by him to the 

 site it now occupies. 



