houses - The Cambridge Historical Commission Blog

New Collection Available: Gooch Family Photographs

Posted on January 9, 2021January 25, 2021 by Brittany F.

We have recently processed a collection that was donated in October, and its finding aid is now available on ArchivesSpace. Currently, the Historical Commission is offering limited research assistance. Please see our main webpage for the most up-to-date information.

The Gooch Family Photographs (P029) contains 49 glass plate negatives that we have digitized so that the collection is available from the safety of your home. The items are available for viewing on our Flickr page here. If you would like to research this or any other collection, please email us at chcarchives@cambridgema.gov.

The Gooch Family Photographs comprises images related to 11 Fayerweather Street in Cambridge; Harvard University buildings; Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown, Massachusetts; and non-Cambridge locations. The collection was donated by the wife of a photographer who bought and sold photography related items on Ebay and specialty photographic sites. While cleaning out her basement, she found the boxes and explained that “thought the negatives might be important to the history of an area.”

11 Fayerweather Street, front facade, ca. 1900.

Initially the content of the glass plates were unidentified, but through research the CHC staff has determined that the images are likely connected to the Gooch family, who were lived at 11 Fayerweather Street (no. 3 Fayerweather at the time of their residency). The negatives include images of family members, but the names of individuals have not yet been determined.

The Gooch Family

The story of the Gooch family in Cambridge starts with Nathan Gooding Gooch (1835-1919), a descendant of the colonial settler John Gooch. In the 1850s bachelor Nathan Gooch boarded with John Bridge Dana at 3 Fayerweather Street (renumbered 11 Fayerweather by 1930). Dana (1800-1888) worked for the Charles River Bank and later became a Harvard steward. His daughter, Ellen Coolidge Dana, married Nathan Gooch on June 14, 1860. Both generations lived in the house, presumably with the house divided by the partition shown on a 1900 remodel plan.

Woman and dog on front porch of 11 Fayerweather Street during winter, undated. The woman may be Ellen Coolidge Dana, who married Nathan Gooch

Nathan Gooch initially worked as a bookkeeper for W.T. Richardson near Harvard Square and became a lumber dealer in Brighton in 1857. Nathan worked with his brother at their lumber firm, J.G. & N.G. Gooch; he also became a coal dealer on Kilby Street in Boston in 1865. During the Civil War he served in the Massachusetts 12th Company from November 12, 1863, to August 15, 1864. Nathan Gooch was also a Cambridge City Council member from 1865-1866 and a deacon of the Old Cambridge Baptist Church, a position he occupied until 1908. In 1906 he worked for Cox Bros. & Co., anthracite coal dealers in Boston.

A man holding a toddler next to a dog at 11 Fayerweather Street, undated. This could be Nathan Gooch and his granddaughter Margaret.

Nathan and Ellen Gooch had two children, William D. Gooch and Ellen M. Gooch. The family moved to Watertown in 1900 to a house that was once part of the Adams estate. Built in 1900, 35 Adams (or Fairlawn) Avenue was designed by F. Bryant & Co. It would continue to be the family’s home until the 1930s.

Aerial view taken from the Oakley Country Club showing Shattuck Avenue in Watertown before Adams Avenue was laid out.

The Gooch family also owned a summer residence in Marblehead on Marblehead Neck (sometimes called Nanepashment). Their first summer home was at the corner of Harbor and Harvard streets (formerly Spring Street). In 1892 Nathan Gooch had the house moved 25 feet. He later sold the property to Maria M. Stone and in 1901 moved the family to Ocean Avenue (likely located is now 372 Ocean Avenue). His brother, Johnson G. Gooch, also had a summer place in Marblehead on Atlantic Avenue.

A child holding a doll in a field with a man behind in the middle-ground. Beyond is the sea. The man may be William D. Gooch and the toddler his daughter, Margaret. This location could be in Marblehead. The image is undated.

The Gooch’s daughter, Ellen, married G.F. Rouillard, and they had sons Robert G. and Clarence D. Their son, William, worked as a bookkeeper before becoming an auditor for a drug and chemical company. He owned a motorboat named Dixie and continued to summer in Marblehead for a few years after his father’s passing in 1916. At some point William married Mary A. Pearce, and they had two children, Dana Appleton Gooch (1897-1972) and Margaret Caroline Gooch. Dana worked as an office clerk but was unemployed by World War I; his subsequent occupations are unknown. He was married in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1934 and died in Florida on March 6, 1972.

A woman holding a baby on the porch steps of 11 Fayerweather Street. The woman is possibly Mary A. Pearce Gooch, William’s wife, and the baby may be Margaret or Dana.

Margaret Caroline Gooch (1891-1988), William’s daughter, is likely present in this collection since one of the original glass plate boxes was labeled with her name. While employed as a teacher, she married Eugene Judson Barney on December 10, 1917. Eugene was a refrigerator electrical engineer from Dayton, Ohio, and by 1920 they had moved back to his hometown. According to census records, they lived at 12 Seminary Avenue in 1920; 1438 Catalpa Drive in 1930; and 1827 Harvard Boulevard in 1940. Eugene and Margaret were the parents of Edward Barney.

Dana Gooch with a dog in a sandbox in Marblehead, ca. fall 1900. According to the *Marblehead Messenger*, Dana caught his finger in a bicycle spool on September 3, 1900, and had to get it sewn and bandaged; the bandage is visible on his left hand.

11 Fayerweather Street

In 1850, 3 Fayerweather Street was built as a 2½ story house for John B. Dana. After the Dana and Gooch families moved, the house was purchased by Mrs. Archibald Howe (Arria Sargeant Dixwell) in 1900. Mr. Howe (1848-1916), a lawyer and former member of the House of Representatives, ran for Vice-President in 1900 on the “National Party” ticket. His cousin Lois Lilley Howe (1864-1964), a pioneering female architect, remodeled 3 Fayerweather Street that year. The new design removed the interior partition (mentioned above), extended the house by four feet, and added three dormers to the front façade. It is likely that Lois Howe was the photographer of image G-2161: it is strikingly similar to photographs she took on April 30, 1900. (For a lot more information on Howe, get in touch with the Historical Commission.) The house was renovated by Lois’s architectural firm, Howe, Manning & Almy, in 1916. (No. 3 was renumbered 11 some time between 1916 and 1930.) The house was later owned by Louise McLennan, who altered it again, in 1939.

The collection includes images of beaches, fields, and mountain landscapes, possibly at Marblehead Neck and in New York state. There are also photographs of Harvard’s Memorial Hall, the Washington Elm, and the Old Cambridge Baptist Church after the fire of 1897.

Torn Down Tuesday: 18 Old Dee Road

Posted on August 6, 2019May 13, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Old Dee Road 18_001 — The house at 18 Old Dee Road was set back from the road and nestled into the landscape. (CHC Collection)

Constructed in 1947 for Harold and Anna Ryan, 18 Old Dee Road typified the mid-century International Style residence. Located on a cul-de-sac off Larchwood Drive, the house was a one-story, shed roof, frame structure with vertical wood tongue and groove siding. Fenestration consisted of single glazed wood frame casement and fixed glass units, with a horizontal emphasis. A large brick chimney was positioned near the back of the house. The main entrance was recessed at the center of the façade, and a side entry door was covered by a small shed roof. The house had an unusual trapezoidal footprint that widened from the front façade to the back, in response to the irregular shape of the lot.

map old dee road — The site’s shape, outlined in red, informed the layout of the house. Note the address numbers are different on this plan dated 1952. (City of Cambridge Public Works)

18 old dee road_Page_3 — View of the back of the house just prior to demolition. (CHC Collection, gift of Peter Wasserman)

18 old dee road_Page_5 — Floor plan as documented in 2005. The footprint is original except for an addition on the north wall which dates from 2001. (Dingman Allison Architects)

18 old dee road_Page_1 — View of main living area with fireplace. (CHC Collection, gift of Peter Wasserman)

The house was the first design by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) in Cambridge. The firm was headed by Walter Gropius, founder of the famed Bauhaus design school in Germany. In 1934, Gropius moved to England as Hitler rose to power. He eventually came to the United States in 1937 with his family to chair the architecture department at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Other TAC partners included Norman and Jean Fletcher, John and Sarah Harkness, Robert MacMillan, and Benjamin Thompson. As the name of the firm implied, there was an emphasis on a team approach to design and a modernist aesthetic that involved clean lines, functionality, and a rejection of superfluous ornamentation. Several partners designed their own homes at Six Moon Hill in Lexington which are still extant today. The firm’s only other residential commission in Cambridge was at 15 Hemlock Road in 1952.

tac 02 — Portrait of partners of TAC, 1952. Left to right, Sarah Harkness, Jean Fletcher, Robert McMillan, Norman Fletcher, Walter Gropius, John Harkness, Benjamin Thompson, and Louis McMillen . (*The Architects Collaborative*, Arthur Niggli, Ltd.)

TAC went on to design a range of projects around the world including the University of Baghdad, the Rosenthal Porcelain Factory in Bavaria, and the United States Embassy in Greece. In Massachusetts, the firm designed the Harvard Graduate Center, Wayland High School, and the John F. Kennedy Office Building in Boston, among others. Gropius was a part of TAC until his death in 1969. The firm closed in 1995.

The house was demolished in 2005.

Sources

http://architectuul.com/architects/view_image/the-architects-collaborative/27096

Jean Bodman Fletcher

http://wiedler.ch/felix/books/story/182

The Asa Porter Morse House

Posted on March 7, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

In relation to yesterday’s #ModernMonday posting on Woodrow Wilson Court (click here for that Instagram post), today we are highlighting the former Asa Morse Estate at 81 Magazine Street. Asa Porter Morse (1818-1906), the son of Daniel and Sarah Morse (first cousins), moved to Boston in 1840 and began business life as a bookkeeper in the house of Hayward & Morse, who were involved with West India trade. After accumulating enough capital to start a business for himself, Morse continued working in commerce and trade and moved to Cambridge in 1845. He served as a member of the Cambridge School Board, as an alderman, and as a state senator in 1879-1880.

instapost2

Morse became involved with developing sections of Cambridgeport near his home. In 1861, he built a large Italianate-style mansion with a central tower on Magazine Street, which was lined with large homes and churches frequented by some of the city’s elite.

Magazine St 81_Asa Morse House_0001

Asa and his wife Dorcas Louisa Short (1822-1864) lived at home with their three children. Upon Asa’s death in 1906, the house passed to his daughters Velma and Mary, who lived at home. Velma, the last living Morse, died in 1934 and the direct Morse line ended.

Magazine St 81_Entrance hall and front door

The 17-room mansion on Magazine Street, with its massive rooms, frescoed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, oak furnishings and paneling sat empty. In 1935, the Cambridge Chronicle reported that neighborhood boys were breaking in and removing items from the water heater to the slate roof. Outside, the garden with its once prim walks and flower beds became an overgrown tangle of vegetation, obscuring the once proud estate. The house was razed in 1940 and the lot was redeveloped into Woodrow Wilson Court years later.

Photographs taken of the interior by Charles Darling in the 1930s show the interior before it succumbed to vandals and the elements. The images were digitized by Historic New England.

Magazine St 81_Bedroom Magazine St 81_Bedroom2 Magazine St 81_Livingroom2

A major event in Morse’s life – and one that has often been omitted from his biographies – is his relationship with Anna Van Houten, a woman around 30 years old, who arrived in Boston from Spokane, Washington. Her life story is unclear, but it seems she grew up in South Carolina and San Francisco, and was married to a Mr. Van Houten, whom she divorced in 1889.

Van Houten and Morse met, and after a brief courtship, Morse proposed to Van Houten in 1891, buying her a $500 engagement ring and wedding dress. In 1892, however, Morse suddenly ended their engagement, claiming that Van Houten had concealed her earlier divorce. Van Houten sued Morse for $60,000 in damages for “breach of promise.” In 1893 she won her case and was awarded $40,000.

globe1 — Headline from the Boston Daily Globe, October 5, 1893

Later that year, however, Morse appealed, citing other reasons for breaking off the engagement. According to Morse, Van Houten had hidden her African-American ancestry from him. Van Houten denied this and presented photographs of her family in court to prove her white ancestry. Morse’s attorney contended that evidence showed that both Van Houten’s parents were black and that Van Houten was at least one-eighth black, and therefore that she had deceived Morse in the presentation of her lineage.

bostonglobe — Boston Daily Globe, November 19, 1893

The appeal was heavily reported and sensationalized in newspapers, and November 1894, the original verdict was overruled by the court. Van Houten returned to Spokane, and Morse died in 1906. The overruling would have a wide-ranging effect on future cases, however, in particular Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)*.

As this blog post only briefly covers this story, feel free to make a research appointment with us to find out more information on the trial.

*Miletsky, Zebulon V., “City of amalgamation: race, marriage, class and color in Boston, 1890-1930/” (2008). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 – February 2014. 931. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/931. 171-172.

A Cambridge Entry in the Green Book

Posted on February 24, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Today’s post was written by CHC Preservation Planner, Sarah Burks.

You likely have heard a lot of talk recently about Green Book, the award-nominated movie starring Mahershala Ali as Dr. Don Shirley, a world class pianist on a performance tour in the southern states during the Jim Crow era. The name of the movie derives from a U.S. travel guide for Black tourists. The Negro Motorist Green Book offered lists of restaurants, automobile service stations, hotels, parks, and other sites that would be safe and welcoming to African Americans traveling for work or leisure. The books were published by Victor H. Green between 1936 and 1967. A new documentary, The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, will air on the Smithsonian Channel on Monday, February 25 at 8:00 P.M. The original books have been digitized by the New York Public Library and can be viewed online here.

Green Book, 1947 cover — Cover of the 1947 edition of *The Negro Motorist Green Book*. Digital Collections of the New York Public Library.

Although Boston had a couple dozen sites listed in the Green Books, Cambridge only had one, a “tourist home” at 26 Mead Street with the contact name of S. P. Bennett.

Green Book, 1947, detail of Cambridge entry p 43 — Detail of the Cambridge entry in the 1947 edition of *The Negro Motorist Green Book*. Digital Collections of the New York Public Library.

Satyra Pearson Bennett was a Cambridge resident who rented out rooms to travelers in her family home. She worked as a linotype operator for several newspapers and was on the board of multiple charitable organizations and city committees. Satyra Pearson was born in 1892 in Rock Hill, Jamaica to Frances and William Pearson. In 1894, Satyra and her parents departed from Kingston and arrived in New York City. The family moved to Massachusetts in 1903, first residing in Worcester and then settling in Cambridge on Mead Street.

1916_Bromley — 1916 Bromley map showing the Pearson residence at 26 Mead Street in Northwest Cambridge

According to Satyra’s 1926 Petition for Citizenship, the family arrived in Boston from St. John, New Brunswick aboard the U.S.S. Calvin Austin in 1913.

Satyra’s father was an ordained minister and was the pastor for many years at St. Paul A.M.E. Church at 37 Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridgeport.

20St Paul AME late 1800s — St. Paul AME Church in the late 1800s

In 1919, Satyra married Cyril Bennett. Cyril was also a Jamaican-born minister, and following their marriage, Satyra moved with him to Detroit. Together they had one son, George B. Bennett in 1920, but the couple soon divorced. By July 1921, Satyra had moved back to Cambridge and lived with her parents at 26 Mead Street. Satyra advertised her dress-making services in local newspapers, and in 1926 began the process to attain her U.S. citizenship.

CambChron_23July1921 — Clipping from the *Cambridge Chronicle*, 23 July 1921

citizen1933 — Frances Satyra Bennett’s citizenship card, 1933

Mrs. Bennett was a founding board member of the Cambridge Community Center, the Citizens Charitable Health Association, and an officer of the Boston chapter of the NAACP. She died in 1977. Her sister, Mrs. Ozeline Pearson Wise, was the first African American woman to work for the banking department of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She was interviewed in 1978 as part of the Black Women’s Oral History Project. You can listen to their story here and view their entries on the Cambridge Women’s Heritage Project.

26 Mead St Cambridge Assessor's photo 2017 — Bennett House at 26 Mead Street, Cambridge, MA. Cambridge Assessing Department photo, 2017.

Address Highlight: 9 Forest Street

Posted on August 14, 2017November 14, 2018 by Meta Partenheimer

Among the oversize materials in our flat files, the CHC holds architectural drawings and specifications of a house to be built for Lyman A. Belknap in Cambridge.

flat_files_9_Forest_front_el — Front elevation of a home to be built at 9 Forest Street. The house was never constructed.

Mr. Belknap purchased a lot at 9 Forest Street in North Cambridge on March 31, 1871 but despite the elegant mansard design by architect G. F. Meacham, Belknap sold the property later that same year to William Frost, Jr. At this time, the land was still undeveloped. In 1872, Frost built a large, three-story mansard house on the lot for James M. Hilton, who rented the home to tenants.

survey_form001 — Architectural survey form for 9 Forest Street.

Residents of 9 Forest Street

In early 1983, a descendant of Edwin Davis Mellen gifted the CHC with several family photographs taken in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Many are interior and exterior shots of homes, with a number known to be located in Cambridge. Among the photographs are two taken at 9 Forest Street.

Mellen (1861-1918), an 1884 M.I.T. graduate, was a talented amateur photographer. By profession a chemist, he became a partner in the Cambridge soap manufacturer Curtis, Davis & Co. He and his wife, Adele Jeanne, nee Lods, initially lived on Essex Street, not far from the factory, but in 1892-98 they rented the house at 9 Forest Street. In 1897 the British firm of Lever Brothers purchased an interest in Mellen’s firm, and he built a new home at 1590 Massachusetts Avenue (now demolished). With him were his wife, and a daughter, Lucile Christina.

house002 — The Mellen family at 9 Forest Street: Lucile Mellen and an unknown boy sit on tricycles. Adele can be seen sitting on the front steps. The photograph was taken by Edwin, ca. 1893-1898.

house001 — An unknown boy, Lucile Mellen, and an unknown girl on the steps of 9 Forest Street, ca. 1893-1898.

This house was also once the home of Dr. Lucy A. “Sleeping Lucy” Cooke. Lucy’s foresight and restorative powers appeared when she was a young girl in Vermont. Lucy honed her talents and was known in her time as a psychic healer. Although she had no formal medical training, patients called her Dr. Cooke, and she was said to invent prescriptions and even heal broken bones, all while under a trance or hypnosis. Lucy also ran a mail-order prescription business. In addition to her medical talents, Lucy aided police with unsolved cases and helped discover missing items while in state of trance.

faces-lucy — Portrait of Lucy Cooke (b. 1819 – d. 1895) by an unknown artist. Oil on canvas, c. 1850. Vermont Historical Society. In 1916 Lucy’s husband bequeathed $1,000 and the portrait to Mount Auburn Hospital on the condition that it be hung in a public area. The hospital declined the bequest, and it went to the Montpelier Public Library instead.

Lucy moved to Boston in 1876 with her secretary and soon-to-be second husband, Everett W. Raddin. In June of 1887, she purchased the three-story mansard home at 9 Forest Street. In 1891 Mr. Raddin converted the carriage house to a residence (at left in the photo above), and it is likely that the couple moved there so they could rent out the main house. Lucy ran her practice at this address, and continued to live there until she died in 1895 at age 76.

cooke_article001 — Article on “Sleeping Lucy” from 1966.

Lucy’s talents were said to be known worldwide, and many clients would line up outside her door for consultation and cures. One of Lucy’s most famous clients was Mary Baker Eddy, known as the founder of Christian Science. Lucy treated Mrs. Eddy and her children while living in Cavendish, Vermont. Both women are buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Forest St 9 DSC_1027

9 Forest Street in 2009.

Today, the large house sits on the corner of Forest Street and Newport Road, and looks much as it did in the late nineteenth century. Many more photographs exist in the collection donated by the Mellens, with detailed home interiors and the family engaged in activities of the day. This collection is open for research on-site at the Cambridge Historical Commission.

References

9 Forest Street. Architectural survey files, Cambridge Historical Commission.

Curtis Mellen Photograph Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission.

“Funeral of Dr. Lucy Cooke.” The Cambridge Chronicle, June 1, 1895. http://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/cgi-bin/cambridge?a=d&d=Chronicle18950601-01.2.49&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-.

“Lucy Ainsworth Cooke.” Vermont Historical Society. Accessed August 08, 2017. http://vermonthistory.org/research/museum-collections/faces-of-vermont/lucy-ainsworth-cooke.

Milmine, Georgine. The Life of Mary Baker Eddy and the History of Christian Science. New York: Doubleday, 1909.

Researching Your Building at the CHC

Posted on May 8, 2017November 14, 2018 by Meta Partenheimer

May is Preservation Month, and over the next few weeks we will be posting about a couple of preservation-related archival projects that we are working on over here at the Commission.

Here at the Cambridge Historical Commission, our holdings are centered on the built environment of the city, with strong collections on the social, business, and industrial history of Cambridge. Formats include photographs, manuscripts, architectural plans, and books, among other mediums. The most valuable intellectual asset of the Commission is our collection of architectural survey files, documenting the history of every building (over 13,000) in Cambridge.

blog-1 — An example of an architectural survey form from CHC’s files. Between 1964 and 1977, the commission surveyed and photographed every building in Cambridge.

As our largest collection, the architectural survey files contain architectural survey forms, photographs, news clippings, and like materials for buildings in Cambridge.

blog-2

blog-3 — The Executive Director of the CHC, Charles M. Sullivan, documented interior and exterior conditions before this home underwent renovations in the early 1980s.

Each file holds documents on every current building in Cambridge as well as records of many demolished buildings. An address may contain one sheet or boast an entire file folder depending on its history in the community.

blog-4 — Many files contain a history of the address from its original purchase. These documents contain valuable information including dates and prices of sale or taxes, and a description of the building.

These files are used quite frequently by architects, building managers, or homeowners, and are open for research.

blog-5 — Included in some files are newspaper clippings regarding the building’s history or current projects. This clipping from 1983 details a renovation project at this home on Otis Street.

As these files currently exist only in physical format, a patron must perform any research with our survey files in-person. The Commission is currently embarking on a pilot digitization project to improve access. This project will facilitate the creation of a searchable and browsable database, which will allow us to upload and share our survey files online.

blog-6 — Taken by Alex Beatty in 1988, this image depicts the finished renovation of 67-69 Otis Street. Image courtesy of the Cambridge Historical Commission.

Please feel free to contact the Cambridge Historical Commission to explore the history of your property. Our research hours are Mondays 4:00-7:00pm, and Tuesday through Thursday 9:30-11:30am and 2:00-4:00pm. Check our blog often for updates on our other projects, and for news on when our digital files will be accessible!