155 Beacon Street

155 Beacon Street

155 Beacon Street was built ca. 1861 by Bourn & Leavitt, a partnership of carpenters Robert T. Bourn and William Leavitt.  It was one of six contiguous houses (149-151-153-155-157-159 Beacon) they built for speculative sale.

By 1862, 155 Beacon was the home of shipping merchant Sewall Tappan and his wife, Elizabeth Sawyer (Rollins) Tappan.  He is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map.

He died in November of 1879.  Elizabeth Tappan continued to live at 155 Beacon in 1880, but by 1882 had moved to live at 265 Commonwealth Avenue with her son-in-law and daughter, Frances Henry Appleton and Fanny (Sewall) Appleton.

By 1882, 155 Beacon was the home of Charles Wolff, the Austrian Consul.  In 1880, he had lived at 3 Chestnut Street .  He is shown as the owner of 155 Beacon on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps, and continued to live there in 1888.

By 1889, 155 Beacon was the home of Otis Everett Weld and his brother-in-law and sister, Edward Cyrenius Richardson and Catherine Elizabeth (Weld) Richardson.

Otis Weld was a wholesale grocery and wine merchant.  He was unmarried.  Edward Richardson was a shipping merchant.

Otis Weld continued to live at 155 Beacon until his death in March of 1897.  The Richardsons continued to live there until 1899, but had moved to 9 Bay State Road by 1900.

By 1900, 155 Beacon was the home of Mrs. Lucy Catherine (Daniell) Crehore, widow of George Clarendon Crehore, and her two youngest children: Charles Lemuel Crehore and Lucy Clarendon Crehore.  In 1899, they had lived at 209 Beacon.  Lucy C. Crehore is shown as the owner of 155 Beacon on the 1908 Bromley map.

Lucy Crehore continued to live there until her death in May of 1915.  Norman S. Crehore, et al, Trustees are shown as the owners of 155 Beacon on the 1917 Bromley map.  The house was not listed in the 1917 Blue Book.

By 1922, 155 Beacon was the home of William Francis Warden and his wife, Eleanor Cotton (Denham) Warren.  They had lived at 257 Marlborough Street in 1920, and before that were residents of Paris.  He was an artist.

William Warden died in March of 1922.  Eleanor Warden continued to live at 155 Beacon until about 1929 and also maintained a summer home in Indian Rock, Maine.  William F. Warden's Heirs are shown as the owners of 155 Beacon on the 1928 Bromley map.

The house was not listed in the 1930 Blue Book.

By mid-1930, it was the home of Rt. Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill and his wife, Barbara (Harris) Sherrill.  They previously had lived at the Trinity Church Rectory at 233 Clarendon Street.

Henry Knox Sherrill was Rector of Trinity Church until October of 1930, when he was consecrated the ninth Bishop of Massachusetts.  He remained in that position until 1947, and then served as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church until 1958.

The Sherrills continued to live at 155 Beacon in 1937, and he is shown as the owner on the 1938 Bromley map.

By 1944, 155 Beacon was owned by S. Clifford Speed.

In September of 1944, Jane T. Goodwin acquired 155 Beacon from S. Clifford Speed.  She operated it as a lodging house for the next thirty-four years.