208 Beacon Street

208 Beacon Street

208 Beacon Street was built ca. 1862 by contractor John W. Rollins, one of six contiguous houses (198-200-202-204-206-208 Beacon).

By 1866, it was the home of Francis (Francois) Braggiotti and his wife, Martha E. (Chadwick) Braggiotti.  Martha Braggiotti is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map and the 1883 Bromley map.

Francis Braggiotti was an importer of fruit and later a banker and stockbroker.

In the mid- and late-1870s and 1880s the Braggiottis appear to have moved from Boston and leased the house to others.

In 1875, It was the home of George W. Wright.  By 1876, he had moved to 226 Beacon.

The Braggiottis were listed at 208 Beacon in the 1876 Boston Blue Book, but were not listed there in the 1876 City Directory.

By 1877, 208 Beacon was the home of attorney Edward Avery and his wife, Susan Caroline (Stetson) Avery.  They also maintained a home in Braintree.

By 1878, 208 Beacon was the home of William H. Cragin and H. F. Cragin, a draughtsman.

By 1879, it was the home of N. Samuel.

By the time of the 1880 US Census, 208 Beacon was the home of John H. H. Watson, his brother Frank T. Watson, and their sister, Caroline Watson.

By 1882, the Braggiottis were once again listed at 208 Beacon.  They continued to be live there in late 1887, but by mid-1888 were living elsewhere temporarily and they leased the house to Dr. Harry Fairfield Hamilton, a dentist, as his home and office.  In 1885, he had maintained his offices at 124 Commonwealth Avenue and lived at 19 Mount Vernon Street.

By 1889, Dr. Hamilton had moved to the Hotel Vendome and had purchased 125 Marlborough Street to be his office. The Braggiottis moved back to 208 Beacon.  T. H. Perkins et al, Trustees, are shown as the owners on the 1888 and 1890 Bromley maps.

Francis Braggiotti died in August of 1893, and Martha Braggiotti continued to live there with her son, Isidore.

Martha Braggiotti died in January of 1898 and her son moved soon thereafter, probably to Florence, Italy, where he became a renowned music and voice teacher.

By 1900, it was the home of Dr. George Julius Engelmann, a gynecologist, and his wife, Loula (Henslee) Engelmann.  They previously had lived at 336 Beacon.

Loula Engelmann's children by her first marriage, George O. Clark and Louise Clark, probably lived with them.  The Engelmanns continued to live there until his death in November of 1903.

By 1903, 208 Beacon was the home of William Tudor, a mining executive and artist, and his wife Elizabeth (Whitwell) Tudor.  Elizabeth Tudor is shown as the owner on the 1908 and 1917 Bromley maps.

The Tudors were joined at 208 Beacon by Dr. Lloyd Vernon Briggs, a physician and psychiatrist, who maintained his medical offices there and at 82 Devonshire.  He lived at 112 Mount Vernon Street and in Hanover.  He subsequently lived at 64 Beacon but continued to maintain his offices at 208 Beacon until about 1912.

The Tudors continued to live at 208 Beacon until about 1915.  They had moved by 1917, and by 1920, they appear to have separated and he was living on a farm in Georgia.

By 1917, 208 Beacon was the home of wholesale wool merchant Roger Sherman Dix and his wife Louise (Parrish) Dix.

By 1920, it was the home of attorney John Kenneth Howard and his wife, Ruth (Gaston) Howard.  They had lived at 353 Commonwealth Avenue in 1917.  By 1921, they had moved to 406 Beacon.

By 1922, 208 Beacon was the home of banker and broker Lawrence Paine Dodge and his wife Anne Woodwell (Thurlow) Dodge.  They had lived at 212 Beacon in 1920.  He is shown as the owner of 208 Beacon on the 1928 Bromley map.  They continued to live at 208 Beacon until about 1930 and also maintained a home in Newburyport.

The house was not listed in the 1931 Boston Blue Book.

By 1932, it was the home of Mrs. Alice Lee (West) Movius, former wife of landscape architect Hallam Leonard Movius, and her adult children: Hallam L. Movius, Jr., George West Movius, and Rose Saltonstall Movius.  In 1931, they had lived at 223 Beacon.

George West Movius is shown as the owner on the 1938 Bromley map.

Alice Movius continued to live at 208 Beacon until about 1942, but had moved to the Hotel Vendome by 1943.

By 1943, 208 Beacon was the home of Mrs. Mary F. Andrews.  She continued to live there in 1944.

By 1945, 208 Beacon was the home of Gladys M. Whipple.

In March of 1946, Robert and Jean Fleming acquired 208 Beacon from Gladys Whipple.  In September of 1951, Robert Fleming filed for (and subsequently received) permission to construct a two-car garage at the rear of the property.  In May of 1961, he filed for (and subsequently received) permission to make minor repairs to the house.  At that time, the legal occupancy was indicated as a single-family dwelling and doctor's office.