251 Beacon Street

251 Beacon Street

251 Beacon Street was built ca. 1869 for real estate investor Henry S. Whitwell, probably for speculative sale, one of six contiguous houses (241-243-245-247-249-251 Beacon).

By 1872, 251 Beacon was the home of retired merchant Shirley Erving and his wife, Abby Sophia (Briggs) Erving.  In 1870, they had lived on Hawthorne at the corner of Highland.  They probably leased the house from Edward Augustus Holyoke Hemenway (known as Augustus Hemenway), who is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map.  Augustus Hemenway was a shipping merchant in the South American trade and owned mines in Valparaiso.

Shirley Erving died in February of 1873.  Abby Erving continued to live at 251 Beacon in 1874.

In 1875, it was the home of Mrs. John Child, a widow.  By 1876, she had moved to 164 Salem Street, and 251 Beacon was once again the home of Mrs. Erving.  She continued to live there until about 1880.

Although she continued to be listed in the City Directories through 1880, Mrs. Erving was no longer listed at 251 Beacon in the 1879 and 1880 Blue Books.  Instead, Mr. E. H. Allen was listed there in 1879 and Mr. J. S. Fay in 1880.

Augustus Hemenway had died in June of 1876, while on a trip to Cuba.  251 Beacon remained the property of his estate, and his heirs are shown as the owners on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps.

By mid-1881, 251 Beacon was the home of attorney Francis Peabody and his wife, Rosamond (Lawrence) Peabody.  They had been married in January of 1881 and 251 Beacon probably was their first home together.  In 1880, prior to their marriage, he had lived in Salem.  Francis Peabody is called "Francis Peabody, Jr." in the 1884-1885 and 1889 Blue Books, but was the son of Samuel Endicott Peabody and the grandson of Francis Peabody.

By 1884, they had purchased and moved to 230 Beacon.

By late 1883, 251 Beacon was the home of Dr. Thomas Dwight and his wife, Sarah C. (Iasigi) Dwight.  They had been married in September of 1883, and 251 Beacon probably was their first home together.  Dr. Dwight was a physician and was Parkman professor of Anatomy at Harvard Medical School.

By 1885, they had purchased and moved to 235 Beacon.

By 1885, it was the home of Pierre C. Severance and his wife, Isabella Morgan (Rotch) Severance.  He was an importer of and dealer in window glass.

By 1888, it was the home of Henry Bainbrodge Chapin and his wife, Susan Torrey (Revere) Chapin.  They had been married in October 1887 and 251 Beacon probably was their first home together.  He was General Traffic Manager for the Boston & Albany Railroad.

By 1892, it was the home of textile manufacturer Harcourt Amory and his wife, Gertrude Lowndes (Chase) Amory.  They had been married in 1891 and 251 Beacon probably was their first home together.  He was treasurer of the Indian Head Mills in Alabama and the Lancaster Mills.

They continued to live there in 1894, but had purchased and moved to 293 Beacon by 1895.

By late 1894, 251 Beacon was the home of Theophilus Parsons and his wife, Mary Mason (Oliver) Parsons.  They had been married in August of 1894, and 251 Beacon was their first home together.  Prior to their marriage, he had lived at 398 Beacon.  Theophilus Parsons was treasurer of Lyman Mills, manufacturers of cotton fabric in Holyoke.

By 1895, they had purchased and moved to 223 Beacon.

By 1897, it was the home of Miss Charlotte Henderson Guild.  She had lived at 77 Marlborough Street in 1895.  She is shown as the owner of 251 Beacon on the 1908 and 1917 Bromley maps.  She continued to live there in 1920, but no longer was listed there in the 1922 Blue Book.  The house remained in the Guild family, however: her sister-in-law, Jessie (Motley) Guild, widow of Charlotte Guild's brother, Samuel Eliot Guild, Jr., is shown as the owner on the 1928 Bromley map.

By 1921, it was the home of William Watson Caswell and his wife, Pauline (Starr) Caswell.  They had lived at 192 Beacon in 1920.  William Caswell had been a manufacturer of remie thread (used extensively in gas lighting mantles) and later served as treasurer of Arthur D. Little, Inc.  They continued to live there in 1924.

By 1925, 251 Beacon was the home of attorney Frederick William Eaton and his wife, Jennie (Smith) Newman Eaton.  They maintained their primary residence in Concord.

The house was not listed in the 1927 Blue Book.

By 1928, it was the home of Arthur Cecil Butler and his wife, Cicely.  He was an importer of textile machinery.  They had moved to 311 Marlborough Street by 1929.

251 Beacon was not listed in the 1929-1936 Blue Books.

In 1936, it became the home of Mrs. Margaret D. Porter, the widow of Dr. Charles Allen Porter, and their children, Isabel, Margaret, and Charles Burnham Porter.  They had lived at 116 Beacon earlier in 1936.  Margaret D. Porter is shown as the owner of 251 Beacon on the 1938 Bromley map.  She continued to live there until 1945.

By 1946, 251 Beacon was the home of Julius A. Wentzel and his wife, Hazel.  He was a construction manager for Woolworth's.

By November of 1946, 251 Beacon was owned by Robert Muller and his wife, Dorothy.  They previously had lived in Wellesley Hills.  He was vice president of the Atlas Plywood Corporation.

By 1949, 251 Beacon was the home of Francis Lyster Jandron and his wife, Ada Reynolds Jandron.  Francis Jandron was a director of the Christian Science Church.  Ada Reynolds Jandron was a Christian Science practitioner and served as president of the church.  They continued to live at 251 Beacon until 1961.

The property subsequently changed hands and, in August of 1964, was acquired by Joe Brown Love and his wife, Ruth.  Joe Brown Love was a chaplain at Boston University; Ruth love was a speech therapist.  At the time they purchased the house, it was a two-family dwelling and lodging house.  In March of 1965, they filed for (and subsequently received) confirmation of the legal occupancy.

In June of  1970, they filed for (and subsequently received) permission to convert the house from a two-family dwelling and lodging house into to a three-family dwelling and lodging house.  In the application, Mr. Love explained that he had just retired and the additional unit was for occupancy by himself and his wife, the second unit was for occupancy by his son and family, and the third was a studio apartment.

In October of 1978, the 251 Beacon Realty Corp. purchased 251 Beacon from Joe Brown Love and Ruth Love.  In December of 1978, it filed for (and subsequently received) permission to remodel the house and change the occupancy to six units.  And in February of 1979, it converted the property into six condominiums.