129 Commonwealth Avenue

129 Commonwealth Avenue

129 Commonwealth Avenue was built ca. 1871 as the home of attorney Charles Mayo Ellis and his wife Helen (Thomas) Ellis.

They continued to live at 129 Commonwealth until shortly before their deaths, his in January of 1878 and hers in December of 1878.  At the time of their deaths, they were living on Goddard Avenue in Brookline.

In 1878, 129 Commonwealth became the home of Abby (Howard) Manning, widow of wool merchant Francis Cogswell Manning.  She is shown as the owner on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps.

She continued to live there with here two unmarried daughters, Abby F. and Annie F. Manning, until her death in July of 1905.

Abby and Annie Manning continued to live at 129 Commonwealth.  Abby F. Manning, et al, are shown as the owner on the 1908 and 1917 Bromley maps.

Annie Manning moved to Haddon Hall at 282 Berkeley Street after her marriage to attorney George S. Selfridge in 1910. 

In about 1916, Abby Manning was joined at 129 Commonwealth by her brother, Francis Henry Manning, a retired wool merchant.  He was a widower and previously had lived at 356 Beacon Street.  He continued to live at 129 Commonwealth until his death in October of 1922.

Abby Manning continued to live at 129 Commonwealth in 1925.  She also maintained a summer home in Bar Harbor.

The house was not listed in the 1927 Blue Book.

By 1928, 129 Commonwealth was the home of banker Arnold Welles Hunnewell and his wife, Mary Copley (Amory) Hunnewell.  In 1927, they had lived at 261 Commonwealth Avenue (it had been built by his parents and, in the 1920s, was the home of his unmarried brother and sister, Francis W. Hunnewell and Louisa Hunnewell).

The Hunnewells continued to live at 129 Commonwealth in 1933, but were no longer listed there in the 1934 Blue Book.  Arnold Hunnewell continued to be shown as the owner, however, on the 1938 Bromley map.

By 1934, it was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jenkins and Miss Rose Gordon Stearns.

The house was not listed in the 1935 and 1936 Blue Books.

By 1937, it was the home of banker Francis Lee Higginson, Jr., and his wife, Aileen Muriel (Johnstone) Higginson.  In 1932, they had lived at 360 Beacon Street.

It appears the house remained a single-family dwelling until 1974, when Robert and Annette DeSousa, the owners at the time, converted it into three apartments.