19 Marlborough Street

19 Marlborough Street

19 Marlborough Street was designed by architect Abel C. Martin and built ca. 1872 as the home of George B. Upton, Jr. and his wife, Geraldine (Russell) Upton.  In 1870, they had lived with his parents at 79 Beacon Street.  He is shown as the owner of 19 Marlborough on the 1874 Hopkins map.

George Upton, Jr., was associated with his father's business, which included ship building and ownership, real estate, and railroad investments. The Uptons also maintained a home in Milton.  They continued to live at 19 Marlborough in 1876.

By 1877, 19 Marlborough was the home of attorney Causten Browne and his wife Katharine (Maynadier) Browne.  They previously had lived at 233 Beacon Street.  He is shown as the owner of 19 Marlborough on the 1883 Bromley map.

They continued to live there in 1885.  By 1888, they had moved to 139 Beacon Street.

By 1888, 19 Marlborough was the home of Dr. Buckminster Brown, an orthopedic surgeon, and his wife, Sarah Alvord (Newcomb) Brown.  He also maintained his medical office there. They had lived at 39 Marlborough in 1885.  He is shown as the owner of 19 Marlborough on the 1888 Bromley map.

They continued to live there in 1890.

By 1892, it was the home of home of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Hill.  They continued to live there in 1895.

By 1897, 19 Marlborough was the home of Dr. Edwin Wells Dwight, a physician, and his wife Emily Putnam (Williams) Dwight.  He also maintained his medical office there.

Dr. George Gray Sears lived with the Dwights, as a lodger, and also maintained his medical offices there.  Dr. Sears was married in 1904 to Ruth Williams (Emily (Williams) Dwight's second cousin), and he and his wife moved to a temporary home at 462 Beacon Street (with his wife's mother and brother).  He probably maintained his medical office at 19 Marlborough until late 1905, when their permanent residence at 426 Beacon Street had been completed.

Other longer-term lodgers with the Dwights included George B. Morison, a cloth and yarn merchant, and Charles H. Kip, a sales agent, both of whom lived at 19 Marlborough from about 1904.  In 1905, they were joined by Walter C. Lewis.

The Dwights no longer were listed at 19 Marlborough in the 1906 Blue Book, but their lodgers -- George Morison, Charles Kip, and Walter Lewis -- were.

The house was not listed in the 1907 Blue Book.

By 1908, it was the home of Henry Bainbridge Chapin and his wife, Susan Torrey (Revere) Chapin.  Henry Chapin is shown as the owner on the 1908 Bromley map.

Henry Chapin was general traffic manager of the Boston & Albany Railroad.  His grandfather, Chester William Chapin, had served as president of the railroad from 1868 to 1878.

Henry and Susan Chapin lived at 19 Marlborough until his death in May of 1910.  Susan Chapin continued to live there in 1911, but was no longer listed there in the 1913 Blue Book.

By 1913, 19 Marlborough was the home of Mrs. Rose (Lee) Gray, the widow of attorney Reginald Gray.  In 1911, she had lived at 22 Marlborough.

At first, she may have leased 19 Marlborough from Susan Chapin (who is shown as the owner on the 1917 Bromley map), but she subsequently purchased it and is shown as the owner on the 1928 Bromley map.

She also maintained a summer residence on Essex Road in Chestnut Hill.

Rose Gray continued to live at 19 Marlborough until 1937, and probably later.  Her unmarried son, Reginald, an attorney, lived with her.  She continued to be shown as the owner on the 1938 Bromley map.

By 1943, 19 Marlborough was owned by Jane W. Towers.  In May of 1943 and again in January of 1944, she filed permit applications to convert the house from a single-family dwelling into a lodging house.  On both occasions the permits were denied and then abandoned because of lack of adequate egress.  However, it appears that the house operated as a lodging house without legal standing as such.  In November of 1946, Jane T. Worstel (possibly Jane W. Towers filing under a married name) filed for (and subsequently received) permission to install a fire escape on the rear of the house.  In that filing, the occupancy was indicated as being a lodging house.

The house subsequently changed hands several times, remaining a lodging house.

In July of 1962, it was acquired by Charles Talanian of Talanian Realty, who continued to operate it as a lodging house.  In a November 4, 1965, appealing several violation citations, he stated that the "house has been maintained more or less as an exclusive private home, with approximately twelve occupants in the entire building, mostly all matured business people and no students."

In 1989, Wilma Brooks and David Randall, Trustees of the 19 Marlborough Street Realty Trust, purchased the house and remodeled it as a single-family dwelling.