26 Marlborough Street

22-30 Marlborough Street

26 Marlborough Street was built ca. 1863 for the Thorndike Estate, one of five contiguous houses (22-24-26-28-30 Marlborough) built for them at the same time.

By 1865, 26 Marlborough was the home of Mrs. Louisa (Putnam) Peabody, the widow of Salem merchant Joseph Augustus Peabody.  She is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map.  Her brother, Dr. Charles Gideon Putnam, lived next door at 24 Marlborough.

She continued to live at 26 Marlborough until her death in October of 1876.

In mid-1877, 26 Marlborough purchased by Rev. John Hopkins Morison and his wife, Emily Hurd (Rogers) Morison.  They also maintained a home in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

John Morison was a Unitarian Minister.  He served as pastor of the First Parish Church in Milton from 1845 until his retirement in 1885.

John Morison died in April of 1896.  Emily Hopkins continued to live at 26 Marlborough until her death in 1899.

By 1901, 26 Marlborough was the home of real estate broker and trust company officer Frederick Josiah Bradlee and his wife, Eliza Whitwell (Thomas) Bradlee.  They continued to live there in 1906.

By 1907, it was the home of cotton mill treasurer Herbert Lyman and his wife, Ruth Bowman (Whitney) Lyman.  Ruth Lyman is shown as the owner on the 1908 and 1917 Bromley maps.  The Lymans continued to live there in 1913, but appear to have lived elsewhere for the next few years.

The house was not listed in the 1915 Blue Book, and by 1917 was the home of Herbert Lyman's first cousin, banker and broker Francis Stanton Blake, and his wife, Eugenie (White) Blake, a former actress who was described by the Boston Globe as "one of the most beautiful women in the United States" at the time of their marriage in 1902.

By 1920, the Lymans were living at 26 Marlborough once again.  By 1923, however, they had moved to 229 Commonwealth Avenue.

By 1924, 26 Marlborough was the home of Mrs. Grace B. (Pearce) White, the widow of architect Robert Horace White, and her son, Charles Pearce White.  They are are shown as the co-owners on the 1928 Bromley map.  In 1920, they had lived in St. Louis.

Charles White continued to live with his mother in 1925, but was no longer listed there in the 1927 Blue Book.

Grace White continued to live there in 1937, and probably later.  She also maintained a summer home at Bass Rocks in Gloucester.  In January of 1937, Charles White transferred his interest in the property to his mother, and she is shown as the sole owner on the 1938 Bromley map.

She continued to own the house in October of 1946, when she installed an elevator.

By 1953, 26 Marlborough was owned by Dr. Elias Stavropoulos Stevens, a dentist.  In August of 1953, he converted the house from a single-family dwelling into three apartments and a dentist's office.  In February of 1957, he applied for (and subsequently received) permission to remove a rear ell.

The property remained in the Stevens family.  In September of 1962, they filed for (and subsequently received) approval to remodel the house into six apartments and a dentist's office.  It appears that, in doing the work, eight apartments were actually created, but an amended permit was not filed to reflect the change. In February of 1997, the Stevens Irrevocable Trust filed to legalize the occupancy as eight apartments and a dentist's office, noting that this was an existing condition and that the two additional apartments "were completed in the 1960's."