hingham house tour - thomas chubbuck jr house

In my last post, I wrote about the Hingham Historical Society's annual House Tour - and how two of the houses belonged at some point to my ancestors.  This post will show some deeds related to the Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. House.  

The Thomas Chubbuck Jr. House - 1778

Courtesy of Hingham Historical Society

Another house on the Hingham Historical House Tour that one of my ancestors lived in is the house of Thomas Chubbuck, Jr (b. 1757).  Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. is my 5th great grand-uncle, the brother of Sally (Chubbuck) French.  According to the Hingham Historical Society, Jeremiah Chubbuck, my sixth great grandfather, owned this land before his grandson Thomas Jr. built his house here.

The house description from the Hingham Historical website is as follows:

"Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. was a patriot and soldier of the Revolution, serving in the Battle of Bennington in 1777. He was descended from the first Thomas Chubbuck, a large landowner and early planter who arrived in Hingham in 1634. Upon his return from war in 1778, Thomas Jr. built this house atop a knoll in the Liberty Plain area on property owned by his father, Thomas, whose house at 1175 Main Street is also on the tour this year. This land was originally granted by the Town to Robert Peck. Subsequently, it was owned by the Thaxter family from 1641 to 1692 and was then purchased by Theophilus Cushing. It was part of the land that passed to the Chubbucks (detailed in 1175 Main Street history). In 1749, a portion of the land was mortgaged to Harvard University by Jeremiah Chubbuck to pay for his college tuition. Thomas deeded the land to Thomas Jr. who married Joanna Whiton, daughter of Captain Enoch Whiton and Joanna (Whiton), in 1787. Thomas Jr. died shortly after their marriage, and he and Joanna had no children, but Joanna lived here 60 more years until her death in 1850."

The land that this house is on is probably part of the 100 acres purchased from Seth Cushing by Thomas Chubbuck in 1742, recorded in the first deed I wrote about in the previous post, Suffolk County deed 73(164).  I have not found deeds which show how the land is transferred to the later generations of Chubbucks; I am assuming the land was handed down through wills or maybe part of some other deeds of land referenced above.  (see note 1)

I did find the Suffolk County deed 76(147), which records Jeremiah Chubbuck's first transaction with Harvard College.  The college treasurer pays to Jeremiah one hundred pounds for...

"a certain piece or parcel of land situate and being in Hingham aforesaid butted and bounded as follows, viz, eastwardly partly on the highway and partly on the land of Thomas Chubbuck, southerly on the land of Daniel Wyton, west on the river, and northward on Seth Cushing the whole containing by estimation about 40 acres be the same more or less now lying in partnership with my father Mr. Thomas Chubbuck, the land hereby intended to be granted is the one moiety or half part of the above described land and premises..."

dated March 1749

and another Suffolk deed 81(101) records the mortgage of Jeremiah's land to Harvard College; where the treasurer of the college pays fifty pounds for...

"one full moiety or half part of a certain piece of land with the fence thereon situate lying and being in Hingham aforesaid butted and bounded as follows viz southwardly on Accord Pond westwardly on the proprietor's land, and the land of Peter Ripley, northwardly on Seth Cushing's land, and eastwardly on the river, containing in the whole 45 acres..."

dated August 1748

I believe later in the deed it is stated that Jeremiah is expected to pay back the fifty pounds, with interest, and the deed will be void.  The language was a little difficult for me to understand while I was reading it quickly.
I am not sure that Jeremiah did pay the college back, as another deed records a division of land between Jeremiah Chubbuck and Harvard College, Suffolk County deed 87(66).

[Harvard College and Jeremiah Chubbuck] "do hold and enjoy in common and undivided a certain tract of land situate and lying at a place called the great plain in Hingham aforesaid containing in the whole sixty eight acres and thirty eight rods...and is bounded northerly with the land of Enoch Whitten easterly with the country road southerly with Daniel Whitten's land and westerly with the land of Peter Ripley and the said Enoch Whitten...that a partition and division of the same land be made between them...that the divisional line of said tract of land begin at a stake and heap of stones standing in or near the highway nine rods...from the northeast corner of said Chubbuck's dwelling house...college has northerly part containing about 30 acres...southerly part contains about 35 acres to be Jeremiah Chubbuck's... "

dated may 1755 

Eventually, the land that Jeremiah has left, the 35 acres, is probably handed down to his son Thomas, and Thomas' son Thomas, Jr. who builds the house pictured above.

notes:

1. There are some Suffolk County deeds which describe transactions between Seth Cushing and Jeremiah Chubbuck, it looks like Jeremiah and Seth exchange about 100 acres in Hingham back and forth.  It looks like Seth Cushing buys this land suffolk deed 67(236) and 67(237) back from Jeremiah Chubbuck in 1742.  These may be mortgages, as the end of the deed describes how Seth will pay Jeremiah.  Then also in 1742, suffolk deed 70(183), Jeremiah pays 600 pounds to Seth Cushing for part of this land, 100 acres.