This property was once owned by Thomas C. Foster in 1858 when he sold the lot to Margaret Collins, wife of Charles Collins on Oct. 22, 1858 for $100. Collins then hired George L. Abbott & Moses Clement of Abbott & Clement builders to construct the home. Margaret borrowed $550. from the contractors who then held the deed until the loan was paid. Collins paid off the loan on Nov. 16, 1866.

On September 8, 1866 Charles Collins purchased a small second parcel at the rear of the property from the Boston & Maine Railroad. Collins paid $25 for the lot that was once a portion of the old Andover - Wilmington Railroad line that ran along the rear of the properties through Hartigan Court and down High St. to North Andover Center and on to Haverhill. The line was incorporated into the Boston & Maine RR when the tracks were relocated in 1848 to the current location to service the new city of Lawrence. The 1860 Valuation lists Charles Collins 1/8 acre House & land = $900. The 1870 valuation lists 1/4 acre House $900, barn & shed $200 and land $150 = $1250 assessment.
The home at #115 North Main was built later about 1895.

Charles Collins was born in Ireland about 1827 son of Charles & Ellen Collins. Charles married on Sept. 20, 1857 in Lawrence, MA at the Catholic Church to Margaret Casey b. about 1827 in Ireland. Both Charles and Margaret were residents of Andover at that time. Margaret's parents were not listed in marriage or death records. Charles & Margaret had two sons: Charles b. Jan 1863 d. Aug. 18, 1863 and Daniel Augustine Collins b. Jan. 7, 1864. Charles occupation is listed a Day Laborer in 1870 census.

Margaret Collins died on Sept. 9, 1891 and her son Daniel A. Collins inherited the property. Daniel gives a sewer easement to the Town of Andover in Oct.1899 which runs close to the front of the house at #115 on the rear of the property. Both homes were owned by the Collins family.

Daniel worked for Tyer Rubber Co. as a shipper, inspector and later advanced to foreman. The 1900 census lists Daniel as a boarder in his house at #115. Also renting are Widow Mrs. Ellen Haley b. Feb. 1845 and her daughter Ellen b. Aug. 1872, a laborer at Tyer Rubber Co. who Daniel married on Jan. 24, 1907. Ellen C. Haley, birth record is Sept. 25, 1872 in Andover dau. of Jeremiah & Ellen (Driscoll) Haley. Daniel & Ellen had three children: Helen C. b.June 9, 1908, Margaret Monica b. Jan. 26, 1912, and Daniel A. Jr. b. Nov. 29, 1913.
Daniel and his family would live in #115 the remained of his life and in 1900 was renting #117 to Widow Sarah McKenzie, age 45 and her three children all teens working in the mills.

Ellen died in 1920 and is interred at St. Augustine's Cemetery. The 1930 Census lists Daniel A. Sr. and his two daughters and son. Helen graduated from Punchard High School in 1917 and was a stenographer. Helen graduated from Portia Law School in Boston, worked for Arlington Trust Co. in Lawrence and advanced to Vice President. Margaret graduated in 1929 for PHS, also became a stenographer working for the Arlington Trust Bank in Lawrence. Son Daniel Jr. became an invalid, confined to a wheel chair and in 1935 was a patient at Holy Ghost Hospital in Cambridge, MA where he died Jan. 14, 1960.
Daniel Sr. later deeded the property to his daughters Helen C. and Margaret M. Collins on Jan. 11, 1946. Daniel died about 1948.

The two houses were sub-divided. A boundary dispute was settled by the land court in Aug. 28, 1956. A map of the property was created at that time and shows the two homes on the lot. Helen & Margaret Collins then sold the property to Robert J. & Rita Fanning in Oct. 1956. The Collins family had now owned for 98 years. Helen & Margaret moved to 5 Houston Ave, in Methuen.