153 River Rd. 1959 - (formerly #323 River Rd.)– Circa 1854 - Tristram B. & Pamela Bailey House – Greek revival

This property was once owned by Benjamin Abbot who sold a parcel of land to Timothy Bailey Jr. for $9822.30 on March 6, 1854. Timothy Bailey Jr. was born Jan. 20, 1786 and married on Dec. 10, 1811 to Henrietta “Ritta” Blood. They had four children; Rufus b. Aug. 9, 1823, Tristram b. May 30, 1830, Roxanna b. Jan. 26, 1833 and Henry Harry b. Jan. 21, 1835.

Timothy sold a parcel of land to his son Tristram B. on March 6, 1854 for $800. Tristram married on Jan. 1, 1856 in Methuen to widow Mrs. Pamela Emma (Frye) Bailey, widow of Nathan Bailey and dau. of Joseph & Mary (Gage) Frye. Pamela was born July 10, 1820 in Methuen, MA. They had one daughter Emma Frances b. Dec. 12, 1860. The 1860 Valuation of Tristram Bailey’s farm: Dwelling house $425, barn $300, 32 acres adjoining $816 = $1541. The 1870 Valuation includes an additional 25 acres Bailey land $700 = $2300. Farm stock valued at $215. Pamela died on June 22, 1861 age 40yrs 11m and is interred at West Parish Cemetery.

Tristram remarried on Feb. 18, 1862 at West Parish Church to Mary Augusta Townsend b. July 8, 1840, dau. of Charles J. & Mary (Cochran) Townsend. Mary was a twin to Rhoda Townsend. Tristram & Mary had three children: James Henry b. June 3, 1864, Mary Pamelia b. July 19, 1867 and Eben Elijah b. June 6, 1869.

Tristram & Mary moved to Lawrence and sold the farm on July 17, 1874 to Francis Cassidy & John J. Sweeney of Lawrence, MA for $3085. The deed came with a condition that Tristram reserved the harvest of his Oats field until August 15th, and the grass in the grass pasture that was leased to Charles Shattuck and expired on October 20, 1874. They also assume the remaining $1200 principle of a mortgage with the Andover Savings Bank. On November 28, 1874 John Sweeney sold his half share of the farm to Francis Cassidy for $1542.50.

Francis Cassidy owned the farm for nearly three years then sold to Frank Cunningham of Lawrence on April 10, 1877 for $2700.

Frank Cunningham was born in 1839 in Ireland and lived in Lawrence prior to moving to West Andover. He married Bridget _________, b. 1845 in Ireland. The 1880 Census lists Frank age 41 farmer and Bridget 35. Two boarders and laborers were John Smokey 44, b. Switzerland, and George Dobson 17 b. MA. The directories also list Frank as a farmer and milkman. They did not have children.
Frank died on March 18, 1895 of pneumonia .

AT March 22, 1895 p. 4 Obituary - FRANK CUNNINGHAM. Frank Cunningham of West Parish died Monday evening after a short illness of pneumonia. A week before he was in apparently good health, and very few knew of his illness. Mr. Cunningham was a well-known farmer in West Parish where he has resided for a number of years. He was at one time foreman at the farm of D. M. Ayer in Methuen. He leaves a widow, an aged mother, one brother and three sisters. The funeral took place yesterday morning at St. Patrick's Church in Lawrence, burial being at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery.

Frank’s estate was set-off to his widow Bridget on June 17, 1895 by the courts. The appraised value of the farm was $3200, and under the $5000, so no taxes were incurred. The commissioners were neighbors, John Maddox, Timothy P. Bailey and James Toye.

Bridget Cunningham remained at the farm until 1898 when she sold the 32 acre 119 rods farm to Patrick Kelley of North Andover on Nov. 17, 1898. Patrick Kelley was born in Ireland in 1850 son of Owen Kelley. He was in Andover in 1900. Patrick died on Aug. 2, 1902 in Cambridge MA, of tuberculosis, at age 52. His occupation was Coachman. Patrick’s will was done on July 10, 1902 and his executor was his nephew Martin W. Lydon who was given all his remaining estate. Martin’s wife Catherine received $100, and $50 was given to the Pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Lawrence, for a Low Mass service for his spiritual care.

Martin W. Lydon to Andover Savings Bank – Aug. 26, 1904 – mtg. $3000 12 acres

Martin William Lydon was born May 8, 1866 in Kildare, Ireland, son of Martin & Maria Lydon. Martin immigrated in 1871 to Boston. He worked as a machinist in Lawrence and was naturalized on Feb. 29, 1888 in Lawrence. He married on June 26, 1894 at St. Patricks’ Church in Lawrence to Catherine E. Cooney. Catherine was born in Lawrence in Dec. 1868 dau. of William & Hannorah (Colbert) Cooney. Martin and Catherine had four children: Mary Elizabeth b. July 26, 1895, Ruth Anna b. March 4, 1897, Helen b. May 1898 all in Lawrence, and William Martin b. Sept. 7, 1900 in Cambridge, MA.

They inherited the Kelley farm in 1902 and moved to Andover. Catherine died on Sept 12, 1908 in Andover of an enlarged heart. She was 34 years of age. The 1910 Census lists Martin as a laborer and dairy farmer. Mary 14, Ruth 13, Helen 11 and William 9. The children would have attended the Abbott District School until it closed in 1903, then to the North School. Only Ruth appears in the Punchard High School as a temporary member of the class of 1915. William enlisted in the Navy in 1919, was a Fireman 2nd class in the 1920 census at Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH on the USS Arapaho.
The 1930 Census lists Martin as a machinist and William as a Water Tender on a steamship. The WWII Registration card lists William working as a laborer for the Town of Andover Water Dept. In 1943 William is working at the Quincy Navy Yard. Martin is an engineer and inventor.

William married about 1947 to Catherine A. _________________ b. 1904. Martin now retired deeds the property to William on Feb. 7, 1948. The 1947 directory includes William’s wife Catherine. His father died in 1951. Catherine was a staff worker at Abbot Academy, in Andover. William began selling off house lots along Laural Lane and land west of their house on River Rd.

William & Catherine continued to live in the home until April 1974 when they sold the property to Thomas Taylor Trustee of the Franklin Trust. William died the following year on Dec. 7, 1975 and was interred in the family lot at St. Augustine’s Cemetery, Andover, MA. The 1983 lists Catherine A. Lydon, retired, residing at #153 River Rd.

The house was later razed for development of Minuteman Road in the 1980’s. The construction of Rt. 93 in the 1950s required a relocation of River Rd and a new bridge and interchange. A portion of the original River Rd was cut off by the highway and renamed “Old River Rd”. on both the east and west sides of the highway. When the Shattuck Farm was sold to developers in the 1980s and rezoned as Industrial land, most of the residential homes were lost or moved. A few homes have survived as has Laural Lane.