26 Phillips Street: 56-9 -4.630 acres, Mansion
This property was once part of the Aaron Cummings farm at 28 Phillips St. Aaron sold off 14 acres of land to Susan C. Dove in 1895 for a house lot at #24 Phillips Street. Aaron died in 1911 and his children; Lois M., Arthur G. and Florence L. Cummings inherit the homestead. The Cummings family sold two parcels adjoining their property to Marjorie (Scull) Hayes, wife of Bartlett H. Hayes in February 1919. The Hayes family had purchased the Dove home in 1909 and lived there. They had four children, Bartlett H. Hayes Jr. b. Aug. 5, 1904, Dorothy B. b. Mar. 20, 1907, Ruth b. Dec. 11, 1909 and Guy Scull b. Mar. 10, 1912. Marjorie purchased a third parcel on June 5, 1931 from the Cummings creating the 4.63 acre parcel that this home was built on.

The Georgian Revival home is said to have been built in 1928 but no residents are listed until the 1932 Andover Directory. Marjorie owned the property and may have built the house for her daughter Dorothy who married on June 15, 1929 in Boston to Douglas Swain Byers b. Jan. 15, 1903 in Newton Center, MA. Douglas was an anthropologist. They first lived in Cambridge then moved to Andover. Douglas had accepted a position at Phillips Academy in the Robert S. Peabody Archaeology Museum. Byers later became the Director from 1938 – 1968 then Director Emeritus. Byers had a distinguish career in anthropology.
Douglas & Dorothy had three children: Corrine W. b. 1934, William b. Jan. 27, 1936 and Marjorie H. “Mardi” b. May 28, 1939.
Bartlett Hayes died in 1951 and Marjorie then deeds the property to Henry E. Kingman & Bartlett H. Hayes Jr. on Nov. 7, 1955. Marjorie died in 1959 in Andover. Bartlett Hayes Jr. lived in the home at 24 Phillips St. He was the Director of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy. Their sister Ruth bought the Cummings Homestead at #28 in 1960. Byers continued to live at #26, basically creating a Hayes family compound on the Hill. Dorothy H. Byers was deeded the property on Oct. 20, 1967. Douglas Byers died on Oct. 27, 1978 in Blue Hill, ME, and is interred in Ridgewood Cemetery, North Andover.

Dorothy then sold her home to Mark B. & Annalee Abelson on Sept. 6, 1979. The Abelson family had been owners of record for 31 years selling on November 7, 2010.