62 Morton St – 40-81 0.449 acres –Built 1855
Daniel & Ellen Donovan House

Morton St., east of Main St. was first known as Pike Street or Pike Lane, then Green St. on 1872 maps. Pike and East Pike St. appear on earlier deeds. Morton St. originally began at School St. and ended at Main Street. Morton St. was extended to include Pike in the late 1890’s. Pike also was nick-named "Ram Cat Alley" by local old-timers. The Pike Soap Company was located near the intersection of Bartlet St. and later further east on the south side of the road. It was formerly believed some of the houses on the east end of Morton St. were built by Willard Pike for his employees. Recent research disproves this claim. Most of the modest homes were built for Irish emigrants between 1854 – 1860.

George H. French was a merchant in Andover when he purchased 10 acres 9 rods of land from Phillips Academy on Mar. 8, 1854. The parcel’s south border along Pike Street extended down into what is now the “Playstead”. French subdivided the property into house lots along the street. Each lot sold contained a caveat that the new owner had to build a fence along the property line and maintain their half. French sold 3 acres of his property to Frederick Symonds on Feb. 15, 1854 for $450. Symonds then sold the 3 acres to Thomas Donovan on Mar. 2, 1854 for$480. Donovan sold 1 acre to Rogers Sweeney at 60 Morton in Oct. 1855. The Andover Valuation of 1860 lists Daniel Donovan: 1 acre, two houses and land = $400 The 1870 Valuation lists Daniel Donephon : [sic] 1 acre land $150, house $150 = $300 farm stock $45.

Daniel Donovan was born in Ireland about1815 and was a stone mason. His wife Ellen Hurley b. abt. 1830 in Ireland They had ten children: Dennis b. Apr. 1855, Daniel F. “Donley” b. Oct. 5. 1856, William J. b. 1858, Jeremiah b. Dec. 10, 1859, Mary Ann b. June 30, 1861, Timothy b. Aug. 8, 1864, Ellen T. b. Apr. 19, 1865, John b. July 12, 1868, Michael b. Dec. 15, 1870 and James Henry. b. Nov. 5, 1872.

Ellen was pregnant with their tenth child James H. when husband Daniel died in North Andover on June 6, 1872 at age 57 of a bowel obstruction. He is interred in St. Augustine’s Cemetery. The Donovan family had moved to North Andover in 1871 just prior to Daniel’s death. They kept the Andover house another seven years selling to Thomas Welch, wife Ann, on July 19, 1879. The 1880 Census lists the Donovan family in North Andover. Ellen died on May 22, 1884.

Thomas Welch – July 19, 1879 - b. 56 p. 183 $350 to minor heirs
Thomas Welch estate widow Ann – 1892