19 Summer St.

19 Summer Street, the Solomon Lakeman House (before 1745)

According to Thomas Franklin Waters, this land was “owned or occupied by Solomon Lakeman in 1745,” as mentioned in Salem Deeds book 87, page 169:

A “certain piece or parcel of land” sold to Richard Lakeman, containing of a dwelling house and barn, containing 96 rods of land, bounded northwesterly on land of Jonathan Pulcipher, northeasterly in ye present possession of the widow of Solomon Lakeman, Southeasterly on ye street or ye highway, southwesterly on ye land in possession of ye widow of Daniel Rogers, Esq; together with all ye fruit trees and ye fences forever.” 

Waters continued:

“We observed that Jonathan Pulcifer purchased the next lot in 1718 when the Samuel Dutch property was divided into house lots, and another in 1724. He seems to have owned a continuous frontage to the corner now occupied by Miss Sarah P. Caldwell’s residence.”

Bickford Pulcifer sold Jonathan Lakeman, a house and six square rods of land on Annable‘s Lane, surrounded by his land, on Dec. 28, 1769 (158: 72). He acquired the next lot which was owned or occupied in 1745 by Solomon Lakeman (87: 169), and in 1793, March 11, he bought of Bickford Pulcifer, the land that fronts on County street, then known as Dutch’s lane, and later as Cross street, and extended back of the lots on Annable‘s lane. His heirs, by mutual quitclaims, divided his estate. His daughter Margaret, wife of Jebediah Chapman, received the house next to the Howe property (266: 280 June 23, 1832), and it is still owned by the Chapman heirs. His daughter Abigail, wife of Daniel Jewett, had possession of the adjoining house and land (this house), since purchased by the heirs of Capt. Sylvanus Caldwell.” The 1910 map shows the owner as S. P. Caldwell (Sarah Perkins Caldwell, 1832-1919), daughter of Silvanus and Hannah Caldwell.

(*Notes: Solomon Lakeman, son of William and Sarah, died in 1727. A Solomon Lakeman in 1734 owned the Hodgkins-Lakeman house at 76 East Street and died in 1753. A man named Solomon Lakeman married the widow Mary Bennett in 1732. A Mary Bennett published to Solomon Lakeman Jr. in 1744. View Ipswich Vital Records). The 1832 map shows the owner as “The widow Lakeman.”

summer_19_1980
Photo from the MACRIS listing, around 1980
Solomon Lakeman house, ipswich ma
Interior of the Solomon Lakeman house
19-summer-st-beam
Downstairs summer beam and floor joists in the house at 19 Summer St. The absence of a significant chamfer on the summer beam suggests a construction date after 1725.
Unknown man with Lewis Choate,
Man with Shipbuilder Lewis Choate behind 19 Summer Street. Many members of the Caldwell and Lakeman families were seafarers.
This photo was taken from the driveway between 17 and 19 Summer Street. Photo by Edward Darling, courtesy of the Ipswich Museum. Photo by Edward Darling, courtesy of the Ipswich Museum.
This is another photo taken from the same location as the above. Behind the young man is 16 Summer Street. Photo by Edward Darling, courtesy of the Ipswich Museum. The absence of utility poles in these photos indicates they were taken before 1910.

Sources:

Write a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *