COLLIERS IN BOSTON February 16, 2003 NOTES TO ACCOMPANY THE "COLLIERS IN BOSTON" MAP IN FAMILY PHOTOS SECTION A partial listing of sites in Boston connected to early Colliers of Massachusetts and related families. The section shown is from the J. G. Hales map of the city, 1814. The area covered is approximately 1 mile E-W and 3/4 mile N-S. In many cases, street names and exact locations have changed over the years, and many of the original buildings are long gone. Where possible I give current addresses. # 1 -- Spring Lane. John Winslow and his wife Mary Chilton, a Mayflower passenger, moved from Plymouth to Boston about 1655-1657, and in 1671 bought a "mansion" in Spring Lane. They lived here until their deaths, John in 1674 and Mary in 1679. A bronze plaque in honor of Mary Chilton can be seen on a wall in the lane. (See "Family Photos.") The spring that gave its name to the street was for many years the young city's main water supply. # 2 -- Old South Meeting House, corner of Milk and Washington Streets. The current building dates from 1729, but the church dates from the 17th Century. Mary Chilton became a member July 16, 1671. The Meeting House was the site of many meetings in pre-Revolutionary days, including those concerning the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Gershom Collier "of Northport, ME" (1738 - 1822) was a participant in the Tea Party, which was organized at the Meeting House before heading for the tea ships in the harbor. # 3 -- Kings Chapel Burying Ground, Tremont Street. This is the oldest cemetery in Boston, dating from 1630, the year of settlement. The current name dates from some decades later, as the original church on the site wasn't built until 1689. John Winslow, Mary Chilton and many other early Boston residents are buried here. # 4 -- School Street. John Doane, Esq., 2d husband of Jane Collier (1710 - 1800) owned property on this street, which passed to his widow and other family members after his death in 1755. Jane married Captain Atherton Haugh as her third husband and after his death lived in School Street for some years. It seems likely that the first Boston Haugh, also named Atherton, was an important figure in the founding of Boston, and also owned property on School Street in the 1630s. # 5 -- Kilby and Doane Streets. John Doane also owned properties in this area of the city until his death. At the time of the "Great Fire" of March 20, 1760 his widow, by then Mrs. Atherton Haugh, and at least two of her children were living in the area and lost homes and businesses in the fire. Kilby Street remains, but the Doane Street shown on the 1814 map seems to have disappeared. # 6 -- New North Church, North End. (Off the margin of the map.) Moses Collier (1729 - 1761), boatbuilder, and wife Susannah Foster had 5 children baptized at the New North between 1753 and 1760. # 7 -- Gershom Collier "of Boston and Chesterfield," in 1793 married Mary Kittle at the nearby Hollis Street Church and in 1796 lived in Sheaf's Lane. The current Avery Street is in this approximate location. # 8 -- George Street (1796), now Hancock Street. In 1796 the business of "Collier and Jacobs, housewrights," was located here. The name was changed to Hancock Street before 1814. # 9 -- Belknap Street, now Joy Street. The 1798, 1800 and 1803 Boston City Directories show Gershom Collier, housewright, living here. There was no separate business address. One of his neighbors was Jeremiah Gardner, one of the most noted Beacon Hill builders of the period. About 1805 Gershom and his family moved to Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Mass., where other family members were already living. # 10 -- 141 Cambridge Street: First Harrison Gray Otis House. "Harry" Otis, Congressman, U. S. Senator, third mayor of Boston, was married to Sally Foster (1770 - 1838), of the Collier-Spear line. A successful lawyer and real estate developer, Otis had the "New" State House architect, Charles Bulfinch, build this home in 1796 - 1797. The building now serves as the headquarters of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. # 11 -- 85 Mount Vernon: Second Harrison Gray Otis House. Otis's second home by Bulfinch, built in 1802. Many experts still consider this the most beautiful home in Boston. It has been well preserved and is still a private residence. # 12 -- 45 Beacon Street: Third Harrison Gray Otis House. The final Bulfinch design for Otis, built in 1806. Harry and Sally Otis lived here for the rest of their lives, and the house was one of the social centers for Boston during that period. The exterior has been little changed, although the interior has been extensively modified. The building is now owned by the American Meteorological Society. # 13 -- Purchase Street. Some of the John Winslow-Mary Chilton descendants lived here in the late 18th-early 19th Centuries. Many were successful merchants in the city. The following 3 locations were almost certainly named for members of the Collier-Spear lines, descended from Mary Collier (1702/03 - after 1749) and her husband, Captain Joseph Spear. Many of these individuals lived in Boston and were in the marine industries, particularly coopering. I do not have the dates when these wharfs were built or purchased by Spear family members. # 14 -- N. Spear's Wharf. # 15 -- D. Spear's Wharf. # 16 -- Spear's Wharf. # 17 -- Granary Burying Ground, Tremont Street. This cemetery was established in 1660. Surrounded by many Boston notables, two young children of Elisha Hayden Collier (1788 - 1856) are buried here. # 18 -- 11th Ward. Elisha Hayden Collier was living in this area at the time of the 1850 Census. He was an engineer and co-inventor of an early revolver. # 19 -- Federal Street. Rev. William Collier (1771 - 1843), Baptist minister and oldest brother of Elisha, operated a boarding house here after poor health forced him from active ministry. Rev. Collier was an early abolitionist, and among his lodgers were John Greenleaf Whittier and William Lloyd Garrison. Wade Collier "Colliers of Massachusetts" Project