7 Judith Chase Lane by Nantucket Preservation Trust

7 Judith Chase Lane NANTUCKET

A House History

A Brief History 7 Judith Chase Lane

Judith Chase Lane, 1911

n 1717, the Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Lands of Nantucket laid out the twentyseven Fish Lots south of Main Street, between the Orange Street bluff and Pine Street. The second major allotment of land near the Great Harbor—following the Wesco Acre Lots of 1678— the Fish Lots were so named because of their original use as sites for drying fish, and were typical of early maritime communities. They quickly filled with dwellings, shops, barns, and even an oil manufactory, but many of the very early buildings are no longer in evidence. The dwelling at 7 Judith Chase Lane, built in 1746, is one of the oldest houses remaining in this section of town.

FIRST FAMILY George Hussey 1718–1746 Dinah Hussey Folger and Reuben Folger 1746–1795 Rebecca Folger Chase and Joseph Chase 1795–1831 Rebecca Coffin Chase (1), Judith Macy Chase (2) and George H. Chase 1831–1872 The house at 7 Judith Chase Lane dates back to 1746, when George Hussey built it for his daughter, Dinah (1727–63), and son-in-law Reuben Folger (1722–1808) on land he had inherited in 1718 from his father, Stephen, in the twenty-fifth Fish Lot. He deeded to the young couple the land under their house extending ten feet from the foundation on the east, north, and west sides. On the south side, he stipulated a highway, one rod [16.5 feet] wide, a lane known variously as Moose Lane, Mooers Lane, Moores Lane, and now as Judith Chase Lane. The original structure, according to a Preservation Institute: Nantucket survey conducted in 1985, was a two-story house, two rooms deep, with a three-bay façade. Both chimney and door were on the west side of the house, allowing for a future addition that would take advantage of the situation of the chimney.

Marriage certificate of Reuben Folger and Dinah Hussey, 1743

Reuben Folger was a blacksmith, a trade that was linked to the whaling industry. He and Dinah had six children before she died in 1763. In 1795, Reuben transferred the house to daughter Rebecca Folger Chase (1758–1833) and her husband Joseph Chase (1752– 1833), retaining a life right for himself. Joseph was a mariner and merchant; he and Rebecca had eight children. They sold the house to son George H. Chase in 1831. The house had expanded by this time, although it is difficult to determine the extent of the expansion from the footprint of the building on William Coffin’s 1834 Map of the Town of Nantucket. What is apparent on that map is the huge conglomeration of buildings on the east side of the house, where Zenas Coffin had a candle house, cooperage, and other buildings essential to a large oil-manufacturing establishment. East of the Coffin oil works was a Quaker Meeting House (removed in 1863) facing Fair Street.

PI:N sketch of original house and with first lean-to addition

When George H. Chase (1792–1857) purchased the family home for $100 in 1831, he and wife Rebecca Coffin (1799–1832) had two young sons, ages one and ten. Rebecca died a year later. George was the third husband of his second wife Judith Macy (1801–72), who lent her name to the lane in the late nineteenth century. After their stepmother died in 1872, Joseph and Rowland, who were living in Boston and California respectively, sold the house, at auction, to Nathaniel Fitzgerald for $185. Five days later he sold the property to Lydia Small for $350.

Detail from 1834 map

Postcard image of Mooer’s Lane by H. Gardiner Marshall, circa 1900s

SECOND FAMILY Lydia Kenney Small and Asa Small Linda Small Backus and James A. Backus Helen Backus Shaw

1872–1927 1927–1942 1942 –1951

Lydia Small (1837–1927) purchased 7 Judith Chase Lane in 1872, initiating the second long-term family ownership of the house that had been occupied by descendants of George Hussey since 1746. She and her husband, Asa (1840–94,) were from the Cape, where Asa had been a captain in the East India trade. He and Lydia’s brother, Charles Kenney, are best known as the proprietors of the Wauwinet House, an inn they built at the top of Polpis Harbor in 1876. Asa and Lydia had twins, Linda and Reuben, who were four years old when the family moved to 7 Judith Chase Lane. Linda Small Backus (1868–1942) and her husband, James A. Backus (1865–1936), took over running the Wauwinet House in 1897. Known as “Mother Backus,” Linda spent most of her married life in Wauwinet, where “The delightful hospitality which always manifested itself at Wauwinet radiated her own personality. She was always the genial hostess, with a cheery welcome for all.” (Inquirer and Mirror 9/19/1942). The family house in town was frequently rented to vacationers during this period. Linda’s daughter, Helen Backus, was born at 7 Judith Chase Lane. She married John F. Shaw Jr. in 1929, and they made her birthplace their home until they sold the property in 1951. A number of additions had been made to the original house by 1887, when the first Sanborn Insurance Company survey was made. A photograph taken from the First Baptist church tower in the 1880s clearly shows the structure with additions on the north, east, and west sides.

Tower view of Judith Chase Lane and Lucretia Mott Lane looking east from the Summer Street Church, 1890s

Sanborn Insurance Co. map, 1887

7 Judith Chase Lane, 1960s

THIRD FAMILY Grace P. Hilliard 1951–1989 Elizabeth S. Morrison 1989–2015 Grace P. “Billy” Hilliard (1916–2009) lived in Annapolis, Maryland, but was familiar with Nantucket, where her grandfather, Robert Hilliard, was a key member of the ’Sconset Actors Colony in the early twentieth century. Her father, Robert B. Hilliard, was a commander in the Navy and she followed in his military footsteps, serving as an instructor in celestial navigation for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II. The two-hundred-year-old house needed lots of work, and Grace gave it her full attention, refinishing floors and paneling and uncovering original fireplaces. She invited the Preservation Institute: Nantucket to conduct an extensive survey of the structure in 1985. Grace was close to her sister, Elizabeth Hilliard Schmidt, who married second husband William Berry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Fair Street in 1952. Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy” Anne Schmidt, spent summers with her aunt before her marriage to John Harry Morrison, Jr. in 1954; afterwards, the couple spent part of every summer at the family home on Judith Chase Lane. Grace transferred ownership of the property to her niece in 1989, and in 2007, Elizabeth S. Morrison transferred 7 Judith Chase Lane to her three children. They sold the 270-year-old dwelling to current owners Peter and Elizabeth Georgantas in 2015. npt

PI:N drawing of south elevation, 1985

Prepared by Betsy Tyler

Nantucket Preservation Trust

March 2018

Historic images courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association

7 Judith Chase Lane: Title Trail Book 7/Page 398 1746 George Hussey, yeoman, to Son in Law Reuben Folger, blacksmith and daughter Dinah his wife Book 13/Page 379 1794 Alexander Gardner, trader, to Reuben Folger, blacksmith Book 14/Page 22 1795 Reuben Folger, yeoman, to daughter Rebecca Chase Book 14/Page 23 1795 Reuben Folger, yeoman, to Joseph Chase, mariner Book 31/Page 33 1830 Phoenix Bank to Joseph Chase Book 32/Pages 442-43 1831 Joseph Chase, merchant, and Rebecca Chase, wife, to George H. Chase, boatbuilder Book 62/Page 53 1872 Joseph B. Chase and Rowland C. Chase (heirs of George H. Chase) to Nathaniel Fitzgerald Book 62/Page 57 1872 Nathaniel Fitzgerald to Lydia A. Small, wife of Asa Probate P1927 1927 Lydia A. Small Will dated 5 June 1922, leaves all her estate to Linda S. Backus. Lydia Small died in 1927. Probate P2620 1942 Linda Backus Will dated 31 December 1938, leaves dwelling on Mooers Lane to daughter Helen B. Shaw. Linda Backus died in 1942. Book 118/Page 318 1951 Helen B. Shaw to Grace P. Hilliard Book 333/Page 140 1989 Grace Hilliard to Elizabeth S. Morrison, Trustee Book 454/Page 250 1994 Elizabeth S. Morrison, Trustee, to Elizabeth S. Morrison Book 458/Page 252 1994 Elizabeth S. Morrison to Elizabeth S. Morrison, Trustee Book 1117/Page 338 2007 Elizabeth S. Morrison, Trustee to John E. Morrison, W. Jeffrey Morrison, and Elizabeth P. Rosborg, Trustees of Seven JC Lane Trust Book 1518/Page 29 2015 W. Jeffrey Morrison, John E. Morrison & Elizabeth M. Rosborg, Trustees of Seven JC Lane Trust to ACK Last LLC

Nantucket Preservation Trust Advocates, Educates, and Celebrates the Preservation of Nantucket’s Historic Architecture

his brief history is an important contribution to the island’s architectural record. Documentation is one of the ways the Nantucket Preservation Trust celebrates the more than 2,400 historic homes, farms, and workplaces that contributed to the island’s designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1966. By providing owners of historic houses, island residents, schoolchildren, and visitors a broad spectrum of programs and projects, we encourage the preservation of irreplaceable structures, architectural features, and cultural landscapes. Lectures, walking tours, house markers, special events, and publications—including the house histories and neighborhood histories—define our unique work on Nantucket. We hope you enjoy the history of this house, its past owners, and its place in Nantucket’s remarkable architectural heritage.

nantucket preservation trust Post Office Box 158 • Nantucket, Massachusetts www.nantucketpreservation.org