of the oldest houses in our country, and that, in 1639, William Curtis
made a clearing in the forest for it, using timbers in its construction
from his felled trees. The record is that William Curtis marries Sarah
Eliot, sister of Rev. John Eliot, in Nazing, England, in 1618, and that,
in 1632, they came with their four children to Boston, and it is believed
that most of those who bear the name of Curtis in our country are direct
descendants of this William and Sarah. For about two hundred and fifty
years this house was the home of the Curtises, the last occupants being
the widow and children of Isaac, seventh in descent from William.

During the siege of Boston, troops were quartered here and added their
record of strife and suffering to that of domestic peace and happiness,
in which the "Apostle Eliot" and his estimable wife often shared; and
possibly Winthrop, Pynchon, and the Dudleys, and others whose names stand
as pioneers of religious liberty in New England.

Emerson aptly said, "There has never been a clearing made in a forest,
that did not let in the light on heroes and heroines."

A few years since, the march of improvement, so called, obliterated this
genuine relic of colonial days, with the fine old elm, which for more
that a century had shaded it and wafted kindly breezes over it.

Although we have no knowledge that the Apostle Eliot ever lived in the
"Jamaica End of Roxbury," he is closely identified with our early history
and development, and deserves more than a passing notice. In 1689 he gave
some seventy-five acres of land, including the tract lying from Orchard
to Thomas, and from Centre to Pond streets, "the income from which was to
be used for the support of a school and a schoolmaster." The street,
hall, and schoolhouse, which bear his name, commemorate his generous