We don’t have a photograph of our March 9th Women’s History Month Wakefield’s Woman, but we have something better — a portion of her home, which she and her husband probably built.

Mary (Kebbe) Hodgman, 1640-1735, was probably the earliest owner of the Hartshorne House.

Edward Kebbe, emigrated from England by 1611 and had a sawmill on the Muddy River in what is now Brookline. Mary was the oldest daughter and married Ezekial Morrill. Ezekial was originally from Brookline/Roxbury as well but in 1653 was given a portion of meadow and “Upland” here in the town then known as Reading, comprising 48 acres. Ezekial died in 1663 while on a trip to Roxbury; in his will, Ezekial had bequeathed her all his property. Mary sold the land to Captain Richard Walker whose name lives on in Reading (Walker’s Brook Parkway).

Ezekiel’s death in May of 1663 had made Mary a fairly wealthy widow. His house and lands were worth £24; added to his personal belongings, they amounted to a total value of £93, 11d.
Mary was quite a catch! A few months after Ezekiel’s death, she soon remarried a man named Thomas Hodgman.

The following year, Mary purchases ‘my now dwelling house’ from William Hooper, along with a sizeable portion of land, for the sum of 26 pounds. William Hooper’s house had been built by 1664 but seems to have been approximately across the street from the current house. We just don’t know if any of that house was used to build the ‘new house’ in its present location.

Once a woman married, she did not automatically share in her husband’s property. But neither did he share in hers. Her dowry, or marriage portion, or lands and property left to her, remained a woman’s own property. Thus we have Mary Morrill Hodgman purchasing the land on which the Hartshorne House stands, and appearing on the deed as the sole owner, probably because she purchased the land and buildings on it with funds gained from the sale of lands left her by her husband Ezekial Morrill. (She signed the deed with a mark, indicating that she probably did not know how to write.) Her husband, Thomas Hodgman, is not listed on the documents of sale or purchase.

The Hodgman’s had no children of their own but adopted one son, Josiah Weber (born in 1666); we don’t know when he was adopted by Tom and Mary. The Hodgmans seem to have been somewhat less rigid than their neighbors; in 1671 they and some other residents got into some trouble with church authorities for “uncivil carriages” late at night up Cowdrey’s Hill at Thomas Clark’s ‘ordinary.’ (tavern)

The Hodgmans prospered on their land on the town highway; the original part of the house that they occupied was probably the room on the west side of the house; subsequent additions added another story and an adjoined kitchen to the rear of the house (pictured here.). Over time, they sold off part of their land to the town of Reading so that the town could establish a ‘new’ burying ground in 1689 and a new fmeeting house. In the same year they co-bought some lands and a farm for Josiah.

In 1725, Tom and Mary sold their house to Josiah Cowdrey, a clock and buckle maker, and went to live with Josiah and his family. Tom died in 1729; Mary died in 1735 at the age of 95. Her gravestone can still be seen in the Old Burying Ground, along with that of her father, Edward Kebbe, and her sister.

“Women in Wakefield” is a month-long feature by the Wakefield Historical Society profiling some of the many historic women who helped to shape our town. Each day a different woman is profiled; all of the profiles are also featured on the Historical Society media pages and the blog at http://www.wakefieldhistory.org. Many of the profiles are also featured through the courtesy of the Wakefield Daily Item.