History of the John Law House
Built Circa 1737
Located on Piper Rd, Acton, MA
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John Law, son of Thomas, son of John, died quite young, apparently after a long illness, for the
largest bill paid out of his estate was to Dr. Cummings of Concord.
When his estate was divided among his heirs, the house and 10 acres
was given to his widow, Sarah Barker Law, and the remainder of the land, another 19 acres,
went to the eldest son, John. Sarah, the widow, married a second husband, Jonathan Piper in 1775
and
continued to live in the house; John Law, Jr, sold his share to the estate
before 1778.
Thomas Law, the second son of John and Sarah, by 1798 owned the house and lived
in it.
He sold
it in 1809 to Aaron Jones and may have continued to live in the house till his
death 12 years later.
Jonathan Hosmer was the next owner. He lived out of town, so he allowed his
cousin, Joel Hosmer
to live in the house until 1830. Jonathan Hosmer moved back to Acton in 1830 and probably
added the "upright" or 2-story part onto the end of the old house about that time. He deeded the
"upright part of the house" and "one furnished bed chamber in the low part" to Nathaniel Thurston Law in 1867.
Law's grandfather was Thomas Law who had owned the house in 1807 and
whose
father had built it. Nathaniel Law died in the 1870's, as did Jonathan Hosmer,
one year after Nathaniel Law.
Mrs. Nathaniel Thurston Law, (Mary Ann Handley) lived in the house until her
death at the age of 86 in 1899.
Copied from the notes
of Robert H. Nylander, by his wife, Barbara Nylander, who was a member of the
Acton Historical Society.
Mrs. Nylander's notes, dated 1990, were sent to me by the present owner of the
John Law home on Piper Rd in Acton, MA, Barbara Hilton and dated 23 October 2006.