Bowditch Collection of Boston Conveyances 1827-1859 Guide to the Collection The bulk of the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances is stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Related Materials Arrangement of the Collection Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch (1805-1861), the son of Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838) and Mary Ingersoll Bowditch (1781-1834), was well-known as a lawyer who specialized in real estate transactions and conveyances. After graduating from Harvard University in 1822, Bowditch studied law in the office of B. R. Nichols, and in 1823 continued to gain legal experience while working with another attorney, William Prescott. In October 1825, Bowditch passed the bar exam, and entered into a partnership with Franklin Dexter. According to Boston street directories, Bowditch had his own law office by 1829. In 1835, he married Elizabeth B. Francis. Throughout his life, he was an active philanthropist; he supported the Massachusetts General Hospital and established scholarships at Harvard. He was also interested in genealogy and local history and was the author of several articles and publications, including Suffolk Surnames.

Collection Description

This collection consists of 53 volumes of real estate conveyances (mostly relating to Boston properties), 2 volumes of real estate dockets, 1 volume of cases regarding real estate, 4 index volumes, and 2 manuscript boxes containing small indexes to specific volumes. The dates of the collection and in the carton list indicate when titles were examined and researched. The content of the volumes--transcriptions of property deeds and probate records--span a wide range of dates. Many title searches include transcriptions from 17th-century records and trace the property up to the time of Nathaniel I. Bowditch's research. (Some volumes were updated with additional information a few years after initial searches were completed. For example, volume 1, page 210, refers to the title search of property of Benjamin Crombie, State House Avenue. The initial search ends with this notation: "Friday May 4, 1827, title examined, entered and recorded by N. I. Bowditch." An additional entry, written in different ink, reads: "May 1836, Mr. J. Cotton wishing to buy Barnes lot got me to look and I find 339 & 165 a mortgage of Barnes...."

Four separate index volumes exist for the title searches contained in volumes 1-50, and these index volumes are stored onsite. Volume 20 indexes volumes 1-19; volume 30 indexes volumes 21-29; volume 41A indexes volumes 31-40; and volume 50A indexes volumes 42-50. Each index volume contains two sections: personal names (of vendors or purchasers of the properties) and locations (streets) of the properties researched. Also stored onsite are small indexes to specific volumes; previously, these indexes had been removed from the volumes of titles and stored in two manuscript boxes. As the box list indicates, there are small indexes for only some of the 55 volumes of titles. Of note are separate indexes to volumes 52, 53, 54, and 55. The individual volumes of real estate conveyances (volumes 1-55) do not contain tables of contents. Volume 60, Cases, does include a small index listing people relating to the real estate cases contained therein.

Related Materials

The MHS hold the following manuscript collections that are related to this collection:

Additions to the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances, 1841-1904. Finding aid available at: http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fa0066

Arrangement of the Collection

The volumes are arranged chronologically by the date on which the titles were examined and researched by Nathaniel I. Bowditch.

Acquisition Information

Given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by the estate of Nathaniel I. Bowditch, 27 April 1861, but held in the office of Frederick C. Bowditch, conveyancer, until 1912. Bookplates in the volumes indicate MHS received the collection on 19 March 1912.

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances is stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Bowditch collection of Boston conveyances, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.