Absentee Landlords
OWNER vs. OCCUPANT
Due to the commercial, as opposed to residential, nature of the State Street buildings, most of the building owners did not occupy these properties. Instead, these individuals functioned as absentee landlords, living in wealthy areas of Boston such as Back Bay, Brookline or Jamaica Plain, and used the State Street buildings as supplemental rental income.
Building owners for each of the addresses on the State Street parcel are listed on the Atlascope Bromley maps. The parcel owners are typically private individuals, who later pass the property on to their heirs or trustees. However, certain buildings were owned by businesses, namely Long Wharf Proprietors and the real estate firm, Fifty Associates. The 1938 Bromley map shows a dramatic shift in the number of commercial owners of State Street Properties. In 1928, only Fifty Associates and Long Wharf Proprietors held property on the street, however a decade later, two savings institutions, two banks, and a cordage company also owned properties (see map comparison below). Thus, the same way the building’s occupants became increasingly finance oriented, so did the building’s owners.
Many of the buildings in the 214-298 address range were held by the same individual family for long consecutive periods. The average property switched hands around 3 times over the course of the 64 year period documented. Only Fifty Associates and Long Wharf Proprietors held the same property for the entire time period. The two properties at the very end of the street, addresses 296 and 298, had the highest turnover rate passing through six different owners between 1874-1938 (individual property owners can be seen in the image carosel on the home page).
Hopkins. Atlas of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts. Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1874. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1883. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1888. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1890. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1895. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1898. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1902. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1908. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1912. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1922. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1928. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1938. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
SHIFT FROM INDIVIDUAL TO COMMERICAL OWNERS
Detail of 1928 Bromley
Detail of 1938 Bromley
Left: Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1928. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Right: Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1938. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Absentee Landlord CASE STUDIES:
Augustus Perry & Moses Williams
Who were these men? What did they do? How did they impact their communities?
Augustus B. Perry and Moses Williams were two absentee landlords who both held property on State Street for over a decade. Relying on genealogical records, digitized estate planning documents, and historical newspaper articles, the following sections will detail the occupations, family life, and lived experience of these men.
AUGUSTUS B. PERRY
Augustus B. Perry, owned 232 State Street from 1874 until 1890, when it was passed to his heirs. Under the care of his son Oliver and son-in-law J.G. Mosley, the property remained with the Perry family until 1928. Of the addresses tracked, the Perry property was the longest single-family held property.
While Perry worked at the 232 State Street address, an 1890 Boston residential directory lists Augustus and his wife, Rebecca, as residing at 126 Chandler Street. However Perry’s last will and testament gives the family’s home address at 292 Columbus Ave. Both home addresses are located between the wealthy Back Bay and Bay Village areas.
Augustus and Rebecca H. Perry and they had three children, Oliver H., Martha Ann, and Mary Augusta Mosely (née Perry). Mary was married to John G. Moseley who alongside Oliver, co-executed Augustus’ will. Augustus also had five grandchildren, Carrie and Helen Moseley, and Helen, Florence, and Burt Perry.
Hopkins. Atlas of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts. Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1874. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Image Link: https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/search/collections/2469/?name=August+B_Perry&residence=_boston-suffolk-massachusetts-usa_4668
Boston City Directory, 1878
SHIPPING STORES &
SHIPPING CHANDLERS
A 1875 Boston directory lists Perry & Co. at the 232 State Street address under the Shipping Store & Shipping Chandlers section of the business index. As a shipping chandler, Augustus made a living as a retail dealer specializing in supplies and equipment for ships. With the State Street property’s proximity to the Wharf, it is likely that he served the shipping boats and commercial ships coming into Boston Harbor.
Boston City Directory 1878
Suffolk County, MA -Probate Records, Vol 597-598, 1887-1888
Augustus B. Perry - January 2, 1888
In his will dated April 1887, Perry named his son Oliver and son-in-law John Mosely as trustees and executors of his estate. Perry left his 292 Columbus Ave. house and everything inside to Rebecca along with money from the estate to “ensure her comfortable maintenance and support.” Each granddaughter was left $1000, while his only grandson was left $2000 and a gold watch. Money was also allocated to his nieces, brothers, and sisters in law, and a $3000 donation was left to the Shawmut Universalist Church. Oliver was bequeathed ½ of Perry’s Needham, MA estate, and each daughter received ¼ of the property. While the State Street property is never explicitly mentioned, Augustus Perry Hnrs or J.G. Mosely et. al appear as the property owners of the 232 State Street building from 1890 forwards.
Upper Right: https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/8859391?usePUB=true&_phsrc=gRG1&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=459466898
Lower Right: https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007703388_00337?usePUB=true&_phsrc=EeV6&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=373144
MOSES WILLIAMS
Moses Williams, an extremely wealthy lawyer-turned-banker, also owned property on the State Street parcel. Bromley maps show Moses Williams, or one of his relatives/trustees (Moses Williams Jr., Louisa Williams or Jay B. Case), as the owner of 290 State Street from 1874 to 1908.
Williams was a key player in Boston high life during the later part of the 19th century. Articles from the Boston Daily Globe comment on everything from his appointment as President of Third Street Bank, his generous dealings with the Davis Shoe Company, and even his affinity for golf.
Born in Roxbury to a wealthy merchant family, Moses graduated from Harvard University, and was admitted to the Suffolk county bar in 1869. At 38, he joined Boston's banking industry and was named President of the Third National Bank. He later became the president of the prestigious State Street Trust Company. At the time of his death, he also served as a chairman, director, or trustee of numerous financial corporations and real estate trusts (see obituary). Deeply involved in his local community, Williams represented his district in the Massachusetts State Legislature three times, served as Brookline’s town moderator, and was a trustee of the local public library. He was also a lifelong Independent Democrat. He died at 73, at Massachusetts General Hospital, of which he had also been a trustee for over 20 years.
TEXT CITATIONS
"KIND TO HIS FRIENDS.: DAVIS SHOE COMPANY AND JOSEPH DAVIS ASSIGN. COMPANY HAS CAPITAL OF $250,000 AND HAS BEEN RATED VERY HIGH. NO SCHEDULE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES HAS YET BEEN FILED. KIND TO HIS FRIENDS. MR. DAVIS TELLS WHAT BRCUGHT ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE NEWS IN SALEM. MR. DAVIS ASSSIGNMENT CREATES CONSTERNATION IN THAT CITY. DEBTS NOT KNOWN. ... SPINNEY OF LYNN SURPRIED AT THE FAILURE." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), May 20, 1891. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www-proquest-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/kind-his-friends/docview/496998037/se-2?accountid=11456.
"MOSES WILLIAMS OF BROOKLINE DEAD: NOTED LAWYER, BANKER AND IN MANY ENTERPRISES." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Aug 22, 1919. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www-proquest-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/moses-williams-brookline-dead/docview/503793172/se-2?accountid=11456.
"SMART SET LIKE GOLF.: NOT A FAD, BUT A SPORT WITH BOSTON MEN AND WOMEN. CURTISES, HUNNEWELLS, PEABODYS AND OTHERS ARE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. J. G. THORPE, SAMUEL CARR, STEPHEN M WELD AND MOSES WILLIAMS PLAY." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Jul 21, 1895. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www-proquest-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/smart-set-like-golf/docview/498162802/se-2?accountid=11456.
IMAGE CITATIONS
"Moses Williams." Photograph. 1865. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/sq87fv40d (accessed May 05, 2021).
Obiturary Link: https://search-proquest-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/docview/503793172/6A84EDF291644591PQ/1?accountid=11456
Moses Willams Estate Planning
Prior to his death, Williams’ engaged in incredibly comprehensive and detailed estate planning to allocate his property, profits and personal effects. A nine-page, handwritten will (see above) outlines which family members were to receive which assets and also notes contingency plans if an unexpected death occured, preventing the asset’s intended chain of custody. Williams’s will pays particular attention to those in his life that had served him well in business, the document’s first item bequeaths Barney Corey, “who has long been in business with me and has proven a true and estimable friend,” $2000, “not because he needs it, but as evidence of my esteem.” However, Williams also allocates generous amounts to those in his life in vulnerable financial positions - namely his unmarried nieces, cousins, friends’ daughters, and even his three family servants. His writing shows remarkable sensitivity to those he did not allocate funds or responsibilities to, explaining that a female relative was not left money, “not because she is less lovely, but because she is married into a family that can care for her.” He selected his son-in-law James B. Case, grandson Moses Williams Jr, and Barney Corey as the executors of his estate, explaining in his will that “my other sons-in-law are capable, however the above named executors have more definite knowledge of the estate planning and have more leisure to attend to it.”
Moses Williams, will dated May 22, 1881, proved October 9, 1882, vol 541-542, Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, 1636-1899; Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Suffolk County); Probate Place: Suffolk, Massachusetts.
Moses Williams' House- Jamaica Plain, 821 Centre Street
As described in his will, Williams owned extensive real estate across Boston. While his primary residence was on Warren St. in Brookline, he also owned land in Jamaica Plain (see image above), property on Mount Vernon St., and several buildings in Boston’s financial district. The 290 address was one of Williams’ three properties on State Street. He also owned ten other properties scattered across Central St., Broad St. and the Wharf.
National Shawmut Bank
Williams, Moses Directory Entry from 1890
right upper: Marr, Thomas E., -1910. "National Shawmut Bank." Photograph. 1880. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/xp68kp09k (accessed May 05, 2021).https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:xp68kp09k
right lower: https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/9444951?usePUB=true&_phsrc=kVB10&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=474653730
Why Absentee Landlords?
The Link to Modernized Modes of Transportation
Faster, more efficient modes of transportation both to and within the city of Boston helped foster the pattern of absentee landlord-ship seen in the Perry and Williams case studies. Instead of living and working within walking distance, wealthy Bostonians could afford to move to affluent areas outside the city’s urban center and commute into work via increased access to automobiles, subway lines, and railroad transportation. In the next section on modes of transportation we will see how increased mobility also defined life on State Street.
Finstein, Amy D. Modern Mobility Aloft. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2020. p 21-22.