Built in 1866 for Andrew Jackson Chase

A fanciful French roofed Second Empire in the West End neighborhood.

A return visit to a subject from August of 2015.

Andrew Jackson Chase was born in 1834, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. It would seem his father at least was an ardent Democrat. Chase was a clerk and bookkeeper by trade. HIs first wife, Sarah, had died in 1864 at the age of 29. He married Harriet, Hattie, Lowney in 1865.

Andrew Chase purchased the land for his home from John Bundy Brown and son in February of 1866. He paid $1000 for the lot which included the land under 133-135 Emery Street. What Chase had built measures a scant 18′ wide at the street and is 55′ deep. The cross gable projects 7′ from the main block on the first floor with the second floor extending another 15′ beyond that. The historic district report for Emery Street states the extension over the porte-cochere was added in the late 1880s.

The Chase family did not reside here long selling to Augusta Hight in August of 1868, Augusta was born in 1844 and had married a merchant named William Hight in early 1868. Hight was her second husband. Her first, Francis Cobb, had died in 1866 a few months after their marriage. The Hights had 2 children one of which died in infancy.

Since our visit in August of 2015, 137 Emery Street has had a couple of alterations to the exterior. The most obvious is color. At that time it was a dull yellow-tan and it now a bright blue. Less obvious are the new corner boards. The previous, probably original, boards had a nearly complete cylinder detail at their terminus. The same detail can be seen next door at 94 Pine Street. I have yet to see them anywhere else in my 10+ years of looking at Portland houses. Here on Emery Street, we can only guess why they were removed and replaced with flat stock. Perhaps they were deteriorated to a point that they could not be saved. Maybe scraping and painting was determined to be less cost-effective than replacement.

In 1872, Francena Hilton purchased our subject from Augusta Hight. Francena was born to Eben & Martha Nutter in Cape Elizabeth, now South Portland, in 1841. She married Daniel Hilton in 1866. Daniel was born in Bridgton to Nathaniel & Elizabeth Hilton in 1832. Daniel worked with Eben selling ‘shooks’ for the cooperage trade. The Hiltons had no children.

Daniel Hilton died in 1889. His obituary, published in the Bridgton News, stated that he “at his home in Cape Elizabeth”. This causes me to wonder if our subject was being rented at the time. When Francena died in 1894, her probate also listed Cape Elizabeth as her residence.. 137 Emery Street was sold in 1896. It had 3 different owners between 1895 and 1900.

Undoubtably, the window are the most attractive feature of 137 Emery Street. The first floor units are quite tall. They are graced with bracketed and pedimented hoods. The casing are flat for the most part but have flared, plinth-like motifs at their base. The sills are supported with corbels. The second floor windows on the primary facade show stepped molded casings with a simplified version of the plinth base.
There are whimsical scrolled vergeboards on the street facade with a reduced version on the gable of the porte-cochere. On the north side of the second floor, a vestigial mansard marks the terminus of the cross gable. Here, 2 diamond shaped windows flank a single unit like those on the main facade. A dormer is incorporated into the roof line behind the cross gable, It has a reduced version of the first floor window trims.

In 1900, 137 Emery Street was purchased by an attorney, and Portland native, named Clarence Webster Peabody. Born in 1871 to Henry and Ellen Peabody, he married Helen Noyes Blakeslee 5 months after his purchase. Helen was born in 1872 to Erastus and Mary Blakeslee in New Haven CT. Clarence & Helen had 4 daughters between 1901 & 1906. Sometime prior to 1916, Clarence became involved with the University of Maine College of Law. In 1916, the family moved to Orono. In 1921, the Peabody’s sold our subject to Charles & Marion Dugan

The entrance to 137 Emery Street is tucked into the corner of the main and cross blocks. It is currently covered in a simple hood supported by a carved bracket. Above this entry is a oculus window with a heavily molded period surround. The historic district report on the house says the porch originally extended the full length of the main block. This is makes sense as the window on that wall does not have the elaborate hood seen on the other windows on this level. The 1924 tax image shows a larger enclosed entry. The porte-cochere has a lattice work detail in the corners. The 1924 image shows a garage behind the porte-cochere that was built after 1914. The garage was removed sometime after 1991.

Charles & Marion Dugan were Portland natives in 1889 and 1888 respectively. They married in 1912 and had 2 daughters. Charles worked various jobs including marine contracting and as an agent for the US Shipping Board. Marion taught in drama in Portland schools . The Dugans sold 137 Emery Street to the Portland Savings Bank in 1936. This sale is odd in that, although they had a mortgage with the bank, it was not filed as a foreclosure but as a regular deed. The bank sold it to Jacob Young 3 months later.

Jacob Yunovitz ‘Young’ was born in Russia in 1893. He came to the US with his parents, Isaac & Bessie in 1913. He married Jennie Hirshman in 1916. Jennie was Lithuanian, born in 1895 and had come to the US in 1909. Her parents were Simon & Yetta Hirshman. Jacob & Jennie had 5 children. After selling 2nd hand goods for a while, Jacob opened Young’s Furniture in 1931. I do not think the Youngs lived here. In 1936, Jacob sold the property to All Maine Trading which may have been owned by his family. In 1942, Lena Martin, a Canadian born divorcee purchased it. Lena ran boarding houses in the neighborhood while working as a housekeeper. She had 2 adult sons living with her. There is no evidence to say whether she lived here or not.
Lena Martin sold 137 Emery Street to in 1948. It was sold again in 1949. Lena Martin purchased it in 1952. In that same year, she sold it. In 1954, 137 Emery Street was sold to Albert & Grace Perkins. The Perkins were Maine natives born in 1895 and 1892 respectively. They were living in Oakland CA in 1950 where Albert had worked as a bookkeeper. It would seem they had recently relocated to Maine. I cannot find any record of Albert working here in Portland. The Perkins lived here until 1961.
Between 1961 & 1966 it was sold 3 times and foreclosed on before being sold to Theodore Sweetland in 1966.

Theodore Roosevelt Sweetland was born in Connecticut in 1898. He grew up in the Thomaston area. He led an interesting life. When he registered for the draft in 1918, Sweetland said he was a self-employed as a wholesale confectioner. In 1920, he was living with his widowed mother, his father died in 1918, on Park Street in Rockland and was unemployed. He was a bootlegger during prohibition. He ran a clothing shop in Congress Square for a few years, and tried to run a theater. In the 30’s he worked as a janitor in various apartment buildings. He married Thelma Duffy in 1941. The Sweetland’s ran a real estate business for 40+ years. They lived here through Thelma’s death in 1981. Theodore Sweetland sold 137 Emery Street just prior to his death in 1982.

137 Emery Street is listed as a single family residence. The condition is very good.

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