Doe Valley Road history collection
- HF-ID: HF2025-04
- Category: Research Files
- Creator:
- Date: 1808 to 2012
- Location: Petersham MA
- Media: Paper
- Contents:
- Photocopies and original historical documents and notes. 1 accordion folder.
- Photocopies of historical Wheeler and Mann documents:
- • Military commission document appointing Peter Wheeler an officer (1808)
- • Letter dated April 28th 1838 from Sarah L. Mann to her brother and sister [Sarah L. Mann was the grandmother of Sarah M. Wheeler] (see HF1908-06)
- • Pages of Sarah Luce Mann diaries (see HF1861-01)
- • Printout of photograph of Sarah Wheeler (1943)
- Davenport Family and property history:
- • Photocopy of letter to Petersham Board of Selectmen from Bob Durand of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (May 29, 2002) concerning a Conservation Restriction on the 80-acre Davenport property.
- • Email from Larry Buell regarding the Davenport family
- • Handwritten list of Davenport family members (by Don Flye).
- • Handwritten notes about history of Doe Valley Road and Edwin Davenport (by Don Flye).
- Photocopies of Davenport deeds:
- • Noah Stockwell Jr. to Abel Davenport (1828)
- • Alice Stratton to Joel Davenport (1839)
- • Isaac Briggs to Abel Davenport (1833)
- • Samuel Kendall to William Davenport (1801), typewritten certified copy
- • J. Augustus Davenport to Letitia J. Davenport (1902), typewritten certified copy
- • Letitia J. Davenport to Othello A. Fay (1914), typewritten certified copy
- • Affidavit (bk. 38532, pg. 352) to establish chain of title to property on Doe Valley Road (only pages 353 and 354)
- • Deed (bk. 4476, pg. 147) Edward R. Davenport conveying land on the north side of Poor Farm Road to Earl W. and Fredrik Marsh (1964)
- • Deed (bk. 9807, pg. 117) Dorothy Reinhard conveying land in Petersham to Sally Davenport Barton and Harold E. Davenport (1986)
- Rules for commune on Doe Valley Road, Petersham.
- Original Davenport deed: Reuben Stratton to Martha Davenport (1833), a tract of mowing and tillage land in the northerly part of Petersham containing about four rods square and adjoins one corner of Joel Davenport’s house. [Archives location: Map Room, stack 5, drawer 13].
- Petersham Town Reports:
- • Annual Report of the Selectmen, Treasurer and Overseers of the Poor of the Town of Petersham, 1876, repurposed as a diary by Frank Wheeler.
- • Valuation and Taxes of the Town of Petersham for the year 1871.
- • Annual Official Reports of the Town of Petersham, 1919.
- Local genealogies and place sketches:
- • Photocopy of handwritten sketch and transcription of cellar hole descriptions written by Sheila Walker and typewritten copy of same.
- • Handwritten genealogy chart for Thomas Jackson (b. 1735) and James Jackson (b. 1810)
- • Handwritten genealogy of Mann family history.
- • Photocopy of letter from Ethel Lewis to D. R. Foster (1994) with history of the Groat-Lewis property and information about the Mann family.
- • Photocopy of handwritten genealogy notes for Janice Lee Davenport.
- • Handwritten genealogy chart for Timothy Clafin Sr. (b. 1829).
- • Photocopy of handwritten genealogy chart (2 copies) for Mann family.
- • Handwritten genealogy notes for Sarah Wheeler and Frank Wheeler.
- • Photocopy of typewritten genealogy notes for the Almond French family.
- • Transcriptions of news items from Enfield, Prescott, Greenwich and New Salem (1903-1922).
- • Timeline for the Marble-Holman-Bryant House (274 North Main St., Petersham). Compiled by Christine Mandel, tells the history of the land and house and owners 1733 to 1899.
- • Photocopy of photograph of Revolutionary War memorial (Petersham)
- • Reminiscences of People and Homes of the North Part of Petersham by Charles K. Wilder (with annotations by Don Flye).
- Photocopies of local history resources:
- • Pages from various books about Petersham history.
- • Pages from History of Worcester County.
- • Valuation List and Tax of the Town of Petersham for the year 1868.
- • Valuation List and Tax of the Town of Petersham for the year 1873.
- Petersham Historical Society newsletter (Spring-Summer 2010)
- Map of Harvard Forest Prospect Hill Tract (1970)
- Handwritten (by Don Flye) list of Athol businesses.
- Keywords: petersham history
- Abstract:
- Don Flye, owner of Doe Valley Farm which abuts Davenport Pond, collected and created documents related to the previous owners of his land and surrounding land, the Manns, Wheelers and Davenports.
- Related Items:
- Archives Location: Petersham history file
- Access: Active
- Provenance: Given to the Harvard Forest Archives by Don Flye, June 25, 2025.