One of Medford's historic houses.
Of the house of Jonathan Watson, Mr. Swan wrote quite fully as follows:—About 1750, he built the house next west of the First Parish Church, now (1857) occupied by the family of Capt. Samuel Swan. It had only two rooms and two chambers Mr Watson gave the east half of the house to his son Jonathan and the west half to his widowed daughter Abigail—Mrs Samuel Angier (m. 29. Apr. 1762) Mrs Angier kept a children's school in the West room Mr James Floyd, Sexton and Mason was one of her scholars. They sold the house to Timothy Fitch from Nantucket about 1790. Mrs Angier then removed to the upper part of the town and afterward moved into the country. Mr Fitch never lived in the house. He enlarged it to its present dimension and gave the east half to his youngest son Charles (a bachelor) and the West half to his oldest daughter Abigail, Mrs Tarbett (whose husband Hugh Tarbett a Scotchman went off with the Tories in 1776, and she lived and died a quasi widow). Charles rented the east half to General Brooks who lived there in October, 1789 and entertained General Washington there at breakfast when he visited Boston and Salem that year About 1790, Charles sold his half of the house and the land in front down to the Salt marsh, to Mr Andrew Blanchard, who about 1809 sold the land in front to Tim. Bigelow Esqr for $1000, and often scolded himself that he did not ask more, as he was sure Mr Bigelow would have given it. In the spring of 1813 Mr Blanchard sold his half of the [p. 21] house to Capt. Samuel Swan, who bought the west half of Mrs Tarbett at the same time. Capt Swan's family has continued to live there till the present time. They moved into the house 17th Feb 1810
