Notes on Marston Avenue, Early Residents and Homes. draft Updated 7/1/2005 By Marcus Sherman, 70 Marston Ave. Hyannis Port, Ma. 02647-0458, 508-775-3334 Search This Site
Including: USA Massachusetts, Hyannis Port, Barnstable, Barnstable, Hyannis, Hyannis Port, Marston Ave.
The first residents of Marston Ave. were descendants of William Bassett who came to Plymouth on the Fortune in 1621. The geneology and biographies of the family members is fairly well known and is compiled here. Some sources say the Zenus Marston house at #70 Marston Ave. was built in 1786, however I cannot yet verify the date or the builder. This research is an effort to do that.
Marston Ave. Historic District – Roughly bounded by Scudder Ave. to the West, Redwood lane to the North., Sea St. Marsh to the East, and Ocean Ave., Nob Hill Rd., Rd., and Massachusetts Ave. to the South. Including the historic homes of Daniel Bassett, Warren Hinckley and Zenus Marston.
Adjoined on the South by the Hyannis
Port Historic District *** added to National Register of Historic places in 1987 - Barnstable
County - #87000259) Roughly bounded by Massachusetts
Ave. & Edgehill Rd., Hyannis Ave., Hyannis Harbor, and Scudder Ave., Barnstable 1000 acres, 127 buildings.
Marston
Family Home in Hyannis Port
| J. Bassett.|Marstons.......| Smiths........|Wendem| Shermans............
| 40yrs.......|61 years........| 59 years.....| 13yrs.....| 46 years................
Though the Town of Barnstable Historical Commission Survey of Historic Homes* indicated that in 1786 Winslow Marston was the builder and the first resident of the old house at 70 Marston Avenue, this is unsupported by Census, Family or Probate records. Stephen Davis's argument that Joseph Bassett was the builder and first resident is partially supported by Census, early maps and family history. Both the Historic Commission and Davis agree that the house was built in 1786. The biographical facts of Winslow Marston and Nymphas Marston are accurately given, whether or not they built and/or lived in the house.
*Snowden, Laurie P., recorder. Barnstable Historical Commission, "Form
B - Building, area B, Form no. 38, Winston Marston House". Boston: Massachusetts
Historical Commission, June, 1981.
Family History of the Bassetts
in Hyannis Port
Joseph Bassett1 m: 1706\
Daniel Bassett1 Sr. b: 1710
m:1735 in Yarmouth\
Daniel Bassett2 Jr. b:1736 in
Yarmouth m: 1755, d: 1795\
Joseph
Bassett2 b: 1763
m: 1786 d: 1855
Daniel Bassett 3 b:1771,
m 1793?\
Nathan
Bassett b1793
Daniel Bassett 4 b 1802 m 1834
? Prince Bassett b1822
In 1735 - Daniel
Bassett1, Sr., born Nov. 11, 1710, Married Elizabeth
Crowell, born about 1714, in Yarmouth July 1 or 17, 1735 and
they had a son Daniel
Bassett2 Jr. born Aug. 7, 1736 in Yarmouth. On March 20, 1741/2 in Barnstable
County, Elizabeth petitioned the Court for permission to be married a second
time because her husband, Daniel Bassett had deserted her. Permission to remarry
was given.
Elizabeth Crowell remarried to Hezekiah
Marchant, born 27 May 1713 in Yarmouth, on
May 2, 1742 Cached They moved with
her son Daniel Bassett Jr. (age 6) to Hyannis Port. Their
children: James Marchant
born August 5, 1743 and Hezekiah
Marchant born August 28, 1749 were both born
in Yarmouth.
Their home on Marchant Mill Rd., shown at left, was built about 1750 and is still standing on the grounds of the Hyannis Port Golf Club.
Mr. HEZEKIAH MARCHANT died May 19, 1792 at age 78. (Gravestone
photo) Mrs. Elisabeth Crowell Bassett Marchant died Sept. 10. 1793 at
age 81. (Gravestone
photo) They are buried in Hyannis, South Street Cemetery (aka Old, Ancient
or Paupers Cemetery), the oldest cemetery in Hyannis.
At age 19, Daniel Bassett Jr. and Hannah Studley were married March 5, 1755.
At age 27, Daniel Bassett Jr. and Hannah Studley had a son Joseph Bassett born on April 21, 1763 in Hyannis.
At age 29, Daniel Bassett Jr was selected at Town Meeting to be hog rever. (ie. animal control officer)
At age 33, Daniel Bassett Jr. and Hannah Studley had a son, Seth Bassett born on June 27, 1769 in Hyannis.
At age 35, Daniel Bassett Jr. and Hannah Studley had a son Daniel Bassett3 born on August 26, 1771 in Hyannis.
At age 36, In 1772, Daniel Bassett Jr. was selected at Town Meeting to be Tythingman - 6.
At age 39, On July 1, 1775, Daniel Bassett Jr. enlisted in the Military Capt. Joshua Gray's co, Barnstable.2d Lieutenant, and was discharged Dec. 31, 1775; service, 6 mos. 5 days.
On Feb. 21, 1776 Daniel Basset, Barnstable was commissioned1st Lieutenant, Mass. militia, Capt. Joshua Gray's co., Col. Cary's regiment.; company raised to serve until April, 1776;
also, 2d Lieutenant, Capt. Micah Hamblin's co., Col. Thomas Marshall's regiment.; list of officers; commissioned July 5, 1776; also, pay roll for service from May 14, 1776, to Aug. 1, 1776, 2 mos. 19 days, dated Castle Island; Bassett, Daniel.1st Lieutenant, Capt. Micah Hamlin's co., Col. Thomas Marshall's regiment.; pay roll for service from Aug. 1, 1776, to Oct. 31, 1776, 3 mos.
also, pay roll for Nov., 1776.
At age 41- Daniel Bassett Jr was selected at Town Meeting to be on a committee of six townsmen to procure men for the Continental Army. also, 1st Lieutenant, Capt. John Russell's co., Col. Gamaliel Bradford's regiment.; list of officers of Mass. Line; commissioned March 11. Also, Continental Army pay accounts for service from Jan. 1, 1777, to Nov. 26, 1777; resigned Nov. 26, 1777; reported commissioned Nov. 6, 1776.
At
age 42, In 1778,
Daniel Bassett Jr was selected
at Town Meeting to be deer rever. Also, he was allowed 5 Pounds for his time
and expense in procuring men for public service.
At age 45, on Oct. 15,1780
Daniel Bassett Jr was elected at Town Meeting to be Constable for
the East end of Barnstable @ $1,150. but then voted to be excused from serving.
Also, a large white ram was taken at large and brought to be posted by Daniel
Bassett. Posted eight days.
In 1781
Daniel Bassett Jr was chosen with seven others at Town Meeting
to be Surveyor of Highways. In 1785
Barnstable Town Clerk records that Leut. Daniel Basset’s
mark for his creatures is a crop of the left ear and a cut under the same
and a ½ cross and a half feney? X
On underside of right ear.
Lt. Daniel Bassett Jr. died October 1795 at age 59 only two years
after his mother, Mrs. Elisabeth Crowell Bassett Marchant who died Sept. 10.
1793 at age 81. A humble man, It is likely that he was still living at the
old Marchant house on Marchant Mill Way at the time of his death.
Daniel Bassett3 married Prudence and had Nathan
12/8/1793, Seth? 6/17/1795, Olive 7/27/1796, Betsy 9/22/1798 and Daniel4
5/28/1802. At the Town Meeting in April 1812, he ran for and lost the Town’s
nomination for Lieutenant Governor. He was selected as School Agent for the
13th district.
Daniel Bassett 3 died Oct. 10, 1836
at age 65. and was buried
at Hyannis Baptist Church Cemetery,
Daniel Bassett 4
Married: 2/5/1824 Sarah (Sally) Linnell, born Dec. 20,
1804 Sally Linnell.
Sally
LINNELL. The Daniel Bassetts lived at #50 Marston Ave. Following the custom of ambitious young men marrying into
a prosperous family, he may have built this house around the time of his marriage.(Daniel
Bassett House photo 2004) The 1856 Town of Barnstable map by Walling
shows D. L. Bassett on Marston Ave.
From 1838 to 1848, Daniel Bassett served as Selectman
of the Town of Barnstable. In 1839 and 1840, Daniel Served as Barnstable Representative
to the Massachusetts General Court. Cached David Bassett served
as Hyannis Port Postmaster from April 18, 1840 to Nov. 10, 1852. 415.
His home # 50 Marston St. was the Post Office during this time. In 1845 he
was the Town of Barnstable Tax Assessor. Daniel Bassett, a gentleman, was
Master of the Barnstable Fraternal lodge A. F. and M. E. (Masons) in 1852.
His next-door neighbor to the East, Zenas Marston, (photo)
was Treasurer of the Lodge for 25 Years. In 1852, Daniel Bassett was
Sheriff of Barnstable County. p.16 , Cached. In 1853, Daniel Bassett was treasurer
of the Barnstable County Agricultural Society Cached.
Daniel Bassett 4 died Nov. 5, 1857 at age 55 and was buried at Hyannis Universalist Church Cemetery.
Joseph
Bassett, born on April 21, 1763 in Hyannis, enlisted in the Continental
Army as a soldier, but served during 1775-1777 in the capacity of waiter to
his father Lt. Daniel Bassett. At the time of his marriage in 1786, It was
probably Joseph who built the Marston House at #70 Marston Ave. Hyannis Port.
On April 20, 1786 Joseph Bassett, age 23, registered
to marry Zerviah
Bearce also age 23, born about 1762/63 in Barnstable. Cached She was 3/16 Wampanoag/Narragansett
Indian, from both parents. Six months later, on Oct. 14, 1786 their first
child, Zenas Doane Bassett was born, most likely at 70 Marston Ave.
By 1801, They had nine more children, all born in Hyannis. Zerviah Bearse
Bassett died in 1805 at age 42, 4 years after the birth of her last child.
Joseph
Bassett served on the Petit Jury in Barnstable on Oct. 12, 1807.
In 1808, at age 45, Joseph Bassett remarried
to Nancy Hawes of Yarmouth, age 27, b: 1781, . Marriage license was issued
in Barnstable on Feb 15, 1808. They had 14 children, including Nancy, b: Oct
19, 1808; Gerry Grey, b: July 17, 1810; Joseph, b: Feb. 1, 1812; Octavia,
b: May 10, 1813; Louisa, b: Dec. 10, 1814; Cordelia, b: June 5, 1816; Joanna,
b:Jan. 20, 1818; Julia, b:July 8, 1819; Laura Othelia, b: July 6, 1822; Darius,
b:Dec 6, 1822; and David Porter, b: Oct. 25, 1825, all born in Hyannis.
Joseph Bassett served on the Grand Jury in Barnstable on the 4th Tuesday of October, 1809. He was chosen as Fence Viewer and Highway Surveyor at Town Meeting on March 12, 1812 and sworn in on March 22, 1812. In March 1813, he was sworn to another term as Highway Surveyor and also took the oath required of a Wood Corder. He was voted again to be Wood Corder in 1814.
In 1826, it is likely that Joseph Bassett sold his house at #70 Marston
Ave. and moved nearby to Sea Street . At this point in his life, at 63 years
old, 
he was too old for
active farming. His surviving children were grown and prospering, especially
Zenus who at age 40 was at the peak of his career, a ship owner, merchant
and town leader. It seems only natural that Joseph and his wife Nancy Hawes
Bassett would choose to retire to a house near their son and close to downtown
Hyannis. It also seems likely that Capt Zenus Bassett knew of the rising young
Captain Zenus Marston and may have facilitated the sale of his family home
to Capt. Marston soon before Marston's marriage in the autumn of 1826 to Mary
Scudder, a member of a prominent local maritime and business family.
In 1840 Joseph Bassett's home was
on Sea St. The 1856 map
shows J. Bassett , near the top, on the West side of Sea St. across
the street from L. Bearse, just north of J. Coffin. His
prosperous oldest son Capt. Zenus Doane Bassett lived on prime pastureland
nearby to the northwest at the head of Stewarts Creek.
He died on July 7, 1855 at age 93(30),
The natural father of 24 children.
He was one of the last surviving Revolutionary pensioners in Barnstable.
His widow, Nancy Hawes Bassett, died October 15, 1856 – age 75. They are buried in Hyannis at the Baptist Church Cemetery.
Hon. Capt. Zenas Doane Bassett, Esquire
Zenas Doane Bassett was born October 14, 1786 in Hyannis, the first of 24
children of Joseph Bassett. He was a prominent Cape Cod sea captain, businessman
and politician. At age 21 he Married (1) Mary P. Howland, age 20, b:
March 10, 1788 on December 27, 1808. They had 5 children: Emeline W. Bassett
-
Mary H. Bassett -Their 44 day old daughter Mary Howland Bassett died July
24,1813.
Orlando Bassett -
Zenas Doane Bassett Jr -
Theodore Bassett - Mary died on May 16, 1821 after 13 years of marriage.
At age 35, on October 10, 1822, Zenas Doane Bassett remarried to Sarah Lewis, b: October 7, 1809, three days after her thirteenth birthday. (?confirm dates ) She died on December 20, 1874. They had 8 children:
Sarah Lewis Bassett Crowell, wife of Henry G. Crowell, died April 19, 1849.
24 years old
Julia Williams Bassett, died August 25, 1825. 22 months old
William W. Bassett
Maria Lewis Bassett
Horace Scudder Bassett, died September 12, 1850. 17 years old
Henrietta Howe Bassett, died on Nov. 4, 1848. 13-years old
Emma Isadore Bassett -
and John Qunicy Adams Bassett. All are buried
at the Hyannis Baptist Church Cemetery.
George W. Hallett. postmaster at Hyannis, was born in 1840. From 1885 he
was two years special deputy collector of customs and disbursing agent for
the Barnstable County district. He was at one time in business in Boston,
seven or eight Years, and is favorably known in the central part of the Cape.
His wife was a daughter of Zenas D. Bassett,
A Concise Diary,
kept by Zenas Doane Bassett, Esquire, Contains a number of critical,
quizzical, political, sentimental and nonsensical Circumstances relating to
himself. This fascinating account of his life includes naval battles that
he took part in during the War of 1812. He was later captured by the British
and held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
On Saturday March 18, 1815 he noted in his diary: "Peace concluded between Great Britain and the United States; upon same terms as the war commenced; so much for the "Pumpkin heads at the helm and for "Sailors rights and fair trade", Hope they are now satisfied."
Zenas Bassett, in connection with two well known residents of Barnstable, George Lovell and Matthew Cobb, organized the New York Despatch Line, at the head of Long Wharf in Boston, which was the first packet line between Boston, New York and Albany.
He was a ship owner of ELIZABETH, schooner, of Barnstable. Built at York, Maine in 1824. Reg'd 1 Apr. 1828-permanent Owners: Matthew COBB, Frederic COBB, Zenas D. BASSETT, George LOVELL, Barnstable. Master: Alvan SNOW.
He was also a ship ownerof PEGGY THOMAS, schooner, of Barnstable. Built at Thomaston, Maine in 1827. Reg'd 3 Sept. 1832-permanent owners: Simeon BAXTER, Matthew COBB, George LOVELL, Zenas D. BASSETT, Barnstable. Master: Simeon BAXTER.
He is listed in General Index of: Queens of the Western Ocean; the story of America's mail and passenger sailing lines A - I, by Carl C. Cutler © [1961]: Bassett, Capt. Zenas, 414, Bassett, Capt. Zenas D., 414,, 428, 434, Bassett, Capt. Zenas D., Jr., 450
He owned a salt works near the shore just west of Dunbar Point. His house was just Northwest of his father Joseph's house on Sea St.
He was a prominent man in the county. In 1840, Zenas D. Bassett and others appointed a committee to locate a permanent public building for the Town House. A lot of ground Situated in the woods in Barnstable on a plot of ground near the geographical center of the town was secured. The work of building the Barnstable Town House was begun and completed on the main road between West Barnstable and Centerville, within easy distance of the other villages.
The legislature of 1828 abolished the Court of Sessions and Commissioners of Highways, and established in their place, a Court of County Commissioners. In 1841, Zenas D. Bassett was selected and served a three-year term as County Commissioner. p. 202
In 1841-42, Zenas served as Vice-President of the Massachusetts Abolition
Society.
?He married Hersilia Baxter on Sept. 10, 1843.
Zenas worked as the fourth President of the Barnstable County Mutual Insurance Co., which through careful management offered property insurance to Cape Codders for one-third the usual rates. P. 17.
He was President of the Barnstable County Agricultural Society from 1848 – 1850. p. 19
Zenas Doane Bassett was described in "The Rich Men of Massachusetts" By Abner Forbes and J. W. Greene, Boston: W. V. Spencer, 1851 with a net worth of at least $50,000., one of 4 listed in Barnstable and "at first a poor boy, and many such are found on the sterile plains of "the Cape", but sterility of soil does not always produce imbecility of intellect. He possessed a fertile and productive mind. He went to sea, passed through all the grades from cabin boy to control of the ship, and he was a successful merchant. He was a man much given to reading, a trait that generally characterizes the Bassetts."
Zenas served as Barnstable representative in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1851 and 1852. p.44
In 1858, he was elected and served the Barnstable District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. P. 13
In 1863 he was a 1/50 th share owner of the 447 ton American Bark Sea Bride of Boston (ships Register)
He Died Dec. 30, 1864 at age 79.
His wife, Sarah Lewis died on December 20, 1874 at age 65
His younger surviving siblings were:
Temperance C. Bassett, Born Nov. 21, 1787 (1797)2,
Solomon Bassett, Born Sept. 4, 1789,
Gorham Bassett, Born Sept 19, 1790,
Freeman Bassett, born Oct. 11, 1796,
Sophie Bassett, born on July 23, 1799. She married on Sept. 1, 1816,
Hannah Coleman Bassett, born on Mar 11, 1801. She married in January 1827
to John H. Lothrop (son of John Lothrop and Deborah Crocker) was born
on 14 Jan 1802 in Barnstable. He died on 26 May 1878 in Hyannis. She died
on Dec. 15, 1877 in Hyannis. Hannah Coleman Bassett and John H. Lothrop had
Frederick Gorham Lothrop.
Correlation of Map and Census Data on Marston Avenue
The house locations of Daniel Bassett, Zenus Marston,
Prince Bassett, Nathan Bassett, Warren Hinckley and others can be inferred
through comparison of Census data with maps from corresponding years.
1831 - 1840
