A veteran of the three principal Revolutionary War campaigns at Saratoga, Charleston, and Yorktown, Major General Benjamin Lincoln accepted the British sword of surrender at Yorktown, ending the hostilities during our War of Independence. It is General Lincoln who sits on a white horse, presiding over the surrender ceremonies in the iconic Jonathan Trumbull painting in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. The Confederation Congress later appointed him the nation’s first Secretary of War.
While Lincoln’s contributions to our nation’s birth are alone a sufficient reason to preserve his lifelong home, his contributions to his home town are almost as noteworthy. He was born, raised, and died in Hingham—all in the house at 181 North Street, and for more than 50 years, he was the dominant figure in Hingham’s public life. Selectman, Town Clerk, and representative to the provincial legislature, he was also deacon and clerk of the Old Ship Church, a founding member of Hingham’s Third Parish (New North Church), a founding trustee of Derby Academy, and a colonel in the Hingham militia.

The Lincoln Family at the Benjamin Lincoln House: Line of Ownership by Ellen Stine Miller

The property at North and Lincoln was granted by the town to Thomas Lincoln in compensation for a highway built through his home lot. The lot was given by Thomas Lincoln to his youngest son Benjamin Lincoln I who built the home there in 1667. He resided on “North, corner of Lincoln.” The next three generations of Benjamin Lincolns, the last Benjamin being the General, continued to reside on this homestead. The home passed by will from General Benjamin Lincoln IV on his death in 1810 to his son Martin. Note that Martin outlived all of his siblings except Theodore, who lived in Maine. The will of Martin Lincoln was not available online, but following his death in 1837, taxes were paid by his widow, Lydia Lincoln, in 1850 and 1860. An 1873 map showed the property as belonging to the M Lincoln heirs. Ann Storrow Lincoln was one of the unmarried daughters who lived in the house with her mother. Following Lydia’s death in 1863, Ann Storrow Lincoln came into possession of the homestead. In 1877 when all of her siblings except the two youngest, Benjamin Lincoln and Sarah Lincoln Crosby, were deceased and none had heirs except Sarah Lincoln Crosby, Ann wrote a will which left the use of the house to Benjamin during his lifetime, and then provided that the house would pass to the children of Sarah, namely Elizabeth Crosby, Helen Crosby, Samuel Crosby Jr, and Clara Crosby Bryant. Siblings Benjamin and Sarah predeceased Ann in 1884 and 1889 respectively. Ann paid taxes in 1890. She died in 1895. Samuel T Crosby Sr, widower, moved into the homestead shortly after the death of his wife Sarah Lincoln Crosby in 1889. Samuel was joined briefly by his daughter Helen B Crosby. Samuel died in 1907. During this time period the homestead continued to be shown in tax records as part of the estate of Ann S Lincoln. After the death of Samuel T Crosby Sr, his unmarried daughters Elizabeth L Crosby and Helen B Crosby, began to live in the house together. Clara M Crosby Bryant was widowed in 1913 and also moved in. She died in 1934 leaving two living children, Eugene and Ethel. Elizabeth L Crosby never married and died in 1927. Samuel T Crosby Jr married but had no children; he died in 1927 Helen B Crosby never married and died in 1952, having paid taxes on the property since 1931. After 1952 the only living heirs to the original estate of Ann S Lincoln were the two living children of Clara M Crosby Bryant, namely Eugene Lincoln Bryant and Ethel Mae Bryant Scaife. Eugene Bryant was the paternal grandfather of Rose Bryant Woodard the most recent Lincoln to occupy the home. Ethel M Bryant Scaife was the maternal grandmother of Franklin Spencer Beveridge. Ethel Mae Bryant Scaife’s daughter Elizabeth Scaife Beveridge began living in the house in 1947 with Helen B Crosby; Following 1952, Elizabeth S Beveridge continues to live in the house, at times with her three children Albert, Elisa and Franklin Beveridge until she died in 1998. Starting in 1957 the taxes were paid by John W Bryant, et. al.; he was Rose Bryant Woodard’s father, nephew of Ethel M Bryant Scaife who died in 1959. Elizabeth S “Skiffy” Beveridge died in 1998. John W Bryant died in1999 in Manchester-by-the-Sea. John’s daughter Rose and her husband Charles Woodard moved into 181 North after “Skiffy” Beveridge. In 2019, Rose and Franklin were co-owners of the Benjamin Lincoln homestead.

In 2019, the Society reached an agreement with the owners of the Benjamin Lincoln House to purchase the property for its assessed value, contingent upon our ability to raise both the purchase price and a $1 million endowment needed to fund maintenance expenses. In order to give the Society time to raise the purchase price and endowment, the owners took the property off the market until September 1, 2020.  The Society immediately began actively raising private leaderships gifts from local prospects and planned to launch a public fundraising campaign in March 2020 to the larger Hingham community and pursue regional and national donors committed to the preservation of American History. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted a more formal public campaign which is why the Society considers the Campaign for the Benjamin Lincoln House ongoing.

The Society submitted an application to the Town of Hingham’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to fund the purchase price of the home In October 2019. The Town of Hingham’s CPC annually reviews applications submitted by Town bodies and civic organizations for funding projects involving the acquisition of open space/recreation, the support of low income housing and preservation of historic resources and makes recommendations to Town Meeting regarding the use of the Town’s community Preservation Fund for those purposes. The Community Preservation Fund is composed of a 1.5% surtax in Town Real estate taxes and state matching grants.

During the application process, the Society made two public presentations and met with town officials as requested. The Society provided tours of the property to CPC members, the Board of Selectmen, the Town’s Advisory committee and the Department heads of the town’s permitting bodies. The CPC recommended to 2020 Town Meeting a $772,000 grant towards the purchase price of the home. This recommendation was unanimously supported by the Board if Selectmen and the Advisory Committee and approved by Town Meeting (which was delayed by the COVID19 pandemic) at the end of June 2020.