Edmund Chandler arrives in Plymouth and settles in Duxbury by 1633. Proprietor of land all over Plymouth County he sold or traded most of it and left the remainder to his sons. Duxbury had common land lots that were divided and sold to residents in the early 1700s. The O'Neil property can be traced to the "Second Division" in 1712. “By the 1680s Duxbury consisted of small neighborhoods of farming families. A network of paths interconnected the outlying farms and tiny villages.....Original land grants in Duxbury were relatively small 20 acre parcels... Duxbury farms were increased in size as parcels were given to their owners for service to the town of Colony. Homesteads and land remained in the same families for many generations. Parcels of land were usually given to the sons as their inheritance and sometimes to the daughters as a part of their dowry. The larger the family, the greater the distribution of land. In this way, the family holdings were divided and the wealth dispersed. Land was the most valuable part of a man’s estate and provided him with a means of control over his children’s lives. The son who was to inherit the homestead usually did not receive title to the land until his father’s death but lived on the homestead with his own family, his aging parents, and perhaps an unmarried sibling in an extended family group. " pg 23 - 25 from "Plymouth Colony to Plymouth County" By Cynthia Hagar Krusell
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THE CHANDLER FAMILY WINTER STREET HOMESTEAD
1712 - 1866 Since around 1717 the Winter Street portion of the farm has been occupied and only farmed by three families: the Chandlers, the Averys, and the O'Neils. In 1712 the common land lots 149 and 152 were given out by the town of Duxbury in the "Second Division". On April 4, 1715 Joseph and Samuel Chandler purchased the land from John Delano. Sometime between 1715 and 1720 Joseph Chandler built the house that is currently the front part of the O'Neil house. In 1724 Joseph Chandler sold the land and housings to his son Philip Chandler. In 1754 the heirs of Samuel Chandler sold the land to Philip Chandler, Mr. Carl O'Neil's great-grandfather (7 generations removed). This purchase included housing. The land was divided between Philip's heirs with farms on both sides of Autumn Avenue. as well as throughout Tarkiln, west Duxbury, and part of Pembroke. The original homestead can be dated to the late 1700s and traced back to the homestead of Ira Chandler (1774-1848) grandson of Philip Chandler (1702-1764). By the 1820s the Winter St.portion of the O’Neil farm had been expanded to 120 acres by the real estate dealings of Ira Chandler. Its bounds crossed what is now Route 53/Kingstown Way and up to Summer St.. During the 1840s and 50s farming in New England was a losing business, even for land with soil as rich as the O'Neil property. The farmland was so covered with rocks and stones that it made cultivation very difficult. Many farming families lost their children to the lure of the sea, the west, or to better wages in the New England factory towns. In 1855 Nathan Chandler, Ira's son, had retained 22 acres of the family Winter St. homestead and farm and died in 1864. Unmarried and leaving no direct heirs, the homestead was sold to Ebenezer Avery in 1866. 
Chandler / Avery / O'Neil Homestead .
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1866 - 1881 AVERY FAMILY HOMESTEAD
From 1866 to 1881, Ebenezer Avery purchased parcels of the "late Nathan Chandler" estate acreage of the Winter Street farm until in 1881 he owned the 69 acres of the present farmland. In 1874 his daughter Rosamond married a son from the neighboring Autumn Avenue farm Chandler's family, Horatio. In 1881 Ebenezer Avery died and left the homestead to his daughter Rosamond "Avery" Chandler. In 1891 Edward O'Neil arrived from Nova Scotia, Canada and hired by Horatio Chandler. Edward brought with him logging and farming experience. In 1900 he married Horatio and Rosamond "Avery" Chandler's daughter Rosa Avery Chandler. More information about the Ebenezer Family in Duxbury can be found in this article: CHANDLER FAMILY AUTUMN AVE. PARCEL From the 1820s through the 1890s Horatio's father Nathaniel Lewis Chandler had expanded the Autumn Avenue parcel, at one time owning more than 250 acres that encompassed all of today's Clearwater and Lake Shore Drive neighborhoods. Many parcels of land were purchased that were, mainly, cedar swamps and upland associated with maple and other trees. "Fireplace" wood was cut and supplied to the people around Duxbury and railcars were filled to ship the wood to other places. The wooded land provided a steady resource for lumbering and the Chandler sawmill business on Pine street through the late 1800s and early 1900s. The sawmill was run by Edward O'Neil and Charlie Nickerson (married to Edward's sister-in-law Mabel, Rosa's sister). Rosa and Mabel were Horatio and Rosamond "Avery" Chandler's only children. 
Horatio Chandler ( with oxen.
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Rosa Avery Chandler O'Neil's Legacy - The Historic O'Neil Farm
From 1921 through her death in 1963 Rosa Chandler O'Neil inherited some of the Winter St. and Autumn Ave. parcels and acquired the remaining Avery and Horatio Chandler estate from her sister Mabel. She deeded the farm to her grandchildren, Carl O'Neil, his brother, Edward O'Neil, and sister Barbara (O'Neil) Young in 1958. Carl and Edward ran the dairy until Edward's death until Edward's death in 2002 and Carl has continued the farming legacy.
From 1921 through her death in 1963 Rosa Chandler O'Neil inherited some of the Winter St. and Autumn Ave. parcels and acquired the remaining Avery and Horatio Chandler estate from her sister Mabel. She deeded the farm to her grandchildren, Carl O'Neil, his brother, Edward O'Neil, and sister Barbara (O'Neil) Young in 1958. Carl and Edward ran the dairy until Edward's death until Edward's death in 2002 and Carl has continued the farming legacy.
Avery / O'Neil dairy barn taken around 1890.
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In the 1960s there was a fire that destroyed the roof of the barn leaving the profile that exists today.
The Dairy remains in operation run by Carl O'Neil. Thank you to Barbara Avery (O'Neil) Young for contributing to this history. |
Present day - History O'Neil Farm and O'Neil Dairy business
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