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�In 1857 a master mariner named Victor Francis Debaker and his wife Mary purchased a
parcel of land on Hancock Street in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. Debaker was born
in Nantes, France in 1818, arrived in the United States in 1837 with his wife, and was
naturalized as a citizen on July 1, 1847. Captain Debaker and his family lived on Essex Street in
Salem, perhaps drawn to the city because of its worldwide reputation as a seaport town,
although by 1837 the glory days of Salem as a port were waning. Debaker must have seen real
estate as a wise investment. After the initial purchase of land, he augmented it by buying an
additional adjacent strip. This area of Salem, Hancock Street stretching west to Canal Street,
was just beginning to be developed in the mid-nineteenth century as Salem was rapidly growing
and becoming more industrialized. Debaker died in 1878 leaving the land to his wife and heirs
as specified in his will, written in 1858.
Upon Mary Debaker’s death, the land on Hancock Street went to the only surviving child,
a daughter Mary Alice, born in 1845. In 1867 Mary Alice was married to Joseph Morrill Hoyt and
living in Lynn, Massachusetts. Joseph owned a successful wholesale liquor business with
outlets in both Lynn and Salem (see ad from the 1882 Salem Directory in appendix.) The 1897
Salem Atlas shows the plot of land on Hancock as belonging to J.M. Hoyt. There is no building
on it. The Hoyts had invested in other real estate throughout Essex County as well. (See
photograph of Mary and Joseph Hoyt in appendix.)
In 1909 Mary and Joseph Hoyt sold the land on Hancock to Louis Alfred Ouellette and his wife,
Marie Boucher Ouellette, for “one dollar and other valuable considerations.” The land is
described as follows:
Beginning on Hancock Street at land of Mudgett westerly from corner of Cabot
Street;
NORTHERLY: on said land of Mudgett, one hundred thirteen feet(113) three (3) inches,
more or less, to land on Gardner at which is sixty (60) feet Westerly at corner of
Cabot Street; thence running
WESTERLY: Forty-five (45) by land now or late of V. F. Debaker thence turning and
running
SOUTHERLY: One hundred and fourteen feet (114) more or less to Hancock Street;
thence turning and running
EASTERLY: on Hancock Street, forty-five (45) feet to said land of Mudgett and to
point begun at.
�There is no building on the land at purchase; however, by 1910 the Salem Directory lists L. A.
Ouellette as living at 22 Hancock Street while 24 Hancock is listed as “vacant.
Sometime then in early 1910 the Ouellette’s built a “double decker” two-family house, the firstfloor unit identified as 22 Hancock and the upper unit as 24 Hancock. After the first year, the
Ouellette family moved upstairs with their four children (Rene, Leon, Eva and Regina) and they
leased the lower unit to the Goodman family.
Louis Ouellette, a French Canadian by birth, was born in1870 and became a naturalized citizen
in 1887. He is listed in the Salem Directories, beginning in 1906, as a foreman for the Salem
Streetcar of the B&N Railway. Marie Ouellette was also from Canada, born in 1876 and
naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1896. Over the years the number of children living at home
varied as they grew up and married or moved out on their own; in 1920, Louis’s mother Exora,
also joined the household until her demise. Louis and Marie continued to own 22 - 24 Hancock
and to occupy 24 Hancock from 1910 until their deaths, Louis in 1950 at age 80, and Marie
sometime shortly after 1955 when, as a widow, she had sold the double-decker.
In 1911 Morris and Ida Goodman moved into 22 Hancock. They had immigrated to the United
States from Russia in 1888, becoming citizens in 1893. In the1920 U.S. Census the couple
gave their first language as Yiddish. Morris worked as a caretaker or “sexton” for The Sons of
Jacob Congregation. When they first occupied the unit, their three daughters, a son and a sonin-law lived with them: Sara( 21) and Aaron (24), Dora (15), Harry (13) and Estelle (5). In the
1940 U.S. Census the rent for their first-floor unit was given as $40 a month. That same census
lists three of their four children living with them: Dora, Harry and Estelle. Morris expired in 1948.
City Directories for 1948 through 1955 indicated that Harry, an insurance agent for Prudential,
and Estelle, who worked as a clerk, continued to reside at 22 Hancock Street until the house
was sold by Marie Ouellette in 1955. Ida Goodman was not listed as a resident there after
Morris’s death, nor is there a record of her living in Essex County once she was widowed.
The Ouellette’s and the Goodman’s must have felt extremely fortunate when on June 25, 1914,
a monstrous fire spread through Salem, originating on Boston Street and spreading just east of
Hancock Street as it roared south, consuming 250 acres,1600 house, 41 factories and leaving
three dead and thousands homeless. 22-24 Hancock Street, only four years old at the time, was
only a couple of blocks west of the fire line.
�Arthur and Mary Patricia Worsencroft bought 22 - 24 Hancock from the widowed Marie Ouellette
in 1955. They had lived in Peabody prior to moving to Salem where Arthur worked as a leather
finisher for B.E. Cox Leather. Arthur was born in Manchester England in 1913, arriving in
Peabody and becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1935. Mary Worsencroft was born in
Lithuania in 1915. Her given name in Lithuanian was Rackauskas. Their two daughters, Joyce
and Charlotte, were 20 and 18 when they moved into 24 Hancock with their parents. Joyce
worked as a clerk at Salem Cooperative Bank, Charlotte worked as an office clerk. Both
daughters continued to live with their parents until Joyce moved out around 1960. Arthur held a
variety of jobs over time, among them foreman at Creese & Cook in 1965 and as a color
matcher at Waterloc Finish in 1971.
After purchasing the house in 1955, the Worsencrofts wasted no time in renting out the first-floor
unit. John Sweeney, a native of Northern Ireland, had originally immigrated to Springfield, MA
before coming to Salem with his wife Alice. They lived at 22 Hancock for only three years, from
1955 to 1958. John was 67 in 1955 and retired, having worked as a yard master for the railroad.
In 1958 the next tenants in 22 Hancock were Edward and Muriel Santos. Edward, born in 1927,
was 32 at that time and was listed in the 1957 Salem Directory as a leather worker. By 1962 he
had become a city policeman. The Santos’ lived on Hancock for six years, until 1964.
Not much information is available for the tenants on the first floor who followed the Santos’ in
1965. Roger R. LaFrancois and his wife Theresa lived in the unit for four years, until 1969.
Roger was a Salem native who previously worked as a machine operator and a clerk; by 1969
he is listed in the Salem Directory as an employee of Hood Molded Foam in Danvers.
Number 22 Hancock was listed as “Vacant” in the 1970 Salem Directory after the LaFrancois’
moved out. But in 1971 the Worsencrofts had found some very agreeable tenants. Daughter
Charlotte had married Chester O. Carlson and the couple assumed the first-floor unit. Chester
(Chet) worked as a package systems designer at ITW/Devon Corp. in Danvers. Mary
Worsencroft was probably especially appreciative of the fact that her daughter, son-in-law and
their two children, Derek and Amy, lived in the first floor unit after Arthur’s death in 1974. The
Carlson’s continued to reside in #22, living there from 1971 to 2004.
�As Mary Worsencroft aged, she decided in 1991 to deed 22 - 24 Hancock to Charlotte for
“consideration and other valuable considerations,” retaining a life estate which allowed her to
continue living in #24 until her death, at which time the property would go to Charlotte Carlson.
Mary Patricia “Rackauskas” Worsencroft passed away on May 19, 2003.
Following her mother’s death, Charlotte Carlson sold 22 -24 Hancock in June of 2004 to Paul G.
Clarizia of Beverly, MA and Giorgio and Sheila Manzana of Danvers as tenants in common but
not as joint tenants. Just over a year later, in August 2005, a Master Deed created two
condominium units from the two-family house: 22 Hancock Street as Unit #1 and 24 Hancock
Street upstairs as Unit #2. On that same day a deed was filed for the sale of 22 Hancock Street
to Edward and Pamela Fialho.
The Failho’s owned the condo for seven years, from 2005 to 2012. Edward worked as a service
technician in 2006 and Pamela was a certified nursing assistant. A daughter Sara (born 1986)
and a son Eric (born 1989) initially shared the condo with their parents. After 2009 Edward was
unemployed; from 2010 through 2011 he continued to be out of work and shared the house with
his son. Neither Pamela nor Sara is listed as living there during that time. Early in 2012 the
Failho’s sell the condominium. The new owner is Sandrine Seluca-Aegerter, a psychotherapist.
By August 2012 Cheops, LLC has acquired condo #1 from Sandrine Aegerter for “Consideration
and $1.” Annual Town Listings indicate that no one was living in the unit in 2012; in 2013 Elaine
Paula Gillis, a teacher resided there; the unit was vacant again in 2014. The Listings for 2015
indicated that Elaine Gillis was living there along with twins Ashley and Andrew Chambers (born
1991). In January 2017 Cheops LLC deeded 22 Hancock to Sandrine Aegerter.
On June 12, 2020 Sandrine Aegerter and Michael Tugendhat sell 22 Hancock Street, also
known as Unit #1, to Philippe W. Kelley.
�APPENDIX
Ownership Table
Residents Table
Hoyt Ad from 1880 Salem Directory
Photograph of Joseph Hoyt & Mary Alice Debaker Hoyt
Salem Atlas 1874 Ward 5
Salem Atlas 1894 Ward 5
Salem Atlas 1911
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�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Sources
City of Salem Listing of Residents, 2000-2020
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Vital
Records, 1911-1915
Salem Atlas, 1874, Plate M
Salem Atlas, 1897, Plate M
Salem Atlas, 1911, Plate 003
Salem City Directory: 1882-1986
Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds
United States Federal Census (1860, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1940)
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Hancock Street
Historic Salem, Inc. House History
A resource made available by Historic Salem, Inc. detailing the history of Salem's houses.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
22-24 Hancock Street, Salem, MA, 01970
Subject
The topic of the resource
House History
Description
An account of the resource
Louis Alfred Ouellette
Streetcar Foreman
and his wife
Marie M Boucher
Built in 1910
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Historic Salem Inc.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Historic Salem Inc. house histories
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Historic Salem Inc.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Built in 1910
House history completed 2022
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Connie Barlow
Language
A language of the resource
English
1910
2020
22-24 Hancock Street
Boucher
Massachusetts
Oullette
Salem
streetcar foreman