Ruby Eldredge Merrihew House (ca. 1769)
Henry H. Rogers’ Boyhood Home
39 Middle Street, Fairhaven
(Private home, not open to the public)
After the marriage of Rowland and Mary Eldredge (Huttleston) Rogers in 1833, they lived in this Middle Street house, which had been the home of Mary’s grandparents, Ruby and Stephen Merrihew. The house was built about 1769 on one corner of a larger lot that had been purchased by Ruby’s father, Isaiah Eldredge. Ruby, who had married Jethro Allen Jr. after the death of her first husband, lived until 1835 and Mary and Rowland Rogers may have been her caretakers during her last two years. The home was deeded in trust to Mary Rogers through the will of her mother Rhoda Huttleston in 1841.
Henry H. Rogers was raised here, along with his older sister Eliza and his younger brother Rufus. In 1888, an addition was built on the rear. Mary Rogers continued to live here until shortly before her death in 1899.
It is a private home and is not open to the public.
