WELCOME TO

“YE OLD UPHAM HOUSE”

​THE OLDEST FIRST PERIOD COLONIAL HOUSE IN MELROSE, MA

OUR GOAL

Preserve, Conserve and Educate 
​

Upham House 1703 

The house was passed on through the generations and Asa Upham, great-grandson of Phineas Upham lived his life there and died on August 20, 1869. He was the last Upham to spend his entire life in the house.

Upham family Society

The Society includes over 200 members of the Upham Family Society (UFS)  that are descendants of John Upham who brought his family to Massachusetts Bay Colony from Bicton, England in 1635.

The Upham Family Society Inc. is a 501C(3) Non-Profit charitable organization whose purpose is to preserve, maintain, and restore the only first period colonial home in Melrose, MA , “Ye Old Upham House” at 255 Upham Street.

Conservation Projects

The Society's ongoing projects include preservation of textiles, artifacts & family history.  
Snapshots of UFS:
Celebrations of Patronage
Beatrice Wadland & Robert Wadland
May 2015: The unveiling of a plaque commemorating 100 years since the important House Restoration of 1915 which was funded by the Melrose Historical Society. This was the true beginning of the City of Melrose’s love affair with the one of its oldest houses dating back to even further than when Melrose was incorporated in 1850 (previously being considered a part of the nearby town of Malden).
The Plaque also mentioned the lifetime contributions of Beatrice Wadland her late husband Robert Wadland. The photos below are of the new plaque and of Beatrice Wadland.
Alfred Upham Howes
In the words of Upham House Caretaker, Cathy, “Alfred was a lovely gentleman, I enjoyed his visits to the old house in Melrose. To his friends, my regards, you were fortunate to have had him nearby”. Alfred was a merchant marine by trade and a philanthropist at heart. He was an active member of the UFS, joining the Board of Trustees and regularly attending meetings. Once he was unable to make the drive from Providence, RI to Melrose, MA, he continued to stay in touch with UFS - Trustee Alan Kelley, catching up on the progress of the board and listening to the ideas of how to keep moving forward. In 2019, The Society will do our best to represent his legacy and contribution towards our mission to conserve, preserve and educate. 
 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE DAUGHTERS OF JOHN UPHAM?
While The Descendants of John Upham of Massachusetts, written by F. K. Upham in 1892, traces the male lines of descent from Phineas through the late 1880s, very little was written about the fates of John’s daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, and Priscilla. Yet, these three women all grew to adulthood, married, and raised large families. Their descendants number in the thousands, but who are they?
1915 HOUSE RESTORATION
For sixteen years after the death of Asa Upham the house was unoccupied and fell into disrepair (between 1872-1888). The daughers of Orne Upham who were then the owners of the house, decided to repair it and then a number of improvements and stylistic upgrades were made. After the repairs the house was used by the Orne Upham family. After the death of Orne Upham his widow and daughters continued to live in the house in the summer, and in 1903, the eldest daughter was married in the house. Between 1907-1913 the house remained vacant and in 1913 it was purchased by the Melrose Historical·Society. The Melrose Historical Society began to restore the house in 1914. A complete restoration took place at this time and was finished in 1915.

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