Hunt , Thoreau and homes.

In corresponding with a distant, distant cousin of mine I've learned that one of our ancestors, who is credited with being one of the founders of Concord,Mass. also had a home which was written about in length by Henry David Thoreau. After it was destroyed and then torn down, Thoreau wrote about it again in 'The Succession of Forest Trees,' concerning the seeds in the old cellar hole. If you would like to read the article you can find it at www.thoreau.eserver.org/foresttrees.html. I have read the article and would like to quote from it that portion that pertains to my ancestor.
'Yet I am prepared to believe that some seeds, especially small ones, may retain their vitality for centuries under favorable circumstances. In the spring of 1859, the old Hunt HOuse, so called in this town, whose chimney bore the date 1703 was taken down. This stood on land which belonged to John Winthrop, the first Governor of Massachusetts, and a part of the house was evidentally much older than the above date, and belonged to the Winthrop family. For many years I have ransacked this neighborhood for plants, and I consider myself familiar with its productions. Thinking seeds which are said to be sometimes dug up at an unusual depth in the earth, and thus to reproduce long extinct plants, it occured to me last fall that some new or rare plants might have sprung up in the cellar of this house, which had been covered from the light so long. Searching there on the 22nd of September, I found, among other rank weeds..................'