{"id":8642,"date":"2014-09-27T08:46:29","date_gmt":"2014-09-27T12:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/?p=8642"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:07:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:07:57","slug":"a-house-divided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/a-house-divided\/","title":{"rendered":"A House Divided"},"content":{"rendered":"

Howell’s Tavern House\u00a0and Ferry House<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>
Detail of survey by Reading Howell, 1774
click to enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The dotted line in this picture is a survey line, drawn by Reading Howell in 1774, and as you can see, one of the lines goes right through the middle of the house, which is labeled \u201cFerry House.\u201d Strangely\u00a0enough, this house has long been known as\u00a0the tavern house at Howell\u2019s Ferry (Stockton) which\u00a0I wrote about in \u201cJacob\u2019s Path, an 1813 Shortcut<\/a>.\u201d So why was the tavern house called the Ferry House in 1774? And why did the surveyor run a line right through the middle? Therein lies a story.<\/p>\n

As my article (\u201cJacob\u2019s Path<\/a>\u201d) shows, for a very long time the building was known as Howell\u2019s Tavern, after the family that first settled that area. The road that is shown on the survey map is the old route of Main Street (Route 29) in Stockton at the intersection of Ferry Street. What is odd is the way the road continues toward the west instead of wrapping around the ferry\/tavern house as it does today, circling the old Baptist Church that now stands in its place.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Stockton Baptist Church, photographed by Frank Greenagle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can see a description of this church on Frank Greenagle\u2019s website, New Jersey Churchscape<\/a>. The Baptist Church opened in 1861, and is thought to have been built on the foundation of the old tavern house.<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of meeting Carl Cathers of Stockton, who has an incredible collection of old papers relating to the families who first settled in Stockton and Prallsville, many of them collected by Austin Davison.1<\/a><\/sup> Mr. Cathers allowed me to browse through his collection, and there I found a small piece of paper dated 1774 that is quite remarkable. In fact, I\u2019ve never seen anything quite like it. It is a survey made by Reading Howell to adjust a boundary line between Benjamin Howell and John Ely. And as you can see, Howell really needed to get that adjustment made. Otherwise, he\u2019d have to pay rent on half of his house. Here is the entire survey by Reading Howell:<\/p>\n

\"1774<\/a>
1774 Survey by Reading Howell, made for Benjamin Howell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most researchers have assumed that the ferry house was the stone mansion house located close to the river on Ferry Street, and the house shown on this survey was always considered to be the tavern house. It was functioning as a tavern house as early as 1761.<\/p>\n

It seems far more logical to put a ferry house close to the landing for the ferry, which was owned by the Howell family at least since 1717. That was the year that John Reading died, and he was the one who first set it up, as early as 1710. The place was originally known as \u201cReading\u2019s Landing.\u201d Daniel Howell was Reading\u2019s son-in-law who took it over until his own death in 1733.<\/p>\n

The stone house by the river, which is facing south, toward the river, predates a second stone house on Ferry Street which faces east, toward the road. Determining its age is nearly impossible because of the Flood of 1955, when the water rose nearly to the second floor and destroyed much of the original woodwork. I suspect it was built when Benjamin Howell took over the ferry in 1746. Dennis Bertland suggested that Howell may have built a new ferry house up the hill to avoid future flooding. He did wonder how well the ferryman could see from there to the other side of the river to know if someone wanted to cross over, but I suspect that all the trees had been taken down, and the view might have been quite good.<\/p>\n

So what do we know about the Howells and the Elys, and how did this snafu come about? The story begins with Daniel Howell and his wife Mary Else Reading.<\/p>\n

Daniel Howell and Mary Else Reading<\/h3>\n

Mary Else Reading was the daughter of Col. John Reading and his wife Elizabeth. She was born on September 26, 1688 at Gloucester in the Province of West New Jersey. That is where her family was living at the time, and where they stayed until her father decided to relocate to the new lands purchased from the Indians in 1703. John Reading selected an outstanding piece of ground for his new plantation, which he named Mount Amwell. It is southwest of Rosemont, overlooking the Delaware River, and not too far north of Prallsville.<\/p>\n

The family came to Amwell Township sometime before 1708 when the township was created. By that time, Mary was 20 years old. About two years later, she married Daniel Howell, son of Daniel Howell Sr. and Hannah Lakin of Pennsylvania. The Howells had also lived in Gloucester before moving north. By 1690, Daniel Howell Sr. and family were living in Philadelphia, and in 1700 they moved to Solebury, Bucks County, where Daniel Sr. died in 1739, and wife Hannah sometime before that.<\/p>\n

When Mary Reading and Daniel Howell married, her father, John Reading, granted them a one-square mile property, adjacent to Mount Amwell. It covered Prallsville & Stockton and the land surrounding these villages. (Of course, the villages did not exist in 1710.) Located on this property was Reading\u2019s Landing, which Daniel Howell took over. The ferry brought travelers from New Jersey to a road in Pennsylvania that ran all the way to Philadelphia, later to be known as the Old York Road.<\/p>\n

There are no records from this time to tell the story, but it is clear that Daniel Howell began making improvements to his property that would allow him to make a comfortable living from it. One of these improvements, besides the ferry, would be a road leading from the ferry inland toward other early settlements, like a village that was appearing on the South Branch of the Raritan River, known today as Flemington. This road is now today\u2019s Route 523. Col. John Reading had plans for that road. It was his intention that it serve as the main artery connecting Philadelphia with New Brunswick, and from there with New York. Things didn\u2019t turn out that way, but that is another story.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Daniel Howell\u2019s Will<\/h3>\n

As it turned out, Daniel and Mary Howell did not stay here very long. They both died in their early 40s, leaving six young children. According to the Reading family bible, Mary Reading Howell died on February 27, 1732.3<\/a><\/sup> Her husband Daniel (yeoman of Amwell) wrote his will on September 9, 1733. He died sometime before October 24, 1733 when the will was recorded. To his daughters Elizabeth and Mary he left his tract of land on the Alexauken Creek, as tenants in common. I do not know exactly where that was or what the daughters did with it. Also to his daughters he left \u201chousehold goods and utensils of housewifery which was their mother\u2019s\u201d as well as her \u201cwearing apparel.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the death of their parents, Elizabeth and Mary Howell, who were only about 15 years old, went to live with their aunt Catherine Howell Rittenhouse, wife of William Rittenhouse, who lived just south of Rosemont.4<\/a><\/sup> Mary Howell may have died young; there is no marriage record for her. Daughter Elizabeth Howell married Lucas Ryerson not long after her father died, probably about 1735. Ryerson was the brother of Mary Ryerson (1699-1774) who married John Reading Jr., brother of Mary Reading Howell.<\/p>\n

Provisions for Daniel\u2019s Sons:<\/h3>\n

Daniel and Mary Howell had four sons: Joseph, Daniel, John and Benjamin. In providing for sons Daniel and John, Daniel Sr. left them:<\/p>\n

\n

the \u201cGrist Mill and land thereunto belonging with the Geers and Utensols, along with 60 acres to be taken from the upper side of the farm or plantacon whereon I now dwell fronting upon ye river so far down the same til a line from thence will include half of ye young orchard by the Barn and to run the sd Course to the next Hollow from thence (if it can be a straight line) to the rear of the Tract saving always the Improvements to the old farm; . . . To hold as tenants in Common.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is very suggestive with its mention of the farm where he lived \u201cfronting upon ye river.\u201d The mill was almost certainly near the Wickecheoke Creek in Prallsville. But Daniel Howell\u2019s farm was huge (all of Prallsville and part of Stockton), so the will does not\u00a0help us locate exactly where he lived.<\/p>\n

John Howell<\/h4>\n

John Howell, born August 8, 1721,5<\/a><\/sup> was also a minor when his parents died. He went to live with his uncle Benjamin Howell in Pennsylvania. He seems to have stayed there, and is buried with his wife Elizabeth Yerkes in the cemetery at Roxborough, PA. John Howell died on July 27, 1808; his wife died on March 11, 1793.<\/p>\n

Daniel Howell, Jr.<\/h4>\n

Daniel Howell Jr., the eldest son, according to his father\u2019s will, was born about 1720 or earlier. He and his two brothers, Joseph and Benjamin, went to live with their uncle, John Reading Jr. and his wife Mary Ryerson. The Readings already had seven children of their own by this time, and would have four more by 1741, so the addition of three more boys made for a large household. But it was no doubt the best place for the boys to be, given the wealth and social prominence of their aunt and uncle.<\/p>\n

About 1740, Daniel Howell Jr. married Julia Anna Holcombe. She was the daughter of one of the other earliest families of Amwell, John Holcombe (1682-1743) and Elizabeth Woolrich (1683-1761). Daniel and Julia had three known children: John (c.1740-aft Apr 1804); Daniel (c.1740-aft May 1791); and Reading Howell Esq. (c.1743-1827), about whom there will be more to say.<\/p>\n

In 1744, Daniel\u2019s uncle John Reading, who had been named executor of his father\u2019s will (along with William Rittenhouse who died in 1767) executed a deed confirming lands that had been left to Daniel Jr. in his father\u2019s will.6<\/a><\/sup> In 1750 Daniel Howell and brother John sold the grist and corn mills they inherited to Charles Woolverton.<\/p>\n

In 1780, Daniel Howell was taxed on 276 acres. He died intestate in 1790 by which time his property was reduced to 206 acres. His estate was administered by son Reading Howell, and his real estate was divided between his sons. In 1800, Reading Howell offered the 206 acres for sale, located \u201cabout 3 miles from Prall\u2019s Mills, on the Delaware.\u201d It turns out that this property was nowhere near Prallsville or Stockton. It was up the hill near Hewitt and Sanford Roads, and the Kingwood-Delaware Township line. The property was sold by Reading and Catharine Howell to George Holcombe Jr. in 1802 for \u00a31200.7<\/a><\/sup> The recital states that the property was owned by Reading Howell\u2019s father at the time of his death.<\/p>\n

The Younger Sons<\/h3>\n

Daniel Howell\u2019s will of 1733 continues:<\/p>\n

\n

. . . to sons Joseph and Benjamin the remaining part of the plantacon whereon I now dwell with the buildings improvements and advantages thereunto belonging to be divided between them share and share alike . . . as tenants in common, not joint tenants.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is worth reviewing the meaning of those terms, tenants in common and joint tenants. The first means that each tenant has an independent share in the property, and can sell it without consent of the other tenant(s). This often happens in an estate whereby the daughters each get one share and the sons get two shares. Some of these sibling tenants in common will then sell their shares to another tenant enabling him to acquire full and entire ownership of the property.<\/p>\n

Joint tenants owned the property as if they were one person. One could not act without the other; both names would have to be on any deed, and if one of them should die, the entire property belonged to the surviving tenant. Each of the joint owners has an equal share in the property. This was usually the case with husband and wife.<\/p>\n

So, Daniel Howell was requiring his two sons to share the ownership of his homestead plantation as tenants in common. But this arrangement is often impractical, and the two sons eventually divided the property between them.<\/p>\n

Joseph Howell<\/h4>\n

After spending his childhood living with the Reading family, Joseph Howell received his inheritance by means of a deed executed by his uncle John Reading giving him 250 acres in Amwell, bordering land of brother Benjamin Howell.8<\/a><\/sup> The deed was dated December 23, 1749, and the property was described as<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c. . . a certain Messuage, Tenement, Plantation or tract of land in Amwell beginning at the middle of the ferry road by the Delleware River side being the boundaries of his brother Benjamin Howell’s land from thence along the boundary thereof being part along the middle of the Road as it now is used . . .\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In 1761, Joseph Howell and wife Susannah sold this property to George Ely, and moved to the Headquarters mill and farm of John Opdycke. Joseph Howell failed to make a success of the mill operation, and went into bankruptcy by 1765. His property was seized and the sheriff offered it for sale, following a court order. In October 1765, Joseph Howell quit claimed to his brother Benjamin all his rights in a copper furnace that their father had bequeathed to the two of them for \u00a35.9<\/a><\/sup> What happened to Joseph Howell afterwards I cannot say. No estate was recorded for him. According to the Reading-Howell Family History, Joseph Howell died in 1821, but no source was given for that statement.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Howell<\/h4>\n

Now we come to the person most concerned in the tale of the divided house.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Howell (1725-1795) was the youngest son of Capt. Daniel and Mary Else Reading Howell. About 1725 he married Agnes Woolever (c.1735-c.1790), daughter of Jacob Woolever and Maria Elisabetha Schwitzeler. Jacob Woolever, yeoman of Amwell, wrote his will in 1774, providing for his six daughters. Apparently his wife Maria had predeceased him. To Agnes he left 19 acres, which, after her death, were to be given to her sons Jacob and Joseph. One of his executors was son-in-law Benjamin Howell.<\/p>\n

It is not possible to say whether the ferry first established by John Reading and son-in-law Daniel Howell was still in operation after Daniel Howell\u2019s death in 1733. But in 1746, Daniel Howell\u2019s youngest son Benjamin, who then had ownership of the original ferry tract, petitioned for and was granted a patent for a ferry by Gov. John Hamilton. It was meant to run<\/p>\n

\u201cover Delaware river from a certain public Highway & landing in the township of Amwell at the mouth of a Spring of water about a quarter of a mile a little more or less below a grist mill on a stream of water commonly called in the Indian language Wickhecheoke & also three miles above and three miles below the said place on the said river from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.\u201d10<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We know that in 1761, Benjamin Howell leased the Tavern House at Howell\u2019s Ferry to John Horn; Horn reapplied on May 18, 1763 stating he had been living in the house for the past two years. Signers of the petition were Joseph Howell, Rich\u2019d Reading, Morris Woolverton, Jno Woolverton, Edw\u2019d Prall and Henry Lake.11<\/a><\/sup> And in 1772, Howell leased the tavern house to Joseph Roberson who remained there until 1785 when he moved to the Ringoes tavern.12<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

It is not likely that Benjamin Howell and his family would remain in the Tavern House once it was being leased to other tavernkeepers. There may have been a tavernkeeper other than Howell as early as 1750, although we do not have a record of him. But even if Howell was himself running the tavern, he may have been wealthy enough to build a separate house for himself and his family.<\/p>\n

Architecture of the House<\/h3>\n

The Tavern House which was occupied by John Horn in 1761 must have been functioning also as the Ferry House. It was a place where travelers using the ferry could refresh themselves with food and drink, and possibly sleep, if their crossing had to be delayed. I sent the survey map to Dennis Bertland to get his opinion. Here is what he had to say:<\/p>\n

Although such drawings can be generic or almost icon-like, the representation of the “ferry house” appears to be individualized, suggesting that it had a bank cellar that was fully above grade on the west end of the front, chimneys within both gable ends, and was perhaps two stories high with an irregular 3 or 4-bay-wide facade, all in all a fairly substantial dwelling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And as the map shows, an addition to the house was made before 1774. This was probably done to accommodate the tavernkeeper\u2019s family, while providing rooms for travelers in the other half of the house.<\/p>\n

To continue this story, I must now introduce<\/p>\n

George and John Ely<\/h3>\n

This family can get very confusing\u2014I think a chart is needed to keep us on track.<\/p>\n