Berrien-Allshouse House

Berrien-Allshouse House, 2022.

Historical Overview

A 2-story house with full-length front porch stands at 14 Canal Road. This - the Berrien-Allshouse house - is a contributing element to the historic West Windsor/Princeton community of Princeton Basin. It is also a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

West Windsor Township tax records say that the house was constructed between 1850[1] and 1858.[2] In 1858, John and Matilda Jerolaman sold the property to Scott Berrien[3] - an influential figure in old Princeton Basin.

Scott was born in 1830 around the historic West  Windsor community of Grovers Mill.[4],[5] However, he spent most of his life in and near Princeton and Princeton Basin, and was at one time assistant treasurer of Princeton University. He was descended from a historic family, with his Berrien ancestors having served in the American Revolution and War of 1812.[6] His great-grandfather, John, was one of Princeton University's trustees and a colonial judge who resided at Rocky Hill, New Jersey. John's home, Rockingham, served as George Washington's headquarters for some time during the American Revolution and is on the National Register of Historic Places.[7],[8]

Princeton Basin, 1875. Note Scott Berrien's house south of the D&R Canal.

At an unknown point, Scott worked as a cashier for the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company and in the mid-1800s managed a general store and coal yard in Princeton Basin.[9],[10] On his 85th birthday in 1915, one newspaper asserted that "at different times [Scott Berrien] states the canal for miles would be a solid mass of boats and one night he collected $6,000 in tolls." He also remembered old Trenton, saying in 1915 that "he can remember when all the land across the [Delaware and Raritan Canal], which is now East State Street and Clinton Avenue, was a large farm, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Station was a small frame building situated along the canal."[11]

Scott eventually moved away from Princeton Basin and opened a store directly in downtown Princeton. He later conducted a lumber and coal business and hay press there, and also ran a farm in Ewing, where he retired.[12]

In 1860, Scott married Anna Coleman, of Trenton. Together, they had five children, including Alexander Berrien, who helped establish West Windsor's historic "Berrien City" neighborhood.[13],[14]

In 1921 - a year before Scott's death at the age of 92 - he deeded his house at 14 Canal Road to his grandson, Alexander Jr., and Alexander Jr.'s wife, Bernadette.[15],[16] The property finally left Berrien hands in 1932,[17] and after a succession of owners,[18],[19],[20] ended up in the hands of Theodore and Eleanora Allshouse in 1949.[21] The family kept the house until the 1990s, when it passed to new owners.[22]

The only known photo of Scott Berrien, taken 1915.

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Bibliography

1. "West Windsor Tax Assessor Address List, 2019.” West Windsor, 2019. List of all residences in West Windsor with dates of construction, according to tax assessor. Sent to the Historical Society by Lorraine Jones and Dawn Moretti.
   
2. ​“Section IX – Conservation Plan Element – West Windsor Master Plan.” West Windsor Township, 2002.
   
3. Berrien, Scott, Jerolaman, John, Jerolaman, Matilda. "Indenture.” West Windsor, 1858. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 47, Page 333.
   
4. Nassau Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Nassau Presbyterian Church graveyard - also known as the "Princeton Cemetery." Princeton. Princeton Cemetery graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there.
   
5. "Scott Berrien, Sr., Observes His Eighty-Fifth Birthday; Rides Daily to Get Times." Trenton Evening Times. June 15, 1915.
   
6. Ibid.
   
7. Ibid.
   
8. “History.” Mysite. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.rockingham.net/history. 
   
9. Scott Berrien & James Bowers. (1863, July 10). NEW FIRM. Princeton Standard. Princeton.
   
10. "Scott Berrien, Sr., Observes His Eighty-Fifth Birthday; Rides Daily to Get Times." Trenton Evening Times. June 15, 1915.
    
11. Ibid.
    
12. Ibid.
    
13. Ibid.
    
14. Sincerbeaux, C S. “Map Showing Plan of Lots for Alexander L. Berrien, Esq. - Berrien City.” West Windsor, New Jersey, 1924.
    
15. "Scott Berrien is Called By Death." Trenton Evening Times. November 22, 1922.
    
16. Berrien, Alexander L. Jr., Berrien, Bernadette, Berrien, Scott. "Indenture.” Windsor, 1921. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 470, Page 1.
    
17. Berrien, Alexander L., Grover, John B. "Indenture.” West Windsor, 1932. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 700, Page 400.
    
18. Ibid.
    
19. Grover, John B., Princeton Bank & Trust Company. "Indenture.” West Windsor, 1932. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 704, Page 202.
    
20. Lahiere, Eugene A., Lahiere, Henrietta L., Princeton Bank & Trust Company. "Indenture.” West Windsor, 1940. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 811, Page 414.
    
21. Allshouse, Eleanora, Allshouse, Theodore D., Lahiere, Eugene A., Lahiere, Henrietta L. "Indenture.” West Windsor, 1949. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1586, Page 489.
    
22. Deturo, Derek Pepper, Schultz, Gladys, Tkacs, Minnie, Trani, Doris Hope, Trani, Joseph F. "Deed.” West Windsor, 1994. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 3072, Page 57.