Clayton-Taylor-Mount House

Clayton-Taylor-Mount house, August 2011.

Historical Overview

An old, time-worn 2-story 3-bay house once stood at 1716 Old Trenton Road. This building is hereafter referred to as the "Clayton-Taylor-Mount" house and was once a contributing element to the historic community of Edinburg.

The exact date of construction is unknown, but it probably dated to the very early 1800s,[1] if not earlier. The first known potential owners of the building were James and Martha Hooper in 1806. That year, they sold a 10-acre tract to William Tindall, Esquire, encompassing the land on which the Clayton-Taylor-Mount now sits, as well as the properties of 1712, 1714, 1720-22, 1726, and 1728 Old Trenton Road, and 1337 Edinburg Road.[2] This may have been the same William Tindall who served as West Windsor's very first Tax Assessor and Justice of the Peace starting in 1797, and was also a Township Committeeman, Commissioner of (Taxation) Appeal, Overseer of the Highways, and Moderator/Judger of Elections from the 1790s-1810s.[3] The deed from 1806 also mentions a "premises" - indicating a structure existed on this 10-acre tract - but it's unknown if this was the Clayton-Taylor-Mount house, the Edinburg General Store, or another building entirely.[4] 

Backside of the Clayton-Taylor-Mount house, August 2011.

In 1813, William split off a 7-acre portion of this larger tract - containing the present-day properties of 1716, 1714, and 1712 Old Trenton Road - and sold it to Robert Lutes. This deed, too, mentions a "messuage," (dwelling-house) which was probably the Clayton-Taylor-Mount house.[5] It is presumed that Robert and his wife, Ann,[6] raised their children there. Presumably one of them was William C. Lutes,[7] Reverend of the nearby Windsor United Methodist church at 51 Church Street in Robbinsville.[8] In 2023, this building is the "Live Well" Church.[9]

Robert died in 1846[10] and three years later, his heirs sold the 7-acre joint tract to Josiah Taylor and his wife, Rebecca.[11] Josiah, a farmer and carpenter,[12] served West Windsor's government as a Poundkeeper (animal control) and Constable from the 1850s-60s.[13]

Edinburg in 1875. Note "W. Tindall."

The lineage of ownership becomes unclear after 1846 (research is ongoing), but we do know that in 1857, William I. Tindall sold a small, quarter-acre tract, containing the Clayton-Taylor-Mount house and a small surrounding yard, to John S. Rogers, Sarah Amanda (his wife), and John Taylor.[14] Three years later, it was seized by the Sheriff of Mercer County due to an unpaid mortgage.[15] From there, several more owners bought and sold the property:

• Emily and William Tindall (1861-1876)[16],[17]
• John Tindall (1876-1883)[18],[19]
• James Brown (1883-1893)[20],[21]
• Zebulon and Abbie Brown (1893-1899)[22],[23]
• James Taylor (1899-1905)[24],[25]

Finally, in 1905, Jacob R. Clayton purchased the house.[26] It was also in this year that the building appears as a "store" on a local map.[27] Clayton was a harness maker and also sold dry goods.[28]

John H. Tindall (left) & Russell Clayton Mount standing in front of the Clayton-Tindall-Mount house, circa 1920.

Although Jacob died in 1942,[29] the property remained in his family's hands for the next three years. However, in 1945, it was purchased by Joseph and Madeline Taylor. They fixed up the house and rented it to a number of people.[30] 

Isaac Newton Mount moved in with his wife Florence (Conover) Mount (Madeline's daughter) in the early 1960s[31] and formally bought the property in 1977. Like many other homeowners, Isaac was a lifelong Edinburg resident. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War in the 28th General Hospital and was a steelworker with DeLaval.[32] After "Newt" passed away in 2013, the house was demolished in 2018[33],[34],[35] and in 2022, much of the property was turned into a right-turn lane for Edinburg Road at its intersection with Old Trenton Road.[36],[37] All that physically remains of the property is a strip of grass. Yet, its history is recorded for future generations to appreciate.

The Clayton-Taylor-Mount house, shortly before being torn down. Probably 2018.

Go to Edinburg

---

Bibliography

1. ​“Section IX – Conservation Plan Element – West Windsor Master Plan.” West Windsor Township, 2002.
2. Hooper, James, Hooper, Martha, Tindall, Margaret, Tindall, William. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1806. Deed for the property of 1716 Old Trenton Road. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 7 Page 458.
3. ​“Section IX – Conservation Plan Element – West Windsor Master Plan.” West Windsor Township, 2002.
4. Hooper, James, Hooper, Martha, Tindall, Margaret, Tindall, William. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1806. Deed for the property of 1716 Old Trenton Road. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 7 Page 458.
5. Lutes, Robert C., Tindall, Margaret, Tindall, William. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1813. Deed for the property of 1716 Old Trenton Road. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 9 Page 993.
6. "New Jersey Probate Records, 1678-1980," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8933-MVJ8?cc=2018330&wc=MQTW-GP8%3A338011901%2C340374001 : 21 May 2014), Mercer > Letters of administration and guardianship 1838-1878 vol A-B > image 78 of 604; county courthouses, New Jersey.
7. Ibid.
8. Windsor United Methodist Church. (n.d.). Windsor United Methodist Church graveyard. Windsor, Robbinsville. Windsor United Methodist Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there - including those of many of Mercer County's oldest families.
9. “Live Well Church - Home.” Live Well Church. Live Well Church. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.livewellchurch.org/.
10. Windsor United Methodist Church. (n.d.). Windsor United Methodist Church graveyard. Windsor, Robbinsville. Windsor United Methodist Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there - including those of many of Mercer County's oldest families.
11. Beatty, Ann, Beatty, Thomas, Hart, Absalom, Lutes, Elizabeth, Lutes, Henry, Lutes, Joseph Lutes, Sarah, Lutes, Sarah C., Lutes, William C., Taylor, Josiah, Taylor, Rebecca. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1849. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book V Page 541.
12. United States Census, 1850 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1850.
13. “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
14. Amanda, Sarah, Rogers, John S., Taylor, John, Tindall, William I. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1857. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 40 Page 321.​
15. Muirhead, John, Tindall, Emily, Tindall, William I. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1861. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 49 Page 545.
16. Ibid.
17. Brown, James, Tindall, John. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1883. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 136 Page 133.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Brown, Abbie, Brown, James, Brown, Zebulon. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1893. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 185 Page 563.
22. Ibid.
23. Brown, Abbie, Brown, Zebulon, Taylor, James. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1899. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 227 Page 201.
24. Ibid.
25. Clayton, James, Taylor, Jacob R. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1899. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 279 Page 59.
26. Ibid.
27. “Automobile Driving and Trolley Map of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1905 : from the Latest Geological and Actual Surveys.” Map. Princeton University Library - Digital Maps & Geospatial Data. https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-5q47rr19d, n.d. 
28. Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey. Lewis Publishing Company, 1907
29. "Jacob R. Clayton.” Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser, August 2, 1942.
30. Ligeti, Paul T. I., and Trevor LePrevost. Phone Call with Trevor LePrevost. Personal, March 2023. Note: Trevor grew up in Edinburg in the mid-late 1900s and personally knew many of the people who lived in the village.
31. Ibid.
32. “Isaac Mount Obituary (2013) - Legacy Remembers.” Legacy.com. Legacy Remembers, February 4, 2013. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/isaac-mount-obituary?pid=178980060. 
33. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2017.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2017.
34. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2018.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2018.
35. Personal recollections of this article's author (Paul Ligeti), who is writing this in 2023.
    
36. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2022.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2022.
37. Personal recollections of this article's author (Paul Ligeti), who is writing this in 2023.