Forman-Conover-Taylor House

Forman-Conover-Taylor house, December 2018.

Historical Overview

A 5-bay, 2-story house stands at 1728 Old Trenton Road in the historic West Windsor community of Edinburg. This building - hereafter called the "Forman-Conover-Taylor" house - is also a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

This building likely dates to the mid-1800s, if not earlier. In 1820, a parcel a little over an acre large was sold to Thomas Holmes by William Holmes Sr. - presumably his father.[1] This may have been the same William Holmes that served as a Freeholder from West Windsor from 1798-1800.[2] In 1840, Thomas, in turn, sold this tract - still just over an acre - to George T. Holmes and his wife, Mary Ann. This deed specifically references a house on the property.[3]

The house left Holmes hands in 1846, when it was sold to Eliza Forman.[4] After her death, it passed to her brother, Aaron [5], then in 1857 to Aaron's daughter, Sarah.[6],[7] Sarah would own this home for the next 58 years. After she passed away in 1915,[8] it was probably sold to Leon Sailey.[9]

Some time around 1930, Norman Conover - co-founder of Conover and Emmons Lumber Company in Princeton Junction - bought the house. He and his wife, Madeline, raised their children here. After he passed away in 1940, Madeline inherited the property and remarried Joseph Taylor. The house remains in Taylor hands in 2023, and persists as a contributing element to this historic community of Edinburg.[10]

Edinburg in 1875. Note "James Hill" - Sarah Forman's husband.

Go to Edinburg

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Bibliography

1. Holmes, Thomas, Holmes, William Sr. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1820. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 14 Page 490.
2. “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
3. Holmes, George T., Holmes, Mary Ann, Holmes, Thomas. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1840. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book C Page 81.
4. Forman, Eliza, Holmes, George T. Holmes, Mary Ann. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1846. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book I Page 410.
5. Forman, Aaron, Forman, Sarah. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1857. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 39 Page 592.
6. Ibid.
7. “Edinburg.” Trenton Evening Times, July 10, 1915.
8. Ibid.
9. Sailey, Leon E., Forman, Sarah. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1916. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 390 Page 304.
10. ​Ligeti, Paul T. I., and LePrevost, Trevor. Phone Call with Trevor LePrevost. Personal, February 2022. Note: Trevor lived his entire life in or near Edinburg, growing up there in the mid-late 1900s and personally knew many of the people who lived in the village.​