Isaac Hutchinson Homestead

Isaac Hutchinson homestead, date unknown.

Historical Overview

A 2-story brick house with smaller 2-story and 1-story wood-framed extensions stands at 66 Line Road in West Windsor. Immediately surrounding it are a grass lawn and grove of trees, With the exception of a neighboring property next door, the property is surrounded on all sides by hundreds of acres of farmland. This - the Isaac Hutchinson homestead - is one of West Windsor's oldest properties at the time of this writing (2024) and a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."​[1]

Tax records assert that the house was originally built in 1785,[1] and it's long been held that it was constructed by Isaac Hutchinson.[2] Isaac was a son of the pioneer Jonathan Hutchinson,[3] who is said to have purchased hundreds of acres here in 1737, during West Windsor's first large wave of colonial settlement.[4] Jonathan and his children built several homes on this immense tract in the 1700s, including (but not limited to) this one and the historic Hutchinson-Tindall farmstead at 1201 Old Trenton Road next door. Although, by 1785, much, if not all, of Jonathan's estate had passed to Isaac's brother, William,[5] Isaac did eventually obtain a substantial portion of the old Hutchinson estate.[6]

Isaac was one of West Windsor's early Commissioners of [Taxation] Appeal in the late 1700s/early 1800s.[7] Tax rolls from 1802 show him owning 130 acres of land and one slave,[8] although no known future tax rolls list a slave. He is said to have married Ann Brooks, and together they had several children, including Rachel, Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, Isaac, and perhaps others.[9]

Extent of the 1825 Carson-Schenck deed.

Despite his successful lineage, Isaac lost his real estate here in 1824, when it was seized by the Middlesex County sheriff, Charles H. Carson, and auctioned off to pay debts that Isaac owed others. The successful bidder was John C. Schenck,[10] who the next year sold the property to David Silvers Sr.[11] At the time, the tract also contained the properties of present-day Silvers-Mount farmstead at 1393 Old Trenton Road and the South-Tindall homestead 39 Cubberly Road - two other historic sites on West Windsor's 100 Club. See the adjacent aerial photograph.[12]

David himself was a West Windsor Overseer of the Highways and Judge of Elections in the 1830s/40s.[13] Eventually, his son, Nelson, inherited the house.[14] Nelson, too, was active in local government, serving as West Windsor School Committeeman, Judge of Elections, and Superintendent of Schools for much of the 1840s-50s.[15]

Over the years, the house passed through several more owners:

• Sarah Hutchinson (1862-65)[16],[17]
• Edmond Applegate (1865-92)[18],[19]
• ​Isaac Taylor (1892-ca. 1900)[20]
• John Whittle (ca. 1900-1925[21]
• Elizabeth Carson (1925-1949)[22],[23]
• Ada Tindall (1949-73)[24]
• George and Ann Cockroft (1973-74)
• Wesley and Susan Umphrey (1974-76)
• Albert Barret Jr. (1976-98)
• Clifford Giddings (1998-2011)

The house has since passed to other owners. It remains one of West Windsor's oldest historical sites.

Closeup of 1860 Mercer County map. Note "N. Silver."

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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. A Hutchinson Family from Central New Jersey, 1885. Pamphlet produced for the 1885 reunion of the central New Jersey Hutchinson family. Screenshot of the relevant pages located in the Historical Society of West Windsor's digital archives.
3. Ibid.
4. TBD
5. Hutchinson, Amos, Hutchinson, Isaac, Hutchinson, William. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1786. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 1 Page 140.
6. Carson, Charles H., Schenck, Jonathan C. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1824. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 17 Page 201.
7. “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
8. ​“West Windsor Township Tax Ratables, June 1802.” West Windsor Township, 1802. Lists individuals that lived in West Windsor Township in 1802 - including their occupations. Digital copy donated to the Historical Society of West Windsor from the the New Jersey State Archives; listed in their archives as being in Book 1065, Box 49, Item 11, Reel 14. Also located in the Historical Society of West Windsor's West Windsor History Museum digital archives.
9. A Hutchinson Family from Central New Jersey, 1885. Pamphlet produced for the 1885 reunion of the central New Jersey Hutchinson family. Screenshot of the relevant pages located in the Historical Society of West Windsor's digital archives.
10. Carson, Charles H., Schenck, Jonathan C. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1824. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 17 Page 201.
11. Schenck, Jonathan C., Silvers, David Sr. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1825. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 17 Page 477.
12. Carson, Charles H., Schenck, Jonathan C. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1825. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 17 Page 201.
13. “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
14. Hutchinson, Sarah, Silvers, Nelson. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1862. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 51 Page 405.
15. “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
16. Hutchinson, Sarah, Silvers, Nelson. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1862. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 51 Page 405.
17. Applegate, Edmond, Hutchinson, Sarah. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1865. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 60 Page 292.
18. Ibid.
19. Applegate, Edmond, Taylor, Isaac H. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1892. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 181 Page 242.
20. Ibid.
21. Carson, Elizabeth A., Carson, Isaac H., Whittle, Jonathan. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1925. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 567 Page 295.
22. Ibid.
23. Carson, Elizabeth A., Carson, Isaac H., Tindall, Ada B. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1949. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1076 Page 558.
24. Ibid.​