The Mulvey-Wilson House

Mulvey-Wilson House viewed from Cranbury Road, 2011.

Historical Overview

A multi-sectioned, 2-story house and detached barn-turned-garage - both of which collectively form a courtyard around a gravel driveway - stand at 304 Cranbury Road. This is the Dey-Mulvey-Wilson property - a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

The home's date of construction is entirely unknown. According to township tax records, the building was constructed c. 1920,[1] although other sources suggest an older date - perhaps as old as 1878.[2] This uncertainty is partly because it was reputedly originally located further south along Rabbit Hill Road and moved by Charles Dey to its current location on the foundation of an burned out cider mill[3]. Maps suggest that this was some time between 1905[4] and 1930.[5] At the time, Rabbit Hill Road was a dirt road and the move took a week to accomplish using one horse and multiple block-and-tackles.[6] Thereafter, the house's backyard fronted the Trenton-New Brunswick "Fast Line" trolley route,[7] so its residents likely had one of the easiest commutes in town!

The property's earliest known owner (but perhaps not its first) was Jesse Fravel,[8] a Civil War veteran.[9] In 1928, he and his wife, Ellen, sold the tract to Charles and Hattie May Dey.[10] Charles was also owner of the mill at Grovers Mill as well as several other structures around the mill.[11] two later, the Mulvey-Wilson house was purchased by Thomas and Katherine Mulvey.[12]

View from Cranbury Rd, probably. 1920s-30s. Courtesy of Bill Wilson.

The 1950 census shows Thomas working as a photographer at Princeton University and also lists Katherine, their son Thomas (a Game Warden with the state) and Thomas' wife, Eleanor (a  bank bookkeper).[13] Sadly, Katherine passed away in 1954,[14] and the elder Thomas married a woman named Edna.[15]

In 1958, Thomas and Edna sold the house to William and Edith Wilson for one dollar.[16] Edith was a lyric soprano and sang at many Philadelphia churches.[17] Meanwhile, William served in the US Army during World War II and spent 38 years working as a design draftsman for the Radio Corporation of America's Astro-Electronic Products Division. This included working on he nation's newest and most classified government aerospace projects of its time, including RCA's Tiros Observation Satellites, and the Apollo Space Programs. In retirement, Mr. Wilson taught as an adjunct professor at Mercer County Community College.[18]

In 1994, William and Edith sold their house to their son and daughter-in law, Andrew and Joan Wilson,[19],[20] who kept this house until selling it to new owners. At the time of this writing (2024), the expanses of farmland around the house are mostly gone, and the saplings planted long ago now tower over the home, but the house remains to recall days gone by.

View from Rabbit Hill Road, date unknown. Courtesy of Bill Wilson.

Presumably Katherine Mulvey and her children Thomas Jr. and Katherine Jr. in front of their house,1920s-30s. Courtesy of Bill Wilson.

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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. “West Windsor Township Natural Resource Inventory.” West Windsor Township, NJ: Historical Society of West Windsor's archives at the West Windsor History Museum, 1978. Updated in 1991.
3. Wilson, Bill. “Notes on Mulvey Farm by Bill Wilson.” West Windsor, New Jersey, April 19, 2003. Notes on Mulvey Farm by Bill Wilson. Addressed to Joan Parry, President of the Historical Society of West Windsor, on April 19, 2003. Located at the Historical Society's archives at the West Windsor History Museum at 50 Southfield Road, West Windsor NJ 08550.
4. “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. 
5. The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Title: General Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, Ca. 1949-Ca. 1949; NAI Number: 563268; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Number: T288; Roll: 161
6. Wilson, Bill. “Notes on Mulvey Farm by Bill Wilson.” West Windsor, New Jersey, April 19, 2003. Notes on Mulvey Farm by Bill Wilson. Addressed to Joan Parry, President of the Historical Society of West Windsor, on April 19, 2003. Located at the Historical Society's archives at the West Windsor History Museum at 50 Southfield Road, West Windsor NJ 08550.
7. “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. 
8. Mulvey, Thomas J., Mulvey, Katherine M. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1928. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 66 Page 1.
9. The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Title: General Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, Ca. 1949-Ca. 1949; NAI Number: 563268; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Number: T288; Roll: 161
10. Mulvey, Katherine M. Mulvey, Thomas J., Dey, Charles L., Dey, Hattie May. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1928. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 66 Page 1.
11. Dey, Charles L., Grover Margaret P. Ms. Deed. Mercer County Clerk’s Office, 1929. Found in Mercer County Clerk’s Office Records Room – Mercer County Deed Book 654 Page 49.
12. Mulvey, Thomas J., Mulvey, Katherine M. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1930. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 668 Page 1.
13. ​United States Census, 1950 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1950.
14. "Mrs. T. J. Mulvey Sr." Trenton Evening Times. April 5, 1954.
15. Mulvey, Katherine M. Mulvey, Thomas J., Wilson, Edith Elizabeth, Wilson, William Clarke. “Deed” West Windsor, 1958. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1461 Page 275.
16. Ibid.
17. "Edith E. Wilson." Town Topics. August 7, 2008.
18. “Obituary Information for William Clarke Wilson, Jr..” Saul Funeral Homes, Inc., February 23, 2009. https://www.saulfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/William-Clarke-Wilson-Jr?obId=7448453. 
19. Wilson, Andrew E., Wilson, Edith Elizabeth, Wilson, Joan M., Wilson, William Clarke. “Deed” West Windsor, 1994. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 2822 Page 193.
20. “Obituary Information for William Clarke Wilson, Jr..” Saul Funeral Homes, Inc., February 23, 2009. https://www.saulfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/William-Clarke-Wilson-Jr?obId=7448453.