Dutch Neck: Slayback-Reed Homestead
Slayback Residence in 2018.
Historical Overview
Pictured above is 540-542 Village Road West in the historic West Windsor community of Dutch Neck. Possibly dating to the 1750s/60s,[1] it’s likely one of West Windsor's very oldest structures and also a member of the "100 Club". We don’t currently know who constructed this house. Its first known owner, however was Abel Slayback (1751-1829), as listed in a 1797 deed for an adjacent property.[2] Abel was married to a woman named Gette Fisher and likely inherited the property from his father, David Slayback (born 1720) after David's death in 1791. David and his family are said to have emigrated from Alsace, France to North America around 1733 via the Irish ship “Pink Mary,” to escape religious persecution of German Protestants.[3] By the 1770s, David Slayback and his family had moved to the West Windsor area.[4]
David’s son, Abel, was West Windsor’s very first Tax Collector and Overseer of the Poor when West Windsor formed in 1797. He was also an Overseer of the Highways and a Commissioner for Laying Roads shortly afterward.[5] In 1818 (by which time he had moved to Butler Township in Ohio) he sold the southeastern corner of his property to the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church which, two years prior, had constructed their current house of worship on it at 154 South Mill Road.[6] This plot was just a tiny portion of Slayback’s entire 100-acre property, most of which (including the house pictured here) had been sold, seven years prior, to John G. Bergen, also member of one of West Windsor’s oldest families.[7]
David’s son, Abel, was West Windsor’s very first Tax Collector and Overseer of the Poor when West Windsor formed in 1797. He was also an Overseer of the Highways and a Commissioner for Laying Roads shortly afterward.[5] In 1818 (by which time he had moved to Butler Township in Ohio) he sold the southeastern corner of his property to the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church which, two years prior, had constructed their current house of worship on it at 154 South Mill Road.[6] This plot was just a tiny portion of Slayback’s entire 100-acre property, most of which (including the house pictured here) had been sold, seven years prior, to John G. Bergen, also member of one of West Windsor’s oldest families.[7]
Painting of Slayback Residence in 1950s or 1960s. Courtesy of Kay and Clifford Reed.
After John died c. 1812, his heirs (William Nutt, Ellenor Bergen, and Rutes Bergen) inherited it and sold it to Joseph Nutt in 1818.[8] From there, it passed through the following families until William Updike's acquisition of the property:
The Updikes, too, had lived in the West Windsor area since the mid-1700s.[15] Through the 1860s-70s, William Updike was a Township Committee member, Poundkeeper, Judge of Elections, and Commissioner of Taxation Appeal.[16] Upon his death in c. 1882, his son, Levi, inherited the property who, in 1912, sold the property to Sarah E. and David D. Bergen and Carrie S. Cook.[17] They, in turn, owned the property until 1939, when it was acquired by Lester W. and Evalinda M. Reed.[18] The Reed family has owned the property ever since.
In the 1980s, amid West Windsor’s rapid suburban growth, the LeParc II development was constructed on the Reed farm. Although virtually all of the farmland is gone, the house was saved by moving it a few hundred feet closed to Village Road West.[19],[20] There it sits at 542 Village Road West, next to Reed Drive North and Reed Drive South (themselves named after the Reed family), an icon to centuries of West Windsor history.
- 18XX-1828: Joseph Hill, Executor of the Estate of Joseph Nutt.[9]
- 1828-1829: William Welling.[10]
- 1829-1830: Thomas & Margaret Capner.[11]
- Joseph Hill & Wife (1830-1840).[12]
- Edward Dolton & Wife (1840-1843).[13]
- William Updike (1843-1882).[14]
The Updikes, too, had lived in the West Windsor area since the mid-1700s.[15] Through the 1860s-70s, William Updike was a Township Committee member, Poundkeeper, Judge of Elections, and Commissioner of Taxation Appeal.[16] Upon his death in c. 1882, his son, Levi, inherited the property who, in 1912, sold the property to Sarah E. and David D. Bergen and Carrie S. Cook.[17] They, in turn, owned the property until 1939, when it was acquired by Lester W. and Evalinda M. Reed.[18] The Reed family has owned the property ever since.
In the 1980s, amid West Windsor’s rapid suburban growth, the LeParc II development was constructed on the Reed farm. Although virtually all of the farmland is gone, the house was saved by moving it a few hundred feet closed to Village Road West.[19],[20] There it sits at 542 Village Road West, next to Reed Drive North and Reed Drive South (themselves named after the Reed family), an icon to centuries of West Windsor history.
Bibliography
- “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. For this specific citation, look at 542 Village Road West.
- Updike, Levi, Updike, Martha, and Updike, William. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1797. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 6 Page 52.
- P D family tree - slayback [SLALINE01]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://sites.rootsweb.com/~pdfamilytree/slaline01.htm
- Windsor Township Tax Ratables, June 1778.” Windsor Township, June 1778. Lists taxpaying residents in Windsor Township. Located in the West Windsor History Museum digital archives. Courtesy of the New Jersey State Archives.
- “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
- Slayback, Abel, Trustees of the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1818. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 15 Page 290.
- Slayback, Abel, Bergen, John G. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1811. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 9 Page 211.
- Nutt, William, Bergen, Ellenor, Bergen, Rutes, Nutt, Joseph. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1818. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 13 Page 175.
- Hill, Joseph, Welling, William. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1828. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 26 Page 480.
- Ibid.
- Capner, Thomas Jr., Capner, Margaret, Welling, William. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1829. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 26 Page 482.
- Capner, Thomas Jr., Capner, Hill, Joseph. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1830. Found in New Jersey State Archives Manuscript Room - Middlesex County Deeds - Middlesex County Deed Book 26 Page 483.
- Dolton, Edward, Hill, Joseph. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1840. Found in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deeds - Mercer County Deed Book B Page 398.
- Hill, Joseph, Updike, William. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1843. Found in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deeds - Mercer County Deed Book G Page 17.
- Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey. Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.
- “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
- Hill, Joseph, Updike, William. Ms. Deed. New Jersey State Archives, 1939. Found in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deeds - Mercer County Deed Book 784 Page 180.
- Ibid.
- “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1985.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1985
- “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1990” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1990