User:Chapmaa/Jeremiah Vandyke House

Jeremiah Vandyke House also known as: Andrew B. Hankins House c. 1706 and located at 87-91 Featherbed Lane, Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey USA

The home is of interest because it is one of few of this style of home that would have been, at the time, a very common and unremarkable Dutch Colonial fieldstone house. The original stone part of the building measures 29x16 feet and consists of a single room downstairs with a central staircase. The west end of this room has a very impressive open fireplace with an oak lintel. The east wall has a smaller fireplace with a simple early 19th century mantel. The exposed ceiling has chamfered hewn oak beams, carrying wide floorboards. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a short hallway.

The wooden addition is rumored to have been added to the side of the stone house mid-19th century for the home owner’s son when he married. The construction of this section is very similar to a bard construction with 10x2” vertical hewn planks making up the structural outside walls, now covered with sidings. Later, an upstairs window was removed and the gap extended down to floor level to create a very small doorway and a doorway was created downstairs between the two structures. This section of the home has a low-ceilinged, hand-dug basement (since given concrete walls and floor), with well pump, water heater, and heating systems. This section has a kitchen, ½ bathroom, and two living areas downstairs and a master bedroom, en suite, and shared bathroom upstairs.

On the property is also a late 18th century early 19th century guest house which would have originally been a stables and coach house. This was converted into a 3-bedroom, one bathroom home with a circular staircase leaving to the original hayloft.

Interestingly, in 2002, the only source of heating in the stone part of the house was an open fireplace and two black iron stoves although the property has a sizable in-ground swimming pool. A strange prioritization of investment given New Jersey’s weather.

Research Carried out for the Period of 1750 to 1972 by the Home Owner
 * The Houghton property was part of a larger tract purchased from the estate of Daniel Coxe by Philip Rogers circa 1750 - Rogers sold 125 acres from this holding to his brother in-law John Stout, who is said to have owned the property circa 1760-5 - Stout sold the property to George Sexton (the brother-in-law of both Stout and Rogers, who had married two of Sexton's sisters) (Ege 1908:22,243,250,252)
 * Philip Rogers married Esther Sexton, the sister of George Sexton (Ege 1908:250)
 * John Stout married Mabel Sexton, the sister of George Sexton - Stout was a mason who is known to have built one stone house in Hopewell (Ege 1908:242)
 * Philip Rogers "probably sold out the balance of his tract to his brother-in-law Timothy Brush, who, in 1790, owned the farms now owned by William Phillips and the Hankins brothers" - Brush married Kesiah Sexton, the sister of George Sexton (Ege 1908:250) - this reference is incorrect in reference to the Hankins farm
 * George Sexton sold the 125-acre property to Joab Houghton for 430 pounds in 1765 (Ege 1908.:22,243)
 * 1772 -Joab Houghton of Hopewell Township mortgaged two landholdings totaling 125 acres - the first of these two properties was a 94-acre parcel that included the sites of both the Houghton/Hankins House and the Houghton/Birch House (Hunterdon County Mortgage 1 142)
 * "Col. Joab Houghton	lived in the NE. part [of Hopewell Township] in the house now occupied by Mr. Wm. Suydam" (Barber and Howe 1848:262)
 * 1778 - "Joab Howton Esq." was enumerated on the Hopewell Township tax list as the owner of 125 acres of land (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1778)
 * 1779 - "Col. Joab Houghton" was listed as the owner of 125 improved acres of land and 25 additional unimproved acres (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1779)
 * 1780 - "Joab Houghton Esq." was listed as the owner of 125 improved acres and 23 unimproved acres (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1780)
 * 1781 - "Col. Joab Houghton" was listed as the owner of 125 improved acres and 22 unimproved acres (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1781)
 * "Col. Joab Houghton lived,	at the time of the revolution on the farm now owned by Mr. R.J. Birch" (Ege 1908:8). Notes Barber and Howe reference - "This historic old relic is still standing one mile north of the borough [of Hopewell], in a good state of preservation and is owned by Mr. Rensaler J. Birch" (Ege 1908:18)
 * "Col. Joab Houghton, who, as has been previously stated, resided on the farm now owned by Mr. R.J. Birch, one mile north of the Borough" (Ege 1908:210)
 * "The tract is now owned by R.J. Birch, Esq., who kindly presented the old deed to the writer" (Ege 1908:22)
 * The Birch house includes a "wide fireplace, which still remains unchanged" from the Houghton period (Ege 1908:19)
 * The "tradition" that Houghton, seeking to avoid capture by the British, climbed into his "wide chimney, [and] sat securely perched on the 'lug pole' while the house was being searched" is related (Ege 1908:21)
 * 1785 - "Joab Houghton Col." was listed as the owner of 125 improved acres and 25 unimproved acres - his son William Houghton was listed as a single man (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1785)
 * 1796 - Joab Houghton conveyed a portion of his property (said to total 100 acres) to his son William Houghton (see Hunterdon County Deed 11 386; see also Ege 1908:22)
 * William Houghton married Margaret Sexton, the daughter of Jared Sexton and the niece of George Sexton (Ege 1908:23, 249)
 * 1802- William Houghton was listed as the owner of 137 acres of improved land (Hopewell Township Tax Ratables 1802)
 * 1805 - William Houghton of Hopewell Township sold an 83.75-acre tract ofland (along with a separate woodlot) to William Suydam of the same place for $2064.94-this tract included lands Houghton acquired from his father in 1796 and included the sites of both the Houghton/Hankins House and the Houghton/Birch House (Hunterdon County Deed 11 386; see also Ege 1908:22,249)
 * 1830 - William Suydam and his son Christopher Suydam were both listed in the federal census as heads of households residing in Hopewell Township (U.S. Census of N.J. 1830) - suggests the presence of two dwellings
 * 1838 - William Suydam conveyed a "Messuage" and its associated 43.25-acre tract of land to his son Christopher Suydam - this property included only the Houghton/Hankins House, with the elder Suydam retaining the Houghton/Birch House and its associated property (Hunterdon County Deed 70 l73)
 * 1840 - Christopher Suydam was listed in the federal census as a head of a household living in Hopewell Township (U.S. Census of N.J. 1840)
 * 1842 - Christopher Suydam, now described as a resident of Amwell Township, sold two tracts totaling 68 acres to Andrew B. Hankins of Hopewell Township for $1500 - this property included the Houghton/Hankins House - the landholding to the south, on which stood the Houghton/Birch House, was still owned by William Suydam (Mercer County Deed D 592)
 * 1849 - the dwelling of "A. Hankins" (the Houghton/Hankins House) was depicted on the map of Mercer County- the house of "K. Suydam" (the Houghton/Birch House) was shown a short distance to the south
 * 1850 - the household headed by Andrew Hankins, a 34-year old farmer, and living within a house in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - the household following the Hankins enumeration in the census schedule was that headed by Keturah Stout Suydam, the 46-year old widow (and second wife) of William Suydam, who had died in 1848 (U.S. Census of N.J. 1850)
 * 1859 - the section of Featherbed Lane between Hopewell-Wertsville Road and Van Dyke Road was opened as a public roadv,my - the map accompanying this return showed the road running through the lands of Andrew B. Hankins and included a drawing of the stone section of the Houghton/Hankins House (Mercer County Road Book A 297)
 * 1860 - the dwelling of "A.B. Hankins" (the Houghton/Hankins House) was depicted on the right angle turn of the newly opened Featherbed Lane
 * 1860 - the household headed by "Abraham" (an error) Hankins (a 44-year old farmer) in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - this household now also includes his sons Richard (5) and Andrew E. (2) (U.S. Census of N.J. 1860)
 * 1870 - the household headed by Andrew Hankins (a 54-year old farmer) in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - sons Richard (14) and Eugene (11) were again listed (U.S. Census of N.J. 1870)
 * 1875 - the dwelling of "AB. Hankins" (the Houghton/Hankins House) on a property said to include 101 acres of land was depicted on the map of Hopewell Township included in the Mercer County atlas- "R. Birch" was now the owner/occupant of the Houghton/ Birch House
 * l880 - the household headed by Andrew Hankins (a 65-year old "Retired Farmer") in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - sons Richard (24) and Andrew E (21) were again listed, with their occupations given as "Works on Farm" (U.S. Census of N.J. 1880)
 * Merl Hoch, the grandson of Richard Hankins, placed the construction of the frame addition to the original stone dwelling as occurring at the time of the marriage of his father-in-law circa 1885
 * 1900 - the household headed by Andrew B. Hankins (85 years old) in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - a second household headed by his son Richard (44) that included his wife Sarah Wyckoff Hankins (they were married in 1887), their four daughters, and his brother Andrew E. (41) was also living within the same house (U.S. Census of N.J. 1900)
 * Andrew B. Hankins died sometime between 1900 and 1903 - no surrogate's records of any kind were filed with Mercer County
 * 1903 - the dwelling of "R. Hankins" was shown on the map of Mercer County- the house of "R.J. Birch" was sited a short distance to the south
 * 1905 - the household headed by Richard Hankins (a 49-year old fanner) in Hopewell Township was listed in the state census - his siblings Ruth "listed as a 59-year old "Land Lady") and Andrew E. (a 46-year old fanner) were listed as a separate household - all three were described as owners of the property (N.J. Census 1905)
 * 1910 - the household headed by Richard Hankins (a 53-year old "Farm Laborer") in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census -his siblings Andrew E. (a 51-year old "Fanner") and Ruth were listed as a separate household (although both were enumerated as single, Ruth was incorrectly recorded as Andrew's wife) -Andrew was listed as the owner of the property, with Richard listed as a tenant (U.S. Census of N.J. 1910)
 * 1915 - the household headed by Richard Hankins (a 60-year old farmer) in Hopewell Township was listed in the state census - this household included his brother Eugene (a 50-year old "Laborer")- Richard was now listed as the owner of the property (N.J. Census 1915)
 * 1917 - death of "Ransler J. Birch" - noted that "His abode during the time of the Revolution was the home of Col. Joab Houghton" (Hopewell Herald, February 7, 1917)
 * 1920 - the household headed by Eugene Hankins (a 60-year old "Farmer") in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - his brother Richard (a 62-year old "Laborer"), his daughter Zilla Hankins Hoch, and her two children were also members of this household - Eugene was listed as the owner of the property (U.S. Census of N.J. 1920)
 * 1930 - the household headed by Andrew E. Hankins (72 years old, with occupation given as "none") on "Vandyke road" in Hopewell Township was listed in the federal census - his brother Richard (a 64-year old "Farmer"), his daughter Zillah Hankins Hoch, and her five children (including her 4-year old son Merl) were also members of this household - Richard was listed as the owner of the property (U.S. Census of N.J. 1930)
 * 1933 - death of Richard Hankins (Hopewell Herald, June 14, 1933; see also Mercer County Deed 768 385) - as was the case with his father, no surrogate's records of any kind were filed with Mercer County
 * 1936 - death of Andrew Eugene Hankins (see Mercer County Deed 768 385) - as was the case with his father and brother, no surrogate's records of any kind were filed with Mercer County
 * 1937 - the three surviving daughters of Richard Hankins, acting as his heirs and as the heirs of their grandfather Andrew B. Hankins and their uncle Andrew E. Hankins, conveyed the Houghton/Hankins House and its associated tract of 43.355 acres to William F. Guinness of Hopewell Township (Mercer County Deed 768 385)
 * 1943 - William F. Guinness (now of Plainfield) conveyed the Houghton/Hankins House (described as a "Farm" and the "Farm Dwelling, Barn and Outbuildings located thereon") and an associated parcel of 22.23 acres to Vincenza Giaimo of Brooklyn (Mercer County Deed 857 267)
 * The right angle in Featherbed Lane was replaced by the present curve in 1971-2 it was also during this time period that the wagon house was converted to serve as a residence and the barn to the west of the wagon house was demolished.