Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

James Moir

Originally the half of this block of property which faced on Duke of Gloucester Street was divided into four lots. These lots are all in James City County and their history had to be established through correlating Virginia Gazette and insurance policy data. This gives a fairly complete history of the buildings from about 1780, but the earlier history is very fragmentary.

The lots on the corner of Henry and Duke of Gloucester #40 and 42 were the property of James Moir who did extensive building and repairing to the property in 1779. The dwelling house was probably fairly early and the work performed by Harwood was in building an addition and in repairing the house and outbuildings.

On February 7, 1806 when James Moir insured this property (Policy #620, page 37) he described it as follows:

• A.-wooden dwelling house, one story high, Dutch roof 24 x 36, the eastern end 1 story high 38 a 18. Valued at 1690.
• B.-A wooden Kitchen 1 story high 26 x 20 distant 40 feet. Valued at $190.
• C.-A wooden Stable 1 story high 24 a 20.
• D.-A dairy.

The arrangement of these buildings is shown on the accompanying plat.

The repairs and work on these various buildings is given in the following accounts taken from Humphrey Harwood's Manuscript Ledger:

Evidently Moir owned a store on his western [ed.-eastern] lot #42 which he did not insure. This store is referred to in the Harwood ledger and there is a building shown an the Frenchman's map which is probably the store since it is the only building mentioned in the data which is not otherwise identified.

Mr. Charles in his "Recollections of Williamsburg" said the house was still standing in 1861 and gave the following description of the house at that date:

"On the lot, extending from within a few feet of the testing lot to the corner of Duke of Gloucester and Henry Streets, thence Southward along Henry Street to the property of Eastern Lunatic Asylum... stood a very large and attractive frame, dutch-roof house, with platform along the side and end with substantial railing, with its front on side facing Duke of Gloucester Street. The western end of this house was distant about 40 feet from Henry Street. To the south and west of this house was a beautiful grass lawn. On the rear of this lawn was a large kitchen and servant's quarters. At the eastern part of this lot was a vegetable garden, right on the street and enclosed with a five foot fence made of cypress palings, which were much used here at that tine. The front yard was enclosed by an attractive picket fence with cap. Along Henry Street there were three frame buildings. The one nearest the corner was a single story structure; the others being two stories.

"These houses were spoken of as 'offices' and fronted on Henry Street and also with back doors on the lawn and were used as lodging houses by students.

"The widely known Rev. Scervant Jones once owned and lived in this house,... was owned and occupied when the War [Between the States] began by Mr. Charles P. Waller who was an officer at the Asylum and also conducted a boarding house... This grand old home, being vacant during the War, like nearly all unoccupied houses, it fell a prey to the vandals and was not rebuilt.

Page 6

"After the War the lot was divided up and sold. one of the offices, just described, was not long since, on the back part of the lot in which it formerly stood; having been removed to make room for the more modern building which occupies the site... The single story office stood next to the corner and bas since been long removed; while the other two-story office is still on original site near the hospital [Travis site] line, fronting on Henry Street, and now owned and occupied by negroes."

(Page 23 and 24)

This property as described far 1861 fits the Frenchman's map of 1785 and the data in the insurance policies of 1806; although the offices were not insured and hence do not appear on the policy. They also account for the large amount of building in 1779 to 1792 by Moir. The dwelling house itself was doubtless much earlier than this period of renovation and addition.

Blaikley - Durfey

The lot just east of Moir's two lots was once the property of William Blaikley of James City County who bequeathed his houses and lots in Williamsburg (York Record #1315) to his wife Catherine on February. 10, 1734.

After his death in June 1736 an inventory of the furniture of the house was taken. This inventory indicated that the house was handsomely furnished. A detailed list of each piece of furniture is available (York Record #1317) but the following gives the rooms named in the inventory and any data on the building which it suggests:

• (1).The Great Chamber Upstairs
  2 pr. white window curtains.
  Furniture for a bed room (2 beds, etc.)
• (2).The little Chamber Upstairs
  1 bed.
  1 pr. white window curtains.
• (3).The Closet
  [storage]
• (4).Passage Upstairs
  clock, quilting frame, furniture, etc.
• (5).Chamber below Stair
  Bed room, well furnished.
  1 pr. window curtains and 1 fireplace.
• (6).Chamber closet [large]
  [storage]
• (7).The Parlors below Stairs
  Bed.
  1 pr. window curtains.
  elaborate furniture.
• (8).In the Hall
  Fireplace.
  a pr. of window curtains.
  furniture for a parlor or dining room, elaborate.
• Page 8
• (9).Mrs. Blaikley's closet.
  Seems to be a study.
• (10).In the little room by the hall
  small bed room or nursery.
• (11).In the back passage.
  [storage]
• (12).In the Kitchen.
  In the Kitchen loft.
• (13).In the cellar.

For years Mrs. Blaikley lived on this lot and carried on her profession of mid-wifery until her death in October 1771. It is possible that one of the outbuildings shown on the lot was Mrs. Blaikley's office.

After her death, Severinus Durfey, a tailor, advertised in the Virginia Gazette of November 21, 1771 (#1291) that he had taken Mrs. Blaikley's house and carried on his tailor business and also sold West India goods and dry goods.

In 1806 this lot was owned by a William Durfey, according to insurance policies, but there is no policy for the buildings. This is the approximate site of Person's Garage. This house evidently disappeared between 1806 and 1861 for at the latter date there was an old carpenter's shop on the site.

Bryan's

The colonial lot on the corner of Duke of Gloucester and Nassau Street had buildings on it in 1786 according to the Frenchman's map, but due to the location of this property in James City County complete records are not available.

However on February 26, 1810 William Bryan insured his house and outhouses on this site (Policy #1011, page 11, 12) describing them as:

• A.Dwelling house of wood covered with wood.
  1 story high 46 x 18 at $700.
• B.Smoke house & kitchen not insured.

In 1815 his widow again insured this same property valuing the dwelling at $1,000.

Mr. Charles in his "Recollections of Williamsburg" described the appearance of the house in 1861:

"... one of the oldest houses in the ancient city... This old frame house was on a brick work about four feet high, one and a half story, with dormer windows. wide passage ran through the center, with door opening on Duke of Gloucester Street. On the east end was a large room which 'Old Jack' rented out for a school, and conducted his store in the room on the west end where steps led up from a small open space to the store."

Binn's store now stands on the site of this building. It was built by Person about twenty-five years ago.