Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

LOT #354 BLOCK 13-1
Present Location of the James Galt House

^{Moved to Blk. 45, bldg. 40
obsolete}

Few records of the lot and buildings in this block have come to light. The loss of the Williamsburg Hustings Court Records, and of those of James City County, and of the General Court constitute one of the reasons for the scarcity of records.

The Frenchman's Map of 1782 [?] furnishes the first known evidence that there were houses on Lot 354. The arrangement of the buildings on the lot, or what is believed to be the lot, and the lot back of it is as illustrated:

Lots #353 & 354
Enlarged - Not drawn to exact scale
Lots #353 & 354 have not been excavated

The lots are marked "Greenhow" on late 18th or early 19th century plans of the city. In the 1760's and 70's John Greenhow's notice of his store shows that it was near the church (Virginia Gazette, Purdie &c Dixon, Sept. 19, 1776; April 11, 1771). A firm of tailors advertised that their business was opposite Greenhow's store (Ibid., March 12, 1767). There are no buildings other than the church in the block opposite Lot 354 on the Frenchman's Map, whereas there are buildings in the lots opposite Lots 159 and 160 on this map. The latter lots are also marked "Greenhow" in the plans of the city referred to above. When Robert Greenhow, son and sole executor, advertised his father's real and personal property (excepting the store goods) for sale in 1787, he offered a "large and commodious Dwelling House" on the main street, and six or eight houses and lots on the back street. (Virginia Gazette and Independent Chronicle, John Dixon, Ed., October 6, 1787.)

It is not known where this house on main street was located, nor is it certain whether it was purchased by someone or became the dwelling of Robert Greenhow, himself a merchant. At the time of his father's death, Robert was keeping a store in Richmond (Va. Gazette & Weekly Advertiser, Thomas Nicolson, Ed. Aug. 9, 1787) He was advertising goods for sale in Williamsburg in 1794, possibly in 1793 (Va. Gazette & Richmond Chronicle, John Dixon, June 13, 1794; Aug. 30, 1795). A reference to the report on Lot #159 and 160 shows that Robert Greenhow owned and lived in houses on those lots it is believed, in 1801.

As is indicated below a large very old house stood far back on this lot in the 1860's. For that reason it is suggested that it is quite possible that it was to a house on this lot that Robert Greenhow referred when he mentioned "six or eight houses on this lot on the back street". On the other hand the houses on Lot #354 and the back lot may have been built by Robert Greenhow. That Robert Greenhow was building on his lot or lots is certain. He inherited four lots from his father in 1788 (Tax Transfer). In 1815, he owned nine lots (Williamsburg Land Tax Records). He built a new store in 1807 (Williamsburg Tax Transfers.) In 1808, he had a new dining room (See Report of Lots #159, 160, p. 4A).

The Unknown Draftsman's Map, the Annie Galt Map, and the Bucktrout Map of 1803 of the city of Williamsburg show the name "Greenhow" in Lot #354, also in the lot back of 354 which extends to Francis Street.

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[Map]

A deed of 1838 to Lot #355 shows that Robert Greenhow was at one time the owner of Lot #354:

July 17, 1838

Mountforth, Wade and
Maria Ann, his wife
to
Maupin, John M.

Consideration: Nine hundred dollars

...hath granted bargained and sold...to the said John M. Maupin his heirs and assigns forever, his houses and Lot in the City of Williamsburg nearly opposite the church and bounded on the north by the main street, on the east by a continuation of the Palace street now closed and leased by the corporation of said City of Williamsburg to William Edloe, on the south by a back street, and on the west by a lot formerly the property of Robert Greenhow lately purchased by Benjamin E. Bucktrout, and now belonging to William Edloe, being the same houses and Lot conveyed by the said Robert J. Deneufville and Sarah his wife, to the said Wade Mountforth by their Deed bearing Date on the ninth Day of august in the year of our Lord one Thousand eight hundred and Thirty seven... together with all and singular the houses, buildings and improvements thereon. (See Mss. Deed, 1838, July 17, in possession of Colonial Williamsburg)

The Williamsburg Land Tax Records and Lot Transfers in the State Archives (Virginia State Library, Richmond) only add to the confusion in the case of the Greenhow's, Bucktrouts's and Edloe's, who each owned not only Lot -4- #354 but other lots in Williamsburg. For this reason that type of information has not been included here but in Appendix A. The owner of this lot in 1856 was W. J. Morissett who advertised his real estate as "situated in front of the Episcopal Church, and between the lots of Mrs. Maupin and the Rev. Mr. Wilmer, consisting of a LOT, WITH DWELLING-HOUSE, STORE and sundry out Houses on the Main Street, & LOT AND DOUBLE TENEMENTED House of Back street, in rear of the one on Main -...(Williamsburg Virginia Gazette, J. Hervey Ewing, June 8, 1856).

The owner of the lot on the eve of the Civil War was Talbot Sweeny. In 1859 he owned a lot the buildings on which were valued at $2500. (Williamsburg Land Tax Records.) As a result of a suit brought by Mrs. Susan Newman c. 1866 in the local courts, Sweeny had to sell his real estate. The property was offered for sale on June 27, 1871 and bought for Nathaniel & Cicero Burruss by their lawyer, Sidney Smith for $2500. In describing his real estate, Sweeny said that it consisted of a large commodious house and lot with appurtenances, and that the annual rent was $360 annually. (See Box 30, Chancery Suits in the James City Court House.)

On Aug. 21, 1876, Cicero Burruss, Nathaniel Burruss and M. W. Burruss, the wife of the latter, conveyed to Robert F. Cole this property; this deed further gives proof of the ownership of this property by Sweeny:

The houses and lot of land, situated in the City of Williamsburg, bounded on the north by Duke of Gloucester Street; east by Mrs. Maupin lot; south by Crawley's lot; and west by the parsonage belonging to the Episcopal Church, being the same lot conveyed to Cicero and Nathaniel Burruss by deed from Sydney Smith, Special Commissioner, in the suit of Newman, et als. vs. Sweeney. (Deed Book I, p. 441 in James City County Courthouse quoted in Abstract of Titles no. 1 157, Williamsburg Restoration)

Mrs. Victoria Lee in the 20th century recalled that Mr. Talbot Sweeny -5- lived in a house just west of the Maupin house:

West of the Maupin house, near where the house now called the Galt Cottage stands, but much nearer to the street, stood a frame story and a half house which had a small platform, and one entrance on Main Street. This house was owned by Mr. Talbot Sweeny who made his home there..... (Recollections of Williamsburg, p. 81)

Mr. Charles's recollection of the houses on the front and back lots about the time of the Civil War fit into the description of the property found in Morissett's advertisement in 1856:

The single story house on the adjoining lot, [to the Rectory] now used as a millinery shop, presented the same appearance as it does today, except that the floor is now nearer the ground. In 1861, it was used as a shoe and hat store. The hat shop in the front with the shoe shop in the rear room. At one time it was used as a post office. A fence enclosed the lot with a gate and narrow alley way leading to a small yard in the rear.
The next lot east, now has on it two dwellings. There was in 1861 on this lot a two story frame building with a one story addition on the west end. The main building had a porch on the front, and the one story part had also a door opening toward the street. In front there was a flower yard enclosed by a neat picket fence with Gate for each front door. On the eastern end there was a double gate opening into an ample back yard where there was a very large frame house, very old, with its roof projecting over in front supported by posts set in the ground. The houses extended nearly the entire width of the lot and was used as a kitchen and servants quarters. It was destroyed by fire not many years ago. (Recollections of Williamsburg, pp. 28-29.)