Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1486
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
Mrs. Goodwin just called me to say that those who are using the Wythe House Archaeological Report for study should not use the historical data contained therein. She informed me there are many errors.
Page 16: Several research statements there are wrong.
Page 1: Wrong reasoning about "Eleson" and "Hyland" lots.
A. D. P.
The present tract fronts on Palace Street between Bruton churchyard and Prince George Street, and extends westward along Prince George Street for nearly three quarters of the depth of the block.
On Bucktrout's and the Unknown Draftsman's maps, this tract is divided into four lots which are marked, from west to east: (1) J. Holt, now Greenhow, 239; (2) Hyland or Holt, 241; (3) Elison; (4) Skipwith. The Skipwith and Elison lots lie within the Wythe tract; but probably not all the Hyland lot was included, and none of the Greenhow lot.1
It is known that the brick house facing Palace Street was built by Richard Taliaferro about 1755 and occupied soon afterwards by George Wythe and his bride.2
The earlier history of the Elison and Hyland lots is somewhat confused by a deed3 of 1772 from which it might be deduced that both of these lots were held at that time by other owners than Wythe and that at least one of them contained a dwelling house.4 Only by inference, however, can the property here deeded be identified with any part of the later Wythe tract, and indeed some of the wording of the deed seems inapplicable to known conditions in the block.5
In the central and western parts of the Wythe tract no 2 substantial evidence was uncovered of a house as large as a dwelling. Remains of two small cellars,1 found in this area, might indeed mark the sites of dwelling houses, but by their size they are much better fitted to outhouses. (They are located more than 100 feet from the nearest street.)
The Frenchman's map (c1782) shows no buildings behind the brick house. If dwellings stood there, their omission would be hard to understand; but if outbuildings, the omission seems more likely.
The tract runs almost level to its western boundary, which is a terrace marking the edge of a ravine. Near this terrace, trenching showed that the level had been obtained artificially by filling. The fact that this area was brought to the same level as the rest of the tract may be evidence that the whole tract was a unit at an early date. No evidence whatever of old boundaries was found inside the present site.
Insurance plats of 1801, 1806, and 1815 consistently show a line of outbuildings which runs westward along the entire north side of the property. It is hardly possible to doubt that this group was erected during Wythe's occupancy rather than later, since Wythe's scale of living may fairly be assumed to have exceeded by a wide margin that of subsequent occupants. The date of the outbuildings would then be, approximately, between 1755 and 1792.
The Gardener deed introduces, but does not prove, the postulate that the above limits should be restricted to 1772-1792. It implies that in 1772 the tract was still divided among several owners. But even if this was true, the lots may easily have been 3 combined into one property a short time later.1 That this was in fact the case seems to be the purport of all other available evidence.
The three insurance plats agree closely in most respects in their description of four major outbuildings: kitchen, laundry, lumber house, and stable, in that order from east to west.
In the 1801 plat, the stable is drawn above the lumber house,2 but is crossed out, and is not listed for insurance. A small wood-house appears between the kitchen and the lumber house.
In the 1806 plat, three outbuildings (kitchen, laundry, and lumber house) are shown.
In the plat of 1815 appear kitchen, smoke-house (in location of wood-house of 1801), laundry, lumber house, and stable. A small dairy is also shown, south of the main building.
Descriptions are generally the same for kitchen, laundry, and lumber house: wood, one-story, "covered with wood" (i.e. shingle-roofed). The stable is described only on the 1801 plats wooden and one story high.
The outbuildings are shown with their long dimension from 4 east to west, except on the 1815 plat. Here the kitchen alone has this orientation, while smoke-house, laundry, lumber house, and stable are shown with their ends to north and south. But this change probably means only that the draftsman wished to show the buildings at larger scale on his plat.1
The plat of 1801 shows all buildings in elevation.2 The kitchen has a chimney near its center, the laundry at its east end. The lumber house and stable have no chimney.3
Sizes are given as follows:
| 1801 | 18064 | 1815 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | 18 x 33 | 18 x 32 | 18 x 32 |
| Laundry | 18 x 33 | 16 x 32 | 16 x 32 |
| Lumber house | 22 x 32 | 20 x 32 | 20 x 32 |
Dimensions between buildings show some inconsistency.
| 1801 | 1806 | 1815 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| House to Kitchen | 301 | 31 | less than 301 |
| Kitchen to Laundry | 30-32?2 | 31 | less than 303 |
| Laundry to Lumber House | 24 | 31 | less than 30 |
| Lumber House to Stable | --- | --- | less than 304 |
The most trustworthy figures for distances between buildings seem to be those of 31 feet on the 1806 plat.
The distance from house to kitchen is known to be 33 feet, but a conscientious surveyor may have arrived at a dimension of 31 feet by allowing for cornices. Or the side entry near the northwest corners5 of the house may have been cut as early as this, and measurement may have been taken to its stoop as the nearest inflammable point.
6From kitchen to laundry the 31-foot dimension agrees with that of 30-32 feet arrived at by inference from the 1801 plat. (See note 4, table of Dimensions.)
From laundry to lumber house the figure of 24 feet on the 1801 plat may indicate that the length of one of these buildings was extended at that time by a storage shed or some other addition.
In the light of the high probability that these three buildings had the same length (32 feet), it seems likely that spaces between them were of the same length (31 feet).
The whole area was diagonally cross-trenched down to hardpan, and probed between the trenches. Foundations were discovered south of the house,1 north of the house,2 and in the west central3 and northwestern 4 parts of the tract, while in the southwestern5 and west central6 areas large fills came to light.
The absence of positive archaeological indications of the smoke-house, laundry, and lumber house was disappointing but comprehensible.7 Foundations for these wooden outbuildings were certainly shallow. If the brick were salvaged and the ground subsequently plowed over, no traces would be likely to survive.
7In the middle of the property, extensive patches of brick paving in very fragmentary condition lay at the present grade or close to it. Three parallel walks ran westward, one on center of the house, the others flanking the first at unequal distances. The north flanking walk may have given access to the service buildings, the south flanking walk to the privies. Another patch of paving survives from a walk which ran southward from the back steps.
Near the extreme southeastern corner of the lot were found indications of a rectangular outbuilding running north and south, and defined by a brick corner, a few single bricks and fragments, and a nearly continuous fill indicative of a salvaged foundation wall. The width of the foundation (9") gave evidence that the building was of wood. At the north end a fragmentary layer of brickwork and some patches of fill established the outline of a large inside chimney, complete save for its back wall. Patches of paving outside indicated that the entrance was on the east.
The size of the chimney and fireplace, and the proximity of an old welldated 19th century by excavation of artifacts June 1958, suggested that this building may have been a kitchen. But there is no direct evidence of its use. If a kitchen, it must have antedated the first kitchen in Area A-2 (q.v.), and therefore mustwhy must be of an early period, probably as early as the house.1
| Brick | 8¾ x 4½ x 2½ |
|---|---|
| Mortar | Shell |
Between the South Outbuilding and the house are short 8 lengths of brick on three sides of a nearly square fill. The variable size of the brick denotes late construction. Here must have stood a small outbuilding, perhaps the dairy (of which the only known record is the insurance plat of 1815).
| Brick Size | varies. |
|---|---|
| Mortar | Shell. |
dated by Archeo excavation as 19th century, June 1958
A filled-in well 4 feet in diameter, between the South Outbuilding and the Dairy, was opened up to a depth of 9 feet. No evidences of a lining were discovered, nor any indication of the date of the well.1 Its location offers some support to the assumption that the nearby remains may be those of a kitchen and a dairy.
A kitchen was known to have stood until recent years just north of the house.2 A ruined chimney marked its site.3 Excavation uncovered a foundation running north and south both ways from the chimney. This foundation proved to be of modern concrete, with which the brick foundation of the former kitchen had been replaced in order that the outlines of the building might be preserved. To provide a bed for the concrete, the brickwork had been removed, so that no evidence remained bare of the date of the building.
The double chimney contained brick of no standard size.
Evidence that the chimney had been radically reconstructed 9 at one time was furnished by:
In the underfire of the northern fireplace was uncovered a short row of brick laid flats across the pattern of the hearth and underfire, and having more the appearance of foundation brick-work than of paving.1
A similar course of brick ran eastward from a point just south of the chimney. The size of the brick (8¾ x 4½ x 2½ ) agreed with that in the South Outbuildings which is almost certainly of early date.
From such indications it became evident that an earlier kitchen may have stood on this sites but perhaps on a different axis. The preponderance of evidence on the insurance plats indicated that the kitchen ran east and west.
Further excavation was therefore undertaken. A fill was found which fitted together with one section of the chimney as it then stood to form the outline of another chimney, facing east and west. This was undoubtedly the original chimney.2 The larger fireplace, that which faced east, was flanked on the south by a recess indicating an oven.
Outside wall foundations were outlined east of the chimney, by bricks at some points and at others by a fill. The two east corners were located. West of the chimneys however, the fireplace was the only direct evidence that there was a second room at this end. The location of the west wall was the great question in this area. A break in the level of hardpan was found 10½ feet west of the chimney wall. This evidence would have been slight by itself; but it checked with the 32-foot length of the insurance plat, and in addition established an east-west width for the room (10½ feet) which seemed plausible.
10| Brick | 8½-9 x 4-4½ x 2¾ English bond. |
|---|---|
| Mortar | Shell. |
A filled-in pit was dug out to a depth near 4 feet. Its length (east to west) was about 12 feet, its width about 8. There were no evidences of paving or lining. Short sections of filled trenches at grade level to south and west may mark the location of foundation walls, or may indicate nothing more than old trenches of unknown purpose.
Brick steps were found leading into the pit from the northwest.1 This entrance way had been bricked across near the bottom by an 8½" brick wall.
This pit may have been used as a storage cellar under an outhouse of unknown function.
| Brick | Size varies. Well brick in steps.2 |
|---|---|
| Mortar | Shell. |
A fill in the same area was excavated to show a trench about 10 feet square on the outside, and nearly two feet wide and deep. Meat bones, glass, brickbats, and mortar were taken out, but there was no continuous brickwork. It is possible that this trench contained a foundation which was later salvaged, or that it was dug for a building which was never erected.
A pit was opened up which was roughly similar in character and dimensions to that in Area A-3, except that there were no steps, nor any indications of foundations.
11The two pits are equidistant from the north property line, and separated from each other by about 35 feet.
A pit 6 feet deep and roughly 4 x 13 feet in plan was dug out near the southwest corner of the property, about 20 feet from the church wall. There was no archaeological evidence as to the purpose of this pit, but its 18th-century date was attested by the character of the fragments recovered (china, ironware, etc.)
Foundations located near the northwest corner of the property should evidently be assigned to the stable. The location is that of the insurance plat of 1815. Several large brass harness buckles were found in this area.
The west wall is 30-40 feet from the present west property line.1 The north wall is 4½ feet from the north line. The foundation is 20 feet 5 inches wide. No trace of the east wall could be found, but the length of the extant north wall showed that the building was more than 27 feet long. There was no trace of floor or other paving.
| Bricks | Size | 8-¾ x 4 x 2-¾ |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Reddish buff | |
| Bond | English | |
| Mortar | Shell |
All three walks had very ragged edges on the north, 12 suggesting that the brick had been broken away by plowing in a constant direction. The same plowing might easily explain the fact that no traces were discovered of the laundry, smoke-house, or lumber-house.
The well1, just south of the smoke-house, was open and contained water. A modern well head2 was removed, and the outside of the brickwork was uncovered to a depth of some three feet below grade.
Early brickwork, composed of radial well bricks3 laid dry, came to within 2 feet of grade. Above it were three levels of later construction, the upper two levels being brought out to a square.
It is more than likely that the kitchen and laundry were served from this well, because of its location. But the well in Area A-1 was probably still in use as late as 1815, since the dairy seems to have been built near it about this time.
A modern smokehouse partly covered a corner of a foundation which, to judge by the brickwork, represented an outbuilding of comparatively recent date. From its southwest corner (west of center of the smokehouse) a wall was traced 18 feet eastward and another 9 feet northward. The foundation is considerably off parallel with the north property line.
Remains of gutters and drains were found in the area between the well and the north property line, toward which the slope 13 was pitched. But this work was of different periods so intermixed that it was hardly possible to reach any general conclusions as to their dates.
Excavation disclosed evidences of a series of steps of different dates.
The earliest steps were of the same dimensions as those 14 in front; and of the same character, as shown by recesses (in this case roughly patched) to receive nosings. The original foundation had partly disappeared but enough remained to establish its limits.1
A later foundation was built on top of the first to carry a flight of brick steps between cheek walls.2
Conclusions as to the detailed history of the site repose partly on assumption, especially in regard to the question whether dwellings ever stood on the central and western portions of the site. The most probable history of the known outbuildings seems to be as follows:
1755-1772 - Main house and South Outbuilding constructed, and possibly kitchen. South well dug.
1772-1792 - Central and West portions of property acquired. 1 North well dug. Laundry, first smoke-house, lumber house, and stable erected. Kitchen may be of this period.
The South Outbuilding had disappeared by 1801, the date of the first insurance plat.
By 1815 a dairy had been built (Area A-1).
After 1815 the kitchen and smoke-house were reconstructed and relocated; and the laundry, lumber house, and stable disappeared.
| 1748 | Richard Taliaferro acquired Colonial Lot #43 2 for five shillings. |
| c 1755 | Taliaferro builds brick house. His daughter Eliza marries George Wythe. The couple probably occupies the brick house at this time. |
| 1772 | Blair-Gardener deed mentions Wythe's lot near the church yard. 3 |
| 1779 | Taliaferro dies, bequeathing brick house to Wythe. |
| 1787 | Eliza Taliaferro Wythe dies. |
| c 1792 | Wythe sells house and moves to Richmond. |
| 1801 | First Skipwith insurance plat. |
| 1806 | Second Skipwith insurance plat. |
| 1815 | Third. Skipwith insurance plat. |
Artifacts of greatest help in studying the site were the harness buckles which confirmed the identity of the stable foundation, and the miscellaneous china and ironware by which a latter limit could be set to the period of the pits in Areas A-3, A-4, A-5. Fireplace hardware in the south fireplace of the kitchen chimney1 was also of considerable interest.
Fragments have been consigned to the Education Department.
| N 1096 | House from southeast, 1892 (from sketch) |
| N 1571 | House from east, c1900. |
| 333 | House from east, c1925 |
| DND 15 | House from southeast, 1928 (?). |
| DND 8, | 9; N 3682-3-4, N 5364, N 5369; House, 1928-1938. |
| N 5637 | Area A-3, pit from southwest. |
| N 5638 | Area A-4, pit from west. |
| N 5639 | South Outbuilding from southwest. |
| N 5663 | Kitchen from south, first dig. |
| N 5664 | Kitchen from northwest, first dig. |
| N 5665 | Stable from northwest. |
| N 5782 | Rear steps before demolition, 1938. |
| N 5783 | Front steps, foundations. |
| N 5784 | Rear Steps, foundations. |
| N 5785 | Kitchen from southwest, second dig. |
| N 5787 | Kitchen chimney from east, second dig. |
| N 5788 | Foundation inside modern smokehouse. |
| N 5789 | Kitchen chimney from southwest, second dig. |
| N 5802 | Kitchen chimney from southwest, later view. |
| N 5803 | Kitchen chimney from east, second dig. |
| N 5804 | Drains near north well, from north. |
| N 5805 | North well from southwest |
| N 5874-5-6, N 5870, | House in 1938. |
Points from which photographs in N series were taken are indicated on Archaeological Survey drawings. Prints may be found in record books in offices of Williamsburg Restoration, Inc.
In separate file.
Prints of the two drawings are incorporated with the original of this report.
A copy is incorporated with the original of this report.
George Wythe, the Colonial Briton, by William Edwin Hemphill (University of Virginia, 1937) contains information utilized in this report and in that of the Department of Research and Records which has a copy in its library.
F. D.
It may be that buildings were often located 30 feet or more apart for the specific purpose of escaping the penalty of "contiguity." But it is also possible that the clause was not always strictly enforced; and that in special cases where risk was slight, houses which in fact stood closer together were entered "for the record" as 30 feet or more distant. (Modern standards of accuracy did not apply to measurements of this kind, which often vary so widely from survey to survey that they moat have been taken by pacing rather than with measuring lines.)
The Library of Congress preserves the General Conditions of the Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, founded in 1795. Here the limit of contiguity is set at 20 feet. The discrepancy of the 30-foot figure used in Williamsburg is unexplained.
The Annex site also bore the number 43.
Taliaferro's lot may have been numbered in a different series from that of the Annex lot. (The Unknown Draftsman's Map shows several duplicate series.) But it should be noted that of the four lots shown to the north of the church on the Unknown Draftsman's map, the westernmost has the number 239, and the next one eastward 241. The two more easterly lots have no numbers, but if one of them had the number 243 it would fit the sequence far better than 43. Hence it seems possible that 243 may have become 43, perhaps by scribal error.