Read the Book about Historian Al Frazza's creation of this Revolutionary War New Jersey website! Click Here for Details.

Annandale, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites
This website, its text and photographs are © 2009 - 2024 AL Frazza. All rights reserved.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN ANNANDALE, NEW JERSEY

Revolutionary War New Jersey
1759 VOUGHT HOUSE
Vought House
Vought House

1759 Vought House
Greyrock Rd. by Clinton Township Middle School
Map / Directions to the Christopher Vought House
Map / Direction to all Clinton Revolutionary War Sites


The Vought House is being restored and developed as a museum by The 1759 Vought House Inc., tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 public charity. According to their website, "This will be the first museum in New Jersey interpreted as a Loyalist home."

For more information about the house and the current restoration work, visit their website www.1759VoughtHouse.org

This house was built in 1759 by Christopher Vought. He was born February 14, 1714, just four years after his parents had immigrated to the colony of New Jersey from Germany. His German heritage shows in that he was baptized as Johannes Cristoffel Vought. He was often referred to as "Stoffel," short for Cristoffel.

The Voughts remained loyal to the British crown during the Revolutionary War. On June 24, 1776, Christopher's son John Vought was part of a group of approximately twenty-five loyalists who attacked the home and tavern of Captain Thomas Jones, a half mile southeast of here. (See Jones Tavern entry below.) The tavern was used as a recruiting station for the Hunterdon County Militia.  John Vought and the other Loyalists beat Jones and "plundered and robbed the house." This is just one an example of neighbors and former friends who chose different sides in the Revolutionary War, and ended up attacking each other's homes. This sad situation happened somewhat often in New Jersey during the war.

The raid on the Jones property drew a swift reaction from the Provincial Congress of New Jersey. The minutes of their June 26, 1776 session state: [1]

"Whereas it appears, from authentick [sic] information, that certain disaffected persons, in the County of Hunterdon, have confederated for the purpose of opposing the measures of the Continental and Provincial Congresses, and have even proceeded to acts of open and daring violence; have plundered and robbed the house of Captain Jones; have beaten, wounded, and otherwis [sic] abused the friends of freedom in said County, and now publickly [sic] declare, that they will take up arms and engage in behalf of the King of Great Britain, the avowed and implacable enemy of the United Colonies. In order to put an effectual stop to a combination so hostile and dangerous,

"It is resolved unanimously, That Lieutenant-Colonel Ten Eick, and Major Berry, take to their aid such a number of the militia, properly officered and armed, of the Counties of Hunterdon and Somerset, as they may think necessary, and proceed, without delay, to the said County of Hunterdon, in order to apprehend such insurgents and disaffected persons as this Congress shall direct."

Several days later, a group of militia under the command of Colonel Frederick Frelinghuysen surrounded the house around midnight. Frelinghuysen "went to the door and rapped with the hilt of his sword. In a moment a back window was thrown open and the man they sought jumped out in his shirt, but ran into the arms of one of the men, who at once threw him down and had him bound." [2] Although Christopher was captured, his son John escaped, but he then gave himself up. The father and son spent five days in prison at the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Trenton. [3]

For more information about the house, the Vought family and their Loyalist activities, see the Vought House website.

Revolutionary War New Jersey
JONES TAVERN
Jones Tavern
Jones Tavern

Jones Tavern
90 Beaver Ave.
Jones Tavern is now an office building, currently used by Prudential Financial
Map / Directions to Jones Tavern

Built in 1760, Jones Tavern was owned by Thomas Jones, who served as a Captain in the Second Battalion of the Hunterdon County Militia in the Revolutionary War. The tavern itself was used as a recruiting station for the Hunterdon County militia During the Revolutionary War. [4]As described in the above entry, Jones Tavern was the site of a raid on the night of June 24, 1776 by approximately twenty-five Loyalists, including John Vought.

Six months after the raid, Captain Jones was one of the officers who collected and hid the boats that were used by General Washington's troops to cross the Delaware River in 1776. [5] Among the others involved with collecting the boats were Daniel Bray, who is buried in Rosemont; and Jacob Gearhart, whose house is in Franklin Township. Like Thomas Jones, both Bray and Gearhart served as Captains in the Second Battalion of the Hunterdon County Militia.

Revolutionary War New Jersey

Source Notes:

1. ^ Journal of the Votes & Proceeding of the Convention of New Jersey. Begun at Burlington the Tenth of June 1776, and Thence Continued by Adjournment at Trenton and New-Brunswick, to the Twenty-First of August Following (Burlington: Printed and Sold by Isaac Collins, 1776 / Trenton: Reprinted by order, Joseph Justice, Printer, 1831) Page 28
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

2. ^ The "went to the door and rapped..." quote is from the recollections of Rev. Dr. Abraham Messler, who was himself recounting the story as told by his father Cornelius Messelaer, who served in the Revolutionary War and was with the militia under Frelinghuysen at the Vought House. Abraham's written remembrances were reprinted in the following book, written by his grandson (and the great-grandson of Cornelius)
Remsen Varick Messler, A History Or Genealogical Record of the Messler (Metselaer) Family (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1903) Page 36
Available to be read at Google Books here

3. ^ In addition to the primary and secondary sources listed in notes # 1 and 2, information for the 1759 Vought House entry was drawn from the 1759 Vought House website www.1759house.org, including two publications that appear under that website's Historic Narrative tab:
• William Gordon Ver Planck, The Vought Family (New York: Press of Tobias A. Wright, 1907)
• Fred Sisser III, June 2004 The Johnson Farm of Clinton Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey (June 2004)

4. ^ Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission sign

5. ^ William S. Stryker The Battles of Trenton and Princeton (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company,1898) p.129-130
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here