For immediate release from The 1759 Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead (a 501 (c) 3 non-profit) PO Box 369 Annandale, NJ 08801 Contact: Don Sherblom 908 797-9900

Tuesday May 18, 2010
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The Vought House in Clinton Township, home to locally prominent Loyalist leaders during the Revolutionary War, is on Preservation New Jersey’s 2010 list of ten most endangered historic sites!
1. Placement on the list shows the Vought house is not only Hunterdon County’s most significant Revolutionary War site; it’s also immensely important to the history of Revolutionary New Jersey.
2. It is endangered because “mothballing” this house does not really preserve it for future generations. The fragile roof and moldering ceilings jeopardize this vital historic resource.
3. Being on the state-wide list should help mobilize support to rescue this derelict house. The newly formed partnership between the school district and The 1759 Vought House non-profit can only transform this into an educational asset with help from the larger community and funds from the county, state and private donors.

Importance:
Washington’s retreat across New Jersey to Pennsylvania in late 1776 marked the darkest days of the Revolution. On Christmas day he re-crossed the Delaware to a stunning victory at Trenton and Princeton which altered the course of the war. Although decided in battle, the Revolution in New Jersey involved far more than armed combat. To understand our Revolutionary heritage, we need to understand why people made the decisions that led them to war. Sites like the Princeton Battlefield, which was on last year’s list, memorialize the clash of armies but it is the conflict of interests and ideals within communities that led men to take up arms.

Restoring this homestead of Loyalist leaders is not intended to memorialize Tory sentiment. But this site can offer our sometimes jaded students a fresh, exciting perspective on the oft-told tale of Revolutionary New Jersey. As the only Loyalist museum in New Jersey, the Vought House will provide a unique vantage point for understanding the Whig-Tory debate and the personal and social dimensions of the American Crisis. This is where Christopher and John Vought rose to prominence as community leaders and where they led the Loyalist opposition to the government takeover by local Patriots. The Vought family saga parallels thousands of conflicts across New Jersey, sometimes vocal sometimes violent, over how to defend the rights of Englishmen and preserve a long tradition of self-governance. The course of events ultimately reduced the options to two: Continued allegiance to the King and parliament or a fight for colonial independence. Here at the Vought House and their neighbor Thomas Jones’ Tavern, as in similar communities across New Jersey, differences among neighbors hardened into partisan warfare in 1775 and 1776.

In September 2007, the Vought House was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, having met not just one but all four possible criteria: It contributes to understanding ways of life in colonial New Jersey. It was the home of historically significant people, and the site of important local events. Finally, the house itself is an important artifact, especially the wattle and daub decorative plaster ceilings. No other homes of that period have met all four criteria for inclusion on the New Jersey Register, which makes this house the most significant Revolutionary War site in Hunterdon County. The Vought House also fits the “Divided Loyalties” theme of New Jersey’s Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. In fact, as a superbly rich resource, the Vought House could anchor this under-represented theme within the historic landscape of Revolutionary New Jersey.

Mothballing Not Enough:
Being on Preservation New Jersey’s ten-most endangered list also speaks to the fact that stopping the bulldozers and “mothballing” this house does not adequately preserve it for future generations. The deterioration continues and the fragile roof places the unique wattle and daub decorative plaster ceilings, still moldering and with one section collapsed, at risk of further damage.

The previous superintendent and school board resisted doing what was necessary to preserve this house. They even neglected their obligations under state law and received a Notice of Violation when they did not meet the November 2005 deadline to “moth-ball” the house. This led to a partial collapse of one of the four wattle and daub decorative plaster ceilings in June 2006, a site visit from the state Historic Preservation Office, and tens of thousands of dollars in potential fines before the Vought House was finally moth-balled.

With the Vought House being placed on New Jersey’s Historic Register in 2007, the school district, as a government entity, became responsible for the house’s maintenance. If it transfers the property, the district must write a preservation easement in the deed. The Vought House has no market value and it remains a distinct burden to the school district. Since June 2009 the current school board and Kevin Carroll, the new superintendent, have embraced the 1759 Vought House non-profit’s proposal to relieve the district of this liability and to transform it into an educational resource with funding from outside the district.

Turning years of “demolition by neglect” around first requires that the school district complete the anticipated transfer of ownership to a responsible steward like the 1759 Vought House non-profit. To stabilize, restore and interpret this house as a museum is a large goal but there’s also a rich vein of personal and political history and material culture at the Vought House to fuel the transformation. The diversity of remarkable stories this site holds even in its dilapidated condition justifies the investment needed to restore it as an authentic primary source for the study of New Jersey’s late colonial and Revolutionary experience and develop its interpretation as a museum for visitors and students of all ages.

This project has received enthusiastic support from the new superintendent and teachers at the Clinton Township Middle School and the volunteer efforts of dozens of local citizens. But its success will require even more: a continued commitment from the school district, the active involvement of hundreds of volunteers and financial support from our community members, local business and government leaders and private foundations. The 1759 Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead is the 501 (c) 3 non-profit formed by concerned citizens specifically to take on this task. We’re ecstatic Preservation New Jersey recognized both the Vought House’s importance to the history of New Jersey and the currently fragile condition of this artifact which make this one of New Jersey’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites. To find out more, please visit www.1759House.org or send inquiries to The 1759 Vought House, P.O. Box 369, Annandale, NJ 08801.

Don Sherblom, President
The 1759 Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead
(908) 797-9900

The press release is below.  For the story that appeared front page in the
                                                      Courier News click here: descendantvisits.pdf.

 Also, the chronology from new Fred Sisser III research: voughtsisser20101.pdf

Christopher Vought Returns to Family Home

On Thursday March 11, 2010, Christopher Vought will finally visit his family’s colonial home, believed to be the most significant Revolutionary era site in Hunterdon County, NJ.  Mr. Vought is the direct descendant and namesake of the Christopher Vought who purchased 285 acres near the Union Iron Works in 1759 and built this impressive stone house on a site now shared with the new Clinton Township Middle School.  The house was placed on New Jersey’s Register of Historic Places in 2007 due to the “wattle and daub” decorative plaster ceilings, the people who lived here and the sometimes violent clashes that took place here in 1776.  The Vought family has not lived here since the farmstead was confiscated by the Patriot government and sold at auction in 1779.  

In the 1770’s Christopher’s son John Vought came of age and took charge of the farm.  As township clerk John Vought presided over township meetings at their neighbor Thomas Jones’ Tavern.  In 1776, Captain Jones was recruiting militia to defend New Jersey’s Patriot government against the anticipated arrival of the British fleet and troops.  In June, shortly after New Jersey’s illegal Congress ordered the arrest of Governor Franklin, John led a mob of two dozen men that harassed and beat Thomas Jones at his Tavern.  This led to arrests and detention in the county jail.  It also marked Christopher and John Vought as leaders of the local Loyalist opposition. 

After stunning defeats that fall in the Battle of New York, Washington’s depleted army retreated across New Jersey and finally escaped across the Delaware in boats collected by Captain Jones and the Hunterdon Militia in December.  That’s when Christopher and John Vought left this stone house, possibly for the last time.  They led about 75 Hunterdon Loyalists to New Brunswick to join the British army.  They served with the New Jersey Volunteers, largest of the uniformed Loyalist units, on Staten Island throughout the war. 

Ultimately, their loyalty cost them everything they’d gained over 20 years:  their now four hundred acre farm, livestock, an excellent barn, tools, furniture and this large stone house.  After the war, they and their families were transported on British ships to Nova Scotia.  In 1792, during Washington’s presidency, John brought his parents and his children back to their 2,000 acre plantation near Albany in these newly United States.  Here John’s son, also named Christopher Vought, grew to manhood and fought against the British in the War of 1812.  

The house that Christopher Vought built was later purchased by the Hunt family, owners of the Red Mill in Clinton.  The house remained in private hands for two centuries until the Clinton Township Board of Education purchased this land for the new middle school.  Placement on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places requires the school district to preserve this house.  A group of concerned residents formed a non-profit public charity to take possession and assume responsibility for the preservation of this vital link to local Revolutionary era history. 

Don Sherblom, president of The Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead which is hosting Chris Vought’s visit to his ancestral home this week, first contacted Mr. Vought by email.  “I found his name on an online roster of men who’d served on a coast guard cutter,” Mr. Sherblom said.  “I knew this family has served in every major conflict since the French and Indian War so I sent an email and forgot all about it.  One morning I was startled; my in box showed an email from Christopher Vought!  ‘Impossible’ flashed through my mind for a second, but of course, it was this Chris Vought, a direct descendant.  Thursday’s visit by a direct descendant of the man who built this house will simulate a homecoming made impossible by war over two centuries ago.” 

“Especially in 1776, the Revolution’s darkest days, the crisis became a civil war of neighbor against neighbor, father against son.  The story of this family and their neighbors brings that experience and New Jersey’s pivotal role in this war to light in a unique way.”  

For more information about the Vought family and this home’s heritage, visit 1759House.org.  You can also become a member or donate to the Vought House non-profit and help us transform this house into a local museum and educational resource. 

I read the article on Ghost Chicks at the Red Mill in the Hunterdon Democrat and thought, why not?  Ghost hunting is fun, and maybe it’ll stimulate people to connect with their past.  I enjoy these TV shows and even as a confirmed skeptic I’ll admit to a thrill at an unexplained action or if some spirit seems to manifest.  The current attraction to ghost hunting reminds me of the popularity of séances in the mid-19th Century with the rise of Spiritualist religion.  Even Mary Todd Lincoln, grieving her son, held a séance at the White House attended by President Lincoln and other prominent people.  We all know if you focus attention and engage your imagination, especially when you’re with a group of like-minded people the mind has a tendency to fill the gap, to provide a perception.  A paint smear or moldy bread becomes an apparition if you only look at it the right way, with feeling.

I’m happy to let people have their fun but I also have a nagging suspicion that if they’re serious about touching the past they’re probably missing the boat.  I’m not equipped to debunk ghosts but this I do know:   If you’re looking for traces of past lives and you live in Hunterdon County you’re in the right place.  You can experience the sensation of touching past lives even during daylight hours.  In fact there’s no escaping the past as you drive over the pony truss bridge in Clinton or walk past the Flemington Courthouse and literally hundreds of other sites, homes, village districts, scenic vistas and museums, if you just look at it the right way, with feeling.

This may be enough but you don’t have settle for a fleeting sensation.  If you do some research, engage your historic imagination, maybe even work with a group of like-minded people, you can gain a multifaceted appreciation for what life was like at that time, who those people were and what they went through.  If you’re intrigued by traces of the past that surround us here in Hunterdon County, consult a house historian, a genealogist, an architectural historian, the local historic society or commission.  Find out more at your library, at the Hunterdon Historical Society library, on the Internet, the state archives.  Visit a local museum.  Ask the tough questions: who, what, when, why and how? 

A popular book by a local author (Stephanie Stevens) asked a simple intriguing question:  Who lived in the Round Valley before it was flooded a few decades ago?  Exhibits at local museums interpret artifacts to make the past manifest itself in the present.  At the Vought house, we want to know as much as we can about what happened in the decades before and after the Revolution.  The artifact that speaks to you may be of another time.  But the result may be the similar.  The real ghosts of Hunterdon County left traces but they cannot speak, exhibit, or write; they rely on us to speak, to show, to be their ghostwriters. 

Don Sherblom, President
The 1759 Vought House, Inc.

Our first meeting in 2010 will be January 14th, 2010. 
(The second Thursday, every second month, at 7pm.)______________________________________________________________________
It’s been a long haul over the past four years and we’ve all shown great determination.
And as a group, we’ve accomplished a lot in just the past six months: 

• We reached a milestone in June with the unanimous school board vote.
• In November, we increased awareness with a successful mailing to the entire township.  See both sides of mailer below.
• We have a new, more dynamic and more complete website at 1759House.org (open for suggestions and critiques - to Adam).
• Further research by our genealogist, Fred Sisser III, funded by the County Cultural and Heritage Commission, has uncovered more about the Vought family’s daily life.
• Adam and I retrieved two doors from a supporter of our project that had been salvaged from the house and restored.  Absolutely beautiful wood and hardware.
• Terri is pursuing 10 Most Endangered status with Preservation NJ.
• My talk and powerpoint presentation at the CTMS assembly was a great success (estimated snooze ratio of 2/100).
• An article in the December CTMS student newspaper asked: The Vought House, What Happens Now? (appearing soon with quotes from Adam  Wengryn and Superintendent Kevin Carroll) (Written by my daughter, Zoe Carpentier.  All’s fair in love and war.)
• The quotes from district educators, which appeared on the mailing, should help us in this year’s request for funding of an 8th grade appropriate booklet for use in classrooms throughout Hunterdon.
• I’m scheduled to address the northern Hunterdon County social studies teachers (sending districts to North and Voorhees High Schools).  I’ll give them a presentation on the Vought House museum and booklet.
• The subdivision plans are done.  A meeting of the Planning or Board of Adjustment could happen in January or February.
• The school board has been reminded -yet again- that they need to start work on the historic preservation easement.  

This year offers even greater challenges/opportunities. This year, The 1759 Vought House nonprofit will finally take possession of the most significant Revolutionary War site in Hunterdon County.  We’ll finally be able to start the arduous tasks of preserving and restoring the house, of transforming it by creating a vibrant local history museum, and we’ll uncover even more traces left by the Vought Family and neighbors like Thomas Jones that can tell us about life in this part of New Jersey in the late colonial and early Republican period, and, essential to the above, we’ll be raising funds to fulfill these goals.

This is year one! It’s a great time to help protect the future of Hunterdon County’s Revolutionary War past.

From: The Vought House Inc.
To: Clinton Township School District
RE: Update on Educational Partnership   

• My talk/presentation in the auditorium to 7th and 8th graders at the Clinton Twp. Middle School went very well - got good feedback from students and teachers. 
•  We have a couple of education-related grants in the works:
• Currently funded research grant:  Genealogical work being done by Fred Sisser III, with Beth Rice and Melissa Mohlman from our group, to discover more about this family, etc.
• Just applied for a grant:  to print a much shorter booklet that would be appropriate for 8th grade students at the CT Middle School and other middle schools throughout Hunterdon County.  Will be working with social studies teachers Robyn Peuss, Leanne Pike to develop an 8th grade appropriate booklet. 
• As a follow up to that, I will be presenting to the North Hunterdon Social Studies teachers when they meet in early December. (power point presentation.  give out booklets.  talk about transforming this into a revolutionary-era museum) 
• Restoration Technologies:  Recent work on the grounds.  Need for a roof repair on the Vought House, to be funded by the owner, the school district.  
• Our mailing to all Clinton Twp. residents re: historic significance of the the Vought House & future as a museum will be in the mail in November.
• Our next steps in preparing for transfer of ownership:  to build membership and volunteer involvement, increase financing, etc.
• Next steps for the school district:  (1) finish NJ application, (2) finish the legal subdivision (over 2-years in the making) (3) write historic preservation easement (get guidelines from New Jersey Historic Trust & write it).

Yours, Don Sherblom

Our 1759 Vought House non-profit asked for quotes from the school district to include in a flyer we’re mailing next month.  Got great quotes.  Looks like they’re not just on board, finally, but actually excited about having a museum at the Clinton Twp. Middle School:

Mr. Kevin Carroll – Superintendent of Schools  “The partnership that will be formed between the Clinton Township School District and the 1759 Vought House will provide the children of the community an opportunity to experience history at their doorstep. This landmark building will be a showcase for our students as they learn about the Revolutionary era.”

Ms. Bobbie Felip – Director of Curriculum  “The opportunity of having a historical building in partnership with our schools will afford children a unique experience in understanding a portion of the social studies curriculum. From learning about family and community in the younger grades to reinforcing more specific content in the older grades, it will help bring history to life in a much more meaningful way.”

Mr. Gerard Dalton – Principal, Clinton Township Middle School  “The Vought House will offer opportunities for future generations to learn how history and geography have shaped our region. The proximity of the location to our schools and others within the region make it a viable resource for instructional activities.”

The Christopher Vought House - now has a historic marker!  The Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission sign (below) as seen from Grayrock Road, with the middle school through the trees.  

The new Vought House sign makes it official:  Loyalists were a big part of that conflict we call the American Revolution, especially here in Hunterdon County.  

There were honorable men and women on each side, such as the Vought Family among the Loyalists, and Captain Thomas Jones and Charles Stewart among the Patriots.  It was a civil war, sometimes dividing fathers and sons like New Jersey’s Governor William Franklin and his father Benjamin.  A war fought for the rights of Englishmen, our British American heritage.

This marker is a milestone in promoting greater appreciation of our local history and in the Vought House gaining the recognition it richly deserves as the most significant Revolutionary era site in Hunterdon County.  It’s a sign of big things to come!