The Situation The Wainwright-Moffa House is a 17th and 18th century home that is threatened with demolition by the very government that ought to be protecting it. Located on Almonesson Rd. in Gloucester Township, Camden County, the house stands on a tract of land that the township has designated as a redevelopment zone. A hearing about the plan and the demolition and to grant a contract for demolition was to be held on Monday , April 25th but the township engineer has already ordered demolition because he deems the house to be structurally unsound. This is interesting since it was considered safe enough when the Romano family, evicted last December because of unpaid taxes, was living there. In any case, it is crunch time.   The Wainwright-Moffa House It may not look like much from the outside, but behind the bad replacement windows, vinyl siding and odd bump out additions is a gem of colonial architecture. The Wainwright-Moffa House, also known as the Moffa Farm, located on Almonesson Road in Gloucester Township NJ, is a remarkable historic and cultural resource. Below is a more accurate history of the property than we've had to date. Like a lot of old houses this one came with a story that was inaccurate. Such things happen easily enough as one wrong turn in a chain of title can cause all sorts of problems down the line. As it is, the revised history is every bit as interesting as its predecessor. The Gloucester Township branch of the Chew Family settled here about 1699. The Chews bought land on the east side of the South Branch of Timber Creek from the Whitall and Cooper Families. The Moffa Farmhouse dates back to about 1708. It appears to have been a wedding gift to David Wainwright (1685-1720) and Charity Chew (1686-1739) from her parents Richard Chew (1655-1725) and Frances Woodward Chew (1757-   ). The deed is not recorded, but Richard and Frances Chew gifted land to many of their many children before their deaths. David's father, Jeffrey Wainwright (1642-1689) became a Quaker and emigrated from Bermuda to Woodbury Creek in 1680. Two of David's known brothers, Samuel Sr (1663- 1729) and Jeffrey moved to Philadelphia about 1700. Another brother was Jonathan. Their mother or sister, Hannah Wainwright (d 1718), married Upton miller George Ward in 1697. David and Charity Wainwright had no children. David's Will (NJ 69-H), which cites him as a yeoman and Charity as sole heiress and executrix. The will, gives to his "beloved wife ye use of my plantation & house & houses & all other privileges belonging to ye sd plantation that is which I now live".  After her death, the will states that the estate was to go to David's cousin Samuel Wainwright of Philadelphia. The inventory of the estate, which was signed by Charity's father and their neighbor John Roe details their estate belongs, from pewter ware to oxen to planks. David's 1720 tombstone is in the old Wallings-Powell graveyard on Landing Road.   After David's death, Charity Chew married John Brown, alias Ward, (1682-1736) who was also associated with Ward's Upton mill.  By 1740, the property had passed to Samuel Wainwright Jr. (1702-1741). Whether he lived there or leased it to others is not known. Samuel Jr. married a Mary X about 1720. Samuel Jr. was probable a tailor, like his father. They had at least three daughters: Elizabeth (b 1720), Sarah (b 1719) and Rebekah (b 1731) and least one son, Jonathan (1722-1792). Jonathan was a Philadelphia merchant, hatter and Quaker.     The property passes out of the Wainwright family after Samuel Jr.'s death. The sale of the property was advertised in the July 23, 1741 edition of the Philadelphia American Weekly Mercury: THE PLANTATION of Samuel Wainwright , late Deceased, scituate at the head of Timber Creek , in the County of Glouster , in west New Jersey , Containing 100 and 12 Acres of Land, and 50 Acres of Cedar Swamp. Is now to be Sold, it Lies about a Mile distant from a good Fulling Mill , and Grist Mill , half a Mile from a very good Landing, convenient for Trades Men. Whoever inclines to purchase the same, may enquire of Samuel McCollock , living near Premises , or of Jacob Reeder , of Newton , in Queens County, on Long-Island , Executors of the said Wainwright , and be further informed, and again the next year in the Pennsylvania Gazette. The property record becomes unclear for a few years. Then, the house appears again in 1803 when the heirs of John Walling (dec'd) sell it to Triel Westcott, who was married to John's daughter Anna. Westcott had picked up part of the tract later when he bought it from Jacob Glover, High Sheriff in 1806 as part of a suit against the heirs by Nicholas Waln, who was the executor of Jacob Shoemaker. Shoemaker may have held a mortgage or other lien on the property. Westcott then sold it to Robert Marshall in 1807 (Glo Co Deeds Book L Page 389). Marshall died intestate around 1831. The Orphans Court set the property off to John Marshall. (See Division Book 2, Page 291.) The property then passed to Robert Marshall in 1882. (Camden Deeds 104, Page 372, Tract 1) He owned it at least until 1907, when he appears on a title company's property owner map of that year. Here's a picture of the place from an 1832 survey of the property More to come...stay tuned What to Do and Who to Contact Contact: Cindy Hatton at hattoncindy@hotmail.com To register your concerns about this with Gloucester Township: Email them from this page or Call the office of Mayor Sandra Love at 856-374-3514 Finally, if you can get down to the meeting on Monday night to speak in favor of saving the house or just to show support, please do so.

 

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