1739 - 1773
Buccleuch Mansion was built circa 1739 by a wealthy Englishman, Anthony White, upon his marriage to Elizabeth Morris, daughter of Lewis Morris, royal governor of New York and New Jersey. To reflect his new bride's social status, the home was named White House Farm and included a working farm and formal garden, ideally situated on a hill overlooking the busy colonial port of Raritan Landing.
Anthony and Elizabeth's son, Brigadier General Anthony Walton White, was born here in the family's home in 1750. He remained in New Brunswick until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Despite his family's loyalty to the English crown, General White served initially as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army, fighting under General Lafayette, and was later sent to Pennsylvania by Secretary of War Anthony Wayne to help disperse the Whiskey Rebels.
During a period of ration shortages, General White used his personal wealth to feed and equip his soldiers. As a consequence of this generosity and as a result of failed investments, he lost his inheritance and died bankrupt in New Brunswick in 1803.
Anthony and Elizabeth's son, Brigadier General Anthony Walton White, was born here in the family's home in 1750. He remained in New Brunswick until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Despite his family's loyalty to the English crown, General White served initially as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army, fighting under General Lafayette, and was later sent to Pennsylvania by Secretary of War Anthony Wayne to help disperse the Whiskey Rebels.
During a period of ration shortages, General White used his personal wealth to feed and equip his soldiers. As a consequence of this generosity and as a result of failed investments, he lost his inheritance and died bankrupt in New Brunswick in 1803.
1774 - 1820
Around 1774, the home was sold to an English army officer, General William Burton, a nephew of Bartholomew Burton, governor of the Bank of England. Scant details of his stay at the house remain, save from an advertisement by the Commissioners for Forfeited Estates in 1783 describing "The Famous House and Lands, late the property of William Burton, formerly in the occupancy of Anthony White."
During the American Revolution, New Brunswick was situated directly in the path of the British and American armies as they traversed the state. During the winter of 1776-1777, the city was occupied for six months by the British field army under General Charles Cornwallis. It was during this period that the home was surrendered to the British, and where signs of saber and musket marks from the occupation can still be seen on Buccleuch's floors and bannisters today.
Reports describe General George Washington visiting New Brunswick during the course of the war and after on at least five occasions. Stories have been told by the families who inhabited the house, of visits to the home by America's foremost dignitaries including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, General Horatio Gates, John Hancock and Brigadier General Thaddeus Kosciusko. Later residents recall British General James Grant who also used the home as his headquarters during the British occupation.
In 1783, the house was then sold to John Bergen who immediately sold it to Colonel Charles Stewart. An outstanding patriot, Stewart was a member of the First Provincial Congress of 1776, Colonel of the First Regiment of Minute Men in 1776, Commissary of General Washington's staff and a member of the Continental Congress from 1784-1785.
Stewart kept the home until 1798, when he sold it to John Garnett, who held the property until his death in 1820. Garnett was a native of England and a reputable man of science. Among the many mathematics and scientific articles he authored, he edited and published in New Brunswick the Nautical Almanac and the Astronomical Ephemeris.
During the American Revolution, New Brunswick was situated directly in the path of the British and American armies as they traversed the state. During the winter of 1776-1777, the city was occupied for six months by the British field army under General Charles Cornwallis. It was during this period that the home was surrendered to the British, and where signs of saber and musket marks from the occupation can still be seen on Buccleuch's floors and bannisters today.
Reports describe General George Washington visiting New Brunswick during the course of the war and after on at least five occasions. Stories have been told by the families who inhabited the house, of visits to the home by America's foremost dignitaries including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, General Horatio Gates, John Hancock and Brigadier General Thaddeus Kosciusko. Later residents recall British General James Grant who also used the home as his headquarters during the British occupation.
In 1783, the house was then sold to John Bergen who immediately sold it to Colonel Charles Stewart. An outstanding patriot, Stewart was a member of the First Provincial Congress of 1776, Colonel of the First Regiment of Minute Men in 1776, Commissary of General Washington's staff and a member of the Continental Congress from 1784-1785.
Stewart kept the home until 1798, when he sold it to John Garnett, who held the property until his death in 1820. Garnett was a native of England and a reputable man of science. Among the many mathematics and scientific articles he authored, he edited and published in New Brunswick the Nautical Almanac and the Astronomical Ephemeris.
1821 - 1911
In 1821, the fifth owner of the mansion, Colonel Joseph Warren Scott (b. 1778), purchased the home and renamed it Buccleuch Mansion in honor of his family's ancestral home. The mansion became home to his extended family for the next 90 years. An accomplished and eloquent lawyer, he conducted his large law practice from the house, and his office is preserved much as he left it.
Colonel Scott's father, Moses Scott (b. 1738), moved to New Brunswick before the Revolutionary War and practiced medicine in the area for many years. A close friend of George Washington, he held several commissions as surgeon for the Continental Army. Of his eight children, Joseph Warren Scott was his only son. As the sole male heir, he was appointed to the New Jersey Society of the Society of Cincinnati as the representative of his father.
The Scott family lived in the home until 1911 when it was deeded to the city of New Brunswick, along with 79 acres of parkland, by Joseph Warren Scott's grandson, Anthony Dey, as a memorial to his grandfather. Dey stipulated that the grounds would be used by the city in perpetuity for a public park, specifically "a resting place for the weary, a life giving, healthy resort for all." Dey and his wife were the last residents to occupy Buccleuch Mansion as a private home; Dey died in October 1912.
Colonel Scott's father, Moses Scott (b. 1738), moved to New Brunswick before the Revolutionary War and practiced medicine in the area for many years. A close friend of George Washington, he held several commissions as surgeon for the Continental Army. Of his eight children, Joseph Warren Scott was his only son. As the sole male heir, he was appointed to the New Jersey Society of the Society of Cincinnati as the representative of his father.
The Scott family lived in the home until 1911 when it was deeded to the city of New Brunswick, along with 79 acres of parkland, by Joseph Warren Scott's grandson, Anthony Dey, as a memorial to his grandfather. Dey stipulated that the grounds would be used by the city in perpetuity for a public park, specifically "a resting place for the weary, a life giving, healthy resort for all." Dey and his wife were the last residents to occupy Buccleuch Mansion as a private home; Dey died in October 1912.
1912 - Present
By designation of Anthony Dey, the mansion’s contents and furnishings are maintained by the Jersey Blue Chapter NSDAR. The mansion opened as a museum in 1915 with the mission to provide public access to one of New Brunswick's rich historical resources and assist visitors in understanding the heritage of the house and its occupants. Today, the house is a museum depicting the life of its inhabitants from 1739 to 1911 and continues to be under the custodianship of the Jersey Blue Chapter.
The interior of the home underwent a renovation in 1986 and a major restoration to the interior and exterior in 2018.
The interior of the home underwent a renovation in 1986 and a major restoration to the interior and exterior in 2018.
MEMBERSHIP NSDAR NJDAR WEBMASTERThe content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations or individual DAR chapters. The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Website last updated April 2023.
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