Whit Wood Mansion (62 North 3Rd Street, Now Apartments)

(Photo by Richard F. Hope)

Whit Wood Mansion (62 North 3rd Street, now apartments).

Very striking 3-story brownstone building, with rounded oriel window from second floor, a rounded arch window above, and small decorative turrets, and floral decorative, black iron work on the roof.[1] The architectural style of this building is “Richardson Romanesque”.[2]

The property is part of original town Lot No.147 as surveyed by William Parsons when Easton was founded in 1752. That Lot was originally sold to George Roup in 1789.[3]

In 1856, this property was occupied by a “double brick” building owned by Easton industrialist John Herster. The southern half was occupied by Joseph Stichley. The northern half was willed (upon Herster’s death in that year) to his granddaughter, Maria Barnet Titus, the wife of John Titus (see below).[4]

In 1859, the southern half of the building, then described as a “Two Story Brick Dwelling House or Tenement”, was acquired by Easton Merchant John Eyerman,[5] one of John Herster’s grandsons.[6] In the early 1870s, that address (then listed as 34 North Third Street under the street numbering scheme then in effect) was the home of Henry W. Wilking, a partner in the merchant tailoring firm of Wilking & Son.[7] Some authorities date the current brownstone house to 1875,[8] apparently during Wilking’s tenure.

In 1878, the property was acquired in a sheriff’s sale by Emily Drake Wood[9](1844[10]-1919[11]). She was a daughter of John Drake, head of the firm that built the former Drake Building on South3rd Street.[12] She took up residence with her family the 1880s and ‘90s, including her husband, J. Whit Wood.[13]

James Whitefield (“Whit”) Wood (born 1845) was the proprietor of the Easton Free Press, President of the Easton Board of Trade, and a principal in the Tippett & Wood Company boiler works. His boiler firm (which he joined in 1872) also made other products requiring sheet metal such as large stand pipes, railroad turntables, and bridges. The firm carried on a national business, and also exported to South America, the West Indies, and Japan.[14] He was also the founding Vice President of the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society in 1906.[15] One historian notes that Wood “was instrumental in introducing brick paving for the streets” of Easton, and laid the first brick in front of William Laubach’s store (on Northampton Street). This had to be paid for by Laubach himself, because the Borough Council refused to appropriate money for it.[16]

As a young man, James W. Wood had served briefly during the Civil War as a corporal in Company C of the 38th Pennsylvania Regiment of Emergency Militia. Other “Easton names” appear in this Company,[17] and the Colonel and senior officers of this Regiment were also all prominent Easton men.[18] This regiment was mustered in on 3 July 1863, in response to Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s brief invasion of Pennsylvania that was blocked at the Battle of Gettysburg. The 38th Regiment did see some brief service “enforcing authority” in civilian areas after the Confederate Army retired. The Regiment was discharged after approximately one month’s service, on 7 August of 1863.[19]

In 1886, Emily (Drake) Wood added the northern half of John Herster’s “double brick” building by purchasing it from an heir of the John Titus family.[20] As mentioned above, John Titus’s wife, Maria Barnet Titus, had inherited this property from her grandfather. Her husband, John Titus (1802 – 1866[21]), had been a partner of McEvers Forman (the resident at 46 North Third Street) in a dry goods firm located in Centre Square.[22] John Titus “was one of the earliest members of Christ Church”, and served as the Treasurer and Secretary of the Church Council.[23] There was a relationship between John Titus, and James Titus[24] (father-in-law of Mary Frances (Hulick) Titus, who lived in the Hulick Mansion just down the street at 22-24 North Third Street[25]). Among other things, John Titus’s wife, Maria, was the sister of James Titus’s wife, Margaret, both daughters of George Barnet and (as mentioned above) granddaughters of industrialist John Herster.[26]

It seems likely that the Richardson Romanesque style building that stands on the property today was completed after Mrs. Wood acquired both halves of the property – i.e. during or after 1886. The Richardson Romanesque style is consistent with an 1880s construction date.[27] A similar style of mansion at 121 North Third Street was owned by Emily (Drake) Wood’s sister, Catharine Drake. Catharine also purchased her property in 1886 – the same year that Emily purchased the northern half of hers.[28] It thus appears likely that the Drake girls built both of these houses at about the same time, perhaps in late 1886 or 1887.

Emily’s other sister, Ellen (Drake) Semple,[29] and her brother, Samuel Drake,[30] both lived in fine mansions on North 3rd Street, as did her father’s business partner Derrick Hulick.[31]

By 1900, J. Whitefield Wood and his family had moved to Church Street,[32] and this house on North Third St. was being used for lodgers.[33] Mrs. Wood died in 1919,[34]leaving the property to her son, F. Raymond Wood.[35] The Wood family continued to own the property until 1967, when it was sold to Humbert and Margaret Orlandi, Jr.[36] Three years later, the property was purchased by Judge Richard Grifo and his wife.[37] The Judge held the property for ten years, selling it for $60,000 in 1980 to Gabriele Rowley,[38] who was able to realize $190,000 for it seven years later.[39] This price increased to $350,000 in 2010, when the property was sold to Kindred G. Scott.[40]

The following year, Scott also purchased the Armstrong Homestead a few doors away, at 40 North 3rd Street.[41]

[1]Building pictured in Richard F. Hope, Easton PA: A History 95 (AuthorHouse 2006)(middle photo).

[2]See City of Easton, Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form, Attachment: Building Description Survey Area 1 Zone D (City Council Resolution approved 12 May 1982)(“Victorian/Romanesque”, built c.1860-90).

[3]Deed, John Penn the Younger and John Penn the Elder to George William Roup, G1 412 (19 Oct. 1789)(sale price £36 14s. “in Specie”); A.D. Chidsey, Jr., The Penn Patents in the Forks of the Delaware Plan of Easton, Map 2 (Vol. II of Publications of the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society 1937); compare with Northampton County Tax Records map,

[4]Will of John Herster, Will File 6540, Will Book 7 187, at 188-89 (proved 5 Mar. 1856)(also mentioned at 199-200 as being next to a parcel willed to Elizabeth Butz).

[5]Deed, Charles Black to John Eyerman, G9 624-26 (1 July 1859)(property on North Third Street between Maria Titus, on the North, and John A. Innes, on the South).

[6]Will of John Herster, Will File 6540, Will Book 7 187, at 193-94 (proved 5 Mar. 1856)(grandson John Eyerman); John Eyerman, Genealogical Studies: The Ancestry of Marguerite and John Eyerman 10-11, 54-55 (Eschenbach Printing Company 1902).

[7]See Jeremiah H. Lant, The Northampton County Directory for 1873 130 (1873)(alphabetical listing); Article, “The New Numbers”, Easton Daily Free Press, Monday, 24 Nov. 1873, p.3 (Wilking residence assigned No.62 when modern street numbering scheme was inaugurated in 1874). The John Innes Residence next door was listed as No.52, from which the location of No.54 is inferred. The Wilking & Son firm was located at 52 Northampton Street, since 1874 renumbered as 208-10 Northampton Street. See separate entry for 208-10 Northampton Street.

[8]City of Easton, application for Determination of Eligibility of Easton’s Historic District 6 (7 Oct. 1977)(copy in City Planning Department); Naomi Kaplan, “Rich Heritage of Easton Is There for the Looking”, Easton Express, Wed., 24 Aug. 1977, p.1, cols.2-3 & p.2, cols.5-6.

[9]The property was acquired by Mrs. Wood at Sheriff’s sale in 1878. See Deed Poll, James Young, Sheriff to Emily Drake Wood, 16A 441 (22 Oct. 1878). See also Deed, F. Raymond (Anna S. ) Wood to F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood, 86A 106 (1 Dec. 1949)(recital of title).

In 1874, the property was occupied by Mrs. T. H. Wilking. There does not appear to be any subdivision between Mrs. Wilking’s property, and the Titus property at 64 North Third Street. D.G. Beers, Atlas of Northampton County Pennsylvania, Plan of Easton (A. Pomeroy & Co. 1874).

[10]John W. Jordan, Edgar Moore Green & George T. Ettinger, Historic Homes and Institutions 44 (The Lewis Publishing Co. 1905, reprint by Higginson Book Co.).

[11]Deed, F. Raymond (Anna S. ) Wood to F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood, 86A 106 (1 Dec. 1948)(recital that Emily Drake Wood had died on 12 July 1919, and her will reference in the Northampton County records is 22 321).

[12]Jordan, Green & Ettinger, Historic Homes and Institutions, supra at 113-17; see also entry for the Hulick Mansion at 22 North 3rd Street.

[13]Article, “Interesting Reminiscence, North Third Street a Third of a Century Ago”, Easton Daily Free Press, Thursday, 20 Aug. 1885, p.3; George W. West, West’s Guide to Easton, [Etc.] 132, 145 (West & Everett, Job Printers 1883); George W. West, Directory of Easton, [Etc.] (Geo. W. West 1894)(alphabetical listing for J.W. Wood); 1880 Census, Series T9, Roll 1161, p.403; Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 475 (George W. West 1885 / 1889).

[14]E.g., American Journal of Progress, “Greater Easton of To-day” 4, 24 (written c.1902 during Mayor B. Rush Field’s second 2-year term, reprinted courtesy of W-Graphics); see also Frank B. Copp, “The Beautiful City of the Delaware” (1878), reprinted with Donna Troxel, “Old paper turns back the clock in Easton”, Easton Express, Sunday, 19 July 1981, p.C-1, C-3.

[15]Article, “Books, Relics, Tell of Life in the County, Historical Society Has Gathered Dates for 30 Years”, Easton Express, Saturday, 12 June 1937, Jubilee Section B p.13.

[16]Rev. U.W. Condit, Historical Easton in the Last Decade, Supplemental Sketch of Recent Events 19 (West-Johnson Printing and Publishing Co. 1895)(copy in possession of Douglas Harms of Beaverton, Oregon, ).

[17]Samuel P. Bates, V History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 1262 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1871). Among the prominent Easton men were:

1st Lieutenant Charles F. Chidsey, ultimately Easton’s first Mayor when the town was incorporated as a city in 1887; see Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 369-70 (George W. West 1885 / 1889); Obituary, “Charles F. Chidsey, Easton’s First Mayor, Dead; 89 Years Old”, Easton Express, Thurs., 12 Jan. 1933, p.1, cols.4-5; see generally Richard F. Hope, Easton PA: A Civil War Walk 34-36 (Lulu Press 2nd ed. 2012); entry for the Chidsey Parking Lot at 212-26 Northampton Street.

Corporal John A. Innes; see entry for the John Innes Residence at 60 North 3rd Street.

SergeantJacob C. Mixsell (otherwise Charles J. Mixsell); see entry for the Mixsell House / Illick House at 107 South 4th Street.

[18]Samuel P. Bates, V History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 1261 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1871).

The Colonel was Melchior H. Horn, son of Melchior Horn, was in turn a son-in-law of Easton Revolutionary War father Robert Traill. Melchior H. Horn had been born in Easton on 9 Apr. 1822, and enlisted at Catasauqua, according to the Pennsylvania Civil War Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1861-1865 digitized on ancestry.com. He died on 28 Feb. 1890. His father, Melchior Hay Horn (born 1793), had married Isabella Traill, daughter of Robert Traill. The older Melchior Hay Horn had served as a boy as a sergeant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment of Volunteer Riflemen. His father, Abraham Horn Jr. had been a Captain in that Regiment, serving under his grandfather, Lt. Col. Abraham (Abram) Horn, an early Easton settler and Revolutionary war veteran. See J.C. Bowers, “Biographical Sketch of Frank Melchior Horn”, (posted 2015).

The Lt. Colonel was William H. Thompson, son of prominent Bushkill miller James Thompson. See Richard F. Hope and Virginia Lawrence-Hope, Easton PA: The Lower Buskill Mills 204-08 (Lulu Press 1st ed. 2012).

The Major was Thomas L. M’Kean, evidently the South Easton cotton merchant who was the nephew and co-executor of Bank of Easton President Col. Thomas McKeen. See entry for Sitgreaves’ Folly (West): McKeen-Young Mansion at 241 Northampton Street.

[19]Samuel P. Bates, V History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 1222-29, 1261 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1869).

[20]Deed, Emma Matilda Boyd to Emily Drake Wood, B19 194 (9 June 1886). See also Sandborn Map Company, Easton, Map No.6 (1919)(showing both addresses consolidated at this location).

Emma Boyd was the daughter of Maria Titus, the widow of John Titus. See Release, Charles L. Hemingway, Guardian of John Eyerman, and George W. Stout, Administrator of the Estate of John Eyerman, to Emma M. Boyd and J. Alexander Boyd, Trustees, Misc. 21 177 (Northampton County Deeds Office 23 July 1886)(John Eyerman had rendered services as a trustee for Maria Barnet under the will of George Barnet; his services were appraised at $500, to be paid at the death of Maria Barnet/Titus; Emma Boyd, as Maria Titus’s heir, now paid the $500 plus $22.50 interest etc. to John Eyerman’s heir, and received a release).

John Titus had occupied the North 3rd Street property in 1852. Article, “Interesting Reminiscence, North Third Street a Third of a Century Ago”, Easton Daily Free Press, Thursday, 20 Aug. 1885, p.3; accord, George W. West, West’s Guide to Easton, [Etc.] 132, 145 (West & Everett, Job Printers 1883); W.M.R. Williamson (Mgr.), Ferris Bros. Northampton County Directory (Ferris Bros., Printers and Book Binders, Wilmington, Del., 1885)(alphabetical listing for Maria Titus, widow of John Titus); 1880 Census, Series T9, Roll 1161, p.403B (Maria Titus, age 70).

The 1874 Atlas, supra lists the entire property to Mrs. T.H. Wilking, and does not appear to show any subdivision between the 62 and 64 addresses. However, the Article, “The New Numbers”, Easton Daily Free Press, Monday, 24 Nov. 1873, p.3, lists an assignment of No.62 to H.W. Wilking, and No.64 to Mrs. Maria Titus.

[21]Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Record Book 186 (Easton Area Public Library Volume Reference B).

[22]Charles Stewart, “Some Reminiscences of Easton and Vicinity In The Thirties and Fourties”, in Easton Public Library, II The Book Shelf Scrap Book of Easton and Northampton County 49, 50 (Easton Public Library 1936). Their dry goods store was located at the corner of Centre Square and Northampton Street, where the Two Rivers Landing building now stands. Id. See generally separate entry for 30 Centre Square.

John Titus may have been a cousin of George B. Titus, who married Mary Francis (Hulick) Titus. See generally separate entry for the Hulick Mansion, 22-24 North Third Street.

[23]Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Record Book 186 (Easton Area Public Library Volume Reference B).

[24]John Titus served as the Guardian of James Titus’s daughter, Mary C. Titus (later married name Mary C. Todd), in the Partition of James Titus’s property after his death. See Deed, Frank M. (Mary C.) Todd to Esther Bunstein, B12 533 (19 Aug. 1869)(recitals regarding property at what is now numbered 213-17 Northampton Street).

James Titus was a member of the same Church Council as John. James also served as Librarian of the Sunday School. Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Record Book 186 (Easton Area Public Library Volume Reference B).

In addition, James Titus’s daughter Mary chose John Titus as her Guardian in her father’s estate proceedings in Northampton County Orphan’s Court. Partition Proceedings of Estate of James Titus, 19 Orphan’s Court Record 75 (19 Jan. 1854)(minor over the age of 14).

However, James and John Titus were not brothers. St. John’s Evengelical Lutheran Church, Parish Records 43, 98 (Easton Area Public Library Book Reference G)(baptismal records show James Titus was son of Amos and Christina Titus, while John Titus was son of John and Catherine Titus).

[25]See generally separate entry for Hulick Mansion, 22-24 North Third Street.

[26]Will of John Herster, Will File 6540, Will Book 7 187 (proved 5 Mar. 1856).

[27] John Milnes Baker, American House Styles A Concise Guide 94 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1994).

[28]Deed, Daniel W. (Sarah H.) Conklin to Catharine S. Drake, H18 95 (6 Jan. 1886); see separate entry for the Catherine Drake House at 121 North Third Street.

[29]At 220 North 3rd Street. 1910 Census, Series T624, Roll 1381, p.33B (Ellen D. Semple at 220 North Third St.); 1920 Census, Series T625, Roll 1609, p.104A (same); see Article, “Interesting Reminiscence, North Third Street a Third of a Century Ago”, The Daily Free Press, Thursday, 20 Aug. 1885, p.3 (listing Mrs. Ellen Semple).

[30]At 56 North 3rd Street. See Article, “Interesting Reminiscence, North Third Street a Third of a Century Ago”, Easton Daily Free Press, Thursday, 20 Aug. 1885, p.3; George W. West, West’s Guide to Easton, etc. 32 (West & Everett, Job Printers 1883)(No.54); J.H. Lant & Son, Easton etc. Directory 1881-2 (1881)(alphabetical listing at No.54); 1880 Census, Series T9, Roll 1161, p.404C (No.54); Article, “The New Numbers”, Easton Daily Free Press, Monday, 24 Nov. 1873, p.3 (assigned No.56); accord, Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 475 (George W. West 1885 / 1889); Joseph H. Werner, Census Directory of Northampton County (Eleventh U.S. Census 1890) 18 (Joseph H. Werner 1891)(with son Frederick R. Drake and daughters Carrie A. and Laura E. Drake). See generally separate entry for 56 North 3rd Street.

[31]At 22 North 3rd Street. See, e.g., Article, “The New Numbers”, Easton Daily Free Press, Monday, 24 Nov. 1873, p.3 (D. Hulick’s Estate assigned 24 North 3rd Street); see also separate entry for the Hulick Mansion at 22-24 North 3rd Street.

[32]1900 Census, Series T623, Roll 1447, p.67 (J. Whitefield Wood and wife Emily D. Wood (both aged 54) residing at 62 Church St.; Mr. Wood’s occupation listed as “Bridge builder”).

[33]See1900 Census, Series T623, Roll 1447, p.63B.

[34]Funeral Notice, “Two Funerals”, Easton Express, Tues., 15 July 1919, p.2, col.2 (Emily D. Wood, to take place at her home on North 3rd Street); accord, Deed, F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood to F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood, A86 106 (1 Dec. 1949)(recital).

[35]Deed, F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood to F. Raymond (Anna S.) Wood, A86 106 (1 Dec. 1949)(Tracts 1 and 2). This deed also involved the property at 318 Spring Garden Street, which had been left to Raymond 2/5 from his father, and 3/5 from his mother.

[36]See Deed, Russell S. and F. Raymond Wood and Girard Trust Bank, Executors of the Will of Anna S. Wood, to Humbert (Margaret) Orlandi (2 Nov. 1967). See also1910 Census, Series T624, Roll 1381, p.25A.

[37]Deed, Humbert (Margaret) Orlandi, Jr. to Richard D. (Lee T.) Grifo, 365 534 (2 Mar. 1970); see Naomi Kaplan, “Rich Heritage of Easton Is There for the Looking”, Easton Express, Wed., 24 Aug. 1977, p.1, cols.2-3 & p.2, cols.5-6.

[38]Deed, Richard F. (Lee T.) Grifo to Gabriele M. Rowley, 611 996 (27 Feb. 1980)(sale price $60,000).

[39]Deed, Gabriele M. (F. Lawrence) Rowley to Vera K. Fedorov, 726 566 (29 May 1987)(sale price $190,000).

[40]Deed, Vera K. Fedorov to Kindred G. Scott, 2010-1-101900 (24 May 2010)(sale price $350,000).

[41]Deed, Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC to Kindred G. Scott, 2011-1-048810 (23 Feb. 2011); see separate entry for Armstrong Homestead at 40 North 3rd Street.