The Weston House

Tucked away in the middle of a large block on West Side Hill is a house built in the middle of the 19th century for Catharine Weston and her family. The early history of the house's ownership is one of female empowerment and of Black entrepreneurship.

1048 West Main Street (1050 West Main can be seen behind to the left)

Architectural Style

The house was built using wood frame construction in a simplified version of the Greek Revival style. It is a common house style that can be seen throughout western Connecticut. The house is relatively small and modest, designed as a cozy private home rather than a showy display of wealth. The siding would originally have been wood clapboards (it now has asphalt siding).

The Weston Family

Catharine Weston and her family moved to Waterbury from Derby in 1845. Her husband, Nelson Weston, opened a barber shop (the only one in town) and a store selling musical instruments, toys, and candy in downtown Waterbury. He also offered dance lessons for children and for adults. Nelson and Catharine had five children, two of whom died during infancy in 1846 and 1847. The other three children were Mary Ann, born in 1840, Horace, born in 1842, and William, born in 1843.

The Westons were African Americans. Nelson's father, Juba, was born into slavery in Derby, gaining his freedom through Connecticut's gradual emancipation law. I have not yet learned who Catharine's parents were, although I know her maiden name was Cam and that she presumably was related to the Cam family who had been enslaved in Shelton during the 1700s.

The 1840s were a period of civil rights activism in Connecticut, with groups throughout the state repeatedly petitioning the state legislature to allow Black men to vote. There was a sense of optimism and ambition among the first two generations of African Americans born into freedom in Connecticut: they established successful businesses, purchased land, and built their wealth.

On May 1, 1849, Catharine Weston purchased a parcel of land about a mile west of downtown Waterbury from Elijah Frisbie Merrell, a white farmer who lived next to the land being sold. The deed gave her name as "Catharine Weston the wife of Nelson Weston." The property didn't include a house, but it did have "the privilege inserting or laying down a lead pipe for the purpose of drawing water sufficient for the use of one family from a spring of water... a little Westerly from said piece of land...." (Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 54: 188).

Why was the land purchased by Catharine and not by Nelson or by the couple together? I don't know the answer, but it is an interesting question. Married women had very limited legal rights. Connecticut's laws had, in varying degrees, considered the property and earnings of a wife to belong to her husband. In June 1849, the month after Catharine purchased the land, the Connecticut legislature enacted laws to protect the rights of married women to own real estate and to be paid directly for their labor. (The Statutes of the State of Connecticut, 1854, p. 374-377)

Because Catharine was Black, her property was exempt from taxation, thanks to a state law intended to prevent Black people from gaining the right to vote, since being a taxpayer was one of the qualifications to vote in Connecticut (the state laws also specified that voters must be white male citizens age 21 or older).

Less than a year later, on March 21, 1850, Catharine and Nelson jointly mortgaged the property for $160 payable to Charles Griggs in one year, with interest (Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 54: 482). Mortgages during this period were frequently offered by wealthy individuals (usually white), rather than by banks. Griggs presumably was experienced with mortgages: he became a founding member of the Savings Bank and Building Association of Waterbury in 1852.

The mortgage deed of 1850 gave more details about the property, specifying that it contained about a quarter acre of land bound on the southerly side by the "highway" (the term for a major roadway). The mortgage also referenced the existence of at least one building on the property.

While the mortgage may have been taken out by the Westons to pay for the construction of the house, it may have been used for other debts. After Catharine's purchase of the land on West Side Hill, the previous year turned into a difficult one for the family. On September 11, 1849, their six-year-old son William died after being kicked by a horse. In the same issue of the weekly Waterbury newspaper that listed William's death in the obituary section, Nelson ran an advertisement which announced to his customers "that having recovered from his late illness, and a series of afflictions which for weeks have confined him to his house, he is now able to resume his usual business, and may be found at his old stand as heretofore." Whether he listed the ad with the paper before or after his son's death is unknown. (Waterbury American, 14 September 1849, p. 2).

Waterbury American, 14 September 1849

Although the City Assessor lists the date of construction for the Weston house as 1850, it seems likely that construction began in the summer of 1849, after Catharine purchased the land. The 1850 U.S. Census lists Nelson Weston as owning $800 worth of real estate, with no real estate valuation attributed to Catharine, even though she was the one who bought the land.

On August 5, 1850, Catharine added to the size of the property by purchasing more land from Elijah Merrell. As before, the land was purchased by Catharine alone. The new tract of land measured 130 feet along Catharine's existing land, then 12 feet westerly, then 150 feet on the other side, and 12 feet along the highway. (Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 56: 131)

Waterbury had one architect during this period, David H. Meloy, who worked primarily as a builder (The Town and City of Waterbury, Vol. 3, p. 1047). I don't know if he oversaw the construction of the house for the Westons, but it certainly seems possible. His first job in Waterbury was as a joiner for the construction of St. John's Church in 1847. An article announcing his retirement in 1898 declared that he "made plans for more houses than he could count in a month." (Waterbury Democrat, 10 September 1898, p. 6)  In 1890 and again in 1900, Meloy published an illustrated book,  Progressive Carpentry: Fifty Years' Experience in Building, compiling his knowledge of house construction with an emphasis on low-cost construction of wood frame houses.

The Weston house was included on a map of Waterbury published in 1852, with the property owner listed as Capt. Western. "Western" is a common misspelling of Weston. The title of captain refers to Nelson Weston's status within the Black community of the Naugatuck Valley. Even though Black men served in Connecticut's military during the Revolutionary War, after the war they were prohibited from military service. Black communities throughout Connecticut formed their own military brigades led by their own governors, meeting annually for a muster and gala ball. Nelson's family were prominent leaders for the Black community of the Naugatuck Valley, with Nelson, his brother, and their father all serving as governor at various times.

Richard Clark, Map of Waterbury (detail), 1852
Leventhal Collection, Boston Public Library

The Westons didn't live in the house for very long. By April 1851, they had relocated to Naugatuck, placing themselves in a fair amount of debt in the process. Nelson used the equipment and inventory of his business as collateral for a $500 loan from his brother on April 24, the same day that Catharine purchased a three-quarter acre parcel of land with a dwelling house on Straits Turnpike about a mile north of the Naugatuck Bridge. (Naugatuck Land Records, Vol. 3: 365, 396)

The property in Naugatuck was purchased from Silas Grilley, a real estate investor. The Westons mortgaged the Naugatuck property to Grilley for $300 on April 29, 1851. At the same time, they sold their Waterbury property to Grilley. The deeds do not specify the sale price for either property and no appraisals were attached to the deeds. (Naugatuck Land Records, Vol. 3: 388, Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 56: 384)

After concluding his business with the Westons, Silas Grilley immediately advertised the Waterbury house for quick sale or for rent.

Waterbury American, 9 May 1851, p. 4

Nancy A. Russell

On May 12, 1851, the Weston house was purchased from Silas Grilley by Israel W. and Nancy A. (Platt) Russell, who took out a mortgage from Grilley to pay for the purchase. On January 15, 1852, the house became the sole property of Nancy Russell after she settled the debt to Grilley. (Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 55: 213, 225)

Nancy was widowed in October 1852 and never remarried. She was in her late 50s at the time. I don't think the Russells ever lived in the house. Instead, Nancy kept it as a rental property, using the income to support herself for nearly half a century.

Nancy Russell died in 1887 at her daughter's house in Waterbury, where she had been living. The property on West Main Street was the only real estate she owned, and it was sold by order of the probate court to pay for the various debts owed by her estate. Nancy's estate was administered by her daughter, Ellen Emma Sanford. Following some shuffling of the property amongst the Sanford family to satisfy the probate court, the Weston house became the property of Nancy's daughter, Ellen. (Waterbury Land Records, Vol. 119: 587-588, 122:152-153)


Loren R. Carter

In 1892, Ellen Sanford sold the Weston house to Loren R. Carter, a descendant of Yankee settlers of Litchfield County. Carter, who had grown up in Waterbury,  was just getting started in his real estate business. Within a decade, he was known for his ownership of "considerable improved real estate" in Waterbury. Carter was also an attorney who specialized in real estate, tax, and inheritance law. His real estate transactions were conducted under his role as trustee for his father's estate; his father had also been active in real estate. ("Warren Boys Boys in the Business World,” The Newtown Bee, 29 April 1904, p. 10; "City News," Waterbury Democrat, 13 December 1906, p. 10; Meriden Journal, 11 May 1956, p. 1)

Carter also purchased the lot just to the north of the Weston property a few days later. In 1898, he acquired more property along West Main Street. Two years later, Carter finished construction of three identical houses in front of the Weston house, increasing his rental income from the property and leaving only a narrow driveway connecting the Weston house to West Main Street.

1046, 1044, and 1042 West Main Street

Carter kept the Weston house as a rental property for more than half a century, now part of a single parcel of land containing the four houses, numbers 1048, 1046, 1044, and 1042.

Sanborn Atlas for 1901, detail of Plate 59 - Weston house is circled

Subsequent Sales

After Loren Carter's death in 1953, his heirs sold the West Main Street property to Ann Scortino. Following her death in 1954, the property was sold by her heirs to Armand and Blanche St. Germain, French Canadian immigrants who lived at the property for many years.


The Weston House Today

The City Assessor lists the house as a single-family with two bedrooms and 1,134 square feet of living space (the basement is 642 square feet). The four houses combined as a single parcel by Loren Carter are now individual properties. The Weston house is still owned by members of the St. Germain family.

Current Tax Assessor map showing the Weston house as number 16

Google Maps aerial views of the Weston house