A pre-Revolutionary War house in Trumbull, where a man who served in George Washington’s army was once enslaved, is now on the market for $799,999.
The 4,416-square-foot house at 49 Daniels Farm Road was built in 1756 and offers 14 rooms with six bedrooms, three bathrooms and seven fireplaces. The 1.6-acre estate also includes a guest house with three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, patio, private driveway and its own address as 41 Daniels Farm Road.
The house was built for Daniel Hawley, the scion of a prominent colonial family in Connecticut, who received a black slave from his father-in-law as a wedding present. The enslaved person, who was given the name Nero Hawley, labored at a gristmill, cider mill and brick-making kiln on the then-larger estate. Nero Hawley would marry Peg Beebe, a slave owned by a local minister, and they had six children.
Nero Hawley served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War under Gen. George Washington and participated in the campaigns at Valley Forge and the Battle of Monmouth.
After the war, Nero Hawley was granted full emancipation by his owner, Daniel Hawley, on Nov. 4, 1782, although nine years would pass before he could purchase the freedom of his wife and children. In his later years, he operated a successful brick-making business.
Nero Hawley passed away at the age of 75 on Jan. 30, 1817, and is buried at Trumbull’s Riverside Cemetery.
