The Mattie King Davis Gallery, on the Beaufort Restoration Grounds, is plaqued "Rustell house c.1732." Maurice Davis in History of the Hammock House and Related Trivia, and Mamre Wilson in Beaufort, North Carolina, both wrote of William Dennis' wife Sarah Cogdell Rustull, widow of Richard Rustull Jr., inheriting a small house and outbuildings on Lot 13, Old Town, in the settlement of the estate of Richard Rustull Jr.
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| Signature and seal from the will of Richard Rustull Jr. |
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| 1980 Photo in Kell book |
In her book, The Old Port Town, Beaufort, North Carolina, historian Jean Bruyere Kell (1909-2004) referred to the house as the Jechonias Pigott House circa 1831, "a house originally on Front Street facing the water, later moved to Craven Street and then to its present location." (Shipbuilder Jechonias Pigott (1774-1856) married Cinderella Chadwick in 1798.)
The 1882 Gray's Map of Beaufort noted two structures on lot 13; Jane Pigott owner. See map below.
The 1885 Sanborn Map noted a two-story house on lot 13; by the 1913 map, a porch or porches had been added. See Sanborn map snips below.
In 1965, while located at 111 Craven Street, the house was surveyed and drawn by Frank M. Hough Jr., NC State University; see drawings and maps below.
The 1997 Ruth Little Survey described the house as a "two-story, three-bay house with unusual pyramidal-hipped roof, beaded siding, 9/6 sash, and shed porch with chamfered posts and traditional railing. Moved to this location from Craven Street about 1975."
- 4 Jun 1723 - Richard Rustull Sr. to John Shaw for two half-acre Lots 13 and 14 for £1*
- 6 Jun 1727 - John Shaw assigns Lots 13 and 14 to Richard Rustull Sr.**
- Sept 1731 - Richard Rustull Sr. sold the Lot 13 to Mary Galland for £3***
- Chain of title is broken here
- June 1748 - Arthur Mabson willed Lot 13 to nephew William Coale
- 4 Mar 1756 - William Coale sold Lot 13 to William Mosely for £40****
- 1774 - Ebenezer Wharton owned Lot 13 (Kell, Carteret County During the American Revolution, pg.151.)
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| Lot #13 - Corner Front and Craven Streets - Original 1713 Plan of Beaufort |
**Original deed (book C p.178): Dated 6 Jun 1727, unregistered but recorded. John Shaw assigns to Richard Rustull [Sr.] the deed above. Witnessed by Theo:ls Norwood and Richard Williamson. Mark of John Shaw. Acknowleged before Den Osheal, Clerk.
***Original deed (book D pp.95-96): Dated 22 Mar 1730/1, registered Sep 1731. Rich:d Rustull [Sr.] of Carteret Precinct, Bath County in consideration of £3 current money sells to Mary Galland, a lot of 1/2 acre in the "town of Port Beaufort" No. 10 [sic], formerly belonging to John Shaw and made over to the grantor. Contains a clause that she must build a habitable house on the 20' by 15' lot within two years. Witnessed by Jo. Bell and Jm:s Winright. Acknowledged before Jm:s Winright. Carteret Court minutes 1731 (Rebecca Willis Sanders' abstract): RICHARD RUSTULL ESQ CAME INTO OPEN COURT AND ACKNOWLEDGED A DEED FOR A LOTT IN BEAUFORT TOWN NUMBER 13 TO MARY GALLAND AND ORDERED TO BE REGISTERED. [Mary Galland was most likely the wife of John Galland, Richard Rustull's clerk of court in the 1727-29. Gallant's Point and Gallant's Channel took his name.]
****Original deed (book F pp.381-383): Dated 4 Mar 1756, registered Mar 1756. William Coale, mariner of Carteret County in consideration of £40 proclamation money sells to William Mosely, joiner, a lot of 1/2 acre, No. 13 in the "Old Town" which was left to the grantor by the last will and testament of Arthur Mabson, deceased. Witnessed by David Lewis and Rob:t Read. Signature of William Coale. Acknowledged before Jn:o Smith, Clerk. Carteret Court minutes, Mar 1756 term (Rebecca Willis Sanders' abstract): A DEED FROM WILLIAM COALE TO WILLIAM MOSELY FOR 1 LOT IN BEAUFORT TOWN KNOWN BY NO 13 WAS PROVED BY THE OATH OF ROBERT READ AND ORDERED TO BE REGISTERED.
NOTE: Mary Galland may have built the house; she purchased the lot from Rustull Sr. for £3. Someone built the house before 1756 when Coale sold to Moseley 26 years later for £40.
RUSTULL
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| Moseley's 1733 Map noted R. Rustul NE of Beaufort |
Richard Rustull Jr. was born about 1700 and died before September 1746, supposedly in the "White House," noted on Moseley's 1733 map as the "I.Taylor" house. About 1733, Richard Jr. first married one of the daughters of Henry Stanton; she died before 1739. Rustull married Sarah Cogdell about 1742. After Rustull's death, widow Sarah Cogdell Rustull married William Dennis about 1747.
PIGOTT
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| Gray's 1882 Map - Jane Pigott owned Lot 13 |
- In the 1850 household on Front Street were: Jechonias 74, Jane 45, Micajah 42, Jechonias 41, Nancy 34 and Parker 32.
- In the 1860 Census, Jane was head of household; value of real estate was $2,000, value of personal estate $10,500. In the household were Jane, Micajah, Jechonias and Nancy.
- In the 1880 Beaufort Census, 75-year-old Jane Pigott was noted as the only occupant of home on Front Street.
- Gray's 1882 Map of Beaufort noted Jane Pigott as owner of Lot #13 Old Town.
- Jane died 20 June 1890.
MATTIE KING DAVIS
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| Death Certificate |
Laura Duncan Davis Piner, 1931-2002, artist, teacher and granddaughter of Sterling Price Hancock and Sallie Gertrude Davis, was instrumental in converting what has become known as the "Rustell House" into a gallery named after her mother Mattie King Hancock Davis.
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| Contemporary aerial showing the approximate original location of the house facing Front Street, it's short move to 111 Craven, and current location on the Restoration Grounds. |
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| The 1882 map has been inserted again for comparison. |
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| FIRST FLOOR - Drawing by Frank M. Hough Jr. 1965 |
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| SECOND FLOOR - Drawing by Frank M. Hough Jr. 1965 |
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| 1885 Sanborn Map - SW corner Front & Craven Streets |
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| 1913 Sanborn Map - Front Street - Turner to Craven Streets Front porches had been added. |
