The Story of Peter Mott
According to Historian Paul Schopp’s research, Peter Mott was “born between 1800 and 1810 in Delaware to a Virginian father and a mother from Maryland. It appears Peter had slipped his shackles of bondage and made his way to Gloucester County [around] 1830.” Gloucester County marriage records show that he married Eliza Thomas on November 2, 1833.
The size of his house in what was then called Snow Hill, or Free Haven, combined with its method of construction and two story size — reflected his status as a respected member of the community.
According to Schopp, “in 1844, Peter Mott purchased the first of three lots in Free Haven.” Land transactions for May 30, 1844, record Mott's purchase of the property for his home from Thomas Stephenson for $100. On [the property], Mott constructed a 1½-story house and completed construction in 1845. We know that Mott built some items in his house, and one of the cabinets he created still stands in what was the kitchen today.
The Motts attended Mt. Pisgah, where Peter served as the first Sunday School superintendent in 1847. He also served as a deacon in the church and held a Local Preacher’s License.
In the 1850 U.S. Census, Peter Mott is listed as a 40 year old, black male laborer owning real estate valued at $600. His wife, Elizabeth Ann Mott, was listed as 42 years old. By the 1870 Census, the Mott's real estate was valued at $1,000 and his personal estate at $250. Peter and Eliza Ann remained a couple devoted to each other until she died in November 1879. Peter met his demise two years later.
His house, now a museum, is widely considered “one of the oldest houses in Lawnside, NJ.”
While no primary-source documentation or contemporaneous account has been found for verification, oral tradition places Peter Mott in the center of Underground Railroad activity, and, perhaps, the settlement of fugitive slaves in the Snow Hill and Free Haven area. William Switala, writing in his 2006 book, Underground Railroad in New Jersey and New York, notes: “It was from his home and the Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church, in which he later served as pastor, that he carried out his role as an Underground Railroad agent and conductor. From Snow Hill, the freedom seekers had several possible avenues of escape, with routes leading to Pennsauken, Haddonfield, and Evesham Mount.”