The house is believed to have been built by Daniel Wilcox in 1771, as a wedding gift for his son Stephen Wilcox and his new wife Mary Kelsey, who married on January 31, 1771. Along with the house, Daniel also deeded 5 acres and a barn to his son.
Stephen and Mary lived in the house until their deaths in 1836 (Mary) and 1843 (Stephen). They are buried in Wilcox Cemetery in East Berlin, Connecticut. They had five children: Mary, Stephen, Isaac, Matilda and Fanny.
After Stephen's death, his great-niece Amelia and her husband William Mildrum moved into the house. They had ten children: Willis, Emily, Edith, Mary, Carrie, Henrietta, Lucy, Hattie, Ernest and Bertha. By the early 1900's, three of the unmarried Mildrum girls lived in the house alone, Carrie, Nettie and Hattie. The three girls lived there until Carrie's death in 1953.
For almost 200 years the house stayed in the family. Since then, there have only been 2 other owners besides us. A 250 year old house and we're only the 5th owners.
The Wilcox family was very prominent in East Berlin, and many of the historic houses in the area were owned by them. Stephen's brother Josiah had an almost identical house built for him and his new wife across the street from Stephen's house.
1770 - 1843 - Stephen and Mary (Kelsey) Wilcox and their 5 children
1843 - 1899 - William and Adelia (Wilcox) Mildrum and their 10 children
1899 - 1911 - Carrie, Nettie and Hattie Mildrum (unmarried daughters of William and Adelia)
1911 - 1937 - Carrie and Hattie Mildrum
1937 - 1950 - Hattie Mildrum
1952 - 1962 - Winslow Merritt
1963 - Leslie Wagner
1966 - 2010 - Couple we bought the house from
2010 - present - Us!
