William Albertse Covenhoven

Albert Couvenhoven's son, William Albertse Couvenhoven (1702 March 2 - 1790), settled in Freehold. He married Elizabeth Van Cleef who was baptized on May 19, 1705. It was he who, in 1752-53, built the main part of the Covenhoven House on Main St., Freehold, NJ. This property is presently owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association. He may have employed the same builder who built Old Tennent Church.

Covenhoven House

150 West Main Street; Freehold, N.J. In 1752, William Covenhoven, employing the emerging Georgian style to plan his residence, built one of the largest and grandest in the area. The house was then the seat of a large farm and today remains as one of the most important in Monmouth County. It is known historically by a number of names, including General Clinton's Headquarters, for the English general who used it at the time of the Battle of Monmouth. The place was acquired by the Monmouth County Historical Association in 1969, restored shortly thereafter and renamed for its builder. This house museum (fee charged) is also used for various colonial history programs.

Women's history program

at Monmouth Battlefield

The plight of Elizabeth Covenhoven, reluctant hostess to the British Army on the eve of the Battle of Monmouth, will be told at the annual women's history program March 21 at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan.

Combining military reports with family history, the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield program will tell the story of William and Elizabeth Covenhoven, owners of a substantial and beautiful house in Freehold. The Covenhoven House is one of the historic buildings operated by the Monmouth County Historical Association, and serves as a living legacy of the Covenhoven family.

On June 26, 1778, residents of Freehold found themselves surrounded and occupied by the 20,000 troops of the British army. Stretching for nearly five miles from West Freehold to beyond the present-day Freehold High School, the commander of the troops, Sir Henry Clinton, chose the fiCommunity Bulletin Boardnest house in the village as his headquarters.

Elizabeth Covenhoven was in her 70s, with all of her children grown and gone, when Sir Henry showed up. After repeated promises of good treatment, and assuring Mrs. Covenhoven of the safety and security of her property and farm animals, Clinton moved in. As the British withdrew on June 28, Clinton's promises were all broken as the house was ransacked and the property plundered.

One of the mysteries surrounding Mrs. Covenhoven's experience was the stark absence of her husband, William Covenhoven. Family genealogy and records show that he was alive up until about 1790, and that Elizabeth predeceased him. Where he was, and the relation of the Covenhoven house to other homes plundered and destroyed by the British will be explored as part of the program.

communicant Old Brick Reformed Church of Marlboro in 1727