…William Lane (1727-1797) may already have been living on “the northerly part” of his father’s farm with his young family when he inherited the [Lane family] property in April 1763, a common practice among the large Dutch land-owners in the Raritan Valley who allowed their adult sons to reside on and farm portions of their property but often retained title until their deaths. ….He mostly likely built the Lane-Voorhees House as his residence, some time between his marriage in 1750 and the death of his first wife in 1777….
Local tradition connects the Lane-Voorhees House with a condolence call purportedly paid by General George Washington to the widow of an American military officer killed in battle, and there is documentation linking the widow to the house and William Lane, if not of the condolence call itself. According to an account recorded in 1881, General Washington visited Mary Brokaw, the widow of Lieutenant John Brokaw, who was killed at the Battle of Germantown of October 4, 1777, at the house in the spring of 1779 to offer his condolences on the death of her husband. The visit reputedly took place while Mrs.Brokaw resided at the Lane-Brokaw House. Mrs. Brokaw subsequently married William Lane, and it is possible that she was living at his house during her widowhood, perhaps as a housekeeper.
National Registry of Historic Places Registration Form, the Lane-Brokaw House, Section No 8, Pages 5-6, Dennis Bertland Associates
Melody Amsel-Arieli 