FOW Tour - 649 Main Street

On Wednesday, April 6,2022 we toured 649 Main Street (c. 1880) in the North Wheeling Historic District.

This house, and its attached neighbor at 647 Main Street, are two of several houses on the west side of this block that were owned by the Phillips family, descendants of Arthur M. Phillips, builder of boilers for steamboats.

Deed records show that Daniel Zane Phillips (1850-1909) and his wife Emma W. (c. 1855-1893) acquired the property at some point before 1880. Daniel was the son of Hans W. Phillips and therefore a grandson of Arthur M. Phillips. In 1883, the property was deeded to Daniel’s brother and sister-in-law - Robert H.C. Phillips (1852-1887) and Amanda Robinson Phillips (1852-1910). Robert Hazlett Cummins Phillips was elected County Assessor in 1880. He and Amanda had five children before his death from typhoid fever in the spring of 1887. At that time, they were living at 647 Main, next door to 649 Main, which may have been rental property at that time.

Following the death of Amanda Phillips in 1910, the property was left to the five children: William O. Phillips, single (?-1918), Amanda Hazlett Phillips Scatterday (1878-1972) and her husband Dallas R. Scatterday, Sarah Elizabeth Phillips Etzler Franzheim (1880-1975) and her first husband William C. Etzler, Hanson W. Phillips (1882-1941) and his wife Agnes, and Robert Robinson Phillips (1885-1956).

During all of this time, it appears that the property was rented out. A sampling of tenants listed at this address in city directories includes: Mrs. Julia McCune (widow of A.W. McCune) in 1898-1899 and 1901 directories, stogie maker Roy R. Ward in 1907-09, and motorman James P. McGrail in 1911-1912 and 1917-18.

In late 1917, the Phillips children sold the property to Mary Catherine Menger McDonnell (1851-1942), widow of B&O Railroad engineer Alexander V. McDonnell (1852-1914). Her husband was the son of immigrants from Ireland; her parents were born in Alsace-Lorraine. The couple had seven children. Mrs. McDonnell apparently lived in the house until her death; her heirs sold the property in 1987 to Yesterdays, Ltd.

In 1990, G. Ogden and Betty Woods Nutting owned the property for a few months before selling it to John A. Tarr, IV. In 1993, the property was transferred to Theodosia H. and John Tarr, III. The current owner, Giulio Cappelletti, purchased it in the fall of 1997.

Tour Video: youtu.be/_eVX01oxgjY