Lewis Morris, Royal Governor of New Jersey

Lewis Morris is a common name in New Jersey colonial politicians. The Lewis Morris who leased the Trent House – then known as Kingsbury – from its owner George Thomas, Governor of the colony of Pennsylvania, was born in 1671. He was active in the political affairs of the colonies of New York and New Jersey from his early 20s, serving in the East Jersey Provincial Council in 1692.

​After Queen Anne established New Jersey as a unified royal colony in 1702, Morris was appointed to the New Jersey Provincial Council. In 1738, New Jersey petitioned the crown for a distinct administration from New York, and Lewis Morris served as Governor of New Jersey until his death in 1746. Morris lived in Kingsbury from 1742 and probably died in the house. 

Before moving into Kingsbury, Governor Morris required that a separate kitchen building be constructed adjacent to the house, replacing the first kitchen in the cellar that suffered from dampness and occasionally flooding.  

​This 1759 advertisement for lease of Kingsbury describes the kitchen building as "a Large Brick Kitchen, 30 Feet by 20, with a Handsome pav'd Gangway between the House and Kitchen, 14 Feet by 20 Long, the Kitchen two Story High, with a Well in it, and Four handsome Appartments for Servants, with a Fire-place in one room, if any of the Servants should be ill."

In 2014 Hunter Research was commissioned by the Trent House Association, with funding from NJM Insurance Group, to conduct a preliminary excavation of the area where the kitchen building had stood. This and later projects successfully uncovered evidence of the building's foundation and other artifacts. ​