A Mathews property that had been in the same family since 1653 has changed hands, and the new owners have begun the process of renovating it so they can move in.

Milford, the Billups house in Moon, was built by either Capt. John Billups or his son, Lt. John Billups, between 1774 and 1783 on land that had been granted to their ancestor, George Billups, over a hundred years earlier. It was occupied by a direct Billups descendant for at least 10 generations, most recently by the late James Otis Billups Sr. and Marie Billups of Mathews, before being sold at a recent auction for $385,000 to Tom and Robin Field of Gloucester. The Fields plan to make Milford their residence.

James Otis Billups Jr. of San Diego, Calif., said he and his sister, Elizabeth Jean Billups of Sand Point, Idaho, had decided to sell the property because they have no heirs and “somebody had to have that property.”

“The legacy had to be broken,” said Billups. “We have no relatives anymore.”

Billups said the house had been empty for four years, since their 97-year-old mother moved into a nursing home.

“I’m happy the Fields are going to do something with the property besides sit on it,” he said. “They are thorough, compassionate and professional people … I’m elated that the property moved to somebody who cares about its historical value … I’m really glad because my mom and dad loved that property.”

The story-and-a-half, three-bay structure with a Flemish-bond brick basement is listed in both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It is located east of Mathews Court House on Route 643.

According to the National Register’s statement of significance, the house itself is notable for its “exceptional woodwork and for its fine state of preservation,” while the Billupses were notable because of their involvement in maritime pursuits throughout the colonial period and their lives as prosperous planters, militia officers and officials of Kingston Parish. George Billups received the original and subsequent land grants because he brought colonists and supplies to America from Europe.

Among the home’s architectural details noted in the register are the central-passage, double-pile Georgian floor plan, the original nine-over-nine and four-over-four window sashes, and the “handsome open-string staircase.” Also mentioned are chair rails, molded wooden cornices, and paneled mantels in the two downstairs eastern rooms and a fully paneled fireplace wall in the western parlor.

Billups challenged a National Registry statement that the Billups family had occupied Milford for only 10 generations. While archaeological evidence might point to the house as a late-18th century structure, he said, it seems clear that a house existed on the property almost from the time the land was purchased. A brick with “1663” imbedded in it was dug up on the property in the late 1800s and kept by the family, then handed over to the Fields. In addition, Kingston Parish records examined in detail by Marie Billups and recorded in a notebook show Billups family members being actively engaged in church affairs beginning in the mid-1600s, and their address was always listed as Moon. Unfortunately, land records for Mathews County were destroyed when Richmond was burned during the Civil War.

Having grown up on the West Coast, Billups said he had only visited Milford on occasion as a child, but his memories of the home include lying in bed in an upstairs bedroom during a storm, with the wind howling and branches casting shadows across the walls, as he read the horror story “The Omen.”

Robin Field said she and her husband have always loved historical properties but never had a chance to own one.

“Now we do,” she said. “Our main thing is trying to keep the history of the house.”

Field pointed out humorously that she feels a particular kinship with the location of the house because her maiden name was Moon.

While they intend to retain all the architectural details that make the home notable, they need to make it livable, as well, she said, so they’ll have to insulate and upgrade the electrical, plumbing, septic, and heating and air conditioning systems. Although a 1950 addition was occupied by James and Marie Billups, the septic system isn’t adequate for a larger family, said Tom Field, as their daughter and son-in-law, Amanda and Robert Ambrose, will live in the home, as well.

Two days after Christmas, the Fields had already begun the process of removing a dividing wall between the kitchen and family room of the later addition in order to expand the small 1950s kitchen. They said the living and bedroom areas of the addition will be adequate until the original structure can be made livable.

The old part of the house is attached to the newer addition by a multi-level hyphen containing steps that connect the two wings’ living quarters to each other and the bedroom areas to each other.

The plaster has been removed down to the framework on one wall in the room at the top of the stairs in the oldest part of the building, and the plaster throughout the rest of the original structure is cracked, but the Fields said they hope to restore and preserve as much plasterwork as possible.

A tall hutch in the dining room was a wedding present to a Billups in the 1700s, said Robin Field, and old photos from the 1800s that the Billups family left, along with boxes of documents about the house, show that the home once had a porch with columns.

Field said she hasn’t had a chance to go through all the papers yet, but that she plans to.

Although the house is listed as an historic structure, the Fields said there are no restrictions on the work they can do to renovate it. However, they said they plan to retain its 18th century flavor. They even hope to use the fireplaces once again, but with a slight difference—they plan to install modern gas inserts.

Linda Makowski of Express Auctioneers and Appraisers handled the sale of the estate. She said that, although the National Registry lists the property as containing nine acres, Mathews County land records show that there are 16 acres with the house. An additional 90+ acres that was also part of the estate was sold to Bradley Edwards of Mathews.

“We’re excited to have been part of a transaction from the family that always owned the property to someone who’s going to keep the heritage intact and preserve and modernize the home,” Makowski said.

For more information about the Billups house, visit http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do. Ten other nationally registered sites in Mathews County are listed, as well.