Lightning rods!

Everyone's working in the rain and we recently discovered our lightning rod is only grounded in one place! Right in the thick of storm-season! We need an expert. If we're not struck, we'll let you know how that goes.

Historic side-note:

Apparently, in days of yore, people used to plant a black locust slightly away from their home. It was believed to attract lightning, so its presence was supposed to divert the strikes from the house.

BLACK LOCUST

An ongoing correspondence 8 ...

I have been reading the wills with a fine tooth comb, as I only did a cursory read the first time, so excited was I to actually have them in my hands. And a few things seemed important to my story of the Grooms and here are some of them.

October of 1812, almost immediately only a few months after the death of William, Joseph Groom sold lot 70, a portion of lot 71, and lot 27 to Benjamin Haxton (from New York City). The total sale of land was 210 &1/16 of an acre for which Mr Haxton paid $8000. The deed stipulates that 1/8th of an acre be held out of the sale as it is the burial ground of the Groom family (William and Sarah and Rachael were buried there at that time) .

The deed also exempts 1& 1/6th of an acre for the Van Hoesen family plot. Casper Van Hoesen was the son-in-law of Joseph Groom. William Brandow, the husband of Joseph’s sister, Catherine.

I know from other sources that Joseph moved into the Village of Athens and it seemed he became active in local town politics. It is hard to know whether Joseph sold the farm within months after his father’s death because he was ready for life in the Village, (there is not mention in William’s will about the property in the Village) or if the share and share mandate in William’s codicil made it necessary to sell and split the profits with Edwards, but sell he did, to a Benjamin Haxton of New York City. He remained quite active in local civic life. In 1814, his name appeared in an advertisement in the Catskill Recorder as President of the Trustees of the Village of Athens. The advertisement was to petition the New York State Legislature to allow for the Town of Athens to be created out of parts of Coxsackie and Catskill, In 1815, the Town of Athens was make an entity, and would include the Groom farm, now our house, within the boundaries.

Joseph’s name also appears in a later paragraph in the History of Greene County as blocking the approval of the purchase of a bell for the new Trinity Episcopal Church, to be paid for by the town. The bell would have served the town function of calling people to religious services, town events or fire. In 1814, the Trustees had voted to appropriate money, but Joseph refused to put the motion and “took his Hatt and left the Board without adjournment.” It was left to the church to purchase the bell themselves; perhaps Joseph was either a believer in the separation of church and state or just ornery.

He remained an active citizen, being one of the founders of the Dutch Reformed Church of Athens in 1826 which remained in existence until 1886.

Joseph’s will was made in 1828, 5 years before he dies. The first order is for the family burying ground to be entrusted to the care of the Dutch Reformed Church of Athens. He mentions the plot to be on the “farm now occupied by the Reverend Joseph Prentiss in the town ot Athens”.

He leaves the house he lives in the Village of Athens (mentions who he purchased from) to his Daughter Mary, along with all his household furnishings and miscellaneous items. To his daughter Magdeline, he gives land (32 acres) purchased from a John Armstrong in Coxsackie. The rest of the estate to be divided to “all my children” namely: Magdeline, Eytie, Mary, Rebecca and Hannah and the children of Catherine now deceased.

In 1831, Joseph adds a codicil dividing the property appropriately after the death of Hannah.

I think all this adds a lot to the picture, but still so many questions. I guess that’s the nature of the beast; research, research , research!

An ongoing correspondence 6 ...

When I found the wills, I also discovered in the Groom file, correspondence from another seeker of Joseph Groom information, a lovely man named Michael, whom I have had several conversations with and hope to actually meet sometime. He was researching his own family roots and this led him to the marriage of his ancestor, Barnet Gay to Magdeline Groom daughter of Joseph. He was searching for the Groom Burial plot and his correspondence to a local historian from the Vedders research library gave every indication that he knew a lot already about the Groom family. His notes and the subsequent conversations have been part of piecing together the puzzle pieces and he has since informed me that he has boxes of information on not only the Groom family, but clues to the history of Greene county in general, at the time they were living in the house. I have been anxious to have him come to Howard Hall with his “box” of clippings and plan a moment to do that. He has also unearthed and restored other historic burial grounds and is most anxious to try to find the Grooms. Well, us, too!

We have to plan a moment this summer, and maybe your foot will behave and you can tromp around the property along with Michael and his grave finding machine. (Yeah, he has unearthed other historic grave sites, and says he has a machine that can tell if earth has been turned over, even if it is many years ago. He said they use the machine to locate mass graves, and that grizzly idea aside, I am totally intrigued with this possibility.

An ongoing correspondence 7 ...

I had pretty much run out of tidbits in my other research, but last Saturday in the Vedder library, I came across a file on Grooms with copies of the original wills, and thank goodness, transcriptions. The original handwriting is almost impossible to decipher for most of us, myself no exception.

William’s will was written in 1801. In it he wills to Edward, the eldest, two lots of land in Schoharry County called Stringers patent. He also leaves his livestock, farm implements, wearing apparel his Holland gun, his Tanner and Furriers utensils and notes that they are already in Edward’s possession, and that he is already living on the land in 1801. He also leaves him is clothing, and one would assume either it fits him, or was working man’s farm clothing, and Joseph, who does not get similar items or clothing would have no need for it.

To Joseph, he gives the remainder of his real estate, where he (William) “now lives”, and “the same may be found”. Joseph also gets the English Bible, and Jacob a negro slave. (Albany county records of sales show Joseph purchased a slave called Jacob prior to that, so either the sale was in his name, or Jacob was a popular name for slaves.) I was so surprised to find those records in the New York City Public Library, that and lots of other stuff. Anyway, William stipulates that Anna, his second wife be given 100 pounds and that Joseph, Eydtche and Maria annually pay her 20 pounds annually for her life. (Edward has no such mandate) To the two daughters, he bequeaths his two wenches, female slaves, and sums of moneys to each daughter.

There is a codicil made in 1805 with some significant changes. First of all, the slave Jacob and wenches, Dina and Deyone and to be set free upon his death, implying that the farm had less need of them, or farm labor came from another source, or he had a bout of conscience William at this point was 86, too old to farm, and Joseph had many daughters, maybe one son who was not alive when he made his will, and perhaps the source of income and sustenance was elsewhere. Joseph himself was at this point 57, his daughters married and some of them by reading Joseph’s will could have been farming land contingent to the Groom family farm. (MORE RESEARCH).. The names of Brandow, Wilham Tolley and John Van Loon are all names of extended family with lands in the near surrounds.

Another point in the codicil is that instead of giving all farm related items to Edward along with clothing, etc, he should get only 1/2 and he and Joseph should share everything 50/50. It also orders that all bonds, notes, book debts, etc, be given to the 2 daughters, and that 100 pounds be given to Edward (no reason given).

The executers of William’s will are Joseph and William Brandow, grandson. This is the only reference I have found as to the relationship of a William Brandow who married Maria Patterson and fathered numerous children in the 1790’s and eventually moved to Oak Hill. The sponsors for the first child were John and Sarah Claw and this is only important because the name Claw appears in future deeds for the Howard Hall property. I guess they were all marrying neighbors.

An ongoing correspondence 5 ...

So that is a legitimate question; how did farmers in 1780’s make enough money to build grand houses? You also thought it would have been a little house that had additions as the family grew, and we are sure it was built as one big sort of manor house with out buildings. Of course, we may find out all sorts of things when we poke around. But back to your questions. Not sure really, and want to ask the local historian at the research library as she is a “social historian” and has wonderful insight into not just what happened at a given time, but why people did the things they did, what motivated the culture. Sort of an anthropologist, I guess, and I hope to get some insight from her.

While we don’t know fully about the finances or income sources of the family, we can assume the Groom family was prosperous enough to not only build a rather grand house for a farm, but were able to acquire other land holdings as well as the farm. At some point prior to 1801, William purchased 2 farm lots in Schoharry County, (mentioned in his will) and Joseph purchased another 100 acre lot, listed as Expense lot 27 from the Catskill patent, land sold as further partitioning of the Loonenburg patent. By the time of William’s death in 1812, a home in the Village of Athens had been purchased (no, don’t have record of that either) as William is listed as being a resident of the Village, and Joseph who sells the property within months of the father’s death, also then resides in the Village, where he becomes active in it’s formation into a town 3 years hence.

That the Groom family held an emotional attachment to the farm could be assumed because the family burial grounds were there and Joseph made sure the burial plot was exempted from the sale in 1812 and future sales. In his will of 1831, he gave it to the custody of the Dutch Reformed Church. (another thing to research) Sarah, wife of William was the first of 4 family members to be buried there. The other 3 being William, Joseph and his wife Rachael. Even though both William and Joseph remarried after the deaths of Sarah and Rachael, neither second wife seems to be part of the family plot. A footnote in Beers History of Greene County states: “Upon this farm is the burying ground of the Groom Family, overgrown with weeds. A headstone almost level with the ground bears the following inscription: ‘To the memory of Joseph Groom, who died August 15, 1832, age 85. this marks the resting place of the man who was president of the village and one of its most influential citizens. William Groom died April 18, 1812, age 93; Sarah, wife of William Groom died March 11 1788, aged 40; Rachael, wife of Joseph Groom died August 20,, 1795, aged 47.” There is also no mention of Edward and his family, who by the time William died were living in Schoharry County.

An ongoing correspondence 4 ...

Beers in the History of Greene County mentions that the Dutch settlers were mostly farmers who kept their lives simple,” they married wives, planted, they ‘builded’ but know little of life beyond their narrow limits” (farms). He compares the Dutch to the English, citing the Dutch as having lives lacking in “excitement and enterprise” while the English were actively engaged in community and civic life.

The Grooms however, were active enough in the growing communities of the future Greene County. It is assumed the Groom family resided in what was then the district of Coxsackie which included all the land that would later become Catskill and Athens. Both William and Edward were signers of the Coxsackie (Dutch) Declaration of Independence (from the British) in 1775, a year prior to the 1776 Declaration in Philadelphia. (Had you known there was such a thing? I didn’t.) While the War for independence never really touched Greene County (at this time it was still Albany County) Joseph and many of his neighbors joined the Albany County Militia as enlisted men. The names of all the neighborhood folk appear over and over in deeds and records of marriage.

The Howard Hall Farm site was considered part of Coxsackie until the formation of Catskill in 1789, and in 1787, William was assessed by the town for $16 in owed taxes.

We can assume that Joseph Groom had an interest in community politics as we know that Joseph, then age 41, was present at the first town meeting when Catskill was formed and he was listed as “collector”. A copy of the Catskill packet (the original still exists in the Vedders library) contains a copy of an advertisement taken out by Joseph to prompt the citizens to pay owed tax moneys. I am going to try to get a digital image of the original newspaper ad, if they will let me. Better that than Xerox.

While I have yet to find out from exactly where the Groom family resided prior to building the stone house, or from whom they purchased the property, (those records may be in the Albany County Court house or State library), it is possible William purchased the land directly from the one of the original families that owned parts of the Loonenburtg patent, as the patent was broken into smaller partitions or lots. Most of the landowners were Dutch farmers and their names repeat throughout the records of marriages, wills, deed descriptions and the like. Joesph Groom married a Van Loon, the property was bounded by Hallenbeck, Van Hoesen and Brandow, (Aaron) whose brother William was the son in law of Joseph (a guess, not verified). In other words, their lives were quite intertwined. The History of Greene County gives a fairly detailed description of the Loonenburg patent and how it was divided, mapped and divided into lots numbered from 1 to 146, although all original maps have been lost. Just an aside, in 1796, Aaron Brandow sells his brother, William, lot number one, lying on the patent line. This could very well be the son-in-law of William Groom, or grandson, as is referred to in his will. In a description of the lots and their owners, Beers mentions lots 71 and 72 as the Sprague farm (this was in 1881), previously owned by Joseph Groom,. The earliest deed I have copies of is of the sale of the Groom farm after William’s death in 1812. The deed transferring lot 71, 72 and 127 from Joseph Groom to a Benjamin Haxton of New York City and the deed refers to the land being in the Loonenburg patent, The boundaries of the property sold are vagtue; certain trees, piles of stones, but does mention bordering the land of William Brandow, son in law and John Van Hoesan. This son-in-law could very well be the owner of lot #1, The deed of transfer from Groom to Haxton lists sale of 210 1/16th acres, selling for $8000, and refers to a survey and map attached to the deed made by John D. Spoor. (we do not have a copy of that; another thing to research!)

An ongoing correspondence 3...

The house, it seems was built to be sort of grand at a time, 1780, when there were very few families living in Loonenburg, or what would become first Catskill in 1787, then eventually part of the town of Athens in 1815. Beers (History of Greene County guy) lists the number of families that were known to be living there (Loonenburg) in 1780 at only 46, and the William Groom family is one of them. And let’s not forget times were “iffy” in terms of political stability for the colonies…wasn’t there a war lurking? And the Hudson River Valley a strategic part of the war campaign’s?

I found a copy of the 1790 census, another tingle moment as it is a copy of the original hand signed one. William Groom is listed as head of the household in Katts Kill (Catskill) with 3 white males over 16, 1 white male under 16; 8 White females and children, and from other sources I know there were at least 1, maybe 3 slaves. (slaves were listed on the census, but the old records are missing that part of the page next to Groom) I also know that William, the “head of the family” was born Wilem Groen in 1719, of Dutch parents, Edmond and Antje Groen, making him in his early 60’s when the house was built. He married a Sara Cottington, also born in Albany County in 1720, and between them, they had 4 children, the first, Edward in 1744.

Joseph was the younger son, born in 1748. He married a Rachael Van Loon in 1770, and by 1780 had produced a brood of children, having at that time probably 5 of either 7 or 9 children, depending on which records you are looking at. A guess would be that the 3 white males over 16 were William, Edward and Joseph, as Joseph had no sons at that time. The 8 females could have been the 2 wives, and 6 children. The only problem with that theory is that Edward Groom is also listed separately as a head of household with 3 white males over the age of 16, one male under 16, 7 females and children and 3 slaves.

Assuming it was Joseph’s family who filled the house, when that census was taken, 3 of the children would have been under 10 years of age, the youngest being 3. When Rachael Groom, the mother, died in 1795, Joseph quickly took a new wife, Hannah, Schermerhorn, (married in 1796) and probably with obvious need and reason.

Regardless, they could easily have filled up a house without Edwards’ family, if he did indeed live elsewhere. Joseph’s name does not appear separately on the census, so my guess is he, at age 42 with 7-8 children makes up the inhabitants of the stone house.

I know this is a lot of math, but I really needed to figure out why they would build such a big house unless they either had a lot of people or money. So, I have a head count, but don’t know anything more about them.

An Ongoing Correspondence 2...

So here is where I am about the history: we know someone prominent had to have built this grand old stone manner house, but Joseph Groom the one? Well, last week, sure that was easy to find out, I would marched off to the Greene County Court House to just get copies of all the deeds. I had no idea how to do that, and that New York Times Article warned that it was not as straight-forward as one imagined, but surely, the court house had a hot paper trail to the truth!

Well, sort of. The start of the search quickly proved my inability to navigate most library and or official computer systems that require the user to remember and use a series of commands like F5 followed by…. Annoying the staff soon materialized the information I needed: that each deed referred to the previous deed transfer by actual book number, and the actual books were there, all lined up and yes, there were Xerox machines! A Snap! Well, until I realized the books were huge, the machines giving only 8.5x11 sheets and at some point back in time, the books stopped being there! And that point for me, was around 1881 (I am sure that is not the actual date, but the last deed in my chain to be there) and at that time, they were of course all hand written! A certain charm to that, but somewhat difficult to decipher, at least to me, without a lot of work, and I was still convinced this process was a snap.

And then, what about before the last deed I found there? The deed I was scrutinizing was the sale of the property by George Griffin’s widow to a Samuel Sprague. It referred to 5 deeds that made up the land being sold and they were about purchases made between 1835 and 1849. They were all logged by book number and page, but the books I needed were nowhere in the courthouse that I could see. Those old books, I was told, were up the street in a sort of Annex and I could access them there. Up the street I scurried, only to find myself in a sort of warehouse of old brown-paper wrapped record book, and was told, if I was lucky, the books I wanted had not been destroyed when the new courthouse was built and the older records moved to storage. Destroyed? Yes, it seemed the “guys” moving stuff sort of got tired of it all and….? Oops!

I did manage to find 4 of the 5 documents of the land sales to George, but the one that probably would have been the most significant is the deed transfer between Reverend Joseph Prentiss to George Griffin. Prentiss, it seemed had been an incredibly popular guy in Athens and Catskill, being the first Episcopal Rector in the newly formed church in Athens. And he, I knew was the link to that prominent man, Joseph Groom. Without the deed, I could not really trace with certainty (at least not by court house record method) the line of ownership back to Groom.

But Groom it has to be, at least in my mind. So now, on to find the kernels of information about the Groom family.