The Site

• Location and Extent of Hermitage Property with 1767, 1850 and 2001 maps

The Native American Inhabitants in Area of Future Hermitage Property

• Their Way of Life

• Settlement of Area by European Invaders and Settlers

• Their Exclusion from the Area

Pioneer Settlers on Hermitage Property

• The Traphaghen Family - Jersey Dutch Settlers - 1740s

• The Lane Family - English lawyer and Land Speculator

• They Build the House that Would Be Called The Hermitage - around 1760

The Prevosts: Late Colonial and Revolutionary War Era

• House and Property Bought by Captain James Marcus Prevost in 1767

• The Military Prevost Family - from Switzerland by Way of England to America

• James Marcus Prevost Met and Married Theodosia Bartow in New York City in 1763

• The Family Background of Theodosia Stillwell Bartow - a Five Generation Spectrum of American Colonial Life

• The First Years of Married Military Life of James Marcus and Theodosia Prevost

• They Establish a Gentleman’s Farm and Family Life on The Hermitage Property in Hopperstown in Bergen County in 1767

• The Coming of the American Revolution Divides Theodosia's Family

• The Revolution and the People at the Hermitage

• General Washington Is Invited to Make His Headquarters at the Hermitage - July 1778

• The Developing Friendship between Col. Aaron Burr and Theodosia Prevost

• War Activities Continue in the Paramus/Hopperstown/Hermitage Area

• The Relationship Between Theodosia and Aaron Grows and Theodosia's Fight for the Hermitage Is Successful

• Lt. Col. James Marcus Prevost Wounded in Jamaica

• The War Continues in Bergen County

• Peggy Shippen Arnold Visits the Hermitage

• Burr Intensified His Law Studies and Correspondence Between Theodosia and Aaron Became More Serious

• Burr Completed His Law Studies, Obtained His License, and Began His Law Practice

• The Double Wedding of Theodosia and Aaron and of Caty and Joseph at the Hermitage, July 2, 1782

At The Hermitage a Variety of Owners, 1785-1807

• The Cuttings, the Bells and the Laroes

• Ann De Visme Maintains the Hermitage, the Burr's Sell the Adjacent Prevost Property

• The Rosencrantz Family and The Hermitage - 1807-1970

• Dr. Elijah Rosegrant (Rosencrantz) Bought The Hermitage in 1807

• Elijah Rosegrant Married Cornelia Suffern from Leading Local Family

• Elijah Was a Country Doctor in Bergen County

• Elijah also Farmed, Bought Land and Built a Cotton Mill

• African Americans at The Hermitage

• Elijah Died in 1832

• The Second Rosencrantz Generation - Four Sons

• Elijah II Inherited the Hermitage, Ran the Cotton Mill and Was a Postmaster

• In 1840s Elijah Had The Hermitage Reconstructed into a Gothic Revival Style Home

• In 1848 the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad Was Built Adjacent to The Hermitage Property

• Elijah Courted and Married Cornelia “Killie” Dayton

• The Daytons and Rosencrantz Were Involved in Ridgewood Becoming a Railroad Suburb

• The Coming of the Civil War, the Rosencrantz Family, and the Home Front in Bergen County during the War

• Prosperity and Loss at The Hermitage in the Decade After the Civil War

• The Third Rosencrantz Generation at The Hermitage

• William “Willie” Dayton Rosencrantz Became Master of The Hermitage in the Last Decades of the  19th Century

• The 1890s: Willie Sold the Cotton Mill and Became a Golf Pioneer in Bergen County

• The Early Years of the 20th Century, 1900-1915: Willie’s Career Faltered, Bess Traveled, and the Fourth Rosencrantz Generation 

• Dayton Became a Textile Technician and Mary Elizabeth Became a Proficient Golfer

• The Last Males Leave The Hermitage: 1915-1917

• Two Women, a Tea Room and Downward Mobility, 1917-1970

• Mary Elizabeth Rosencrantz Willed The Hermitage to the State of New Jersey as a Museum in 1961 and Died in 1970

• The Founding of the Friends of The Hermitage in 1972

References

Credits