(All of the following documents, not otherwise cited, are in The Hermitage archives)
The first four generations of the Rosencrantz family in America
Harmon Rosenkrans was born into a family from Holland that was part of a group of Netherlanders who had obtained fishing rights off the coast of Norway. It seems that the Rosencrantzes earlier had come to Holland from Germany and may have originated in Denmark. Harmon himself was probably born in Bergen, and there may have been some Norwegian intermixture in his family. He would leave from that Norwegian city around 1650 for New Netherlands, a new Dutch colony in the mid-Atlantic region of North America. He sailed to New Amsterdam, the main port city in this Dutch province, a small settlement established only some 30 years before he arrived.
Harmon stayed in New Amsterdam only temporarily, but enough time to find a bride. In 1657 he married Magdalen Dircks, probably Dutch, the widow of Cornelius Caper. Within three years they had moved north on the Hudson River to the smaller and less developed village of Kingston. Here Harmon and Magdalen had the first of their 9 children, Alexander, in 1660. Opportunities for ownership of land were greater further into the wilderness. Thus, around 1680, the Rosencranzes moved some miles west to the uncultivated banks of the Peterkill in what is now Rochester township in Ulster County. It was here that Harmon, the pioneer, died in 1697, after almost half a century in the new world.
Alexander, the oldest son on Harmon and Magdalen, and grandfather of Elijah, born in 1660, spent his youth in Kingston. Then as a young man, he went with his parents to the interior of Ulster County to clear land, build dwellings, develop farmland, and help form a new small community. It was not until he was 53 that Alexander was married to Marietjen Dupuy in 1713. Her father was born in France and had left because he was a Huguenot. He came to New Netherlands in 1662, and, like the Rosenkranses, he had settled in Kingston where Marietjen was born. This family, too, moved to Rochester in 1680. Alexander and Marietjen farmed in Rochester for nearly two decades and had 7 children. Then in 1731, they saw opportunities for more fertile land on a new frontier, and thus became one of the first settlers in the Shappanack Tract in the Delaware River Valley near Walpack in Sussex County, New Jersey.
Farmed in New Jersey’s Delaware Valley
One of the seven children of Alexander and Marietjen was John Rosencrans who would be the father of Elijah. John was born in 1724 in Rochester and at the age of 7 accompanied his parents to their new wilderness settlement on the Delaware River in Sussex County. On arriving, the area was still inhabited by Native Americans and by panthers and other wildlife. John helped his parents in the tasks of building a home and developing farmland out of the wilderness.
At age 21, John acquired 500 acres of good farmland from his father. Six years later in 1751, he married Margaret De Witt who had been born in Rochester in 1731. Her father was Tjereck De Witt, son of Tjereck Classon De Witt of the Netherlands. His wife was a relative of the New York Clinton family. She was a niece of James Clinton who would be a general in the Revolutionary War and a cousin of his son, De Witt Clinton who would be an early governor of New York Husband, John Rosencrans also was related to the Clinton family, but in a more distant way, through his DuPuy grandfather.
John and Margaret had 14 children who provided help on their large farm. They got additional help from a number of slaves who worked with the family on the farm. The De Witt’s also had slaves. John’s success as a farmer enabled him to acquire additional lands, including 2 tracts totaling 275 acres across the Delaware in Northampton, Pennsylvania. He was a local leader in the Dutch Reformed Church where he was an elder, gave land for a burial ground, and had a log church built on his farm around 1770. John also took a leadership role in his civic community, becoming a freeholder and a justice of the peace. One of his neighbors was John Cleves Symmes who later would. with members of the New Jersey Dayton family, become large scale developers of land in Ohio. Symmes’ wife would be the mother-in-law of William H. Harrison, a future president of the United States.
In the 1770s as friction increased with England, John Rosencrans became a Whig and a leading member of the local Committee of Safety. With the outbreak of war he joined the militia, became a colonel and was with General Sullivan in his 1779 campaign against the Native Americans in the Upper Susquehanna and in the Genesee valleys. After the war, John Rosencrans continued to farm and help raise his large family, but not for long, since he died in 1786.
Elijah graduated from Queens College (Rutgers)
Elijah, born in 1766, in Walpack, one of 14 children of John and Margaret De Witt Rosencrans, had experiences as a youth not far distant from frontier life. He saw his father as a leader in the economic, religious and political life of his community and as an active participant in the Revolution. Elijah would have the economic support and the motivation to develop opportunities for educational and professional advancement in the society of post-Revolution New Jersey. At about the age 20 he was in the Paramus area perhaps looking after family interests or looking to develop his own interests. It was from here that he enrolled in Queens College (later Rutgers) in New Brunswick and became the first member of his family to graduate from college which he did in 1791.
Elijah’s license to minister and preach in the Dutch Reformed Church
Queens College was founded by members of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1766 and by the early 1790s still retained strong attachments to that church in terms of faculty and curriculum. These factors helped to influence Elijah to choose a career in the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church. On graduation from the college he decided to study theology with two ministers of that faith, Rev. Peter Studdeford and Rev. Solomon Frolich. On October 9, 1794 Elijah Rosegrant received a license from the Synod of New York of the Reformed Dutch Church of America. It stated:
The Reverend Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church of America; certify by these present that Elijah Rosegrant S. S. Theol. Stud. having presented sufficient testimonials of his conduct and literary profency, and especially his theological knowledge was admitted to an examination preparatory to the Ministry of the Gosspil. He after having delivered a suitable discourse on a given text of scripture was strictly examined in the original language of the old and new Testiment and upon the sacred truth of Theology, both didactic and Polemic. The Synod being fully satisfied with his performances on this occasion, give this public testimony that he is admitted to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as a candidate of our Church and in Subordination to the reverend Synod. Wherefore, the aforesaid Elijah Rosegrant having abjured the erronious opinions of A. Roel, and B. Bekkar and Subscribed the articles of union and agreement. The Synod admit them as a candidate of their church and implore the divine blessing on his labours, and may the great Shepherd of the Church envelop his gifts and replenish with all heavenly gifts and grace, and in due time call and establish him in the public administration of the word of the church
Nicholas Lansing
Secretary
Samuel Smith
Done in the Synod of New York
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| Elijah Rosegrant is certified to preach in the Dutch Reformed Church-1794 |
Elijah decided to train to be a physician
Having failed to obtain a calling from a Dutch Reformed congregation and having decided not to continue to be a schoolmaster, Elijah turned to the study of medicine. In this era in America, most doctors obtained their medical training not by attending an educational institution, but by apprenticeship. Elijah was so engaged for about a year, and in September 1798 two doctors, Moses Scott and Charles Smith, examined him, and judged that he was qualified to practice as a physician and a surgeon. Then two judges of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Alexander Kirkpatrick and Elisha Boudinot, issued Elijah his license to practice in the state of New Jersey.
Elijah explained his change in careers to the Dutch Reformed Synod of New York in a letter written around 1799 from “Pumpton Planes:”
...In October last I was...advised...to appear before Synod at the next meeting, or write. To write is most convenient for me.
The first year after receiving my license according to the direction of Synod I traveled and preached to almost all the vacant congregations belonging to the Dutch church. Receiving no call in May of 96 I took the charge of an academy at Bergen for one year.
Seeing no prospect of settling in the ministry and finding traveling disagreeable to me and which would by no means afford me a support I thought it necessary to turn my attention to something else, and physick seemed to be the most suitable to be united with the ministry. This with a previous inclination of studying physick fixed my determination and accordingly changed my studies with an intention of preaching occasionally if requested. But receiving few invitations I have preached very seldom, yet never refused when invited by a vacant congregation. I prosecuted the study of physick with diligence and in October last was examined and obtained a license to practice in this state.
Sensible of my inability to discharge with propriety the duties of the ministry, Sensible to the solemn charge imposed upon ministers at their ordination and the debility with which some perform the duties of their office, it appears to me a subject of importance and I have done according with the what seemed to me best.
Such considerations together with the low state of religion and the neglect paid to ministers in general belonging to our church were the leading motives which induced me to study physick, and now induce me to return to Synod the license obtained from them at New York in October 94 which will be delivered to Synod by the Reverend John Cornelison.
Believe me to retain great respect for Synod and a high sense of the honor and importance of the cause you are engaged in. Wishing you all health and prosperity in this life that you may be found faithful in the discharge of your duties hereafter obtain the reward promised to such.
I remain with humility and much esteem
Your obedient servant
Elijah Rosegrant
Elijah buys pieces of Bergen County property and borrows money
On May 1, 1804 Elijah bought 7 acres from Jacob Haring for $175, on May 10 six acres and a pew for $200, on May 14 he borrowed $200 from Christian Zabriskie to paid off with interest over the next six years, and on May 15 he bought 20 Acres from David Ackerman for $525. In 1806 he was asking his brother John for a loan.
On June 20, 1807 Elijah purchased The Hermitage together with 55 acres of property from James Laroe for $1,325. This sum was to be paid in five equal installments.
Cornelia born in 1774 brought to The Hermitage the experiences and heritage of the Suffern family. Her father, John, was born in Antrim in northern Ireland in 1741. The family had originally come from France to Ireland, had become Presbyterian, and as such found themselves with freedom limited by laws favoring those who were members of the Church of England. John Suffern left Ireland with his brother for America in 1763. They both had enlisted in the army of General Braddock which was to drive the French out of western Pennsylvania. However, John was taken ill with ship fever and when he arrived in Philadelphia he was forced to remain in a hospital there. Having missed the ill fated Braddock expedition, John Suffern worked his way north from Philadelphia. By 1765 he was in Burlington, New Jersey, and in January of the following year he married Mary Myers of that small city.
John and Mary would make there way after some years to Orange County, New York. John for a time taught school in Tappan, moved to Haverstraw, and then in 1773 saw an opportunity to purchase a small piece of land, one acre, further west in that county at the “Point of the Mountain” just north of Mahwah, near the entrance to the Ramapo Pass and on the King’s Highway leading from the Hudson River to Morristown and the south. He built a large house here that became a tavern and an inn. Its success enabled him to buy a large portion of the 5,000 acres in the area known as the Prevost Patent that had been granted in 1775 by King George III to James Marcus Prevost, the British officer living at the time in The Hermitage in Hopperstown, a few miles to the south of Suffern’s Tavern. Prevost and his wife, Theodosia, sold much of the property to John De Lancy and Robert Morris who in turn sold it to John Suffern. Suffern called the area New Antrim which later would become Suffern, New York.
While these transactions were taking place, the North American colonies were moving toward the War of Independence against Great Britain. John Suffern became a protestor, signed the pledge of the Committee of Safety of Orange County in 1774, enlisted in the Orange County militia in 1775, and in the same year signed a General Association pledging to carry out “whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress.” Through the war he was the local Justice of the Peace and a member of the Committee for Orange County. His tavern was often the headquarters for the officers of the various Revolutionary forces passing through the area or stationed in the Ramapo Pass, including Gen. George Washington on several occasions, Gen. George Clinton, and in fall 1777 Col. Aaron Burr when commanding Malcolm’s Regiment at the Pass. In 1781-2, Suffern was elected to the New York State Legislature. In 1782, he and his wife, according to the Rosencrantz family memory, were guests at the wedding of Aaron Burr and Theodosia Bartow Prevost at The Hermitage.
Through the 1780s John Suffern expanded his property holdings by hundreds of acres by purchasing bounty rights to land from ex-soldiers and from other sellers. He added to his extensive holdings in Orange County a large property near Elmira, New York. Suffern also extended his economic activities by opening a store, running a farm, operating a grist mill and a saw mill, establishing a potash works and a wool factory, building a forge and erecting a rolling mill and nail factory. John was a slave holder, and he helped to organize the Reformed Church in neighboring Mahwah. In the 1790s Suffern was a leader in the establishment of Rockland County out of Orange County. He became postmaster of the first post office in the county at New Antrim, was the County Judge, and was the state senator from the County from 1800-03.
John Suffern and his wife Mary had 12 children between 1767 and 1790. Cornelia was their fifth child. Some of her brothers and sisters would be important personages in the region. Andrew became a lawyer and a judge; Margaret married Peter Allison and became mother of General George Allison; William became a large farmer in Hillburn; George became a wealthy tobacco merchant in New York City and owned land in Haverstraw and Elmira; Elizabeth with her husband became a large land holder and farmer in Tioga County, New York and then lived in Elmira; James went to New Orleans, and John became a doctor and farmer and ran a rolling mill and nail factory in Garnerville. John also was elected to the New York State Assembly and he sold land in Haverstraw to a socialist community in 1824.
Cornelia’s mother, Mary Suffern died in 1816. Her father John at age 70 then married Elizabeth Bertholf, widow of James Bogert, a major in the Revolutionary War . He died at age 95 in 1836.
reference - Sue Hudson, Background of Ho-Ho-Kus History, 1953, p. 74
Studies of comparative wages in the early 19th century
A communication by email from Scott D. Peters, Research Director/Archivist, Ocean County Historical Society:
Dr. Rosencranz(sic) earned $538...that translates, roughly, to $1.75 a day. At the time, the Trade Unions were demanding a $2 a day wage for skilled labor....Since a typical work week was 6 days, that translates into $12 a week x 52 weeks = $624 per year....At the same time...James P. Smith, Manager of Howell Works...was likely earning between $1500 and $2500 per year. Compared to the average journeyman mechanic...who earned a more typical $1.25 to $1.50 per day, Dr. Rosencranz’s income is about equal to a trades foreman. Other figures for Monmouth County during the period 1830-1850 show average wages for unskilled and basic farm laborers to range from $0.35 to $1.00 and skilled labor from $0.75 to $1.50....The basic one horse open-top buggy or chaise cost an average of $121 in 1836....It seems that Dr. Rosencranz’s earnings as a physician in 1830 were above the average wage-earning worker, but nowhere near what could be reasonably defined as wealthy, comfortable or even “middle class” if the figure of $538 / year is correct.
Emerging industrial revolution
The residents of Bergen County could not but be influenced in their thinking by the activities taking place in nearby Paterson, one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution in the United States. Since the early 1790s, with the involvement of Alexander Hamilton, the Society for Useful Manufactures had utilized water power from the Passaic River buy means of raceways around the Great Falls to establish textile factories and machine works in Paterson. By 1834, according to Thomas Gordon in his Gazetteer of the State of New Jersey, there were in Bergen County 16 cotton factories, 5 woolen factories, and 3 paper mills.
By the late 1820s Philemon Dickerson had become a leading lawyer in Paterson and had been elected a member of the New Jersey legislature. He was born in Succasunna in Morris County in 1788, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, read law, and opened a practice in the growing industrial city of Paterson. It was then in the late 1820s that Elijah Rosegrant became one of his clients. Later in the 1830s he was elected to the United States House of Representatives and then was chosen to be Governor of New Jersey. After another term in Congress he was appointed judge of the United States District Court for New Jersey in 1841 and served there until his death in 1851.
Extant letters from Elijah to his son John, 1824-1827
I wish you to be studious and make all the proficiencies you can...The study of languages with a little geography and history constitute that regular course....but do not neglect giving the Greek the full proportion of your time and attention (1/8/24)
We feel anxious to hear of your health as we always do....I wish you my son to apply yourself to your studies, take necessary exercise and amusement but let them not intrude on your hours of study. I have met with no disappointment in the course of my life which has hurt me so terribly and acutely as that which compels me to give up the idea of giving you a liberal education. But if you will apply to your studies at home and during your course of lectures you my be equally well prepared for the country practice of physick, and I will try to reconcile myself to it. The many inducements to take you from your studies by the practice and customs of the young people in this country give me some anxiety for fear you will give away too much to them...exercise and some company is necessary to become acquainted with the world, but I shall still hope that you will not give yourself too much to the pleasures and divertions of customs of this place. It is impossible to apply the mind to study when it is continually intoxicated with the idea of company and those bewitching frolics common to this country. You will not disappoint me I hope of keeping yourself and your desires of company and the pleasures of youth under due restraint. Remaining with all care and desire for your welfare, your friend and father. (1/30/25)
By a prudent attention to your studies, a just respect to your equals and superiors, trying to derive some useful knowledge from everything you see and hear, that your conduct be with...the practice of the cardinal virtues of honesty, justice, temperance and prudence [you] will never fail to give me real pleasure and be one of the greatest sources of worldly consolation in the decline of life. (11/4/26)
If you had any wish to go to a dancing school this winter I would have no objection provided it be respectable and not too expensive. (11/7/26)
It will always give me pleasure to hear of your attending...church. Give a respectful attention to the religious instructions delivered there [and] avoid all levity on the occasion. You will see much good company and learn the manners and customs of the City. You must indulge no critical ideas or opinions, always ask questions for information and that very respectfully. Enter on no arguments on religious subjects, submit them always to their proper teachers who will be the best gauge of them always reserving to yourself the right of private opinion. You will let me know when you will want of money and how much to carry you thro the winter. (11/14/26)
The time of your return is now beginning to draw near. We hope you will continue to improve your time the best you can. Your main object should be knowledge of your intended profession and secondly knowledge of the world which are both indispensably necessary to your becoming useful to yourself and society. You will try to obtain all you can from the lectures of your professors while there on the subject of medicine and its auxiliaries, also see a little of the manner of the city, before another winter comes you will have time and opportunity to read and improve on what you have heard.... The field before you is great. Great industry and perseverance is necessary to make your reputation in your profession. This I trust you are sensible of and will not disappoint me in. (2/3/27)
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Elijah Rosegrant to son, John Rosencrantz, Nov. 25, 1826 |
gradual emancipation had become law in New Jersey in 1804
In 1804 the New Jersey state government passed a gradual emancipation act, despite much opposition, particularly from Bergen County. It was the last northern state to do so. According to this act all those persons who were then slaves would remain the property of their owners, unless manumitted by them. Any person born of a slave after the passage of the act would remain the property of the owner, males until 25 and females until 21, after which age they became a freedman.
See Marion Brown, “Slaves, Immigrants and Workers at The Hermitage and in the Rosencrantz Cotton Mill,” 2002 - in The Hermitage History Collection
witnesses to the purchase of a 16 year old slave boy, Tom
Know all men by these Presents, that I, Henry Van Emburghs in consideration of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars to me in hand paid by Levi Rosenkrans of the County of Sussex, in the State of New Jersey, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, have granted, bargained and sold, and by those presents do grant, bargain and sell unto the said Levi Rosenkrans a certain negro boy named Tom about sixteen years of age, to have and to hold....
In witness whereof...forthteenth day of January 1808.
presence of Elijah Rose Grant
Cornelia Rose Grant
arranged for Caesar to be accepted as a ward of the local Overseer of the Poor
copy in the indenture to this effect
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| Indenture by which Elijah Rosegrant bound Caesar to Garret Zabriskie in 1811 |
Listed in Bergen County Book of Black Births 1804-1844.
“On the 18th day of July, 1808, was born from the body of Gin, the female slave of the subscriber, in the township of Franklin, in the county of Bergen, a male child named Harry. Elijah Rosegrant”
“I certify that on the 3d day of November, 1810, was born from the body of my Negro woman slave, in the county of Bergen and Township of Franklin, a male child named Jack. Elijah Rosegrant”
Dec’r 25, 1813. Sir. My black woman Jin has another child, a daughter, born the 17th of October last, which she calls Phebe. If you will be so good as to have its name recorded as the law directs, you will oblige your friend and humble servant. Elijah Rosegrant”
from Bob Griffin, Bergen County Historical Society
Put in the data from mss census for 1840 and 1850 in regard to free blacks at The Hermitage and at Hoppers with the Rosencrantz name
“A true and perfect Inventory of all and singular the goods, Chattels, right and Credits of Elijah Rosegrant...1832"
Sundry articles in the front room $42
“ ” 65
Sundry articles in the first room in second story 40
“ in the second room “ 62
“ in the front room in garrit 10
“ In the second room “ 10
side saddle and trunk 10
In the entry 7
gun and saddle 4
1 barrel Rye and Sundries 5
Sundry articles in the kitchen 12
In the seller 44
Earthen Pots Pail Barrel tubs etc 20
(farming) (fanning) mill 3
Rye in the sheaf 40
Hay in the barn and barrick 50
Pleasure slay 20
Corn and potatoes 35
2 Waggons 20
Buckwheat 25
Cart 5
Grind (hone) (slone) 2
Gig and Harness 10
Cradle and (Scaper) 3
1 brown horse 40
1 yoke of oxen 50
3 cows 60
2 calves 3
4 shoats 5
a lot of books 16
His books of account about Some (disparate) 200
His wearing apparel 30
poughs and harrows 6
a note from Abraham Wortendyke payable 70
In the first day of May last for interest due on same 2
1,048
1 lease for a cotton factory dated 1st of Sept. 1830 for
ten years at four hundred doller a year
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| Inventory of possessions of Elijah Rosegrant on his death in 1832 |
New medical school in New York City that arranged to offer its degrees through Rutgers
from Dr. Michael Nevins:
The brief and turbulent history of the “Rutgers Medical College” was marked by struggles for power, prestige and profit among the medical faculty at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York (P&S) and between New York and New Jersey medical establishments....
Thwarted in their efforts to have their way with the administration of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, a group of five prominent physicians led by Dr. David Hosack (1769-1835) broke away. Hosack was a brilliant but controversial academician who previously had been a leader of the P&S faculty. On August 1, 1826 the group announced in a circular, “the late Professors of the College of Physicians and Surgeons have seen fit to withdraw from that Institutions (and)...have organized another Medical College...The several Courses of Instruction will commence on the first Monday in November ensuing”
Initially, the new school was called “Medical College of New York” and attempts were made to affiliate with Columbia and Union College, or to establish a working arrangement with the University of Pennsylvania. When these alliances were not forthcoming, Hosack’s group successfully petitioned the trustees of Rutgers College for their endorsement.
Queen’s College only recently had changed its name to Rutgers College and was in dire need of money. They were mindful that, in effect, having a medical school handed to them would enhance their reputation. When the new school with Dr. Hosack as President opened in the fall of 1826, it had a student body of 153 as opposed to 92 students left at P&S) (the P&S enrollment was down more than 50% from the previous year.) Later circulars used the name Rutgers Medical College instead of Medical College of New York. Hosack estimated that it would cost each student about $400 per session to cover tickets of admission to lectures, books, boards and clothing. The faculty paid Rutgers five dollars per student to defray the costs of graduation.
As soon as Dr. Hosack’s school gained affiliation with Rutgers College, the good news was broken to John in a letter from his friend and fellow student Garret Terhune who was seven years older and probably two years ahead of John in school.
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| Announcement of the opening of a new medical school in New York City which will become affiliated with Rutgers College |
Oct. 19, 1826
My Dear Friend,
I have the pleasure of announcing to you the success of our Professors with respect to the source of conferring Degrees. They have made application to the trustees of Rutgers College (New Jersey) and by the unanimous concurrence of that body [have] become the Medical Faculty of that institution. The trustees of Rutgers College will consequently confer the degree of doctor of Medicine upon all students recommended by said Medical Faculty. The Professors are very much elated with their success and intend to commence their course of lectures with great courage and exertions. They will in all probability far exceed the old Medical College [P&S] in the number of students. In my opinion the source of degrees is very favorable to all students of Medicine from our State and therefore I think we have reason to be very much pleased with it. I trust you will not hesitate in coming forward to attend at least a part of the entering course of lectures. I have enquired of the family where I am to board and find that you will probably be able to obtain it their if you have not made any [other] arrangements when you were in Town. I expect to have about a week vacation immediately before the commencement of the public lectures during which time I shall be at home in the County and if I can make it convenient I will give you a call before I return.
Yours respectfully,
Garret Terhune
John’s honorary degree from Rutgers Medical School in 1830
In an 1835 listing of Rutgers graduates it was recorded that John Rosencrantz did receive an honorary degree from Rutgers in 1830.
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John Rosencrantz's degree from Rutgers Medical School |
A cotton warp mill produced yarn from cotton fiber to be used for weaving in textile factories. The process involved a number of steps and a variety of machines. The bales of cotton, bought through a New York City cotton merchant, were transported to a mill such as the Rosencrantz mill in Ho-Ho-Kus, first by water transportation to a New Jersey wharf and then by horse-drawn wagon to the Bergen County site. The bales were opened and the raw cotton was spread out so that pickers could remove stones, twigs and other debris. The cotton was then sent through a scutcher, a machine with rollers and beaters, that would open up the fibers. From there the cotton was run through a lapper or spreader that further prepared the cotton for carding. The cards were large drum-shaped machines that took the lapped cotton and with rollers and teeth combed the material and aligned the fibers into slivers. Next a drawing frame would lengthen the slivers and would coil them into cans. A speeder would further elongate the cotton into a thick, slightly twisted rope called roving. Next spinning frames with many spindles would draw out the roving and twist it into yarn. A winding machine, called a spooler, transferred the spun yarn onto larger bobbins. Many bobbins were placed on a rack and yarn from them was wound onto cylinders. These cylinders were then sent to factories for weaving textile products.
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| Hand pickers in a cotton mill |
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| carding machine used in producing cotton warp |
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| Carding machine used in producing cotton warp |
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| Excerpt from "Picture of a Factory Village" |
In rural Bergen County by 1834
from Thomas Gordon, Gazetteer of the State of New Jersey, 1834 as cited in Frederick W. Bogert, Federalist and Antebellum Years, 1784-1860, Vol. IV, Bergen County, New Jersey: History and Heritage, Hackensack: The Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 1983, p. 59.
The place name for the community in which The Hermitage was located had a vacillating evolution. While the Native American name for the area and the brook that ran through it, Hohhauhas, Hoghokus, etc. appear in the 1698 Van Emburgh deed and in a number of other early colonial documents, it became known in the 1700s by the name of Hopper(s)town due to the settlement there of a number of members of the Hopper family. The name New Prospect began to be used in the 1790s and the local post office was listed as being in New Prospect in 1809. It was so named until 1858. Still many continued to use the old name of Hoppertown into the 1860s. Meanwhile some maps named the village Hohokus as early as 1828. The name of the railroad station built in 1848 was Hohokus Station. The post office name was changed to Hohokus in 1858. For a time in the 1870s the area around the railroad station became known as Undercliff - describing its location - but this lasted only for a few decades.
This settlement was part of larger units, part of the Ramapo Tract after 1709. In 1772 it was incorporated into Franklin Township which extended north to the New York State border. Hohokus became its own township in 1849, but was then incorporated into Orvil Township in 1875. In 1905 Hohokus became the Borough of Orvil, but the post office was still Hohokus and the railroad station was still Undercliff. In 1908 the borough name was changed to Ho-Ho-Kus. (Sue Hudson, Background of Ho-Ho-Kus History), 81-86)
Joseph Ripka was born in 1788 in Silesia. He was trained as a weaver. In order to avoid conscription into the army, Ripka went to Vienna, Switzerland, Spain and then in 1816 to Philadelphia. He began there as an independent weaver, but soon rented space, acquired looms and hired workers. The 1820 census listed his capitalization at $3,500 with a 13 person workforce.
Ripka succeeded well in the 1820s. He married 31 year old Kate Geiger of Germantown around 1823. They would have 5 sons and 4 daughters. In 1828 he rented mill space in the Manayunk section of western Philadelphia. By 1831 Ripka had built his own waterpowered Mill No. 1 there. He also had a plant in northeast Philadelphia. These properties and their machinery were worth at least $100,000. By 1834 he had 300 workers at Manayunk alone. Ripka diversified his textile production, sold nationwide but particularly in the South, and became known as a “grinder” in relation to his growing number of workers, a large percentage of whom were women and children. He reduced wages at every opportunity and required 13 hour work days. There were a number of strikes in the 1830s. In 1835 he erected Mill No. 2 at Manayunk with 600 power looms. It was soon afterwards that John Rosencrantz married Caroline Ripka and was given charge of one of the Ripka mills.
The 1840s through the mid-1850s were the peak years for the Ripka works. It was one of the largest textile companies in the nation with at times more than 1,000 workers in various locations around Philadelphia. There continued to be labor unrest, strikes and in 1848 the partial burning of one of the mills. Shortly afterwards, in 1849-50, with the mill repaired, the Mayayunk plants used over a million pounds of raw cotton. They produced a single staple, more than 3 million yards of “Pantiloon stuffs.” In 1850 the Ripka Works were capitalized at $490,000. Joseph Ripka himself was listed as having $200,000 in real property, 3 servants and a coachman. In 1852 he moved into a new mansion. During the 1850s with his sons coming of age, he placed them and other family members in charge of his various mills. The increasing dependence on a single product line and with a growing percentage of the sales in the southern states, the Ripka Works would face difficult times in the 1857 business downturn and again with the onset of the Civil War. (Philip Scranton, Proprietary Capitalism: The Textile Manufacture at Philadelphia, 1800-1885, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983)
book into which she copied poems
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Poems copied by Cornelia Suffern Rosegrant in 1830s |
Source: John Barber and Henry Howe, Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey, 1844.
Some possible reasons for the seemingly better labor relations at the Rosencrantz mill might include: the fact that there was a smaller workforce and the relations, among neighbors, were closer; Elijah Rosencrantz might have been less of a labor driver than Joseph Ripka; many of the workers were young, were living with their families, and particularly among the women did not plan to make a career of mill work; they were more isolated from labor organizers; and rural residents, perhaps, were more conservative towards authority and a work regime.
capitalist business cycles
Elijah’s cotton mill had some loss of business in the depression of the late 1830s, prospered in a period of national prosperity in the 1840s into the 1850s, had much trouble in the economic downturn in 1857, severely suffered from lack of readily available cotton during the Civil War, enjoyed an upswing in business after 1865 and then would again face business difficulties with the onset of the 1873 depression.
Thirty-one workers from a ledger entry on one payday in 1850
- from Marion Brown, “Slaves, Immigrants and Workers at The Hermitage and in the Rosencrantz Cotton Mill,” 2000 - in The Hermitage History Collection
William Ranlett
The Architect
Gothic Revival Architecture
Andrew Jackson Downing of Newburg and of New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis
innovative modern conveniences; running water, indoor plumbing and central heating
nationally recognized example of Gothic Revival architecture.
William Ranlett and his family
for more information on these topics see the section of this web site entitled “The Hermitage: A History of the House”
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| Schedule, Paterson and Ramapo Railroad, 1852 |
The Paterson and Ramapo Railroad, fifteen miles in length and completed in 1848, connected the Erie Railroad in New York State at Suffern and the Paterson and Hudson Railroad in Paterson. The Paterson and Hudson Railroad, one of the earliest railroads in the United States, following the raising of local capital and gaining New Jersey state legislative approval, was completed in 1832 and connected Paterson to the New York harbor waterfront at Jersey City. In New York State the Erie Railroad was incorporated to extend from Piermont on the Hudson River to Dunkirk on Lake Erie. Construction began in 1836 and tracks reached from Piermont to New Antrim (Suffern) by 1841. In that year the New Jersey legislature approved a new Paterson and Ramapo Railroad Company which would extend from the Erie at Suffern to Paterson. Stocks were offered for sale in 1844, engineer John Allen surveyed the route both for grade and for tapping existing mills and farms, and construction began in 1847. The fifteen mile line was completed in fall 1848. The work resulted in accidents and deaths to mainly Irish immigrant workers. The cost was $200,000. Two locomotives, the “Ramapo” and the “New York” were ordered from the Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor Company in Paterson.
The opening of the railroad took place on October 19, 1848. General Winfield Scott and several other military heroes just returned form the Mexican War together with railroad and government officials traveled to Suffern for a celebration at the depot there.
The Morning Courier reported:
The new Road seemed to us to be well and carefully finished...There is some heavy work on the line - deep cuttings through red stone or coarse solid gravel pan - long and high embankments - but all well and finally done....The line of the road traverses a beautiful country - comparatively unknown, too - the flats of Paramus are all laid open to the eye of the flying traveller, and by their beauty, fertility and peaceful aspect, seem to invite him to stay his rapid course. Approaching the Ramapo mountains, the train seems running into the breast of them, when all of a sudden it brings up in one of the gorges, and the wayfarer finds himself besides the Erie Railroad.
Regular runs began on November 1, 1848 with three trains traveling in each direction daily. There were stations at Ho-Ho-Kus, Allendale and Ramsey and shortly afterwards at Godwinville (Ridgewood). Special excursion trains were introduced on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and additional trains were run on holidays such as July 4.
The new means of transportation increased business access for mills and farms. Milk and farm produce could now more efficiently be brought to urban markets. For one thing, Bergen County became a center of strawberry production.
The Newark News in June 1851 reported:
nearly one million baskets of strawberries were brought to New York over the Ramapo and Paterson railroads and Jersey City ferry. Most of these were gathered within a district of about eight miles square contiguous to the Ramapo road. Estimating that they were sold at the average rate of four cents a basket, the return must have been about $40,000. The time is hastening when New Jersey will derive immense revenue from her marketing facilities. Our soil is well adapted for such business and our nearness to the great markets is also inviting.
In 1851, after ten years of construction, the Erie reached its western terminus in Dunkirk. It was at that time the longest railroad in the world, but with an inconvenient three hour boat trip from its eastern ending at Piermont down the Hudson to New York City. After much negotiation, the Erie worked out a leasing arrangement with the Paterson and Ramapo and Paterson and Hudson companies. Since the New Jersey lines had 4'10" track width and the Erie had 6'0" width, the Erie reconstructed all the newly rented lines to a uniform 6'0". This meant that all the through passenger and freight trains on the Erie had access to the New York harbor at Jersey City and enroute passed through Ho-Ho-Kus.
An aspect of race relations in the region was exemplified during the construction of the new tracks by the Erie.
The Paterson Intelligencer reported in May 1853:
The laborers employed in and about the New York and Erie railroad struck for higher wages the beginning of last week. They wanted ten shillings a day, $1.25, but the company would only give nine, whereupon the laborers left. The company immediately supplied their places with black men, at one dollar a day, but the white workmen no sooner heard of this arrangement than they proceeded in a body on Wednesday evening last, to the depot and attacked the colored men as they were on their way home. The poor darkies were of course put to flight, some of them awfully beaten and one of them more unfortunate than his fellows was pitched headlong in to the river but was saved from drowning by one of the police.
Accidents, collisions, and derailments were particularly frequent in the early years of the railroad. Human misjudgements that would have resulted in minor injuries in the slower-moving agrarian world now could prove fatal with the increased size and speed of the railroad. (From Henry Bischoff and Mitchell Kahn, From Pioneer Settlement to Suburb Settlement: A History of Mahwah, New Jersey, 1700-1976, South Brunswick, NJ: A. S. Barnes, 1979: see also Walter Lucas, From the Hills to the Hudson, New York: Mullens-Tutrone, 1944)
1847 map
reproduce this map and indicate the siting of mills along the Hohokus brook
Cornelia “Killie” Livingston Dayton Rosencrantz’s ancestral line is as follows:
Killie’s parents were William Dayton, b 1806 and Cornelia Street, b 1828.
Killie’s grandfather on her father’s side was Samuel Dayton, b 1784. The Daytons in America went back 7 generations to Ralph Deighton, b. 1589, the emigrant from England.
Killie’s grandmother on her father’s side, Samuel Dayton’s wife, Ida Bicker, had ancestors going back 5 generations to Lucas Kiersted, one of the earliest settlers in northern Bergen County.
Killie’s grandparents on her mother’ side were Cornelia Billings and Gen. Randall Street.
Gen. Street’s brother was New York author, Alfred Street.
From these two brothers the Streets went back 9 generations in America.
Cornelia Billings parents (Killie’s great grandparents) were Major Andrew Billings and Cornelia Livingston.
From Andrew, the Billings in America went back 10 generations.
Cornelia Livingston was the daughter of Jarris Livingston who was the son of Col. Gilbert Livingston who was the son of the powerful Robert Livingston
Robert Livingston had married Alyda Schuyler who was the daughter of the colonial leader, Philip Schuyler.
courtship correspondence between Killie Dayton and Elijah Rosencrantz
see Delight Dodyk, “The First Mistress of the Gothic Revival Hermitage,” Ourstory, Vol. 6, No. 1, Fall 2000, pp.24-25 - in The Hermitage History Collection
Ridgewood an early railroad suburb
See Peggy Norris, “Early Development of Ridgewood and Its Relation to The Hermitage, 1850-1870,” in The Hermitage History Collection; Fred Manchee, “From Independence to Civil War,” in The History of a Village: Ridgewood, New Jersey, Ridgewood: 1964, pp. 23-25.
letter from John Rosencrantz - 1859
John Rosencrantz wrote from Alexandria - 1861
pro-union rally in Hohokus
quote is from Albert Terhune. He further wrote that there was a brass band, banners, and persons in customs and that there was “a great outpouring of the people from far and near, who came to view the unique display. Those from the surrounding country came by train, in horse-drawn vehicles, on horseback and on shank mares.” In Sue Hudson, Background of Ho-Ho-Kus History, Woman’s Club of Ho-Ho-Kus, 1953, pp. 101-102.
Rev. E. T. Corwin
In Ibid. 102-103, Hudson wrote:
The morning after the attack on Fort Sumter, Rev. E. T. Corwin, then pastor
of the Paramus Church, fastened a flag of the United States to a pole and thrust it out of the belfry of the old church. When the congregation came to church the following Sunday, they found “Old Glory” waving in the breeze above them. Some of the members objected, telling the pastor it was not right to have the flag inasmuch as there was a division of opinion among them. They insisted that the flag must come down. Two other members, William Ranlett and John Jacob Zabriskie of Ho-Ho-Kus, approved the pastor’s action and declared that they would protect him in keeping the flag on the steeple. During the week a committee of the objectors called on Mr. Corwin and demanded the removal of the flag before the next Sunday’s service. Mr Ranlett on the other hand immediately armed and equipped twenty-five men at his own expense.
On the following Sunday morning, after the congregation had assembled on the church grounds, the committee approached the pastor and informed him that, as they had stated before, the flag must come down and come down at once. As they started toward the belfry, Mr Corwin halted them and said, “ I told you our flag should wave above us until the war is over. I have twenty-five men here to help me protect it. The first man who touches that flag to tear it down will be shot.” In the midst of the excitement the committee and their sympathizers gathered their families and left the scene, many never to return to worship again at the Paramus Church. The flag lasted a year and a half, and was replaced by others until the close of the war.
Elijah would be put into great economic stress by the war
see “The Civil War, Bergen County, and The Hermitage, “ by Sean Cosgrove in Ourstory, vol. 6, No. 1, Fall 2000 - and a fuller version in The Hermitage History Collection.
Creditors continually hound Elijah Rosencrantz during the Civil War
...we do not wish to force you but something must be done to place your indebtedness to this bank on a more satisfactory basis...if some measures are not taken without further delay toward paying or better excusing it we shall be compelled to resort to other measures
A. H. Hatch to Elijah Rosencrantz, August 1, 1861
Mr. Peter Bogert who holds a mortgage against your property says he has written you twice lately in reference to it but has received no answer to either letter. He desires you to pay. He would like you to call upon him within ten days and make some satisfactory arrangements respecting it or else he would be obliged to take some other way of directing your attention to it.
B. R. P. to Elijah Rosencrantz, March 4, 1863
I think now I have waited as long as you, or anyone, can wish to know - under the circumstances for my money - and now urgently request you to send it to me from the receipt of this. If you cannot send the whole, send part, to show you have a disposition to pay as you have often said you have.
A. V. S. Inorsbuck to Elijah Rosencrantz, June 25, 1863
The amount of your bill up to September last was $181.03
Interest to date $9.57 - $190.60
You will much oblige me by paying the same next week or give me a note with security. I have been very patient with you. Please let me hear from you at your earliest convenience.
J. Y. Dater to Elijah Rosencrantz, August 3, 1863
Yours with a check of $135 Doll came to hand and has been payed to your credit. I hope you will be able to send me next month a larger remittance.
A. V. S. Inorsbuk to Elijah, August 12, 1863
Know all men by these presents that I, Elijah Rosencrantz, the first part, and James Peel Jr, President of the Machinists Association of the City of Paterson, the second part,... in consideration of my indebtedness to said association in the sum of six hundred and twenty three dollars and thirty six cents...do grant sell assign and set over unto said James Peel Jr. the following goods...
1 willow
2 piecing and leef machines
12 36" cards
2 doorway frames
4 speeders
9 ring spinning frames
9 Dunbar spinning jennies
Three warping mills
one spooler
seven reels
all of which is in my mill in the township of Hohokus.
Whereas I am indebted to the said Machinists Association in the sum
of 623.36 besides interest...for goods, wares, and merchandise - sold
and delivered and for labor due and performed.
Now the conditions of the bill of sale is such that if the said
Elijah Rosencrantz shall pay to the said Machinists Association the sum of the said indebtedness above mentioned at the rate of seven percent per annum in one year from the date hereof and one half in the date two years from the date hereof, then this bill of sale shall be void. Otherwise...failure of Elijah Rosencrantz to pay the said sum of the said indebtedness... then the Machinists Association may sell the machinery above mentioned at either public or private sale and out of the proceeds due thereon and the surplus if any arising from such sale to be provided to the said Elijah Rosencrantz, his heirs... it being fully understood that the said machinery shall remaining the possession of the said Elijah Rosencrantz until default shall be made in the payment or payments above mention
November 4, 1863
Lease
Certain plot of land eastside of the Erie Railway near Hohokus Station. Beginning in the corner of the land of I. I. Zabriskie. One year, seventy five dollars half yearly in advance...can sell oysters, fish, soda water, beer, anything except intoxicating drinks...it being expressly understood between the parties that no spirited liquors shall be sold except in cases of sickness or injury...and no gambling of any kind allowed on the premises...any violations of the above shall terminate the agreement
Elijah Rosencrantz, Garret H. Bamfree, Jr., October 28, 1864
It is now nearly three months since you were to pay us one hundred fifty dollars on your mortgage according to your promise - and it has not been paid yet. We would thank you to give this your immediate attention and also settle the bill of (Balling Frame) three hundred dollars which should have been paid some two weeks since.
We are just now in immediate want of money and in fact we are continually in need of funds at hand to carry on our business - for all we buy is “cash.”
J. N. Wright, Machinists Union to Elijah Rosencrantz, February 28, 1865:
We cannot account for the treatment we are receiving at your hands. We have necessarily evinced a good deal of patience and leniency toward you - and when finally you made us a payment of one hundred fifty dollars in the beginning of October ‘64 and promised to make a similar one in the beginning of December - we expected you to do as you agreed but you have failed to make that payment yet and the last balling frame which was delivered to you on the 23rd of January has not yet been paid for - although your associate in business called here some weeks since and promised to pay for the following week.
Now, Mr. Rosencrantz, we would like to know how we could proceed or in any way manage our business if we were thus used by all our customers.
We are in need to this money and have been for some time - and hope you will not fail to let us have the two amounts this week
J. N. Wright, Machinists Union to Elijah Rosencrantz, May 27, 1865
It would greatly oblige us by your calling at our office sometime during
the ensuing week and pay the amount of account now long
past due. Trusting that you will not disappoint us.
J. N. Watson, Millwright & Machinists, to Elijah Rosencrantz, July 1, 1865
some dozen other of his more affluent neighbors
The shareholders in The Educational Association of Hohokus which founded the Hohokus Valley School in 1871 were in addition to Elijah Rosencrantz: J. H. Rutter, N. B. Kukuck, Henry Clair, Alonzo Milliken, Joseph Jefferson, R. N. Cable, O. J. Victor, Arthur H. Walton, H. Dennis, Richard W. Hawes, Alfred Ackerman, J. D. Stout, and Samuel Hopkins. (Hudson, Background of Ho-Ho-Kus History, p. 123-4)
from Marion Brown, “Slaves, Immigrants and Workers at The Hermitage and in the Rosencrantz Cotton Mill,” 2000 - in The Hermitage History Collection.
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picker and picking machine used in producing cotton warp |
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Spinning frame used in producing cotton warp |
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Cotton warping machine in Rrosencrantz mill |
John Rosencrantz built a house in 1892
This house was built on property John obtained from his sister Bessie. It was located 175 feet south of The Hermitage and was across Franklin Turnpike from the wooden mission church of St. Luke’s. The entrance, flanked by stone pillars, led up a driveway to the house with an exterior of sandstone on the first story and shingles on the remaining two stories. It had a Queen Anne style silhouette. The house had 11 rooms, 7 on the first floor, 4 on the second and 2 in the attic. Among the rooms on the first floor were a parlor, dining room, library, kitchen, baking room and laundry. The kitchen had a large Richardson stove which is now located in The Hermitage kitchen. There were 5 fireplaces framed with tiles. Outside of the house was a well, a barn for a carriage and horses, and a number of chicken coops.
This house would be moved close to The Hermitage in the 1970s and has since been used as an office and exhibit area for The Hermitage historic site.
Bergen County Agricultural Association Fair
A number of the newer more wealthy residents in Ridgewood and surrounding area, men interested in scientific agriculture, formed the Bergen County Agricultural Association in 1879. In that year they sponsored an agricultural fair which was held at the Ho-Ho-Kus Race Track. The fair became an annual event that was a major social event for the Rosencrantz and other families in the area. There were displays of Durham bulls, blood mares, swine, Southdown sheep, produce, farm wagons and machinery, home canned fruits, baked goods and needlework. There also were horse and bicycle races. “The fair was an outing toward which local residents planned and worked for a whole year. Everybody for miles around would go, some attending each of the three or four days. Whole families packed their lunches in the wagons and followed over the dusty roads to the fair grounds....Many others came by train. The Erie ran special trains between towns and yet could scarcely carry all the thousands who poured in.” The fair was held most years until 1932. Sue Hudson, Ibid., 124-5, 140, 171-3.
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| Program of Bergen County Agricultural Association Fair, Hohokus, 1881 |
There are reports that there was horse racing in Ho-Ho-Kus before the Civil War. By the 1870s the Ho-Ho-Kus Race Track had been laid out on what had been the 23 acre farm of Samuel Banta. The races attracted people for many parts of Bergen County. Grandstands and a new half mile track were constructed in 1895. Horse racing continued there into the 1930s. Sue Hudson, Ibid.
William Dayton’s interest in photography
The Hermitage archive has a considerable number of glass plate and printed photographs taken by William Dayton Rosencrantz, particularly in the decade of the 1890s.
For a review of the Rosencrantz family and especially of Bess’s reading see: Rebecca Rego, “The Rosencrantz Family Library: A Case Study of Fiction Reading in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,” 2000, (Drew University) (in The Hermitage History Collection)
The following is from Diane Barsa, “The Chronological History of the Two Mary Elizabeth Rosencrantz Women.”
The Tea Room’s success grew during the early 1920s. It had the reputation of being a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Some summers there were three Rosencrantz women working, Aunt Bess, Elizabeth, and Bessie, who came up from Virginia. When she was there, Bessie was the neat one, always cleaning. Elizabeth and Aunt Bess cooked. Stories of the Revolution and romance; secret rooms, hidden Hessians and secret meetings of the Freemasons; tunnels; haunting, saluting soldiers; and a history for each antique were told by Aunt Bess. (In later years, Elizabeth told visitors that many of Aunt Bess’ stories were fabrications. The secret room was above the dairy, an addition after the Revolutionary War, and thus chronologically unable to hide Hessians. The tunnels were part of the water system installed by Ranlett.)
By 1924 the menu’s cakes and cinnamon toast were a favorites. The yards and flowers were noted in articles in the local press.
Letters began to arrive from Donald MacIntire. They came from Bliss, New York, New York City, and Paterson. Donald talked of taking a cabin, of which there were many in the area for city residents wanting to come to the country for the weekends. By February of 1925 he accepted a dinner invitation from Elizabeth. Later that year he sent her a letter from Florida and in January, 1926 one came from Newburgh, New York. In March he wrote that he would stay the night and ended the letter, “with love to you.” During the summer he wrote that he would come Sunday and play pool. In January of 1927 he sent his “warmest regards” but could not visit due to an illness. He visited once in March, and then wrote in April that he was “coming to say good-bye.” Elizabeth, age 42, lost her last chance for love.
One month later, Aunt Bess and Elizabeth attempt to expanded the Tea Room’s offerings by providing dinner, if ordered prior to noon. This effort was not successful and was discontinued.
That same year Elizabeth gave Aunt Bess all her assets in exchange for The Hermitage.
The next year brought controversy to the area. Franklin Turnpike, on the west side of which The Hermitage is located, was to be widened. Aunt Bess and Elizabeth requested that friends write to local newspapers and historical societies to attempt to stop the plan. The turnpike work did not effect The Hermitage grounds.
In 1929, Vinnie visited The Hermitage in order to work in the cemetery. She often wrote to her sister-in-law, Bess. Her news was about the other Rosencrantz women, “Katie had her teeth out but pretend you do not know.” She wrote of concerns for Bessie in Virginia and signed her letters, “your sister.”
1929 brought the beginnings of the Great Depression, which caused the Tea Room business to decline. Aunt Bess sold lots on Franklin Turnpike.
A three page letter from Vinnie, in 1930, told about her fondness for “the RCA.” She questioned why Bess and Elizabeth were not using the battery operated radio. She wrote that Dayton was in Baltimore. This was the year sister-in-law Katie got a new car with chauffeur. The Tea Room opened with sandwiches on the menu.
Even the addition of sandwiches could not keep the Tea Room profitable. The following year, 1931, was its last season. The Great Depression came to The Hermitage. George and Katie sent money monthly until 1934, when George died. After his death, in 1935, Katherine sent $5.00 per month with a note.
The Hermitage was mentioned in the Historic American Building Survey of 1934.
A letter was received in September of 1935 regarding property owned by Mary Elizabeth Rosencrantz. It is unknown if it was Aunt Bess or Elizabeth. The property was described as being on the southeast corner of Seaman and Pennsylvania Avenues in Brooklyn, New York. A Mary Elizabeth Rosencrantz held the $6,000 mortgage.
Katie continued to send her notes and at the end of 1936 she stated she would visit The Hermitage at Christmas time. Finances were difficult for Aunt Bess and Elizabeth. Elizabeth contacted dealers in old books and stamps, trying to find a buyer for some of the family’s possessions. She had antiques appraised. There is no record of any items being sold at this time. The two proud women accepted flour and oatmeal from a representative of the Red Cross. They received coal from railroad workers.
Katie wrote to Elizabeth, in 1937, and told her she is a “fine girl” and companion to Aunt Bess (Elizabeth is 52 years old, Aunt Bess is 82). More negative responses were received regarding the books and stamps. Letters of inquiry were received regarding topics including the Burr-Prevost romance, Arnold and Andre, and Ranlett. A relative of the Watkins family visited the region from Detroit and was told that the state would get The Hermitage one day.
In 1938, Nell, a long-time friend of Elizabeth wrote that it was good to be single. Nell sold property she had on Walnut Avenue in Ridgewood and sent money to Elizabeth. She wrote that Elizabeth should “allow her the joy of sending money.” More negative responses were received regarding the books and stamps.
The 1939 World’s Fair brought a bit of cheer to The Hermitage household. A picture of The Hermitage was in the New Jersey exhibit. The year also brought a letter from Middleburg, Virginia, from Mathilde Rosencrantz. She claimed to be the French wife of Dayton and requested to know if he was dead or alive. She stated she worked for 6 years to get the money to get to the United States and could not afford lawyers. She wanted to know if she was a widow and stated that she was old and did not want to remarry (she was 47 at the time. She moved to Park Ridge, Illinois and lived until February 1987. She never remarried). Her existence was a surprise to Aunt Bess and Elizabeth. Their response is unknown.
An unknown source or sources of income caused Elizabeth to open a bank account in 1940. Deposits through 1949 ranged from $10 to $200.
The Rosencrantz women remained in contact through letters. Vinnie, Bessie, Katie, Bess and Elizabeth all continued to care about each other. In 1941, Bessie wrote that Vinnie had acquired a gas stove. She commented that it would scare her. Bessie told of her work as a companion to a woman and of a chauffeur who picked her up each day. She wrote that it was good for Bess and Elizabeth to be “in a house whose background you know, it counts for something.” Katie was in Upper Montclair and sent monthly $5 checks. One of her many letters stated that “yesterday was a wonderful experience, flew to Boston for lunch and back in the evening. It was American Airlines first day of service from Newark to Boston.” Vinnie wrote from Philadelphia that she was upset about the war and did not know the Japanese were bad.
Aunt Bess was ill in early 1942. Elizabeth needed assistance. Bessie was willing to come up from Virginia and help but stated, “I realize if I come it means an extra room to heat.” Vinnie was afraid to travel due to the war.
The funeral for Aunt Bess was in the front parlor of The Hermitage in 1943. Bessie wrote of the train arrival schedule. Other members of the Tyler family came. Katie and Vinnie came. Aunt Bess was buried besides other family members in Valleau Cemetery. In attendance were her three sisters-in-law, her niece, members of the Tyler family, and a few friends. The obituary stated her grandfather (Elijah the first), visited The Hermitage as a student in 1789 (the Rosencrantz family believed that he was a relative of the proprietor). Bessie stayed 6 weeks to help Elizabeth.
By September of that year, Vinnie died and Katie Zahner, Vinnie’s longtime servant and companion moved to The Hermitage. Katie Z. wrote to Elizabeth stating she only received a Postal Savings from Vinnie and needed a place to stay (Elizabeth had known Katie Z. since they were both twelve years of age. That year, 1897, Katie Z. had come alone on a ship from Ireland, looking for employment. The family told the story of finding Katie Z. on the docks and hiring her. She had come to work in the John Rosencrantz house, currently the support facility for The Hermitage. As John and Vinnie moved, they took Katies Z. with them.) Katie Z moved in with Elizabeth at The Hermitage in 1943.
Several members of the Tyler family corresponded with Elizabeth and sent her clothes. They wrote of how proud Elizabeth should be of the way she made it through Aunt Bess’ funeral. One letter told of a memory of snow on the wreathes. They often related Bessie’s condition as pitiful and then asked how were Elizabeth’s pets and sent regards to Katie Z.
At Christmas, Elizabeth sent money to Bessie. She received abundant thanks.
In Spring, 1944, Elizabeth sent lilies from The Hermitage to Bessie and Katie. She received letters of thanks. The war was discussed. Katie (originally from England, the daughter of Lord and Lady Levick) was working for the British Relief effort. A note from the occupants of the tenant houses complained that they lived in the kitchen because it was the only place with heat.
Elizabeth sent $5 and cigarettes to Bessie at Christmas and received thanks in January 1945. Two months later Bessie died of a stroke. She was buried in the Tyler-Dennis plot with her parents and Aunt Lillie, Elizabeth’s step-grandmother. The Tyler family wrote that the engagement ring that Elizabeth’s father gave Bessie should go to Elizabeth, but they could not find which member of the Tyler family had it. Members of the family continued to correspond with Elizabeth until 1960.
In 1946, Elizabeth wrote to the Commission of Historic Sites regarding The Hermitage. On December 17, a staff member from the Department of Conservation visited the house (No record has been located which tells the results of the visit). Elizabeth’s notes stated that the house was red sandstone and that an ancient pine had disappeared. She noted that an old house once stood on the other side of the brook and there once was a grist mill.
There was a tax lien on the tenant houses and property. The Waldwick town council reported that there was seven months of garbage at the tenant houses and that improvements to the houses were mandatory (there is no record regarding how these matters were remedied.).
There was one telehone bill from 1946. Elizabeth’s number was Ridgewood 6-1390.
A visitor to Elizabeth and Katie Z. reported that the two women dressed in long skirts and lace collars. There was no electricity and chickens were fighting on the couch.
Police were called to the property due to vandalism.
In 1949, Elizabeth sold property to the bleechery.
During 1950 through 1953, Katie Z. got assistance from the local welfare board. Elizabeth traded guns, knives, and Native American artifacts for meat with the local butcher. The county offered to support Elizabeth if she deeded the property to the county.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s many letters came to Elizabeth from people requesting information regarding George Washington’s visit, Aaron Burr and Theodosia Prevost’s romance, and how to arrange a tour of The Hermitage. Some letters told of memories of the family of Cornelia Livingston Dayton, others recalled playing in the stables and the trees, sewing for dolls, milking cows and drinking warm milk, and of the proud Aunt Bess with the caustic tongue. One letter offered to weed for a tour. One writer remembered a film maker who came to The Hermitage and had an actress run by the back of the house while men on the roof sprayed water so it looked as if she was running in the rain.
Elizabeth wrote to the Tylers of her efforts to save The Hermitage. In 1954, they wrote that she was sacrificing to save the old house and should be proud.
That same year, Dayton wrote requesting money. He was in a Veteran’s Hospital in the Midwest. He told of having a wife, Jane and a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born in 1933. He called his daughter “Betsy.” Elizabeth’s response is unknown. Elizabeth was now aware of a sister-in-law and niece, as well as the broken hearts of Marjorie Hartwell who knew Dayton as “Billy,” and the French wife, Mathilde, who worked her way to America to try and find her husband.
Jennie Dayton visited The Hermitage in 1956. She came from Hillsboro, New York and wanted to see where her ancestor spent her childhood. Her exact relationship to Elizabeth is not known.
In 1957, the letters from Katie changed. The handwriting was barely legible due to a stroke. She wrote of memories of happy days and peanut butter cookies.
A letter from Katie in 1958 told of how pleased she was to open her telephone bill and see a picture of The Hermitage. It was used as marketing material.
Dayton died in 1958. His obituary stated that he was a war hero (This is doubtful as he was in the states at the time of the European accomplishments with which he was credited.).
Visitors to The Hermitage during the late 1950s told of Elizabeth with a gun, tables of Indian artifacts and old books, Civil War sabers and surgeons tools, spurs and knives, stacks of magazines and papers, a Grandfather clock in the entry, loose wallpaper and poison ivy. Elizabeth reported the carriage was stolen.
Katie Z. opened a bank account with $500 in 1958. No additional deposits were made. The balance was zero by 1965.
Elizabeth received a check for $9,181.02 in November of 1958 as the final payment for the balance of her distributive share of Florence Marble’s estate. Florence may have been Elizabeth’s music teacher during Elizabeth’s youth and as a young adult. She was a long time friend.
One visitor in 1960 was investigating the Burr connection with The Hermitage and requested permission to take a photograph of the house. As a thank you, he gave Elizabeth a photo of a letter from Theodsia Prevost to George Washington.
Katherine “Katie” Rosencrantz died in Upper Montclair, New Jersey in 1960. She left Elizabeth $5,000 which was received in November.
An attorney visited Elizabeth in September of 1960. He reported that The Hermitage and two tenant houses had no running water or electricity. In addition no heat was provided and there were no inside toilets. Privies were estimated as being forty feet from the dwellings. Waldwick required a license for the maintenance of privies and required a fee of up to $5.00 for a license. It was suggested that she contact the local board of health to learn of her responsibilities.
Various letters from friends discussed John Kennedy and the threat of war. One letter from a friend in Florida mentioned thoughts of Elizabeth and Katie Z. harvesting their garden and preparing for the winter. It also mentioned that the writer was only two hundred miles from Cuba.
Records show an income of $1200 from the rents during 1963 and l964. Elizabeth sold the tenant houses in 1965.
By 1967, Elizabeth was again investigating government aid to save landmarks.
Visitors during 1968 reported that only two rooms of The Hermitage were livable. Katie Z. chopped wood and injured herself with the ax. She required stitches. She also suffered burns from the pot belly stove. An oil lamp was in use. Social Services attempted to get the women to vacate The Hermitage. They refused to move.
Social Services had Public Services bring electricity to The Hermitage on February 7, 1969. Heat was put in the back parlor where beds were placed. This was where Elizabeth and Katie Z. slept and spent most of their day.
Elizabeth attempted to sell “Waldwick property.” In August, she received a letter from an attorney stating that the potential purchase had not gone through, but that a Mr. Forman would “try and locate a purchaser who will complete the transaction.”
Illness placed Elizabeth in a nursing home in Allendale. On March 10, 1970 Elizabeth died. Katie Z. gave Kay Fetter $505 to pay for her own expenses and funeral. She died five days later. Katie Z. had $3.15 in her purses upon her death. Katie Z. was cremated, her ashes placed in Elizabeth’s coffin, and they were buried together in the Rosencrantz family plot in Valleau Cemetery.
Jane Rosencrantz accepted that Elizabeth left nothing to her or to Dayton’s daughter, Betsy and wrote to the executrix of the will, Kay Fetter, that it was too bad the brother and sister could not have been friends later in life.
The Rosencrantz family changed in response to the world surrounding it. The myths, secrets, and family rules, as well as the changes single women experienced during the Victorian Era through the 1960s, determined what the Rosencrantz women were. While we often can only judge people by their public face, we have a unique opportunity to see the private world of the Rosencrantz women by their papers, letters, diaries, books, collections, receipts and recipes which all provide a view of their lives. What some saw as stubbornness and selfishness could have been, but that behavior led to a responsibility to each other, work and self-denial which are why we have The Hermitage today.
Friends of The Hermitage
Information on The Friends came from newspaper articles and minutes of their meetings. They are in The Hermitage History Collection.
