Table of Contents

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