House Built by 5th Great-Grandfather for Sale

A couple months ago, Lucia and I spent a weekend in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  The mushroom capital of the world lies only three miles from Longwood Gardens and 10 miles from the site of the Battle of Brandywine Creek.

Kennett Square is located in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania.  The area features many historic 18th century homes, some of which were ransacked by the British in 1777.

Lucia knows Kennett Square pretty well since she lived in nearby Hockessin, Delaware for a few years.  We stopped at a mushroom farm on the way back and bought a large box of exotic mushrooms.  That made the ride home pungent!

One of the historic 18th century homes in Kennett Square is located at 117 Chandler Mill Rd. It was built by George Mason (1706-1774), a 5th great-grandfather (5GG) in the Jonnes branch of my family tree.^[1]Technically, the house is in Kennett Township, which surrounds the borough of Kennett Square, a separate jurisdiction, although a small part of the original estate was in the borough of Kennett … Continue reading

The house is currently on the market for $2.7 million.  The property has been known at various times in the past as the Sinclair House and Sycamore Ridge Farm.

26 acre farm in Kennett Township with 18th century 4 bedroom 2.5 bath stone colonial house, known as the “Sinclair House”, waiting to be brought back to its formal glory. House is 3600 square feet with large rooms, has the original wood floors, and a great screened porch in the rear overlooking a peaceful valley. Property is gently sloping with views of the West Branch of the Red Clay Creek. Horses or other large farm animals are permitted.^[2]Zillow.com

 

(Zoom into Kennett Square in the upper right of the map above to see the property’s location, as well as the nearby Quaker church the Masons attended.)

We drove over to the house.  It looked vacant, so we parked in the driveway and walked around taking photographs.  A very pretty place.  Hopefully it is purchased by someone who can maintain it properly.

George Mason was a Yorkshire man.  He was born in Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England in 1706.^[3]Benjamin Mason, “A Testimony Concerning my Dear Father, George Mason,” signed March 1775, The Friend, 1888: A Religious and Literary Journal, v. 62, no. 43 (1889), 340-341; reprint, … Continue reading  He married Jane Foord (1710-1789) in nearby Fadmoor in 1734.^[4]Guisborough Monthly Meeting (Guisborough, Yorkshire), “England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837,” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 1 May 2024), … Continue reading  They lived in Fadmoor up until approximately 1747, then moved five miles to the Southfield estate outside Kirkbymoorside.^[5]Quaker birth records show half their children born at Fadmoor, up until 1745, and half born at Southfield, beginning in 1748.

Note Kirkbymoorside in the map below.  It’s on the edge of the North York Moors National Park.  This is a very rural area of England.

 

Although raised in the Church of England, George became a Quaker as a young man and embarked on a 40-year career as a Society of Friends minister.^[6]Mason, “A Testimony Concerning my Dear Father, George Mason,” 340-341.  Given his subsequent wealth, I presume he was also a successful farmer.  He was well-known in Quaker circles and traveled extensively throughout England to speak to various congregations, known as meetinghouses.  He visited Ireland once.^[7]“Record of Friends Traveling in Ireland, 1713-1765,” The Journal of the Friends Historical Society, Vol. X, No. 4 (October 1913): p. 259; digital images, SAS Journals … Continue reading  He frequently attended the annual London meeting of Quaker leaders.^[8]Mason, “A Testimony Concerning my Dear Father, George Mason,” 340-341.

In 1760 – at the age of 54 – George Mason visited the American colonies with two other ministers.^[9]“An Account of Ministering Friends from Europe who Visited America, 1656-1793,” The Journal of the Friends Historical Society, Vol. X, No. 3 (July 1913): p. 120; digital images, SAS … Continue reading

The experience may have encouraged George to immigrate because he did so in 1767.  Seven of his 10 surviving children also departed “Old England” for America, although only the five youngest accompanied their parents in 1767.^[10]Gunpowder Monthly Meeting (Baltimore County, Maryland), “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935;” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 1 May 2024), p. 230, George Mason, admittance, … Continue reading  Three children – Joseph, Mary, and Rachel – remained in England.^[11]George and Jane had 11 total children; one died at age 3.  (I have a DNA cousin in Australia who is descended from Mary.)

George moved to northeast Maryland initially – in what is Harford County today.  He and his family were admitted to the Quaker church, Gunpowder Monthly Meeting, on 22 July 1767.^[12]Gunpowder (Baltimore, Md.) Monthly Meeting, “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935;” George Mason, 22 July 1767.  (The Gunpowder MM is still active, although members worship now in Sparks, Maryland.)^[13]Actually, the “old” Gunpowder meetinghouse was built in 1773 on Beaver Dam Rd., about 3.5 miles south of its current location.  Prior to 1773, when George and Jane Mason attended, it was … Continue reading

George also bought land in Maryland.  In August 1767, he purchased Groome’s Chance from Joshua and John Bond, a 300-acre farm “on the N.E. side of the little falls of the Gunpowder River.”^[14]Baltimore County, Maryland, Land Records, Grantee Index, 1655-1769, A-Z, accession no. MSA CE 32-1, p. 225, Conveyance of Grooms Chance to George Mason, 1767, B2, folio 158; digital image, … Continue reading  This was a property originally patented to Moses Groome in 1687.^[15]Michael A. MacKenzie, “Appendix F: Moses Groome, Sr.,” 2021; digital image, Mckenziesofearlymaryland.com (accessed 13 May 2024); citing Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy.  That location today is just south of Jerusalem Mill, a restored Quaker village and headquarters of Gunpowder Falls State Park.

(In the same Google map above, you may zoom into the area northeast of Baltimore to see the location of George Mason’s land purchases.)

About half of what was Groome’s Chance is currently occupied by Nanasau Farm at 2008 Old Joppa Rd., Joppa, MD.^[16]See website: Nanasaufarm.  The farm maintains a boarding stable and grows hay.  Its main building, a gorgeous peach-pink house, was built in various stages, but land records state the primary structure was built in 1725.^[17]Search for 2008 Old Joppa at Maryland’s real property data website: www.sdat.dat.maryland.gov.  This could be the house where George Mason lived.  If so, it would mean that both of the houses in which George Mason resided in America are still standing after 250 years.  How incredible is that!

Two years later, George Mason bought the land in Kennett Township, Pennsylvania where he finally settled.  The purchase on 30 November 1769 from Aaron Musgrave encompassed 199 acres and was described as a sawmill plantation.^[18]Marjorie Sinclair, “The History of Sycamore Ridge Farm,” family tree posting by Julie Zimmer, “Corken Family Tree,” 12 June 2012; digital image, Ancestry.com (acccessed 21 … Continue reading

I have wondered why George bought land in Maryland, but then moved so quickly to Pennsylvania.  Groome’s Chance was five miles north of the historic harbor town of Joppa, Maryland.^[19]Historic Joppa no longer exists but was located where Rumsey Island is now.  Beginnning in 1712, Joppa was the seat of Baltimore County.  For over 50 years, it was a major harbor in Chesapeake Bay and the primary commercial center of the Colony of Maryland.  It held promise as a future city.  However, the bay began to silt in and the Maryland Assembly voted in 1768 to move the county seat to the growing deep-water port of Baltimore Town.  Joppa’s population dropped dramatically thereafter.  It could be that George’s decision to move to Pennsylvania was prompted by this development.  The move of the Gunpowder Monthly Meeting to Sparks, Maryland in 1773 could be related as well.

Coincident with the land purchase, the family’s Quaker affiliation was transferred on 6 May 1769 from the Gunpowder MM to the New Garden Monthly Meeting in Chester County.^[20]New Garden Monthly Meeting (Chester County, Pennsylvania), “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935;” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 3 May 2024), p. 36, George Mason, admittance, … Continue reading  The New Garden meetinghouse is located at 875 Newark Rd., Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania, and remains active.  It is only three miles from 117 Chandler Mill Rd.

Tax records for 1770 show that George’s estate of 190 acres in Kennett Township included a saw mill, 5 horses, 5 cattle, 9 sheep, and no servants.^[21]“U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820,” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 28 April 2024), entry for George Mason (1770), Kennett, Chester, Pennsylvania.

The mansion house itself was completed in 1774, as attested by the date stone on the upper part of the south wall, which reads – G.M. 1774.^[22]The date stone may be seen in the south-view image above.  George and Jane probably resided in a wooden structure on the property prior to that.  The stone house was eight rooms, and constituted the eastern two-thirds of the present structure.  A vertical joint in the stone wall marks the original house from a later addition.  (In the north-view photograph above, note the joint line behind the small tree, to the left of which is the original construction.)

Unfortunately, George Mason died late in 1774 of an apparent heart attack, the same year the house was completed.  According to his son Benjamin’s account, George was “violently seized with extreme pain at his heart and with coldness in his limbs” and expired two hours later.^[23]Mason, “A Testimony Concerning my Dear Father, George Mason,” 340.  His death is recorded in Quaker records as 24 October 1774.^[24]New Garden Monthly Meeting (Chester County, Pennsylvania), “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935;” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 29 Apr 2024), p. 321, George Mason, death, 24 … Continue reading He was 67.

Jane lived another 14 years and died – age 78 – in early 1789.^[25]Chester County, Pennsylvania, Will Books H-I, Vol 8-9, 1774-1797, Jane Mason’s Will, 8 October 1788; “Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993,” digital images, … Continue reading

I am descended from George and Jane’s youngest daughter Grace Mason (1754-1837).  She married Robert Corken (1762-1844), an Irishman, in 1789, probably a few months after her mother died.  According to family lore, Robert was an indentured servant to George Mason, and became the family’s groomsman and drove their horse and buggy.^[26]“Helen Corken Remembers,” 20 July 1998, ” family tree posting by Julie Zimmer, “Corken Family Tree,” 11 June 2014; digital image, Ancestry.com (acccessed 30 April 2024).  As a result of this marriage, she was disowned by the Society of Friends on 31 July 1790.^[27]Gunpowder Monthly Meeting (Baltimore County, Maryland), “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935;” database online, Ancestry.com (accessed 6 May 2024), p. 215, Grace Corkin formerly … Continue reading

The property at 117 Chandler Mill Rd. was in the Mason family for 25 years: 1769 – 1794.  George Mason willed his house and land in Kennett Square to son George Mason, Jr. ( 1748-1823).^[28]Chester County, Pennsylvania, Estate Papers 1700-1820, will no. 2885, George Mason, estate, 12 November 1774; “Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S., Estate Papers, 1714-1838,” digital … Continue reading  George, Jr. continued to live at the estate with his growing family until 1794, at which point he sold it to Samuel Sinclair.^[29]Marjorie Sinclair, “The History of Sycamore Ridge Farm,” posting by Julie Zimmer, 2012.

George Sr. still owned three parcels of land in Maryland when he died, including Groome’s Chance.  His will stipulated that his three youngest children – John, Grace, and James – inherit these properties when they turned 21.^[30]Chester Co., Pa., will no. 2885, George Mason (1774).  When George passed in October 1774, John was 22, Grace 20, and James 19.  John and James Mason eventually received Groome’s Chance, each receiving half of the 300 acres.

Grace Mason, on the other hand, was willed two parcels in Maryland called Archibald Rowl’s Addition and Turkey Hill.^[31]Chester Co., Pa., will no. 2885, George Mason (1774).

“… that part of my land called Archabald Rowl’s Addition together with that called Turkey Hill shall be my daughter Grace’s share.”

After some digging, I was able to determine that both parcels were adjacent to Groome’s Chance on its south perimeter.^[32]See www.map-maker.org where DeedMapper Project displays a map for colonial land grants in Harford County, Maryland.  Archibalds Addition, as it was usually referred to in land records, was a dogleg strip of 49 acres.  I’m less sure of the size of Turkey Hill but it may have been 100 acres or more.  I need to do more research in Maryland land records.

 

It is unknown what became of these properties or how and when Grace Mason took possession – or even if she took possession.  There is a letter written by a descendant about a century ago claiming that Grace never received the properties and was angry about it.  The letter-writer, Dr. Gertrude Cuscaden, states the information came from her uncle, Dr. Nelson E. Jones, “after much investigation.”^[33]Dr. Gertrude A. Cuscaden (Omaha, Nebraska) to unknown, undated letter (likely from 1920s when she was living at stated address), privately held by Ann Mackey, Kansas City, Missouri, 2024.  Image … Continue reading

If true, it might explain why Grace and Robert left the East Coast for the Ohio frontier in 1798 and lived in a log cabin.  Financially, Grace’s later life was nothing like her upbringing.  On the other hand, if we can trust their grandson Nelson E. Jones’ reminiscences in his book The Squirrel Hunters of Ohio, the couple appear to have enjoyed a warm and loving relationship despite the arduous nature of their pioneer life.^[34]N.E. Jones, M.D., The Squirrel Hunters of Ohio, or Glimpses of Pioneer Life (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke Co., 1898), especially 6-13.