John Croot was born in Howton hamlet, outside of Moretonhampstead, Devon in 1844. He was the son of Robert Croot (1801 - 1869) and Susanna Pethybridge Croot (1812 - 1883). In England, both he and his father are listed in census records as farm workers. However, his father was actually a husbandman, that is, a tenant farmer, as was his grandfather. The family lived at Cattiscombe Cottage (now ruins), likely Middle Howton (thatched cottage next to Howton Great Farm), and then at Bowden Farm from c. 1852, all of which are close together. About 1863/64, he moved from Moretonhampstead to Combe Pafford, Torquay, Devon. He may have moved to work for the owner of Great Howton Farm who lived in the St. Marychurch area of Torquay and was then renting that farm to tenants.
He met Emma Skittreal, originally from Burbage, Wiltshire, there, and they married at St. Marychurch, Torquay in 14 March 1865. She was then living with her mother Rebecca Skittreal Haynes and stepfather John Haynes. They moved back to Moretonhampstead for several years where their first three children were born, starting in December 1865.
Perhaps they originally lived at Bowden Farm with his parents until his father's death. At the time of the 1871 Census, they lived on Court Street between Court House and Battenburg House and the building that was then Borohayes and is now Coppelia House. Their house seems to be gone. This was on the edges of Moretonhampstead then. Now the location is at Court Street and Betton Way, probably on or near the site of the current motor museum.
According to the 1871 Census, John was a farm laborer. He may have then worked at Lowton Farm which was located further down Court Street and where his younger brother James lived and worked at this time. In his household in 1871 were his wife, their three children, her son Albert, and his widowed mother. He may have worked at the Princetown Prison at one point, but this has not been proved. Records from the period from 1865-1871 when he might have worked there no longer exist. The Prison is 14 miles from Moretonhamptead. This is based on family tradition.
Four of John's brothers and one sister and her husband had immigrated to America in the late 1850s-1860s. Samuel came back to England for a visit in 1868 and may have convinced John to join them in the US. John, his wife and children, his brother James, and his widowed mother all immigrated c. the summer of 1871 (exact date unknown but it was between the 1871 UK Census and the data collection for the 1872 New York City Directory where he is found near his brothers). His brothers lived in Butler County, Iowa; New York City; or Chester, New Jersey.
According to his granddaughter, he "hated the wind, the solitude, and the bleakness of the moors."
It is not known how they afforded passage for four adults and four children. There is a family story that John and his step-son Albert went first and were followed by the others. Considering the timing of the Census and the birth of their first child in America, this is unlikely. John Croot was listed in the 1871-1872 "Trow's New York City Directory" at 10 Roosevelt St. in lower Manhattan (street now gone). This implies he was there in late 1871 when data was collected. His brother George was also listed at 10 Roosevelt St. and his brother William Smith (Robert Croot) was listed at 12 Roosevelt. All were "laborers". Only the head of the household was listed so it can not be determined which other family members were with him. It is likely all were.
Granddaughter Alice Croot wrote: "It was the era of the building of the 'brownstone' houses and buildings. Finally, he had a good job as a blacksmith. He sent money to his wife regularly. The sums that Emma received were so large that she 'worried that he might be obtaining the money illegally and was reluctant to join him.' Alice was too young to have personal knowledge of this. This doesn't fit with the known dates. There are a number of errors in her overly romanticized but nonetheless invaluable account that was written many years after her grandparents' deaths.
A story was included in this account about him "looking splendid in a red uniform guarding the Queen." I have mostly discounted this story since he lived in Devon far from royalty and was documented to have been a farm worker. However, he may have worked at the Princetown Prison sometime between 1865 and 1871. There is also a story that has separately come down in his brother James' family about a royal connection including the idea that James' wife Susan Stone (married in NJ in 1872) had been a royal nanny. It has been discovered that she had been a servant at the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum before her immigration. This may be the source of that story. I believe both of these stories are myths, but that there are some nuggets of truth in them. There is also the story that James Croot had been a UK Navy captain. This is clearly untrue. James immigrated to the US at 19 and was a farm worker or farmer all his life. No record has been found that he was in the Navy in any role.
After NYC, John and his family lived in Morris County, NJ in Hacklebarney where his first American child was born in 1872 and then in Ironia and from about 1877 on Mine Mountain, Bernards Township, Somerset County, in what is now Bernardsville/Far Hills. Reportedly he worked in the iron mines in Morris Co. owned by Gen. Nathan Cooper as did his brother-in-law Philip Stone. It is worth noting that there were also mines in the mountains at Bernardsville.
In 1879, he purchased an old farm near Bernardsville on Mine Mount/Bernardsville Mountain at what is now 48 Post Kennel Road in Far Hills, NJ. There was an 18th century stone house that was incorporated into a later house that burned in 1939. Photographs exist of the 1903 house showing his house as part of the whole. Only his barn remains although there is a 1940s house on the site now.
According to a granddaughter Eleanor Croot, "The family moved to a farm on top of the Bernardsville mountain when (son) John Robert was a small boy. They lived in a stone cottage. The boys slept in the loft of the house. In a severe snowstorm, the snow would blow in between the chinks of the stone, shifting onto their beds. It was a hard life. All water had to be carried up a hill to the house from a well. Cooking was done over an open fireplace."
He and his wife eventually owned about 160 acres. He and his family lived there until they sold it in 1901. He built another house at 570 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville where his widow lived for the rest of her life. It was later owned by daughter Clara Terry and then a granddaughter. It remained in his family until the 1980s. Clara Terry's house was next door. Both houses were likely built by him and his son-in-law Oscar Terry probably aided by his sons Samuel Croot and James Croot who were carpenters and then lived at home with their parents.
It has been reported that he built many of the stone walls still remaining in pieces along Mine Road in Bernardsville. It was also reported that he built the stone fireplace at the house in Peapack later owned by Jackie Onassis and that his work is all over that part of Somerset County.
Alice Croot wrote: "Besides the farming project, John Croot worked as a master stone mason. He built dry walls between fields, dug wells, and built the first golf course in Somerset County. At times he and Albert worked at the Franklin Mines.
"It was said that his work could be seen all over Somerset County.' He was respected for his 'good work, efficiency, and character. He was handsome, tall, weighted 260 lbs., no fat' and always won the 'fat man's race' at the country fair.' "
He was then a landowner, farmer, stone mason, and miner.
Generally the impression is that John Croot did very well in America. He left a will leaving his property first to his wife Emma and then to their surviving children in equal shares including his step-son.
(NB: Some on Ancestry.com refer to him as John R. Croot. There is no record of him having a middle initial. He had a son John R. and a nephew John R., but he was just plain John.)
He met Emma Skittreal, originally from Burbage, Wiltshire, there, and they married at St. Marychurch, Torquay in 14 March 1865. She was then living with her mother Rebecca Skittreal Haynes and stepfather John Haynes. They moved back to Moretonhampstead for several years where their first three children were born, starting in December 1865.
Perhaps they originally lived at Bowden Farm with his parents until his father's death. At the time of the 1871 Census, they lived on Court Street between Court House and Battenburg House and the building that was then Borohayes and is now Coppelia House. Their house seems to be gone. This was on the edges of Moretonhampstead then. Now the location is at Court Street and Betton Way, probably on or near the site of the current motor museum.
According to the 1871 Census, John was a farm laborer. He may have then worked at Lowton Farm which was located further down Court Street and where his younger brother James lived and worked at this time. In his household in 1871 were his wife, their three children, her son Albert, and his widowed mother. He may have worked at the Princetown Prison at one point, but this has not been proved. Records from the period from 1865-1871 when he might have worked there no longer exist. The Prison is 14 miles from Moretonhamptead. This is based on family tradition.
Four of John's brothers and one sister and her husband had immigrated to America in the late 1850s-1860s. Samuel came back to England for a visit in 1868 and may have convinced John to join them in the US. John, his wife and children, his brother James, and his widowed mother all immigrated c. the summer of 1871 (exact date unknown but it was between the 1871 UK Census and the data collection for the 1872 New York City Directory where he is found near his brothers). His brothers lived in Butler County, Iowa; New York City; or Chester, New Jersey.
According to his granddaughter, he "hated the wind, the solitude, and the bleakness of the moors."
It is not known how they afforded passage for four adults and four children. There is a family story that John and his step-son Albert went first and were followed by the others. Considering the timing of the Census and the birth of their first child in America, this is unlikely. John Croot was listed in the 1871-1872 "Trow's New York City Directory" at 10 Roosevelt St. in lower Manhattan (street now gone). This implies he was there in late 1871 when data was collected. His brother George was also listed at 10 Roosevelt St. and his brother William Smith (Robert Croot) was listed at 12 Roosevelt. All were "laborers". Only the head of the household was listed so it can not be determined which other family members were with him. It is likely all were.
Granddaughter Alice Croot wrote: "It was the era of the building of the 'brownstone' houses and buildings. Finally, he had a good job as a blacksmith. He sent money to his wife regularly. The sums that Emma received were so large that she 'worried that he might be obtaining the money illegally and was reluctant to join him.' Alice was too young to have personal knowledge of this. This doesn't fit with the known dates. There are a number of errors in her overly romanticized but nonetheless invaluable account that was written many years after her grandparents' deaths.
A story was included in this account about him "looking splendid in a red uniform guarding the Queen." I have mostly discounted this story since he lived in Devon far from royalty and was documented to have been a farm worker. However, he may have worked at the Princetown Prison sometime between 1865 and 1871. There is also a story that has separately come down in his brother James' family about a royal connection including the idea that James' wife Susan Stone (married in NJ in 1872) had been a royal nanny. It has been discovered that she had been a servant at the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum before her immigration. This may be the source of that story. I believe both of these stories are myths, but that there are some nuggets of truth in them. There is also the story that James Croot had been a UK Navy captain. This is clearly untrue. James immigrated to the US at 19 and was a farm worker or farmer all his life. No record has been found that he was in the Navy in any role.
After NYC, John and his family lived in Morris County, NJ in Hacklebarney where his first American child was born in 1872 and then in Ironia and from about 1877 on Mine Mountain, Bernards Township, Somerset County, in what is now Bernardsville/Far Hills. Reportedly he worked in the iron mines in Morris Co. owned by Gen. Nathan Cooper as did his brother-in-law Philip Stone. It is worth noting that there were also mines in the mountains at Bernardsville.
In 1879, he purchased an old farm near Bernardsville on Mine Mount/Bernardsville Mountain at what is now 48 Post Kennel Road in Far Hills, NJ. There was an 18th century stone house that was incorporated into a later house that burned in 1939. Photographs exist of the 1903 house showing his house as part of the whole. Only his barn remains although there is a 1940s house on the site now.
According to a granddaughter Eleanor Croot, "The family moved to a farm on top of the Bernardsville mountain when (son) John Robert was a small boy. They lived in a stone cottage. The boys slept in the loft of the house. In a severe snowstorm, the snow would blow in between the chinks of the stone, shifting onto their beds. It was a hard life. All water had to be carried up a hill to the house from a well. Cooking was done over an open fireplace."
He and his wife eventually owned about 160 acres. He and his family lived there until they sold it in 1901. He built another house at 570 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville where his widow lived for the rest of her life. It was later owned by daughter Clara Terry and then a granddaughter. It remained in his family until the 1980s. Clara Terry's house was next door. Both houses were likely built by him and his son-in-law Oscar Terry probably aided by his sons Samuel Croot and James Croot who were carpenters and then lived at home with their parents.
It has been reported that he built many of the stone walls still remaining in pieces along Mine Road in Bernardsville. It was also reported that he built the stone fireplace at the house in Peapack later owned by Jackie Onassis and that his work is all over that part of Somerset County.
Alice Croot wrote: "Besides the farming project, John Croot worked as a master stone mason. He built dry walls between fields, dug wells, and built the first golf course in Somerset County. At times he and Albert worked at the Franklin Mines.
"It was said that his work could be seen all over Somerset County.' He was respected for his 'good work, efficiency, and character. He was handsome, tall, weighted 260 lbs., no fat' and always won the 'fat man's race' at the country fair.' "
He was then a landowner, farmer, stone mason, and miner.
Generally the impression is that John Croot did very well in America. He left a will leaving his property first to his wife Emma and then to their surviving children in equal shares including his step-son.
(NB: Some on Ancestry.com refer to him as John R. Croot. There is no record of him having a middle initial. He had a son John R. and a nephew John R., but he was just plain John.)
John Croot was born in Howton hamlet, outside of Moretonhampstead, Devon in 1844. He was the son of Robert Croot (1801 - 1869) and Susanna Pethybridge Croot (1812 - 1883). In England, both he and his father are listed in census records as farm workers. However, his father was actually a husbandman, that is, a tenant farmer, as was his grandfather. The family lived at Cattiscombe Cottage (now ruins), likely Middle Howton (thatched cottage next to Howton Great Farm), and then at Bowden Farm from c. 1852, all of which are close together. About 1863/64, he moved from Moretonhampstead to Combe Pafford, Torquay, Devon. He may have moved to work for the owner of Great Howton Farm who lived in the St. Marychurch area of Torquay and was then renting that farm to tenants.
He met Emma Skittreal, originally from Burbage, Wiltshire, there, and they married at St. Marychurch, Torquay in 14 March 1865. She was then living with her mother Rebecca Skittreal Haynes and stepfather John Haynes. They moved back to Moretonhampstead for several years where their first three children were born, starting in December 1865.
Perhaps they originally lived at Bowden Farm with his parents until his father's death. At the time of the 1871 Census, they lived on Court Street between Court House and Battenburg House and the building that was then Borohayes and is now Coppelia House. Their house seems to be gone. This was on the edges of Moretonhampstead then. Now the location is at Court Street and Betton Way, probably on or near the site of the current motor museum.
According to the 1871 Census, John was a farm laborer. He may have then worked at Lowton Farm which was located further down Court Street and where his younger brother James lived and worked at this time. In his household in 1871 were his wife, their three children, her son Albert, and his widowed mother. He may have worked at the Princetown Prison at one point, but this has not been proved. Records from the period from 1865-1871 when he might have worked there no longer exist. The Prison is 14 miles from Moretonhamptead. This is based on family tradition.
Four of John's brothers and one sister and her husband had immigrated to America in the late 1850s-1860s. Samuel came back to England for a visit in 1868 and may have convinced John to join them in the US. John, his wife and children, his brother James, and his widowed mother all immigrated c. the summer of 1871 (exact date unknown but it was between the 1871 UK Census and the data collection for the 1872 New York City Directory where he is found near his brothers). His brothers lived in Butler County, Iowa; New York City; or Chester, New Jersey.
According to his granddaughter, he "hated the wind, the solitude, and the bleakness of the moors."
It is not known how they afforded passage for four adults and four children. There is a family story that John and his step-son Albert went first and were followed by the others. Considering the timing of the Census and the birth of their first child in America, this is unlikely. John Croot was listed in the 1871-1872 "Trow's New York City Directory" at 10 Roosevelt St. in lower Manhattan (street now gone). This implies he was there in late 1871 when data was collected. His brother George was also listed at 10 Roosevelt St. and his brother William Smith (Robert Croot) was listed at 12 Roosevelt. All were "laborers". Only the head of the household was listed so it can not be determined which other family members were with him. It is likely all were.
Granddaughter Alice Croot wrote: "It was the era of the building of the 'brownstone' houses and buildings. Finally, he had a good job as a blacksmith. He sent money to his wife regularly. The sums that Emma received were so large that she 'worried that he might be obtaining the money illegally and was reluctant to join him.' Alice was too young to have personal knowledge of this. This doesn't fit with the known dates. There are a number of errors in her overly romanticized but nonetheless invaluable account that was written many years after her grandparents' deaths.
A story was included in this account about him "looking splendid in a red uniform guarding the Queen." I have mostly discounted this story since he lived in Devon far from royalty and was documented to have been a farm worker. However, he may have worked at the Princetown Prison sometime between 1865 and 1871. There is also a story that has separately come down in his brother James' family about a royal connection including the idea that James' wife Susan Stone (married in NJ in 1872) had been a royal nanny. It has been discovered that she had been a servant at the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum before her immigration. This may be the source of that story. I believe both of these stories are myths, but that there are some nuggets of truth in them. There is also the story that James Croot had been a UK Navy captain. This is clearly untrue. James immigrated to the US at 19 and was a farm worker or farmer all his life. No record has been found that he was in the Navy in any role.
After NYC, John and his family lived in Morris County, NJ in Hacklebarney where his first American child was born in 1872 and then in Ironia and from about 1877 on Mine Mountain, Bernards Township, Somerset County, in what is now Bernardsville/Far Hills. Reportedly he worked in the iron mines in Morris Co. owned by Gen. Nathan Cooper as did his brother-in-law Philip Stone. It is worth noting that there were also mines in the mountains at Bernardsville.
In 1879, he purchased an old farm near Bernardsville on Mine Mount/Bernardsville Mountain at what is now 48 Post Kennel Road in Far Hills, NJ. There was an 18th century stone house that was incorporated into a later house that burned in 1939. Photographs exist of the 1903 house showing his house as part of the whole. Only his barn remains although there is a 1940s house on the site now.
According to a granddaughter Eleanor Croot, "The family moved to a farm on top of the Bernardsville mountain when (son) John Robert was a small boy. They lived in a stone cottage. The boys slept in the loft of the house. In a severe snowstorm, the snow would blow in between the chinks of the stone, shifting onto their beds. It was a hard life. All water had to be carried up a hill to the house from a well. Cooking was done over an open fireplace."
He and his wife eventually owned about 160 acres. He and his family lived there until they sold it in 1901. He built another house at 570 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville where his widow lived for the rest of her life. It was later owned by daughter Clara Terry and then a granddaughter. It remained in his family until the 1980s. Clara Terry's house was next door. Both houses were likely built by him and his son-in-law Oscar Terry probably aided by his sons Samuel Croot and James Croot who were carpenters and then lived at home with their parents.
It has been reported that he built many of the stone walls still remaining in pieces along Mine Road in Bernardsville. It was also reported that he built the stone fireplace at the house in Peapack later owned by Jackie Onassis and that his work is all over that part of Somerset County.
Alice Croot wrote: "Besides the farming project, John Croot worked as a master stone mason. He built dry walls between fields, dug wells, and built the first golf course in Somerset County. At times he and Albert worked at the Franklin Mines.
"It was said that his work could be seen all over Somerset County.' He was respected for his 'good work, efficiency, and character. He was handsome, tall, weighted 260 lbs., no fat' and always won the 'fat man's race' at the country fair.' "
He was then a landowner, farmer, stone mason, and miner.
Generally the impression is that John Croot did very well in America. He left a will leaving his property first to his wife Emma and then to their surviving children in equal shares including his step-son.
(NB: Some on Ancestry.com refer to him as John R. Croot. There is no record of him having a middle initial. He had a son John R. and a nephew John R., but he was just plain John.)
He met Emma Skittreal, originally from Burbage, Wiltshire, there, and they married at St. Marychurch, Torquay in 14 March 1865. She was then living with her mother Rebecca Skittreal Haynes and stepfather John Haynes. They moved back to Moretonhampstead for several years where their first three children were born, starting in December 1865.
Perhaps they originally lived at Bowden Farm with his parents until his father's death. At the time of the 1871 Census, they lived on Court Street between Court House and Battenburg House and the building that was then Borohayes and is now Coppelia House. Their house seems to be gone. This was on the edges of Moretonhampstead then. Now the location is at Court Street and Betton Way, probably on or near the site of the current motor museum.
According to the 1871 Census, John was a farm laborer. He may have then worked at Lowton Farm which was located further down Court Street and where his younger brother James lived and worked at this time. In his household in 1871 were his wife, their three children, her son Albert, and his widowed mother. He may have worked at the Princetown Prison at one point, but this has not been proved. Records from the period from 1865-1871 when he might have worked there no longer exist. The Prison is 14 miles from Moretonhamptead. This is based on family tradition.
Four of John's brothers and one sister and her husband had immigrated to America in the late 1850s-1860s. Samuel came back to England for a visit in 1868 and may have convinced John to join them in the US. John, his wife and children, his brother James, and his widowed mother all immigrated c. the summer of 1871 (exact date unknown but it was between the 1871 UK Census and the data collection for the 1872 New York City Directory where he is found near his brothers). His brothers lived in Butler County, Iowa; New York City; or Chester, New Jersey.
According to his granddaughter, he "hated the wind, the solitude, and the bleakness of the moors."
It is not known how they afforded passage for four adults and four children. There is a family story that John and his step-son Albert went first and were followed by the others. Considering the timing of the Census and the birth of their first child in America, this is unlikely. John Croot was listed in the 1871-1872 "Trow's New York City Directory" at 10 Roosevelt St. in lower Manhattan (street now gone). This implies he was there in late 1871 when data was collected. His brother George was also listed at 10 Roosevelt St. and his brother William Smith (Robert Croot) was listed at 12 Roosevelt. All were "laborers". Only the head of the household was listed so it can not be determined which other family members were with him. It is likely all were.
Granddaughter Alice Croot wrote: "It was the era of the building of the 'brownstone' houses and buildings. Finally, he had a good job as a blacksmith. He sent money to his wife regularly. The sums that Emma received were so large that she 'worried that he might be obtaining the money illegally and was reluctant to join him.' Alice was too young to have personal knowledge of this. This doesn't fit with the known dates. There are a number of errors in her overly romanticized but nonetheless invaluable account that was written many years after her grandparents' deaths.
A story was included in this account about him "looking splendid in a red uniform guarding the Queen." I have mostly discounted this story since he lived in Devon far from royalty and was documented to have been a farm worker. However, he may have worked at the Princetown Prison sometime between 1865 and 1871. There is also a story that has separately come down in his brother James' family about a royal connection including the idea that James' wife Susan Stone (married in NJ in 1872) had been a royal nanny. It has been discovered that she had been a servant at the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum before her immigration. This may be the source of that story. I believe both of these stories are myths, but that there are some nuggets of truth in them. There is also the story that James Croot had been a UK Navy captain. This is clearly untrue. James immigrated to the US at 19 and was a farm worker or farmer all his life. No record has been found that he was in the Navy in any role.
After NYC, John and his family lived in Morris County, NJ in Hacklebarney where his first American child was born in 1872 and then in Ironia and from about 1877 on Mine Mountain, Bernards Township, Somerset County, in what is now Bernardsville/Far Hills. Reportedly he worked in the iron mines in Morris Co. owned by Gen. Nathan Cooper as did his brother-in-law Philip Stone. It is worth noting that there were also mines in the mountains at Bernardsville.
In 1879, he purchased an old farm near Bernardsville on Mine Mount/Bernardsville Mountain at what is now 48 Post Kennel Road in Far Hills, NJ. There was an 18th century stone house that was incorporated into a later house that burned in 1939. Photographs exist of the 1903 house showing his house as part of the whole. Only his barn remains although there is a 1940s house on the site now.
According to a granddaughter Eleanor Croot, "The family moved to a farm on top of the Bernardsville mountain when (son) John Robert was a small boy. They lived in a stone cottage. The boys slept in the loft of the house. In a severe snowstorm, the snow would blow in between the chinks of the stone, shifting onto their beds. It was a hard life. All water had to be carried up a hill to the house from a well. Cooking was done over an open fireplace."
He and his wife eventually owned about 160 acres. He and his family lived there until they sold it in 1901. He built another house at 570 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville where his widow lived for the rest of her life. It was later owned by daughter Clara Terry and then a granddaughter. It remained in his family until the 1980s. Clara Terry's house was next door. Both houses were likely built by him and his son-in-law Oscar Terry probably aided by his sons Samuel Croot and James Croot who were carpenters and then lived at home with their parents.
It has been reported that he built many of the stone walls still remaining in pieces along Mine Road in Bernardsville. It was also reported that he built the stone fireplace at the house in Peapack later owned by Jackie Onassis and that his work is all over that part of Somerset County.
Alice Croot wrote: "Besides the farming project, John Croot worked as a master stone mason. He built dry walls between fields, dug wells, and built the first golf course in Somerset County. At times he and Albert worked at the Franklin Mines.
"It was said that his work could be seen all over Somerset County.' He was respected for his 'good work, efficiency, and character. He was handsome, tall, weighted 260 lbs., no fat' and always won the 'fat man's race' at the country fair.' "
He was then a landowner, farmer, stone mason, and miner.
Generally the impression is that John Croot did very well in America. He left a will leaving his property first to his wife Emma and then to their surviving children in equal shares including his step-son.
(NB: Some on Ancestry.com refer to him as John R. Croot. There is no record of him having a middle initial. He had a son John R. and a nephew John R., but he was just plain John.)
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