The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-08-02
The Meeker Homestead at
Lyons Farms Dates
Back. Two Hundred
Years.
A STORY or THE REVOLUTION.
History Of the Remarkable and An
cient DwelIing-Its Present
Owners and appearance.
Special to the Sunday Morning Mems.


mansion Of all the original Meekers in
this country. 1t stands on one OF the
main roads at Lyons Farms, and is the
first house on the left after passing the
old stone schoolhouse in going toward
lryiugton. For many years 1t has been
occupied by Mr.. William Grummon.
whose mother was the last survivor ef
the direct liue Of Meekers occupying the
house. She was Poebe Meeker, and died
last fall in her ninety-second year. Mr.
Grummon now owns the house and the
estate upon which it stands. The Meeker
homestead was built between 1865 and
1870 by William Meeker. one Of the pio-
neers who came from New Haven and set.
tied In Elizabethtown before the Branford
and Milford colony settled in our ''towne
upon tbs Passaick." The progenitor
OF the Meeker family in this country
came originally from Wales. It was q
prolific tribe. William had three other
sons who took up honiesteads in Essex
county. They were ahead Of Governor
Carteret and the East Jersey Propriet tors,
and it is singular fact that there has
never been deed passed for the Meeker
farm at Lyons Farms. 1t was
owned by William Meeker before
anybody was invested with power to
grant land In New Jersey. aud has passed
down through the family generation
after generation by will or gift. From
Benjamin, it passed into the hands Of his
eldest son William, who had three sons,
Jonathan, Isaac and David Isaac got the
house. He had two sons. William and
rrrnruo. r..xz PRYOR rrryasr6rv vAp
The latter owned auu occupied the
| family mansion during the Revolution
| airy war, and was u scout and dispatch
\ carrier Tor the Federal troops when the
! British occupied Elizabethtown and
| Washington was In New Jersey He
| was unsupported by the British officers.
| and frequently had to entertain parties
| of them at the old house in Lyons
| Farms.
| Once when a number of officers were
| awaiting dinner In the old house he slip
ped away TO gather up party OF neigh
bors and capture them. bat his efforts
were thwarted by an old negress who told
the officers Of his purpose. They hastily
/ mounted and made their escape u
/ few minutes before Josiah Meeker ar
rived with his men. Josiah led an event
fui life during the long war and 1t the
same time his cousins were fighting il
the Continental Army. Samuel Meeker
was captain Of troop of light horse
cavalry. aud IL is said that Timothy
| Meeker, who lived on the side of the Sec
| ond mountain. north Of Milburn, went
| into the battle OF Springfield with ten
! sons and four grands0ns. Josiah MeeKer
was Mr.. William Grummon's grand
/ father, and Josiah's bro her William was
| the grandfather of Mr.. William s. Meeker,
| on the corner of Washington and Market
streets. this city.
/ THE OLD HOMESTEAD.
The house is strongly framed with
| hewed oaken tinlbers mortised aud
| pinned together with white oak or hick-
! DRY tree nails The frame is filled in with
! field stone concrete in the manner of al
| houses of that day, and the shingles with
which the sides are enclosed are of red
| cedar riven out and shaved by hand.
| They are the original shingles. The en- inn
i ney5 have been rebuilt and 1t is probable
/ that the roof has been replaced several
/ times since the house was built. few
alterations have been made in the inter-
Tor, but it still retains much OF its origi-
| mai character.
| Are porter visited the old house last
week. The shingles on the sides and ends
| of the house were the first things to at
| tract his attention They were weather
/ beaten to such an extent that in expose
| places they were no thicker than heavy
cardboard. and the heads Of the old
! wrought nails which secured them pro-
| truded nearly a quarter of an inch. Every
nail WAS beaten out aud headed by nand
| by some village nailmaker- and the shin-
| giles were all shaved with drawknife
| by man who sat astride OF single
horse. clanped the shingie firmly
/ by the pressure of his feet upon O lever
and slashed away at the soft wood ut the
apparent risk OF cutIing himself IN half If
! the knife slipped.
| Mr.. William Grummon was at home.
| He is Well educated and wide
| awake man of sixty-two years,
and deyotes his attention to farming and
| is TO build up Lyons Farms In the neigh
/ borhood of the Meeker tract, which was
/ originally 800 acres and is now reduced to
| thirty-seven. de has almost given awap
number of lots 50x200 feet TO people
willirg TO build houses at a minim uin
cost OF $4,000. He gives warranty deed
with each Of the lots, and these are the
/ first deeds which have been given for any
of the property.
Mr.. Grummon says that the will of the
| first William Meeker, made in 1890. be-
queathing the property TO his son Benja-
min, was tue first recorded document aud
| one of the few which have been executed
up to the present date. The second Will
! lam was the sou of Benjamin and was
born in the old house IN 1911 Another
document of record. OF which copy is in
| Mr.. Grummon's possession, Is u release or
I QQlt CAAiin ALOu1 OuCtC V0aCPi -nCchot u
4 Nephew William, made m November %,
1716.
TWO II UNDRED YEARS OLD.
Mr.. GrtlnlnOn said that ne believed the
house TO be the oldest in New Jersey, and
! il there WAS an Older one he woald like
| to hear about 1t. He said that it b adj
| been enlarged at least twice since it was
built, and thai the original part was the
| end nearest he road. but that all of it
| was certainly 200 years old. He said
/ that he remembered when his father put
| the last roof on, some time In the forttes,
/ and that he fixed up the chimneys sever
/ al times himself
Mrs Grumnou took the reporter
through the house. The interior is as
neat as a piu. Ia the kitchen the smooth
| ly hewed beams of the floor above are ex-
| posed, but in the living room aud the
parior, the walls AMI ceilings are plas-
| tered. The sashes are heavily mullioned
| and c6ntoin eight small paues each. The
| doors are evidently Of several different
| epochs, and outside OF each is an ex-
tremelv modern wire screen door to ex-
clude flies. The upper rooms are I'M
| finished, as they were when the house
| was built. The sky can be seen through
I chinks in the shingles, but no rain gets
| in. Considerable old furniture, which
/ has been handed down from one genera
| ton to another. still graces the rooms
| Tue old mahogany would make an anti
Quarian itch with coretousncss, and one
| sofa would bring small fortune at tho
| shop of u dealer in antique furniture