New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-26

death or her brother. She II VIII he rei''ei''
cred was the mother Il Elhridge /. Terry VIM
,,os p,,er Goelet's favorlte nephew. The single
Indication Of life within the walls was preSei'e'
TO tho eye x A Tribune reporter yesterday after
noon IN the shape o. 6undty and dN',S ''''0'''
,f wearing apparel irregularly suspended across
a line In the rear Of the mouse
AN OLD LANDMARK.
gencra,ion has bcen born and grown 70
gray hairs since this house first received l's
master Youngsters who used 10 stano ana
stare with all their eyes through the wire sc'ee"
fence AZ the strange assortment OF al''''''
from rheasants of India and siorks OF Egypt 10
guinea pigs and fancy poultry ana Diooneu
c,,, are now many OF them prominent in the
cor,morcial councils OF Ncw-Ycrk city. Wha'
,olcs the old walls could tell OF Peter Goeiets
1olncs in the dim watches Of the night as ne
cat In the, basement room poring over his ac-
counts NJ reasohoas. rents and loans and mort
cages. and laid his plans for the next days
cau,,alga I'm the world of business IL taxes
only a hint. too. to call up IN memory the duh.
shu,,e-ed glean Of light in Of the far
uppor rooms. whore Mrs Gerry passed many
hours Of her NE Then there was that other
room I'm the basement right handy to his Office
where Peter kept the sum OF his lifc's recreattv"
implements one can almost imagine he can
st!ll hear the musS.al clang ~ the hammer on
the anvil. or the soughing sound OF The mln'A-
ture forge or the penetrating rasp OF steel
agalns, brass a nc passes up BFoadway' 10y
Peter Goeet an amateur locksmth. IN"
founder II the American branch Of the Go"iet
family Jean GOelettc. was forced 10 ry from
France after the revocation Of the Edlct of
Nantes. To escape the wrath OF Louis NV.
Louis XVI was n locksmith In his own royal
mind and long after Lous's time this descend
ant Of lean had th- same fad for tinkering
with door fastenings.
sHREWD IN BUYING REAL ESTATE
Ee that az II may. IN the old house in Broad
way Peter Goclet lived the major portion OF MS
busy He. happy in his distracted. retiring way
among his pets. and happier still possibly when
the time came that he could retire TO his smithy
and tinker. II ~ was not shining success
as a maker OF burglar proof locks. Peter Goelet
was the envy Of all his contemporaries for the
skin he displaycd In selecting real estate that
was destined 10 prO'e profitable as an invest
ment. Had he lived In these days OF booms and
prOmotlngs he wouli have been spectacular
success something t. b. pointed ut with pride
by real estate orators. Born In the first year or
the present century he end his brother. Robert
inherited good property lroHi tntH lallf4'
who was also named Peter aod who In addition
to owning the Goelet farm was the proprietor Of
a hardware store down in Hanover Square. They
were thrifty. the Goelets. father and sons. and
1t has been stated that. az the elder son. Peter.
the owner OF the Broadway house. received the
larger proportion OF the estate He handled II
with n wisdom and an eye 10 the economic side
OF things which have rarely been excelled, al
though he was not lacking in those generous i'm
pulses that are better for mans memory than
gildcd palaces and monuments Of granite His
charities he kept from the public eye as care
fully az he did the prelmlnaries OF his important
transactions IN realty.
Another fad Of Peter GOelet the collection
Of pets feathrred and otherwise. adorned by ra-
ture. He always Kept lot OF prize poultry in
the big yard of the broadway mansion. There
also he kept "A COW. Queer tales float out from
tn, mists of the past regarding his llkings tor
these pets and II has been narrated that the
storks had the freedom of the house feeding from
his hand and performing other feats unheard OF
outside the land where they are held sacred In
the summer the birds had the run OF the
yard which was protected from the street by a
high screen fence.
GOELETs "BROADWAY FARM"
From i,s pastoral Inhabitants the place came
to be famillariy known Peter Goe!et's Broad
way Farm" although II Is to be- remembered that
the house stands on Il portion of what was the
ancestral farm In fact OF Peter Goelet, the
father.
Peter Goelet paid close attention to the coec-
tion OF valuable real estate. and had decided
disincnatlon to sell any piece OF property once
acquired. II was said II him that he did not wish
to dispose OF any property, for fear OF creating
ne We In titles through which courts and lawyers
might enter after his death and make trouble
for his heirs. The most notable example OF his
exercise OF this determination to sell no real
tate Is found when one refers TO the efforts Of
Commodore Vanderbilt. to secure ground on
which to erect the Grand Central Station A
part Of this property belonged to Peter Goelet
who declined to sell Mr.. Vanderbilt tried per-
suasion without success, and finally got the prop
erty under the right OF eminent domain Peter
Goelet nex er forgaye the Commodore Nor would