The Crouse Farm
The land on which we live in Alleghany County is a part of what was once a farm located just across the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Brinegar Cabin and owned by the Crouse family.
The land was purchased by Adam Crouse (ca.1775-1830), the son of Wendel and Anna Maria Crouse and grandson of Melchior and Eva Margaretha Krause.
Melchior (1709-ca.1750) left Germany in 1739 for Lancaster County, PA.
Before moving west, Wendel and his wife lived for a time in Wilkes County, N.C. where their son, Adam, was born.
By 1800, Adam Crouse and his wife Elisabeth were living in Alleghany (then part of Ashe) County with 4 children. By 1810, they had 7 children and, by 1816, owned 690 acres of land.
Their son, Benjamin (1800-1891) and his wife, Wady Cheek (1807-1865), in turn had four children. Benjamin and Wady are buried in the Henderson Crouse cemetery, named for their son and located at a high point on the farm (just up the hill from our house). (The Brinegars who lived in the Brinegar Cabin and bought land from the Crouses are also buried there.)
Henderson (1835-1913) and his wife, Mary Anne Howell, had one son. A farmer by trade, Henderson served during the American Civil War, enlisting in the 3rd Corp., Company I, 61st NC Infantry in 1862.
In his will, written in 1911, he bequeathed his wife:
“… one milk cow, her choice, one bed of her choice with good and ample covering for same, the cook sover with all necessary vessells for same, all of the domestic fowles.
I also will and devise to my beloved wife, M.A. Crouse, for her use and controll during her natural life, the whole of my lands lying to the north of the top of the Blue Ridge Mountain, so long as she is competent to care for and manage the same.”
For his son and grandchildren he willed:
“… all my personal property, together with the whole of my lands, subject to the devisess above mentioned, be sold at public sale, and that the sum of $200.00 be paid to my only son John Wesley Crouse; that the sum of $20.00 be paid to each of my five grand daughters, namely: Mrs. Delia Ellison, Hellen Crouse, Ida Crouse, Ethel Crouse and Eva Crouse, the same to be paid when they reach the age of twenty one years.
… I give and bequeath to my four grand-sons, (Having already deed to my other two grand-sons a goodly share of my lands), all the residue of my estate and not hereinbefore devised, namely, Leonard Crouse, Norman Crouse, Rudolph Crouse and Garrett Crouse; the same to be paid to each of the above named in equal proportions upon their becoming twenty one years of age.”
Henderson Crouse is buried in the cemetery that bears his name.
John Wesley Crouse (ca. 1857 - ?) and his wife, Nancy C. Reynolds, who moved away sometime after 1880, appear to have had 11 children. Their eldest sons Elbert and Melvin Crouse were the two unnamed grandsons to whom Henderson Crouse had deeded “a goodly share of my lands”.
Elbert Crouse (1878-1973) and his wife, Betty, had three children, Earl H. (ca.1915- ?), Sadie E. (ca. 1916 - ?) and Lawrence C. Crouse (ca. 1917 - ?). It was disagreement over ownership among these three that lead to the farm being sold and broken up into smaller tracts known today collectively as Deer Track.
The Elbert Crouse Farmstead was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In addition to the cemetery, it has the log cabin in which Elbert and Betty Crouse lived as well as agricultural outbuildings of the period.
The land was purchased by Adam Crouse (ca.1775-1830), the son of Wendel and Anna Maria Crouse and grandson of Melchior and Eva Margaretha Krause.
Melchior (1709-ca.1750) left Germany in 1739 for Lancaster County, PA.
Before moving west, Wendel and his wife lived for a time in Wilkes County, N.C. where their son, Adam, was born.
By 1800, Adam Crouse and his wife Elisabeth were living in Alleghany (then part of Ashe) County with 4 children. By 1810, they had 7 children and, by 1816, owned 690 acres of land.
Their son, Benjamin (1800-1891) and his wife, Wady Cheek (1807-1865), in turn had four children. Benjamin and Wady are buried in the Henderson Crouse cemetery, named for their son and located at a high point on the farm (just up the hill from our house). (The Brinegars who lived in the Brinegar Cabin and bought land from the Crouses are also buried there.)
Henderson (1835-1913) and his wife, Mary Anne Howell, had one son. A farmer by trade, Henderson served during the American Civil War, enlisting in the 3rd Corp., Company I, 61st NC Infantry in 1862.
In his will, written in 1911, he bequeathed his wife:
“… one milk cow, her choice, one bed of her choice with good and ample covering for same, the cook sover with all necessary vessells for same, all of the domestic fowles.
I also will and devise to my beloved wife, M.A. Crouse, for her use and controll during her natural life, the whole of my lands lying to the north of the top of the Blue Ridge Mountain, so long as she is competent to care for and manage the same.”
For his son and grandchildren he willed:
“… all my personal property, together with the whole of my lands, subject to the devisess above mentioned, be sold at public sale, and that the sum of $200.00 be paid to my only son John Wesley Crouse; that the sum of $20.00 be paid to each of my five grand daughters, namely: Mrs. Delia Ellison, Hellen Crouse, Ida Crouse, Ethel Crouse and Eva Crouse, the same to be paid when they reach the age of twenty one years.
… I give and bequeath to my four grand-sons, (Having already deed to my other two grand-sons a goodly share of my lands), all the residue of my estate and not hereinbefore devised, namely, Leonard Crouse, Norman Crouse, Rudolph Crouse and Garrett Crouse; the same to be paid to each of the above named in equal proportions upon their becoming twenty one years of age.”
Henderson Crouse is buried in the cemetery that bears his name.
John Wesley Crouse (ca. 1857 - ?) and his wife, Nancy C. Reynolds, who moved away sometime after 1880, appear to have had 11 children. Their eldest sons Elbert and Melvin Crouse were the two unnamed grandsons to whom Henderson Crouse had deeded “a goodly share of my lands”.
Elbert Crouse (1878-1973) and his wife, Betty, had three children, Earl H. (ca.1915- ?), Sadie E. (ca. 1916 - ?) and Lawrence C. Crouse (ca. 1917 - ?). It was disagreement over ownership among these three that lead to the farm being sold and broken up into smaller tracts known today collectively as Deer Track.
The Elbert Crouse Farmstead was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In addition to the cemetery, it has the log cabin in which Elbert and Betty Crouse lived as well as agricultural outbuildings of the period.
Comments
Post a Comment