Friday, September 28, 2012

Enjoys Autumn Foliage

The October 5, 1934 issue of the Catskill Mountain News contained this little tidbit about one of the Gerry Family of Lake Delaware:

 
On September 27, thanks to Andy Wos, I found out why Angelica spent autumn at her home.  Angelica, the daughter of Elbridge T. Gerry and Louisa Livingston Gerry, is remembered as the builder of St. James Episcopal Church.  Not long after the church was built, she built her home, Ancrum, named for a town in Scotland from which her ancestors hailed.  Angelica died in 1960 at the age of 89.  In 1963, the family demolished the house because of the taxes.  I remember seeing from Route 28 the house being dismantled.  With the growth of trees, you can no longer see the site from 28. 

Andy kindly took me to where the house stood.  I could not have had a better day for this visit.  Here are a couple of photographs I took from where the house stood, looking toward Lee Hollow. 



Angelica's brother, Robert, also built a home on the estate.  Aknusti was built in 1913 and had a number of famous visitors, including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.  The house suffered a serious fire in 1953.  Some of the fire damage still is evident.  Here's the view from the front terrace. 
Robert died at Aknusti in 1957, the same day that his brother, Rhode Island Senator Peter Gerry, died in Providence.  Robert is buried in Lake Delaware, as are Peter and Angelica.

I will be doing future blog entries on the Gerry family and their connections to Bovina. 

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