36 Main St, Roslyn, NY, 11576

Captain Jacob Mott Kirby Tenant House

219 Main Street, Roslyn

Date Built1790
Original UseTenant House
Restoration StatusCompleted
Roslyn Landmark Society Covenant Yes
View House Tour Details 1993

Project Files

MS219

The early history of the site of the Jacob Kirby Tenant House is described in the chapter on the Van Nostrand-Starkins House (TG 1992). In brief, on March 21, 1795, William Van Nostrand conveyed his four acre plot and the buildings thereon to Joseph Starkins and Ann Elizabeth, his wife, for £120 (Queens County, Liber 65 of Deeds, Pg. 291). In 1801 Starkins bought more land, north and south of his 17th century house, from William Valentine. Starkins' oven house and his blacksmith shop are both mentioned in the 1824 highway records (North and South Hempstead Records, Vol. 7, Pg. 43 and 45). Joseph Starkins died in 1844.

In 1847, Joseph Starkins, presumably the blacksmith's son, mortgaged the property and in 1850 sold it to William Verity (Queens County, Liber 85 of Deeds, Pg. 486). Two years later, Verity sold it to merchant Jacob M. Kirby (Queens County, Liber 101 of Deeds, Pg. 142) who was acquiring land all around the Main Street—East Broadway intersection forming the locality known then, and still today, as "Kirby's corners." Kirby owned a fleet of sloops and schooners operating between Roslyn and New York, trading farm produce and lumber for fertilizer, dry goods and farm implements, which he sold in his Main Street store (TG 1986-1987).

Following this initial purchase in 1852, Kirby descendants owned at least some of the land until 1973, following the death of Virginia Applegate Sammis. In 1937 Virginia Applegate sold the Van Nostrand-Starkins House and the Kirby Tenant House to Mr. and Mrs. John G. Nicholson, who sold both houses to John G. Tarrant in 1945. Tarrant divided the property, selling the Kirby Tenant House to Wilford E. and Natalie B. Neier in 1949. Subsequently it was sold to Elizabeth Mitchell (Nov. 2,1955) and then to James E. and Helen Conner on July 18, 1958. The Conners made substantial changes to the house. Following James Conner's death the house was sold to Captain Roland A. Christensen, M.C., U.S.N. (Nov. 22, 1961). Captain Christensen sold the Kirby Tenant House to Elizabeth Alden and Beverly Bay (October 31, 1962) who, in turn, sold it back to John G. and Julia Tarrant (June 28, 1963). At this time, following considerable zoning litigation, Tarrant sold the Van Nostrand-Starkins House and its surroundings for development as the Chalet Apartments and Mr. Tarrant moved the small Wallace Kirby Office (Kirby School) from the rear of the Van Nostrand-Starkins House to the rear of the Jacob Kirby Tenant House to prevent the demolition of this small building (TG 1979-1980). Subsequently the Kirby Tenant House was sold to Robert Hanson (Nov. 3, 1965) and then to John and Jeanne McNamee (Dec. 15, 1971). Following John McNamee's death, Mrs. McNamee divided her property and sold the Kirby office to Dr. and Mrs. Roger Gerry and the Jacob Kirby Tenant House to Dr. and Mrs. Norbert A. Krapf (July 11, 1977). They, in turn, sold it to the present owners on November 13th, 1990.

While most of the house's owners actually lived in the house after 1937, it should be recalled that for most of the previous century it was usually rented to a tenant. The house is shown on the Walling Map (1859) as belonging to J.M. Kirby. It is indicated on the Beers-Comstock Map (1873) as a "J.M. Kirby Tenant House." A Town of North Hempstead Road Survey in 1860 also shows it as a "J.M. Kirby Tenant House." One of the tenants, Mrs. John Gschwind, of Roslyn Harbor, has been restored in 1993. Drawing by John Hawkins. extremely helpful in this description of the Jacob M. Kirby Tenant House. Her father, Thomas Kruger, first rented the house about 1910 and her family lived there for about 30 years. Prior to her marriage, as Alice Kruger, she lived there for many years. Mrs. Gschwind has had long conversations with Norbert A. Krapf, Ph.D., a recent owner, and described life in the Kirby Tenant House, furnishing considerable information, not otherwise available, i.e. that the residents of the Van Nostrand-Starkins House and the Jacob Kirby Tenant House shared a common well situated between the two houses.

An understanding of the early floor plan of the Kirby Tenant House was obtained from the careful examination of Dr. Krapf's notes on their conversations which he made available to me (R.G.G.). Without these the considerable alterations made by James E. Conner (Bldg. Permit Application, 10/21/59 and Certificate of Occupancey 6/29/60) would have prevented an understanding of the way the house functioned prior to the Conner enlargement. While the discussion thus far has been directed entirely toward the history of the house as a tenant house developed by Jacob M. Kirby sometime between 1852 and 1859, and subsequently, it should be pointed out that the orientation of the house, with its ridge at right angles to the road, and probably, its original entrance on the south side, was for many years a decidedly 18th century characteristic. This opinion is supported by the survival of a unified system of heavy, adzed, joined framing in the attic in the late 18th century manner. The north-south oriented first floor joists are similarly constructed in the west half of the cellar. However, the first floor joists visible in the east part of the cellar are simple logs, dressed flat on top, which extend from east to west. These joists, similar to those of the Captain Jacob Kirby Cottage (TG 1974-1975) are suggestive of some mid-19th century framing. It may be conjectured that, prior to Captain Jacob Kirby's extensive alteration of the 1850's, the east side of the first storey level had an earth floor, and that the building originally may have been Joseph Starkins' blacksmith shop. Obviously, this historic use of the building is only conjectural and actual substantiation may never be obtained.


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