Source: History of the Mohawk Valley - Gateway to the West - 1614-1925
Covering The Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie,
Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer and Oneida.
Volume IV Illustrated; Page 748
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925

Jacob Crouse, the ancestor of the several Crouse families now so prominent in various sections of the state, was the first permanent landowning settler of Fort Plain, Montgomery County, New York. He was born in the Rhine Palatinate, in 1690, and came to America early in the eighteenth century. About 1723 he settled in Sand Hill, at the western limits of the present village of Fort Plain, and on June 24, 1724, married Catherine Elizabeth Nellis. Jacob Crouse was a natural landowner and undoubtedly acquired land in or about Fort Plain at the time of his settlement. The first written record of his early purchases, however, is the well preserved parchment deed under which he bought on October 1, 1745, from Jacob Bleeker, of New Rochelle, New York, for the sum of five hundred pounds, Lot No. 2 of the William Dick patent of 1836. This land included the northerly portion of the present village and its purchase was followed by that in 1760, when he bought from Jacobus Ten Eyck, of Albany, New York, the lands along the Otsquago Creek "to its junction with the Mohawk", and which cover the southerly portion of the village. These large purchases were supplemented from time to time by smaller transactions, until at the date of his death in 1772, at the age of eighty-two, he was the proprietor of nearly two thousand acres, and undoubtedly the largest resident landowner in this section of the state. The ancient parchment deeds for many of these properties are now in the possession of Mr. Menzo Crouse of Fort Plain, who is fourth in descent from Jacob Crouse, and who still holds certain portions of the original purchase which have never left the possession of the family. Jacob Crouse and his wife had four sons and four daughters, as noted in the appended family record. By his will, which is also in possession of Mr. Menzo Crouse, he gave practically all of this land to his sons, Robert and George, and only corn­paratively small cash bequests to his other children. The two brothers continued as prosperous landowners, who early joined the Whig party and served in the patriot militia of Tryon county. Robert was a giant in stature and strength and his prowess and activity during the war are mentioned in the Revolutionary chapters of this history. Both fought at the battle of Oriskany, where Robert, being wounded, was captured and put to death by the Indians, but only after, according to tradition, killing two of them at the very stake to which he was bound for torture. The Indians gave his body a chieftain's burial in recognition of his dauntless courage. He was probably the mightiest man the Mohawk valley has ever produced. George Crouse returned safely from the battle and subsequent activities of the local American troops, and with the coming of peace to the valley, continued his career of prosperity as a landowner and farmer. His home was on the site of the present residence of Mr. and Mrs. George Duffy. He married, in 1765, Katherine Klock, and they had four sons and two daughters. At his death, in 1824, at the age of eighty-four, it was found that he had followed the precedent of his father and by deed and will had divided his extensive land belongings between his two younger sons, Robert, born 1783, and Henry, born 1787. Robert received the lands including the southern portion of the village, and Henry those of the northern section, including the homestead. Both continued for many years among the most prominent of local residents, and with the development of the village upon their farming lands their respective activities correspondingly changed. Robert, owning the business section, became an active real estate operator, a village official, and the colonel of the local militia. He married Nancy Rosekrans, and, about 1830, built an attractive home on the site of the house built by Governor George Clark in 1738. This residence continued in the family until the death of his daughter, Mrs. Alfred J. Wagner, and it is now, after having passed through several hands, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Fayant. Colonel Crouse's sons early left Fort Plain, but the family was continued locally through his daughter, Mrs. Wagner, and among his grandchildren, who are well known locally, are Robert J. Wagner of Albany, a prominent official of the New York Central Railroad, Delancey S. Wagner and Mrs. Charles Scott of the village. Henry, the younger brother, married in 1811, Katy, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Sanders, of the town of Minden, Montgomery County. He continued land purchases on a considerable scale, and upon the discovery of a bed of excellent clay upon his property, established a brickyard about 1820. The developing village gave a great demand for building materials and the brickyard became a thriving industry. It was situated between the present location of West street and the cemetery, and the water supply was drawn from a large pond on the site of the present Reformed church parsonage. Many of the early buildings of the village were constructed of these brick which may be identified by their distinctive reddish gray color; and they are even after the exposure of a century and more in this severe climate, generally intact and as prime as when first made. Many business blocks, the original National Bank, the first brick Reformed church, the old seminary, and many residences, were the products of the Crouse brickyard and its superintending builders. The yard passed from the family in 1870 after fifty years of one control, and was discontinued about 1877 by the successor. Henry Crouse and his wife had nine sons and three daughters, and with this large family, ten of whom grew to adult life in the village, became a most active part in its growth and development. In 1831 he built and occupied, removing from the homestead, the brick dwelling on the brow of the hill at the end of Home street, so named as leading from the main thoroughfare, Canal street, to his home, and there lived until his death at seventy-seven in 1864. The dwelling then became the property of Judge Yost, who made certain alterations, and it is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. MacRae. Mr. Crouse at all times took the deepest interest in his family, and as the sons reached majority and the daughter married, gave them each a brick house and plot of ground in the village or the equivalent in cash for their own use. Oliver, the eldest, took cash and moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he also became an active landowner, but though married, left no descendants. Jacob followed this example and accumulated a large fortune in real estate in Iowa and later in California, where his descendants now live. Catherine married James Genter, the attorney, in 1834, and received the brick dwelling at the northwest corner of Center and Home streets, where they lived for many years. Upon the death of Mr. Genter in 1889, at the age of eighty-four, the house passed to his daughter, Mrs. George Byron Cook, the mother of Colonel George Crouse Cook of Fort Plain. The son, William, entered business in Fort Plain, and later built the large brick house at the crest of the hill on Prospect street. George became a lawyer and, in 1838, owner of the attractive brick house now the residence of Judge Leonard B. Moore. The dwelling at the northeast corner of West and Orchard streets was built by Mr. Crouse in 1844 and presented to his son Jeremiah, who graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1851, and later settled in Warren. The only one of these original Crouse homes which is still held in the family is that built by Mr. Crouse in 1836, on the northwest corner of Center and Prospect streets, and presented to his youngest son Menzo, born in 1831, upon his majority. Mr. Menzo Crouse received his early education in the private school conducted in the building on Canal street adjacent to the Reformed church and later used for many years as the parsonage, and at the Little Falls Academy, to which he traveled from Fort Plain by canal packet boat. He taught school in various local districts and became the principal of the Fort Plain school in 1855 with a staff of three teachers. Later he joined his cousin, John Crouse, in business in Syracuse, and there participated in building up one of the largest of the Crouse fortunes. He retired in 1859 and has since lived in Fort Plain, to become its oldest resident and is still well and active in his ninety-fifth year. Henry Crouse was also a citizen of unusual public spirit, and the village and its institutions benefited in many ways from his generosity. He donated the land upon which the Reformed church stands, and was a large subscriber to the Fort Plain Seminary, which later became the Clinton Liberal Institute and the Military Academy. It is a strange fact that his large and prosperous family should leave but three descendants in the present generation, which is but the third removed. It is, however, actually the case, and there are but two sons, James Lockwood and George Crouse Cook, of his granddaughter, Helen Alice Crouse Center Cook of Fort Plain, and a daughter, Helen Cornelia Sherman Loeffler, of his granddaughter, Caty Crouse Sherman of Los Angeles. Other descendants of Jacob Crouse have from time to time left the paternal home and become equally prominent citizens in their respective environments, and played distinguished parts in the life of their communities. The members of the fourth generation, grandchildren of George Crouse of Revolutionary fame, were particularly successful in many sections of the country. John Crouse, who removed to Syracuse, became one of its leading merchants and citizens. He was largely instrumental in the establishment of Syracuse University and donated the John Crouse College of Fine Arts which, as a college of the university, has become a leader in its work in the country. The Crouse-Irving Hospital, Crouse avenue, and many industrial institutions in Syracuse are additional tributes to the constructive genius of the family. His brother, Daniel, and cousin, Jacob Crouse, established themselves in Utica at about the same date, and, as in Syracuse, the name has become identified in many ways with those elements which stand for personal success, progress and public spirit.