I received a question for a reader who read my post about the Ingersoll Family. She asked about the home she bought that was owned by a member of the Ingersoll family. She was told that it was the Squires Golf Club that currently owns the former Ingersoll property.
In this post, I want to help her learn more about the Annandale Farm owned by the Ingersoll family in terms of its history, and how the Ingersoll family came to the area.
John Sperry and his Descendants
It all began with a Norman-Frenchman (from the earthen part of France bordering Rhine) named John Sperry who arrived in America before the American Revolution began.
It was said that John purchased 272 acres of land from Edward Roberts in 1775. The land comprised the northwest portion of Horsham Township near Prospectville, and the northeast portion of Lower Gwynedd Township near Spring House. He owned the land for 32 years until around the time of his death in 1807.
His home stood at the borderline of Lower Gwynedd and Horsham Townships, "situated over three-quarters of a mile north of Springhouse and at a little distance from the adjoining highways. A land connects the farm buildings with the Welsh road."
Ever since John Sperry's death, his land began to diminish and was divided into smaller acres. His son Jacob obtained his father's homestead that lasted for 36 years until around the time he died in 1834. It was then passed on to his daughter Hannah who then later bequeathed the property to the children of Abraham and Mary DeHaven.
Peter Sperry, a descendant of John Sperry, lived on Henry McKean Ingersoll's property.
Henry McKean Ingersoll
There was little detail about Henry McKean Ingersoll (1862-1943), but all we know about him was that he was the member of the class of 1882 at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was a member of the University Barge Club of Philadelphia since 1879. His occupation was labeled as a farmer.
"As a young man Uncle Henry was frail and after graduation from Penn he never worked. He was talented in music and had a light touch on all matters of companionship. He spent his winters in Paris and loved that city. At home he devoted himself to his farm, garden, church choir, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Penllyn Club as its devoted Secretary and Treasurer. He was a gentle, educated man of great charm and loved by both sexes."
- R. Sturgis Ingersoll, 16
Fun Fact #1: Henry was acquainted with art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner. Read his letter to her HERE!
Fun Fact #2: Henry was also a friend to pianist Olga Samaroff and made a visit to the Annandale estate with her husband Leopold Stokowski.
After Henry died, his younger sister Virginia took over his estate, who then later passed on the home to her great niece Mary Claytor. Until the early 1960s, Mary sold the property to the Squries Golf Club that continues to run to this day. The club used the former estate as a clubhouse from 1963 to 1990.
There was no exact date to when the Ingersoll home was built, or whether Henry made renovations to the old farms that stood on his property. The only known evidence involved an addition made by Henry to his home. Based on when this addition was made, I would assume he settled in Horsham between 1893 and 1894.
Bibliography
Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of the College. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania: 1894): 366.
"Club History." Squires Golf Club. Accessed January 5, 2022. https://squiresgolf.com/Club_History.
"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool." DaftLogic. Accessed January 5, 2022. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Ingersoll, R. Sturgis. "Sketch of the Ingersoll Family of Philadelphia." (1966): 16. https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G003536.pdf.
Kline, Donna Staley. An American Virtuoso on the World Stage: Olga Samaroff Stokowski. (Texas A & M University Press, 1996): 108-110.
"Lacal History Sketch. Interesting Local Matter Collected by 'E.M.' The Sperry Family—Old Homestead in Lower Gwynedd—John Sperry and His Descendants—March Land and Many Transfers of the Sperrys." Ambler Gazette. September 23, 1915. Page 7. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/7141/rec/1.
Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide, v. 9 , n. 47 (1894): 577
The University Barge Club of Philadelphia, Charter, By-laws, Membership. (Philadelphia: Lyon & Armor, 1914): 75.