|
Owners
There have only been 3 owners of the
Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead in its 350 years of existence.
On August 9, 1654, Abraham Riker was
given a patent by Governor Peter Stuyvesant certifying ownership of the
land. The house was built in 1656.
 |
Marion Duckworth Smith at the front door 2015 |
The house remained in
possession of the Riker-Lent family until the 20th century, when it
passed to William Gooth, who had been the personal secretary to the last Riker who owned the house. Gooth bought it to protect the house from destruction.
Michael Smith became a tenant
of the house in 1966. He lived there through 1975 when the Gooth estate
informed him that he would have to vacate the house as Gooth's
inheritors wished to move the house to another location. When they
learned that they legally could not move the house, it was made
available for sale to Mr. Smith. He purchased the house and property in
the summer of 1975 and lived there until his death in 2010.
|
Michael M. Smith Obituaries