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Thursday, February 7, 2013

MCH History Blog On The Road: Strand Millas and Rock Spring

Strand Millas
It's time to hit the road again, and visit a site outside of Mill Creek Hundred. As I said before, these sites can be selected for a variety of reasons -- they may have some connection to MCH, or they may just be something that I personally find interesting. The particular sites we'll look at now, though, happen to fall into both categories. I first chose the twin sites of Strand Millas and Rock Spring, located just east of Montchanin in eastern Christiana Hundred, because they're on my mind a lot, since I pass them everyday. As I soon learned, however, they do have a direct link to some of the earliest development in our own hundred.

The pair of 300+ year old houses along Rockland Road between Montchanin and Rockland were both built by one of the earliest of the Quaker immigrant families to the area, the Greggs. In 1682, William Gregg (1642-1687) emigrated from Ireland with his wife Ann, and four children -- John, Ann, George, and Richard. They arrived first at Upland, in Chester County, but in 1683 Gregg purchased 200 acres from William Penn on the west side of Brandywine Creek. He added another 400 acres the following year. On his tract William Gregg erected a log house for his family, probably on land now occupied by the Wilmington Country Club. He gave his tract the name of Strand Millas, although I think the original name may have been "Stran Millis". This is derived from the Irish for "sweet, or pleasant stream" (the Brandywine?), and is also the name of a neighborhood in Belfast.

The elder Gregg lived only four years in Christiana Hundred, but in that time solidified himself and his family as integral parts of the community. For instance, in early 1687, only months before his death, William Gregg was one of the Friends given permission to hold their meetings on the west side of the Brandywine during the winter months. This was due to the difficulty in fording the creek in bad weather, and this group would eventually become the Centre Meeting. In the summer of 1687, William died and his property eventually went to John, the oldest son. At that time, the boys were 19, 13, and 11, so they initially stayed in the family house. As they came of age, however, the Gregg sons acquired their own lands, some around their father's tract and some farther away. The map below gives a general idea of where the sons' holdings were in the Montchanin area. The Brandywine is on the right, Montchanin Road (Route 100) is near the middle with the (much later) railroad tracks crossing it, and Rockland Road is in the lower right.

Gregg holdings near Montchanin

I say "general idea", for two reasons. First, although it's possible, I tend to doubt that the tracts were laid out that geometrically. Usually they seem to be more irregular. Secondly, while much is known about the family in that era, there is also a lot of confusion and ambiguity. The exact chain of custody of each parcel is muddled in the various accounts, but suffice it to say that the family owned a lot of land in eastern Christiana Hundred. The most prodigious land purchaser was John Gregg (1668-1738), who bought near and far, and is almost certainly responsible for at least one, if not both of the subject houses.

The larger of the two old homes is the one known by the name of the original estate, Strand Millas. It sits on the south side of Rockland Road, a few hundred feet back. Seen in the picture at the top of the post, the original section (right 2/3), according to its datestone, was erected in 1701. The 2-1/2 story stone house was built on the Penn, or Quaker, Plan suggested by William Penn, and is one of the older examples of the style remaining. There doesn't seem to be any firm indication, but it's thought that Strand Millas was built by John Gregg. The house later was owned by one of John's sons, Samuel Gregg (1710-1767). Sometime near the end of Samuel's life, an additional full-depth room was added on each floor to the east end of the house, either by him or one of his sons. If you look closely at the picture, you can see a vertical white line marking the beginning of the addition. The 20th Century saw the addition of the dormers, a service wing on the rear, and the addition (and later removal) of a sunporch on the west end.


Rock Spring

For as little concrete information as there is about Strand Millas, its sister house is even more of a mystery. A couple hundred yards northeast of Strand Millas, on the north side of Rockland Road, stands Rock Spring. Built on the side of a hill, Rock Spring is probably a few years older than Strand Millas, and stands next to the spring that gave it its name. The spring emerges from beneath an overhanging rock in the hillside, and into a man-made pool. The Greggs surely used the spring from the earliest days, and soon built a springhouse over it.


The Rock Spring springhouse, behind the home

There's no definite date that I could find for the house, but pre-1700 seems to be the consensus. The 1973 National Register of Historic Places form for the two homes says it may have been built in the 1680's, while several sites (like this one) say that John Gregg built it in 1694. Interestingly, John was also married in 1694, so it's at least possible that he built it for himself and his new bride. This picture in the Hagley archives also states the 1694 date, and says that it was originally two stories, with the roof sloping back against the hillside. The third story was then added later. How the idea of John being the builder effects the theory of his building Strand Millas seven years later I'm not sure. Some accounts have John's bachelor brother Richard Gregg (1676-1716) as the builder of Strand Millas. Richard's relatively young death and lack of heirs could explain how John's son Samuel came to own it, and could be the source of some of the confusion. Honestly, much more research needs to be done into these historic homes.

Even if John Gregg did build both homes, this would still be only a small part of his legacy. For one thing, he bought a lot of land. I've seen figures thrown around in the neighborhood of four to five thousand acres. Although sometimes it's said that this was just his holdings in the Strand Millas area, I think this probably encompasses his tracts in Christiana and Mill Creek Hundreds, as well as land in Pennsylvania. John extended his holdings southward, toward the current city limits of Wilmington. Two of his grandsons (John and Samuel, sons of Samuel) first developed and named the millseat at Hagley, which was later purchased by E. I. duPont. In fact, much of the Greggs' Christiana Hundred holdings would eventually end up in DuPont hands, including Strand Millas and Rock Spring. Much of the area we think of now as "DuPont Country" was originally owned by the Greggs.

Industrial development didn't have to wait until John's grandkids, though. He built at least two mills himself, one on each side of Christiana Hundred. Around 1724 Gregg erected a grist mill, along with Adam Kirk, on the west side of  Brandywine Creek near the mouth of Wilson's Run. This frame and stone mill would be replaced about 80 years later with a larger stone one, the remains of which can still be seen. Even this mill, though, would be overshadowed by the Rockland paper mill (and for a time, cotton mill) across the creek.

Two decades earlier, however, John Gregg made a substantial purchase a few miles to the west of the family home. On August 17, 1702, Gregg made the first purchase from Letitia Manor, the large tract belonging to William Penn's daughter. He bought 200 acres straddling Red Clay Creek and sometime in the ensuing few years erected a grist mill on the east side of the creek. This millseat, which would come to be known as "Ashland", was passed to his son William in 1730. Seven years after that, William erected a beautiful brick house, which still stands today overlooking the mill site. The mill was sold out of the family in the early 19th Century, but some of this branch of the Greggs ended up settling in the Hockessin area. I'm sure this part of the story will be revisited one day in a later post.

Today, Strand Millas and Rock Spring sit in a quiet area of the Brandywine Valley, their 17th Century heritage overshadowed by later sites like the Village of Montchanin and the huge influence of a certain gunpowder-making French immigrant family. They are, however, direct links to some of the earliest settlers in both Christiana and Mill Creek Hundreds.

42 comments:

  1. did the duponts buy from jacob broom?

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    1. Yes, in 1802 E.I. duPont bought his first land along the Brandywine from Jacob Broom.

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  2. Scott, thanks for the interesting post. If there are any Gregg descendants out there...the original Gregg family burial ground is located on Wilmington Country Club property. The area is about 35' by 35' and is delineated by large stones on each corner. There are no headstones which was the early Quaker tradition, so nobody really knows which Greggs are buried there.

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    1. Thanks for that. I did read that, but didn't get to mention it in the post. That's one of the reasons I'm sure the original house was over that way. Makes sense that William would have been buried close to his house, and the others followed suit. I didn't know that there were no headstones, but it makes sense.

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    2. I know which Greggs are buried there. I am John Gregg and my Family has kept records in detail.

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    3. I too am a Gregg ancestor. Can you tell us which Gregg's are buried there?

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    4. Regarding who is buried in the Gregg burial ground ~ It is now a year and a half later and I am wondering if the list of who is buried there has been shared. If so would it be possible to get a copy of it? Thanks, Ann G

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    5. No, as of now no one has sent any information to me regarding the Gregg burial ground. If anyone does have it, feel free to email it me. Thanks.

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    6. I'm not sure which Greggs are buried there, but according to the book "Centreville" the land belonged to William (1642-1687) and was passed on to his son Richard. Eventually, the plot was on Winterthur property and was later sold to Wilmington CC.
      The burial grounds can be viewed on Google maps. Type in Wilmington Country Club, select satellite view, move slightly to the right and look for the area under construction near Montchanin rd. The burial ground is surrounded by trucks, is square in shape, has a wall around it and four stone obelisks on the corners. Zoom in and you can almost see the ghosts of the early Greggs flitting around!

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    7. Delaware 21 ~ I had looked on Map Quest but did not know what I was looking for so didn't find it. With your instructions I did find it on Google maps. Thanks! Ann G

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    8. To those interested, someone on Find A Grave has posted info about the Gregg Plantation Burial Ground. There is quite a bit of detail and a few photos as well.

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    9. I am also a Gregg descendant via Wiiliam and his son George and try to visit the Gregg burial ground when we are in the area. Rock Springs and Strand Millas are such lovely homes and the area is gorgeous. I would love to share info with other Gregg descendants!

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    10. William Gregg (1642-1687)is my 8th great-grandfather.
      John Gregg (1668-1694)- 7th great-grandfather
      Samuel Gregg (1710-1767)- 6th great-grandfather
      Sarah Gregg (1743-1801)+ Gideon Gilpin (1738-1762) - 5th Great-grandparents
      Bernard Gilpin (1763-1847)
      He and a younger brother moved to Sandy Spring, Montgomery Co., MD. Their families became prominant members of the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting. Currently, Gilpin is the third most numerous surname in that meeting's burial ground.

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    11. Greggs babbyyyy let's go. What's up cousins!! If you're realtated to william gregg make sure yall the book and read up on our history. Much love my people ❤️

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    12. Greetings out there: I am a Gregg. My mother's father, my grandfather was Sylvanus Mathew Gregg and great-grandfather was Josiah Porterfield Gregg and great-great- grandfather was Sylvanus Lawrence Gregg. While I may not officially be a Gregg because I'm from my mother, I always felt more like a Gregg. Had my last name legally changed to reflect it in 2000. For years I heard stories of Strand Milla's and how it was sold to the DuPont's because of the noise they were making over the gunpowder and such.My grandaunt had a search done on the family, thanks Geraldine. Always wanted a homestead of my own, so when my family and I retired in 2021 we moved overseas to the Philippines. We built a house 🏠 and named it Strand Millas. On our gate had a big SM placed on it. Was so happy to find the old homestead was still standing, have a photo of it on the wall of my upstairs sitting room. Every time I see it I smile 😁.

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  3. I live in West Chester PA. but was born in Wilmington Delaware. A great portion of my Family, the Greggs still resides in northern Delaware. My father was named after William Gregg of Strand Mills.

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  4. Thanks for this handsome and interesting post--I'm also a Gregg descendant, from Joseph's son Solomon, who moved off to the west -- and am unlikely to be able to see this in person so this is a great pleasure.

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  5. I am a Gregg as well. We came here from Dunfermline Scotland by the way of Ireland. My name is John Gregg, direct descendant of William Gregg and John Gregg. We still live in the area of New Castle, Delaware and Chester County Pennsylvania.

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  6. I am a the daughter of a Gregg & my mother is trying to find out more about the women as the story of the (McGreggors), Greggs from Scotland to Northern Ireland to America is fascinating.

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  7. Scott P, Thank you so much for this great information on the family Gregg. I am a descendant of the John Gregg who in 1604 was "invited" by King James to lead his protestant followers across the channel and settle them in Glenarm, N. Ireland--on Catholic McDonald land! For a novel I am researching, I need information on how the Caleb Gregg branch broke away from the Quaker. The third Caleb was my grandfather.

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  8. Fantastic blogpost, thank you so much. I too am a descendant. Running genetic genealogy I have actually made contact with a few Greggs... would love to see a Gregg project! This history is fascinating!

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  9. Just came across this blog post while looking for info on Strand Millas. I was raised in CA and just moved to Delaware in 2010. My genealogist cousin recently let me know we were descended from the Greggs, and it's exciting to know that while I'm a newcomer to the state, there's DE history in my family. John Gregg is my 9th great-grandfather and John Gregg was my 8th great-grandfather. Somewhere along the line, some of his descendants moved west, eventually helping to found the first Quaker meeting house in Pasadena, CA, where my great-grandfather, grandmother, and mother were all born. Thanks so much for the informative post!

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    1. Whoops, WILLIAM Gregg was my 9th great-grandfather.

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  10. William appears to have been my maternal 8th great grandfather, Thanks for the great post! I live in central PA and will be making a trip to check this out soon

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  11. Hi Scott, I've been looking into family history more recently, and stumbled upon a bit more than I originally expected.. I as well seem to be apart of the Gregg family and still live in Hockessin not too far from where my great great grandfather John Wilmer Gregg purchased about 122 acres from the Giffen family which originally was part of Letitia Penn's Stenning manor in 1899/1900 on old Wilmington road and later had built a newer home in 1908 closer to the intersection of loveville and old Wilmington . As I was diving into old maps and family documents, John Gregg mentioned here had another son Joseph, who is the middle brother of William and Samuel. Kinda makes me wonder why hes not really apart and what happened. Also are these the same Greggs who owned delcastle park back in the prison farming era from those at greenbank?

    Great article by the way, read this a few times and compared notes to. Hope to hear from you soon.

    -Matt Gregg

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  12. Very cool. I descend from William, George and John Conrad..to Hannah Gregg...

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  13. My name is Jeannette Marie Gregg, a descendant of William (my 8th great grandfather)as well and I will be making my first trip to Delaware next month and am very excited about visiting the ancestral grounds and would appreciate any other recommendations from those of you who live in the area or have visited.

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  14. It appears William Greg is my 7th Great Grandfather through his daughter Ann, whose daughter, Marry Houghton, married Eli Cook. I'm looking for information connecting William Gregg's line to Rob Roy MacGregor's line. From what I've found, it would be way way back because it appears they lived in different areas of Scotland.

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    1. We related to rod Roy my man but we are still apart of a long line of chiefs starting with Patrick or Malcom the black and ending with john gregg macgregor who struck a deal with king james thinking he who was of scottish blood and would look out for us. But he he turned out to be a fuck boy and fuck ol john over and john a cane for helping him round up .acgregors and other highlanders. The original MacGregor motto was spare not!

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  15. I lived in Strand Millas
    from 1965 -1972

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  16. Rick, Do you have any pictures from that that time period?

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  17. It's an excellent blog post, and thanks to the author for that. However, as the comments illustrate, the fabricated link to the MacGregors still lives. In fact, the 1682 immigrant has no confirmed ancestors.

    Quoting professional genealogist Richard Huseth: "Unfortunately, the bulk of misinformation seems to come from one predominant source - Hazel May Middletown Kendall's book The Quaker Greggs, written in 1944. Since much of her information in the book is unsourced, it often gives the appearance of merely being pieced together out of thin air."

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  18. I did not see the comments below last time I looked this up. I hope to someday come and visit these homes. My Grandmother was a Gregg and there are quite a few in middle Missouri near the Clinton area. I was lucky enough to know my Great Grandfather Earl Gregg that had a farm and coal mine on the farm in middle Missouri. We are descended down from William's son George. From what I gathered our side of the Gregg family moved to Missouri around 1842 from Ohio. (John Wesley Gregg)

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  19. I am Robert and possibly the great x7 grandson of William of the Glenarm Barony, the great x 6th grandson of William the Quaker, x5 of George (John’s brother), x4 of John “deaf and dumb” Gregg, x3 of Richard, x2 of Alford, great grandson of Aaron, grandson of George and son of John Gregg. Unfortunately my father was an only child, my brother Tom is childless and I have 2 daughters so our centuries old Gregg branch ends with me! I too am fascinated with the American Gregg story and would love to tour Strand Millas sometime if possible. Does anyone out there know if it is possible?

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  20. Hello Gregg’s. I am the 8th great grandson of William Gregg the Quaker through the line of William, John, Samuel, John and Cephas. I have just found this blog, even though I have been researching my ancestry for quite a while. I needed to in order to join the American Clan Gregor Society. It’s one of the oldest Scottish genealogy based organizations in the States, having been established in 1909. Gregg is one of the accepted septs of Clan Gregor. I now live in Delaware an if another gathering of Greggs is planned, I would love to attend. Please let me know. Also, if anyone would like information on the American Clan Gregor Society, also let me know.

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    1. Hi Peter, I would like information on the American Clan Gregor Society. I am also a descendant of William Gregg the Quaker through his son George.

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    2. You can get information on the American Clan Gregor Society at acgsus.org. Let me know if you need any assistance.

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    3. Also, I will be attending the Highland Games in Quarryville, PA on September 9th. Stop by if you’re in the area. I would love to meet you and discuss some of our common ancestors. https://www.covenanterscottishfestival.com/

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    4. I think I found you in my book. George Percy Gregg, b. Nov 11, 1876. Son was John Aaron, b. 1913?

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  21. Sorry, that was supposed to be 7th great grandson.

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  22. Linda Gregg TitanichAugust 29, 2024 at 11:45 PM

    Wow this is all fascinating family history. I’m a descendent of the William/John/ Samuel Gregg family and found my Dad’s research items of our family tree. I live in Montgomery County PA but have spent a lot of time in Chester County and Wilmington DE. I’m a member of the beautiful Winterthur gardens and can’t believe that our family originally owned some of that land and sold it to the DuPonts. I would love to connect with other local Gregg family members. My father was an only child who was estranged from his father (Howard Oscar Gregg) so I’ve never met any of the Gregg side of my family.
    Titanich@verizon.net

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  23. Does anyone know how much land and in which area of Winterthur Gardens was originally part of the Strand Millas estate? Also what section of the Wilmington Golf Course was originally part of our family’s property? How do you get to the family cemetery on the golf course?

    I’d like to take my 91 year old father to see it next week. We’re members of Winterthur and have ridden the garden tram tour many times. I’m familiar with the area of the gardens near the train station that borders the golf club and think it may be in that area

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