Gerow Family Association
Family History
The members of the Gerow Family are descendants of Daniel Giraud (1665-1757), one of the early Huguenot settlers of New Rochelle in Westchester County, NY. He probably was a native of the Province of Poitou or Saintonge in western France. It is believed that he fled from La Rochelle, France, and spent several years in England, before he settled in New Rochelle about 1688.
Daniel Giraud(1) had three sons, Daniel(2), Andre, and Benjamin. About 1750, Daniel(2) and Benjamin changed the spelling of the name to Gerow. The descendants of Andre have kept the French spelling.
Daniel(3), the son of Daniel(2), was born in March 26, 1725 in New Rochelle. After 1781, he moved from Westchester County with his wife, Elizabeth Coutant, and his family to Plattekill (New Marlborough in early records) in southern Ulster County, NY. On the death of Daniel Gerow in 1791, his farm was divided between his three sons, William, John, and Elias.
The Gerow Family Association has a number of early Gerow records—wills, deeds, letters, business correspondence—and family photographs at the climate-controlled Historic Huguenot Street Archives in New Paltz. These documents include Daniel’s will and a map showing the division of his property between his three sons. Also in the Gerow Archives are the papers of Benjamin Gerow of Liberty, NY.
The descendants of Daniel(3) and Elizabeth Gerow continued to live in Plattekill and southern Ulster County for many years. More than 300 people attended the first reunion of the Gerow Family on August 31, 1938 in Plattekill at the home of Augusta Gerow Johnston, the great-great granddaughter of Daniel and Elizabeth. Her home was their original homestead and remained in the Gerow family until she died in 1949.
Family Reunions
After 1955, the Gerow Family held yearly reunions at various places in southern Ulster County. In 1967, the Gerow Family Association met at the Huguenot Historical Society (now called Historic Huguenot Street) and voted to join the Society. After joining the Huguenot Historical Society, the Gerow Family took on the responsibility of taking care of the Quaker Meeting House in Plattekill. The members helped renovate the Meeting House and continued to support its maintenance until 2016 when the Meeting House was sold. A number of Gerows are buried at the Friends Cemetery adjoining the Quaker Meeting House.
The Huguenot Historical Society published a 3-volume Gerow genealogy in the 1980’s. The data was compiled using early Gerow documents, research by some members, genealogical data collected from members and other sources. The genealogy was prepared by the late Kenneth Hasbrouck of the Huguenot Historical Society and contains information on the descendants of Daniel(2), Andre, and Benjamin Giraud.
Membership
Membership in the Gerow Family is open to all descendants of Daniel(1) Giraud of New Rochelle and their families and friends. A family reunion is held every year in New Paltz, NY. at Historic Huguenot Street, where members can visit the preserved stone houses of the early Huguenot settlers.
To become a member of the Gerow Family Association, click here to fill out an online membership form or click here to download a mail-in membership form. Please mail your membership form along with a check or credit card information attached for your annual dues of $20 to Historic Huguenot Street, 88 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY. 12561. Checks should be made out to Historic Huguenot Street with Gerow Family written in the memo line.
Officers
President
Jean Fiore
jeanfiore123@yahoo.com
Vice President
Conrad Franz
confranz@aol.com
Secretary
Nancy Brotherton
Nanbor_2000@yahoo.com