Born in what is now France, Pierre Deyo (c.1648–1700) married Agatha Nickol in die Pfalz shortly before they immigrated to New York in 1675. The certificate of good standing Pierre and Agatha carried from their church in Mutterstadt is preserved in the HHS archives. 

Pierre’s four siblings, Anna, Maria, Elizabeth, and Margaret, all married New Paltz patentees. Thus, their father, Christian Deyo, another patentee, is often referred to as “Grandpère” (French for “grandfather”) since he was a grandfather to many of the early Europeans born in New Paltz. 

If the house’s construction date is consistent with others on the street, the original two-room stone structure was probably built in the early 1700s for Abraham Deyo, after the death of his father Pierre in 1700. 

The couple were the final Deyo family residents of the house, and their renovations resulted in the Queen Anne Colonial Revival mansion seen today. Much of the original stone house was lost in this process. 

Jack and Betty, the first recorded African residents of New Paltz, were enslaved on this property by the Deyo family. Patentee Christian Deyo purchased Jack in 1680; nine years later, his son and fellow patentee Pierre Deyo purchased Betty. These are the first recorded purchases of enslaved people by the New Paltz patentees following the community's establishment in 1677. 

Sam was born enslaved here in 1804. There were more people, whose names are unknown, enslaved on the property by generations of the Deyo family.