DEGROFF-TINKHAM-WAREHAM-WADE
302 East Jefferson Street

1857-c1875 Greek Revival /Italianate
Home Tour 2002

The oldest part of this house probably dates to the late 1850s, and was built by Dr. Abram DeGroff.  He was born in New York State about 1816. We do not know where he received his medical training, but he did use the traditional  “M.D.” designation after his name.  He spent some time in Ohio, where he met and married his second wife, Eugenia, on August 17, 1852.  Eugenia was an Ohio native, born in Huron County in 1831.  Dr. DeGroff had several children from his prior marriage, and he and Eugenia had five children together. 

Dr. DeGroff began buying land in the village of Grand Ledge about 1853.  He owned a large tract of land along DeGroff Street, which was named for his family, as well as lots 6, 7, 16, and 17 in block 34.  In 1854 the family moved to Michigan.  Abram’s oldest daughter from his first marriage, Josephine, was married and remained in Ohio with her husband.  The rest of the family consisted of Francis, William, and an infant daughter named Inez. Four more children were born in Michigan: Leland, Idalette (who died as an infant), Emma, and Linnie. 

It was probably about 1857 that Dr. DeGroff built a modest Greek Revival style home for his family on East Jefferson Street.  Part of his home still stands today, at the rear of the Italianate-style addition on the front of the house.  The kitchen, dining room and part of the family room are parts of that older structure.  He also built a drugstore on his property, on the western side of the house.  Later the store was moved to the corner of Bridge and Jefferson where the doctor conducted business until he sold out to Truman Johnson. 

Because early records are sketchy, we only have a few personal anecdotes about the doctor.  Local historian Valorus Kent tells us one such tale: “During the time my mother was putting up old-fashioned paper window curtains, and me just a small kid sitting on the floor, I got hold of some of the trimmings from the curtains which poisoned me.  Had Dr. DeGroff been out at the time I would not be the writer of this article.  What a career would have been spoiled!”  Abram DeGroff was also active in the community, serving as Oneida Township Supervisor, president of the first Grand Ledge Fire Company, and he was active in the Methodist Church. 

Dr DeGroff died on February 12, 1869.  The Charlotte Republican reported: “Dr. Abram DeGroff of Grand Ledge died 7 February in his 51st year.  He was a man of sterling qualities.  His funeral was held Tuesday, and every business in the village was closed during the sad rites.”  He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Grand Ledge. 

Eugenia DeGroff sold the house to Major A. Waldo in the summer of 1869, and Waldo sold it again two months later to John C. Tinkham.  John Tinkham was an early settler of Grand Ledge.  He was born in New York State in 1817 and came to this area at the age of 54.  He bought the John Capwell farm in 1862, and throughout his life bought and sold property in the Grand Ledge and Oneida Township area.  At one time he owned the Tinkham Hotel, later called the Grand Ledge Hotel, which he sold to his son William.  John and his wife Phebe raised a family whose members were prominent in the community.  Their sons, William and Harley, were businessmen.  Their granddaughter Emma married Edward Turnbull, who was responsible for the success of the Grand Ledge Chair Company.  Another granddaughter, Clara, married Fred Chappell, owner of a drugstore.  Sometime during the years the Tinkhams owned the house, the Italianate addition was added to the front of the old DeGroff house.  The 1881 map of Grand Ledge shows the house as it looked when the Tinkhams owned it. 

John Tinkham sold the house in December 1886 to Hamilton and Julia Wareham. The Grand Ledge Independent made note of the transaction: (12/10/1886 p.5 col.2) “Mr. John C. Tinkham and Mr. H. Wareham exchanged residences this week, each taking possession Wednesday.  Mr. Tinkham received about $1600 ‘to boot’.”   Hamilton Wareham was born in 1834 in Pennsylvania.  He came to this area and worked as a farmer.  He and his wife were 52 when they moved into their elegant home on East Jefferson with their two sons.  It appears that the Warehams redecorated and updated the house when they moved in. The Grand Ledge Independent again gives us a few tantalizing clues, but sadly no specifics:  (5/13/1887 p.5 col.2): “Mr. H. Wareham, who purchased the John C. Tinkham place, is making many excellent improvements in the place, which will make it an ornament on Jefferson Street.”  Some of the door and window mouldings are more typical of the later Victorian years, and probably date to the Wareham renovation.  It is also probable that the fireplace was added at that time, and caused several windows to be closed off on the first and second floors.  

Hamilton died in 1897.  Apparently the home had some renters or boarders after his death.  The Grand Ledge Independent (10/12/1900 p.5 col.2) contained the following notice: “Mart Williams has moved into a part of Mrs. Wareham’s house on Jefferson Street.”  Julia continued to live in the house until her death in 1910. The house passed to their sons, John D. (“Dee”) and Fred (“Choppie”) Wareham.  One year later, Fred and his wife, Mary, deeded the house to his brother, John.  Dee Wareham, as he was known, had a distinguished career with the Rookwood Pottery Company in Cincinnati Ohio. Dee graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1889, and enrolled in the Cincinnati Art Academy.  He joined the decorating department of Rookwood in 1893.  He later became president of Rookwood in 1934 after many years of service.  He was known for his eye for the artistic part of the business: he knew the glazes, clays, colors and materials better than anyone.  Rookwood was a business in decline when he assumed the presidency, and despite his efforts he was unable to save the company from bankruptcy in 1941. 

Since Dee spent most of his time in Cincinnati, Fred, Mary and their son Hamilton, lived in the house, with occasional visits from Dee.  Fred worked at many of the local stores in downtown Grand Ledge after moving here with his family in 1885.  He was a clerk for a time at the Puff Cigar Store, and in 1931 he went into business with a partner, Robert Rogers.  In 1934 Fred became sole owner of the business, the Smoke Shop.  His wife Mary had worked in the house for Fred’s mother before she married Fred. 

After Fred “Choppie” died, his son Hamilton continued to live in the house with his first wife Joyce, and later with is second wife, Lena.  He divided the house into apartments.  In the mid 1940s he married again and moved to Houghton Lake with his wife Valdean, and his mother and her husband, William Schaefer.  The house stood vacant for several years before John “Dee” Wareham sold the house to Caroline LaFontzee and her son Jerome in 1953.  John Wareham died one year later in Cincinnati; Hamilton died in 1956.

The old house was showing the wear and tear of the years by this time.  The house was considered beyond repair and was condemned.  The LaFontzees were determined to remain in the house and they made some major structural repairs to save the building.  They removed the old front porch and the rat-infested summer kitchen at the rear of the house (part of the original DeGroff structure).  Inside they cleaned and repaired, and put down oak block flooring and carpet. 

They sold the house in the summer of 1958 to Dr. Gerald and Ardela Gass.  He was an osteopathic doctor with a local practice.  They lived in the home and he set up his office in the older part of the house.  Later he built a new office building on Willow Highway and moved his practice there.  The Gasses stayed on in the house until they built a new home on Willow Highway.  They sold the Jefferson Street house to John and Vickie Yerks in 1967. 

The Yerks lived in the house for a few years before selling it to a land management firm for apartment rentals and they moved to Mulliken.  In 1975 Robert Kish bought the house and began the process of restoring the home.  Robert and a friend, Dick Bolton, made structural repairs including pouring a new basement floor, adding concrete support walls to the basement, and putting in leaded glass windows on the south side of the house.  They returned to some of the original room configurations, but they had apartments at the front and back of the house. 

In December 1980 David and Peggy Wade bought the house and they continued the restoration process.  They worked to capture the Victorian style of decorating and they returned the house to a single-family home.  They added the Victorian style front porch in 1981 and the cupola in 1984.  The original cupola was removed years ago, like many others on the homes along Jefferson.  As they deteriorated over the years, it was cheaper to remove than repair them.  The Wades carefully researched the design of the original and modeled the replacement on that.  There were still five circular steps from the attic floor to the roof, which would have provided access to the original cupola.  David and Peggy retrieved a walnut stairway from a house in the Lansing area that was being demolished and used that to provide access to the attic from the upstairs hallway. George Brandeberry, a carpenter from South Lyon, did the work. The result provides a delightful view of the city and the river as well as providing ventilation for the house.   The Wades successfully blended the modern with the old by adding the deck and the pool.  They remodeled the second floor to make a small baby’s room and closet from a loft overlooking the family room.  The exterior door on the second floor of the house remains something of a puzzle.  It might have led to a small cast-iron “maid’s dusting railing” or a small walkout balcony over the porch, or it could have been an exterior stairway leading into a second floor sitting room.  The Wades removed the aluminum siding and found damage from rot and insects underneath.  The removal also provided more clues to the house’s past: faint shadows of the original window hood mouldings, which helped carpenters to reproduce them.  Gary Cypher, a local builder with a special interest in old house restoration, worked with David and Peggy to repair the house.  The house was then painted in colors similar to those the Victorians favored, and which enhanced the architectural details of the building. 

In 1994 the Wades sold the house to Michael and Susan Stratton.  The Strattons moved in in January 1995. The Strattons made updates and repairs to the infrastructure of the old house such as furnace and insulation, as well as redecorating the house to their own tastes and the needs of their family. Susan Stratton is the owner of the house today.  The house and its decoration reflect her love of music and her respect for the history of one of Grand Ledge’s jewels of Victorian architecture.  

Similar to a number of other homes in Grand Ledge, this structure is a blend of houses built at different times.  The original structure to the rear of the present dwelling appears to have been built in the late 1850s in the Greek Revival style of architecture with the impressive Italianate-bracketed home having been constructed in 1869.  Popular from the 1840s to the late 1880s, the Italianate villa style was patterned after eighteenth century rural homes in Tuscany (Italy).  The style was characterized by its asymmetrical plan, shallow-hipped roof, and elaborate bracket-supported overhangs.  Verandahs and bay windows were also integral features of Italianate villas.  A main feature of this style was often a square tower—usually off-center.  But when such towers were absent (as in this example of Italianate), cupolas were often present.  Emphasis on the height of the structure was further enhanced by tall, slender windows—some with rounded arches, brick and projected hoods, and pediments.  The Italian style had such a broad architectural vocabulary that a local builder could create a unique house that was still Italianate because all the details were recognizably from the Italian Renaissance.  It was a style that encouraged diversity and self-expression.

Given that the residence began as a blend of two houses with a long history of apartment accommodations, much of the interior had considerably changed from its original concept.  Today, the double-door entrance opens to a vestibule with a gracious, open, walnut staircase, which leads to the living room featuring a bay window.  It is interesting to note that while removing a wall during restoration, the only original closet to the house was uncovered in this room complete with rods and shelves.  A small sitting room off this room—the fireplace room—serves as a transitional room from which one reaches the parlor in one direction and the dining room to the rear.  From the dining room (which had long been used as a kitchen)—part of the 1860 addition, one enters the kitchen, which is part of the 1857 structure with lower ceilings and more simple decorative moulding.  The family room to the rear—while still part of the older structure—has been dramatically updated with a staircase that leads to the room that was the second-storey apartment kitchen.

The second storey features a small sitting room, three bedrooms, and a full bathroom.  Note that the bathrooms are primarily nooked into closets or rooms previously designated for other purposes since this house was built prior to indoor plumbing.  As with many houses of this vintage, space was conserved in the second storey bedroom chambers.  Hallways were an unnecessary waste of space; one room leads directly into another.  In addition, people had comparatively fewer pieces of clothing and closets were rarely incorporated into a bedroom.

Looking to the interior of the house, the DeGroff-Wareham-Wade-Stratton house exemplifies characteristic Italianate architectural features in its rectangular—almost square—two-storey house plan with very wide eaves supported by large L-shaped brackets, tall thin windows, and low-pitch hip roof.  The square plan with projected bay window was a favored Italianate mode in Grand Ledge.

Itallian style houses were built of all available materials from brownstone to wood.  Later Italianate houses in Grand Ledge favored brick of various colors used to simulate the stone of the Italian villa.  However, the earlier examples of this style in Grand Ledge and the surrounding towns were more often finished with clapboard wood siding.

The tall, thin windows are typically composed of four smaller panels of glass flanked by functional shutters.  It should be noted that before 1850, the largest panes of glass were from eight to ten inches wide and sixteen inches long; but in the 1850s manufacturers were able to make larger sheets so that only one division was needed in the center of the sash.

One of the most characteristic features of the Italian Villa is the lookout atop the flat roof.  This somewhat jaunty feature was known in different parts of the country as “cupola”, “observatory”, or “belvedere”.  It is not to be confused with the New England “Widow’s walk” which was an open railed platform over a peaked roof.  These lookouts were architecture for the fun of it; it was usually reached by a trap door and was topped by a scrolled “finial” which formed the base of a flagpole or weather vane.

Redesigned in the Italianate style of Victorian architecture, the house is highly dependent of paint to bring forth much of the characteristic detailing since wood-sided Italian villas could not rely on multi-colored brick or projected brick-work patterning to create some of the architectural highlights.  Application of one color—particularly white—tended to obscure the important detail work.  During the first half of the nineteenth century, houses were generally painted white with dark green trim.  Under Andrew Jackson Downing’s influence in the middle of the century, this changed to fawns, greys, and drab green.  During the last quarter, however, colors became deep and intense—a warm red-brown seems to have been the most popular color with deep greens, umbers, and golden ochres not far behind.  Later color schemes called for burnt orange, maroons, and stone grey—all colors made possible by technological growth in the paint industry.  The wood-sided Italianate and other Victorian houses were rarely painted in only one color—the body, trim, and sash were all treated differently.  Only in an era of cheap labor could such elaborate color schemes be considered on an everyday basis.