Amariah Trowbridge - Julian S. Peters House

According to property tax assessment rolls for Avon Township, Amariah Trowbridge acquired this property (Lot 20, Original Plat of Rochester) about 1864 and lived upon it with his wife and children until his death in 1886. (The exact date of purchase by Trowbridge is unknown because a property abstract indicates that the Trowbridge deed is missing or not recorded in county records; 1864 is the first year in which Trowbridge appears on the tax assessment rolls as the owner of the lot.) Lot 20 was divided into two parts when it was sold after the death of Trowbridge. The north half of the lot was purchased by Julian S. Peters, and he erected a one-story brick carriage painting shop on the property at that time. The south half of Lot 20, one which the Trowbridge house stood, was sold to other parties.

It is not precisely known when the house was built on the property, or whether it was built by Trowbridge. One newspaper article estimates the date of construction of the house as predating Trowbridge's ownership; another places the house's construction date within the time that Trowbridge owned the property. Tax and deed records for the property are somewhat murky and cannot precisely fix the age of the building.

Amariah Trowbridge died in his home in 1886, and the administrator of his estate sold the property at auction in January 1887. The Rochester Era reported on January 14, 1887: "The Trowbridge property on Main street was sold at Administrator's sale last Saturday, and was bid off by Peter Lomason for $190."

In 1904, Julian S. Peters purchased the south half of Lot 20. The Rochester Era reported on October 28, 1904:

"J.S. Peters, Esq., went to Detroit last Monday and purchased of Frank Patterson the old Amri Trowbridge property adjoining him on the south, and that old landmark of over 60 years will soon disappear from the face of the earth."

Instead of razing the house, however, Peters decided to remodel it. On November 18, 1904, the newspaper carried this item:

"J.S. Peters is overhauling the old Trowbridge house. He will raise the roof three feet, drop the building and place a good cellar under it, making a neat tenement house of it."

Later, Peters also built a one-and-a-half story addition to the north side of the house.

Julian Peters was a veteran of the Civil War, as was Amariah Trowbridge. Peters served as Avon Township Clerk in 1874-75 and also served 21 years as Justice of the Peace in Rochester. Peters was proud that during his years as Justice of the Peace, not one of the thousands of cases he tried was ever reversed on appeal. After retiring from public service, he conducted a real estate and insurance business. He owned the property at 200 S. Main St. until his death in 1931, when it was sold by his heirs.

In 1945, Rochester automobile dealer C. Lawrence Jerome bought the property and converted the house to office space for the Jerome Insurance Agency. That business was known as the Jerome-Hill Insurance agency in the 1950s, and later as the Hudson G. Hill Agency until the late 1970s. The house has also been occupied, at various times, by Teague Finance, GAC Finance, H&R Block, and Rochester Accounting and Tax Service. The Chomp Deli & Grille opened there in May 2010, following the Beyond Juice restaurant at the location.

Tax assessment rolls, Avon Township, Oakland County, Michigan, tax years 1863-1887, held by Kresge Library, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan.

"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHCC-C2F : 19 March 2020), Amariah Trowbridge, 1870.

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW3Q-SZT : 22 August 2017), Amariah Trowbridge, Rochester, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district ED 248, sheet 29A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,598.

"Amriah [sic] Trowbridge died at his home in this village last Tuesday...," Rochester Era, June 18, 1886, p.1.

Estate of Amariah Trowbridge, deceased, by administrator to Peter Lomason and George Lomason, January 12, 1887, lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 133, p.155.

"The Trowbridge property on Main street was sold...," Rochester Era, January 14, 1887, p.1.

Peter Lomason and George Lomason to Jane R. Jones, April 2, 1887, lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 156, p.534.

Jane R. Jones to Henry Lehman, October 31, 1887, south half of lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 156, p. 632.

Henry Lehman and Hannah J. Lehman his wife to Frank Patterson, February 11, 1896, south half of lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 182, p.241.

Frank Patterson and Jessie Patterson to Julian S. Peters and Mary Peters, south half of Lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, recorded October 28, 1904, Oakland County Register of Deeds, Liber 338, p.19.

"J.S. Peters, Esq., went to Detroit last Monday and purchased of Frank Patterson the old Amri Trowbridge property...," Rochester Era, October 28, 1904, p.5.

"J.S. Peters is overhauling the old Trowbridge house...," Rochester Era, November 18, 1904, p.1.

Rochester: A Sketch of One of the Best Towns on the Map. Rochester, Mich.: W.A. Fox, 1907, p.21.

"Aged Resident Dies After Spending Eighty-Seven Years in Same Locality Here," [obituary of Julian S. Peters], Rochester Clarion, July 24, 1931, p.1.

Abstract of title no. 63143, south half of Lot 20, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, compiled by Fred Burton Abstract Company, certificate date December 16, 1941.

"Jerome Agency to Move Into Old Homestead," Rochester Clarion, May 13, 1948, p.1.