floor joists, and, originally, a compact arrangement of small rooms, all features more common to houses built by those of English descent. When the house was doubled in size in the first quarter of the 19th century, the new eastern section was built with a basement kitchen and hall and "best room" plan on the first floor, probably reflecting Jeremiah Rushmore's increased wealth and the needs of a larger family. It is interesting that Rushmore's will (1826, codicil 1828) specified how the spaces in the expanded house would be used after his death. He ensured that his widow and unmarried daughter would remain in the house, according them the use of the first-floor best room and two second-floor bedrooms in the new section. At the same time, his daughter was forbidden to enter the old section, now home to her brother Richard and his family. The basement kitchen was apparently accessible to all. Despite a number of changes, the house provides important evidence of regional architecture during the early years of the American republic and illustrates the evolution of a small farm house over time to meet the needs of a changing family. The Rushmore property was a working farm with large orchards for over a century. Although subdivided over time, the nominated ninety-five acre property retains an open setting and several agricultural dependencies, including an original stone smokehouse and the remains of a barn and silo, which burned in the 1960s. Rushmore Family The first Thomas Rushmore, a Welsh immigrant, arrived in Long Island in 1648. He married Martha Hicks and had four children, including a son Thomas, born c1655. The younger Thomas Rushmore married Sarah (last name unknown) around 1693–95. Their son, also Thomas, was born in 1693 in Hempstead. This Thomas married twice. His first marriage, c1715, to Anneke Hendrickson, a Quaker, produced seven children: Martha (b. 1716), Jacob (b. 1720), Sarah (b. 1722), Thomas (b.I724), Silas (b. 1727), Stephen (b. 1731), and Isaac (b.1733 ). Thomas Rushmore's son Silas is believed to be the Silas Rushmore listed in Greene County history. Silas married Phebe Titus in 1753. The pair had six children: Martha (b. 1754), Samuel (b. 1761), Jacob (b. 1755), Jeremiah (1765–1828), Sarah (no date) and Mary (no date), all of whom were born on Long Island. It is unclear when the Rushmores arrived in what was then Albany County; however, Silas Rushmore, along with