9 1/2 South Delaware Street

9 ½ South Delaware Avenue, Stamford
By Karen Cuccinello

This article came about because Brian Darcy, of California and Stamford, found a 1920’s photo of his house in the John Hoagland photo album at the Stamford Village Library. He contacted me and we met in the library history room to try and figure out the history of the house. The property goes back to the beginning of Stamford Village when Judge Isaac Horton Maynard bought 23 acres and built a 45 room house on South Delaware Street in 1871.
Judge Maynard (1838-1896), of Bovina, and Margaret/Maggie M. Marvine (1840-1926), of Delhi, were married June 28, 1871 and decided to move to Stamford. They had one daughter Frances/Fannie born December 3 1875. When the Judge died in 1896, age 58, the property was left to his wife and daughter equally. In the 1900 Stamford census Margaret, age 59 who listed her occupation as capitalist, and Frances, age 26, are living together.
The March 22, 1902 Hobart Independent states that Miss Fannie Maynard is the possessor of a stylish new turnout- a horse and rubber-tired runabout. On February 26, 1903 she married David Ford, born in Georgia, a few years her junior, in Manhattan. In the same year they were staying at Kendall Place, bought a 150-acre farm from Henry C. Cook in Stamford Township and took a sea voyage to Nova Scotia.
The year before the Fords started having children, in 1907, they were noticed driving around the streets of Stamford in a new red Franklin automobile. Their children: Isaac Maynard (1907-2003), Louise (1909-1949) and Lucy (Mrs. Harris 1915-1989). Besides Stamford, they had homes in NYC, Westchester County, NY, Summit, NJ and Cape Elizabeth, Portland, ME. David, who usually listed his occupation as manufacturer, is residing at the Barcley Hotel in Manhattan with a new wife, Kate, in 1940 and I suspect Frances is out in California with her daughter Lucy at this point as she dies there August 16, 1943. Frances and her parents are buried in Woodland Cemetery in Delhi.
I believe the Judge’s wife Margaret Maynard lived in the Maynard Mansion on South Delaware until about 1918 as she is living at the Delaware House in 1919 where I believe she remained until her death.
At some point during her last years on South Delaware the property was split and Frances and David Ford built a house on what is now called 9 ½ South Delaware.
April 25, 1929 Stamford Mirror-Recorder (SMR)- The bungalow formerly owned by Mrs. David Ford, which was sold some time ago to Mr. Anthony Carabillo of New York, and which is located on the hill above the Isaac Maynard house on South Delaware Street, is undergoing extensive repairs, including the addition of a sun parlor, a new dining room, and a garage. Window seats are being constructed in various parts of the house which is also being repainted and papered. The construction work is in charge of Govern Brothers. (Lumber used for the addition is stamped Jackson Lumber Company)
December 13, 1934 Stamford Mirror-Recorder (SMR)- The property of the late Judge Isaac H. Maynard, which is situated on South Delaware Street has been purchased by Dr. J. Gorse Simmons of New York City through the Husted Farm Agency from Frances Ford. Dr. Simmons is a throat specialist in New York City and a former native of Roxbury. He is planning many extensive repairs including remodeling and re-decorating. The residence of the late Judge Maynard was built over 50 years ago by Orson Stewart and his two sons, Walter and Will. It was one of the show places of this section at that time. The original property consisted of 23 acres of land and was laid out as a spacious park with a large fountain in front of the residence. Malcolm MacPherson, a civil engineer, is surveying the property. (This was the big house that burned in 1970.)
Carabillo kept the house for 30 years, even weathering a tax sale in 1934, when he sold it to Miss Elizabeth Remling and brother, Frank Remling of North Tarrytown in 1959. In 1965 Mrs. John Schneider of Tarrytown spent the weekend at the home of Miss Elizabeth Remling and brother Frank Remling of Hillside Terrace on South Delaware street. Frank deeded the house to his son John in 1973, a year before he died, and they continued visiting Hillside until 1978.
Brian Darcy visited his aunt and uncle Jeanne and Frank Curzio after they bought the house in 1979. Brian has fond memories of his uncle’s fireworks displays on the Fourth of July and remembers the townspeople clapping when they were concluded. Brian and his wife Caryn and cousin Christine Curzio bought the house in 2005. Thanks to Brian for researching deeds etc.