Manor House History

The house now known as SeaScape Manor, a beautiful New Jersey beach vacation destination, has majestically overlooked the Atlantic Ocean since 1889. The land owned by the area founding family, the Hartshorne's, since the 1600s, was a perfect spot to build a large farm and country home in Monmouth County, NJ. Hartshorne descendants Benjamin Trask and his wife Elinore along with their daughter Elinore lived in the farm house from 1889 where they often entertained silent film movie stars and had parties with their own private supply of libations during Prohibition. Caretaker's quarters were occupied by the VanKirk's. After Elinore's passing in the 40s, Ben practiced law in New York City and also had a home in Connecticut. He spent little time at this home leaving it primarily in the hands of the caretaker. After Ben Trask's death and upon the death of the caretaker in 1979, the estate was sold to Michael MacCloud a local interior painter and his wife and daughter. The MacClouds updated the house, carved out the lawn and landscaped the property. After 113 years as a private residence, the house was purchased by the current owners in 1992, and SeaScape Manor Bed & Breakfast was born. Over the years since, guests have enjoyed the relaxing New Jersey beach vacations and weekend getaways that Seascape Manor is perfect for.

The Innkeepers

The current owners of SeaScape Manor are Sherry Ruby, her husband Robert Adamec and sister, Gloria Miller. The three partners pool their expertise to offer beautiful surroundings and hospitality to the many guests that pass through their door.

Gloria Miller, a Project Manager and Technical Writer at Telcoria Telecommunications Company by day, is the chef of the Manor in her spare time. She is in charge of Housekeeping and makes all those wonderful breakfasts. Her muffins are legendary.

Sherry Ruby, the sister of Gloria, is a Technical Writing Consultant, as well as in charge of reservations and marketing for the B&B. She has also been in charge of decorating with the advice and consent of her sister Gloria.

Robert Adamec, a New York City native, still travels daily to Citibank on Wall Street where he is a System Administrator and AVP. Bob helps out on weekends by checking in guests, answering the phones and helping take care of the grounds.

The Assistant Innkeepers

The other Manor residents include 3 cats: Samantha (Sammie), Frankie Six Toes and Gatsby and the leader of the pack, Oscar Mayer the longhaired Dachshund.

Gatsby , our orange tabby, was adopted in 1989 when he was six weeks old from a farm in Pennsylvania, he spent the first three years of his life in a New York City apartment and summer weekends at a bungalow at the shore. He has adapted well to the country, but is still a recluse and you won’t see him socializing often. If you do see him, approach him with caution, as he is not always friendly. Gatsby is 18 years old.

Samantha , our black and white tuxedo cat, came to us from the SPCA in 2005 and was hand picked by Bob. She is a very spirited cat who gallops across the deck and sneaks up onto the table (where she is not allowed). She is friendly sometimes and likes to play, but she can get a little rough. We call Sammie our psycho-cat because of her mood swings. She is approximately 6 years old.

Frankie Six Toes arrived in April 2006 as a six week old kitten and has stolen our hearts ever since. He is a very lovable guy, he loves to visit the guests in their rooms and will often spend the day or evening with them. He loves to guard the yard and you will see him walking the perimeter of the property, making sure all is well. He loves his belly rubbed. He is polydactyl and has 6 toes on his front paws. He looks forward to meeting you.

And now for Oscar Mayer: Oscar was adopted in September of 1999 when he was 3 months old. He is a purebred longhaired Dachshund and having been at the B&B since a wee pup he has adapted quite nicely. He will greet you in the yard or at the door with a bark – he just wants to say hi and be petted (and warn his humans that someone is there). He leads the tour of new guests through the house, making sure all stops are covered and he waits at the bottom of the steps when you check out so he can get his belly rubbed. His only bad habit is running out of the gate to have an adventure. If you see him heading in that direction, please lure him back or alert the innkeeper.

Other residents that may greet you upon your arrival are many raccoons, possums, groundhogs, bats, hummingbirds, a herd of deer, an occasional fox, skunk, or turtle. You will see our gold fish and koi in the lily pond as well.

Our family is very pleased to welcome you to SeaScape Manor Bed & Breakfast and hope you will have a wonderful time getting to know us all.