A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 106

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 106

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Rod and Gun Club ( The)-Hempstead, Long Island. - Organized 1898. 15 members. WV. K. Bedell, president ; George H. Baukney, secretary.

Southampton Sportsmen-Southampton, Long Island. Organized 1879. E. H. Mceran, president ; Charles H. Coster, secretary and treasurer, 27 West 19th street, Manhattan.

Southside Sportsman's-Oakdale, Long Island. Organized 1866. Membership 100. Annual meeting in March. George P. Slade, president : F. L. Hall, secretary.

Stereo Fishing-Canarsie, Brooklyn. Or- ganized 1883. 26 members. A. H. Mahr. president ; W. J. Hilton, secretary and treas- urer, 435 2d avenue, Brooklyn.

Wa Wa Yanda Fishing Club-Cap Tree- Island. Great South Bay. Organized May 13. 1878. 75 members. Charles A. Stadler, presi- dent : S. Popper, secretary, 260 West 93d street, Manhattan.

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THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.

Wyandanch-Smithtown, Long Island. Organized 1872. 45 members. Annual meet- ing second Tuesday in January. John L. Hill, president ; G. Walter, secretary, 45 Maiden Lane, Manhattan.

It may vary the round of the sporting and country clubs by referring here to another class of organizations which promises to grow in number and importance as time passes on and history adds, let us hope, to the honors, dignity and influence of these United States. We refer to the patriotic and commemorative organizations, chief of which, of course, in point of numbers, is the Grand Army of the Republic, which has already been referred to. Time was when the only one of such societies that existed was that of the Cincinnati, organ- ized in 1783, but now they can be numbered by the score and run all the way from organ- izations of descendants of those who came over in the "Mayflower" and "Descendants of Colonial Governors" to the "Society of the Puerto Rican Expedition." Long Island has a share of such associations, but not, it seems to us anything like a full share. There is the "Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Cen- tury," of which Mrs. H. P. Halsey is Presi- dent and Miss R. I. Halsey is Secretary, and which has ninety members, all of whom can trace their descent for at least two centuries. "The Society of Old Brooklynites," which has one hundred and seventy members, has Mr. Edward W. Cooper as its President and C. L. Young as its Secretary. It has accom- plished a vast amount of good in preserving the memories of Brooklyn of long ago, and its monthly meetings in the Hall of Records are, as a general rule, well attended; the "St. Nicholas Society of Nassau Island," of which Mr. Tunis G .. Bergen is President and Mr. WV. T. Lane, Secretary, has a membership of some 300 and has proved a most vigorous and useful auxiliary to the organizations whose purpose is to gather and preserve the records of by-gone days in Long Island.

Brooklyn is the headquarters for the

society of "Prison Ship Boys- Children of the American Revolution," and the "Prison Ship Martyr Monument Association of the United States," both of which refer, of course, to the martyrs of the Wallabout. It is also the headquarters of the "Patriotic League of the Revolution," organized in 1884 to collect relics of the great conflict, and of the "Society of Settlers and Defenders of America," estab- lished in 1899. The purpose of this last or- ganization is "to stimulate historical research, to publish patriotic manuscripts, to locate and protect historic sites, to collect colonial records, and to aid in the erection of libraries, museums, etc." It will be seen from this that the society has quite an extensive field of oper- ations and must cover in its work almost every corner of the thirteen original states. Its membership is confined to those descended from a pioneer settler, a colonial resident or a Revolutionary patriot. Its President-General is Mr. W. L. Carter and Mr. G. B. Winthrop holds the office of Secretary.

The war with Spain, in Brooklyn met with as unqualified a degree of moral support as did the war for the Union, but somehow it did not arouse anything like the same excite- ment. Volunteering was brisk while it lasted, and Camp Black at Hempstead was for a time one of the military depots of the country, giv- ing rise in Brooklyn, often, to scenes that re- called the Civil War days to the memory of the old residents. Then, too, the Navy Yard was the center of particular activity and as the scene of the building of "the Maine," the vessel whose destruction by a hidden torpedo in Havana Harbor led indirectly to the con- flict, it was often visited by curious throngs. It is not our purpose here even to summarize the events of that conflict, which resulted in Uncle Sam acquiring new lands across the sea and taking on his honored shoulders new re- sponsibilities and cares, but it may be said that the military spirit of Brooklyn showed itself, during its continuance, to be as potent as when "the first gun fired at Fort Sumter aroused the world," as the orators used to put

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it. The record won by the Forty-seventh Regiment in Puerto Rico, and indeed all through its service, was in every way credit- able to its own history and to the good name of Brooklyn, and as much at least may be said of Troop C and the Second Signal Corps. There were, it must be admitted, some dis- agreeable incidents in connection with other commands, but these arose from a misunder- standing on minor points rather than from any desire not to perform the duty of a soldier. In the war which freed Cuba and added Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the terri- tory of the United States, Brooklyn con- tributed her full share, faithfully and loyally. In view of this it seems strange that Brook- lyn should not have at least one Spanish- American War commemorative society, but that is a want which it is expected will ere long be supplied.

It is hard to tell how many clubs the bicycle gave rise to, some of them quite fashionable in their reservations and restrictions, but the fad has somehow passed over and the more expensive automobile has displaced interest in the humble and ever ready wheel. Boating clubs flourish on Long Island so numerously that possibly no complete record of them has ever been made, and many have only a brief existence, sometimes lasting only over a single season. Baseball and athletic organizations likewise are a'plenty in every township, and their records are a part of the local story that often forms a leading theme for village gossip the whole year round.

One class of associations deserves more particular mention because of the good they accomplish in promoting social and family life as well as in developing in a pleasant way the resources of the territory in which they are located. That is the class known as country clubs, a class that is increasing steadily year after year, and is destined to continue to in- crease as life in the cities becomes more strenu- ous, more intense. The most prominent of these organizations within our scope is the

Long Island Country Club, which was organ- ized in 1886. It owns 1,250 acres of land at Eastport and holds an additional 5,000 acres under lease, all of which are stocked with game and rigidly reserved. It has an ample club house and cottages for the use of its members, and year out and year in really performs a work that not only is attractive to its own large membership, but is really of public bene- fit by preserving intact so much of Long Isl- and's old hunting grounds and keeping them well stocked in spite of the army of pot- hunters which yearly prowl around its fences.

Its trout ponds are generally fully stocked, and altogether membership in this organiza- tion is, as a New York merchant, who in his early days had been "raised" on a farm, once expressed it, "one of the delights of life." Its officers are: Dr. H. G. Preston, President ; Otto Magnus, Vice-President ; Ward Williams, Treasuer; James P. Philip, Secretary, 26 Court street, Brooklyn.

The other country clubs include :

Lawrence Club-Lawrence, Nassau county, Long Island. Organized 1892. 60 members. F. B. Lord, president; George Hewlett, sec- retary, IOI Wall street, Manhattan.

Maidstone - Easthampton, Long Island, Everett Herrick, president ; Preston B. Spring, treasurer ; S. T. Skidmore, secretary, 71 West 50th street, Manhattan.

Marine and Field-Bath Beach, Long Is1- and. Organized and incorporated 1885. An- nual meeting, second Tuesday in January. 400 members. William H. Garrison, presi- dent; George H. Usher, Jr., secretary, 253 Broadway, Manhattan.

Meadow Club, of Southampton-South- ampton, Long Island. Henry E. Howland, president ; Edward W. Humphreys, vice-presi- dent ; Charles R. Henderson, secretary ; Rob- ert Olyphant, treasurer.

Ocean Country Club - Far Rockaway, Long Island. Organized 1900. Limited to 75 members. B. J. Einstein, president ; S. Bier, secretary ; C. Scheurer, treasurer.

Quogue Field Country-Quogue, Long Island. Dr. S. F. Morris, president ; Orison B. Smith, 59 Frankfort street, Manhattan, sec -. retary ; Albert Van Wyck, treasurer.

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THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND,

Royal Arcanum Outing Club-Gravesend Beachı. Winter quarters, Saengerbund Hall. Organized 1897. 125 members. Jolın T. Ryan, president ; John H. Petersen, secretary, 291 Pearl street, Brooklyn.

Smithtown Outing Club-St. James, Long Island. Organized 1896. 40 members. P. H. Butler, president; M. Blydenburgh, sec- retary, Smithtown Branch.

Westhampton Country - Westhampton Beach, Long Island. Organized 1890. Aaron P. Whitehead, president; Dr. W. B. Clark, secretary, 50 East 3Ist street Manhattan.

Akin to the country clubs are the riding and driving clubs, the principal of which are :

Bay Ridge Drivers' Club-C. W. Boberts, president ; J. J. Lynch, secretary ; F. Jacobus, treasurer.

Brooklyn-Rides Wednesday evenings, Bedford avenue, corner Atlantic. Member- ship, 20. A. Wierl, president ; Ph. Corell, vice-president ; William Bruorton, secretary, 394 Degraw street; Charles M. Heid, treas- urer.

Parkway Driving Club-Boulevard and Kings Highway. Organized 1899. 300 niem- bers. Francis D. Creamer, president ; William C. Allen, secretary and treasurer, P. O. Box 233, Brooklyn.

Pleasure Drivers' Association-Gilman's Hall, 1255 Bedford avenue. William M. Clark,

president ; W. A. Carter, secretary, 72 Washı- ington avenue, Parkville.

Riding and Driving Club of Brooklyn- Vanderbilt avenue and Prospect Park Plaza. William N. Dykman, president ; E. H. Barnes, vice-president ; Irving T. Bush, secretary ; W. W. Walsh, treasurer.

Whip Club-Organized 1896, 25 members (limited). Hamilton H. Salmon, president ; E. K. Austin, vice-president ; G. Herbert Pot- ter, secretary-treasurer; club house, Park Plaza.

The most noted of these organizations is the Riding and Driving Club of Brooklyn, which was organized in 1889. Its membership is limited to 400. Its building opened in the fall of 1891, and is one of the most commo- dions structures of its kind in the world. Architecturally its appearance betokens that beauty has been freely sacrificed to usefulness, and that in fact is also the main character of its interior accommodations. The main feat- ure is the riding arena, 90 feet by 180 feet, and in the stalls 200 horses can be accommo- dated. The club was an exclusive organiza- tion at the beginning, and that exclusiveness it still retains, although in many respects it is the most generally popular of all the develop- ments of Brooklyn's social life.

DITMAS HOMESTEAD .- FLATBUSH.

CHAPTER LVI.

OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.

FAMILY HISTORY AND STORY-PIONEERS, HEROES, MERCHANTS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.

P ROBABLY no family name was or is better known throughout Queens or Nassau county than that of Hicks, mainly, of course, on account of the celebrity which one at least of their number attained in religious circles. Most of them were Quakers of the most devoted class, in- tolerant of the wiles and vanities of this wicked world, and yet it is singular that they should one and all take pride in tracing the family descent from a warring knight, Sir Ellis Hix, who, the genealogical writers tell us, was one of the most trusted warriors of the Black

Prince and was knighted for his valorous deeds by that hero in 1356 on the battle-field of Poictiers. How the descent is proved it is not easy to say, but it seems satisfactory to the genealogists and to the family, and in such circumstances no one has any right to dispute the correctness of the tree. Only it is singu- lar that such vanity should find expression in the circumstance. The first of the family to settle in America was John Hicks, who settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, and had a family of six sons and three daughters. Two of the sons, John and Stephen, crossed to Long

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Island in 1642 and settled in Hempstead, of which he became quite an active citizen, and he also acquired some property in Flushing. Stephen bought from the Indians an extensive tract of land at Little Neck and settled there. One evil-minded biographer asserts that John's son Thomas in time also acquired a tract of land at Little Neck after, according to tradi- tion, quite a rude dispossession of the Indians who had held the land in question. There is, however, it must be confessed, some dubiety about this matter, and probably it arose from the fact that some unregenerate aborigines returned and squatted on lands which Thomas had received from his uncle. The family biog- raphers, as we shall see, speak in the highest terms of Thomas Hicks, as is right and proper when we recall the fact that he was the an- cestor 'of the most distinguished member of the Society of Friends that this country has produced. Many of the descendants of the pioneer brothers settled over Long Island and are to be found there, notably in Flushing, Hempstead, Rockaway and Oyster Bay.

The following sketch of the family and of the wonderful and useful career of Elias Hicks was written by one of the family, Mr. Isaac Hicks :

John Hicks settled at Hempstead, and it is from him that the extensive family of the name on Long Island and in New York are descended. Having been educated at Oxford University, he was a man of intelligence, and his natural force of character made him a leader in the youthful colony. He took an active part in public affairs, and his name appears in most of the important transactions of the time.

John Hicks left an only son, Thomas, who seems to have inherited his father's intellec- tual vigor and force of character. He occu- pied a prominent position in public and social life, and filled many places of trust and honor, among others that of the first judge appointed for the county of Queens, an office which he held for many years.

In 1666 he obtained from Governor Nicolls a patent for 4,000 acres, including Great Neck and lands adjacent. Here he erected a fine mansion and introduced the English manorial style of living.

He was a remarkable man in many respects, retaining his mental and physical powers un- impaired to extreme old age. A paragraph in the New York Postboy of January 26, 1749, states that "he left behind him, of his own offspring, above three hundred children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great- great-grandchildren." He died in his one hun- dredth year, and left, among other children, a son Jacob, who was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch.

Elias Hicks was born at Rockaway, Long Island, March 19, 1748. His parents, John and Martha Hicks, were in moderate circum- stances, but owned a good farm and comforta- ble home, where their children had excellent moral training, but otherwise received only a very limited education.

His father being a Quaker, although not a very active member of that society, Elias early imbibed the principles of that sect, but during his youth, while apprenticed to a carpenter, seemed inclined to prefer the gay society of the young people of the neighborhood. As he grew older he developed a vigorous and active intellect, and evinced a steadfast devotion to his convictions of right and duty which was ever one of the most marked elements in his character. He early took decided ground against the iniquity of human slavery, and later in life was among the pioneers in the cause of emancipation in the Society of Friends. This was one of the battles that he felt called upon to fight in the cause of truth and justice, and he devoted the energy and ability of a long life to the faithful champion- ship of the oppressed negro. His father was an owner of slaves, and in his youth Elias plead long and earnestly until he effected their emancipation. Later in life, when the estate of his father-in-law, who was also a slave-

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

holder, came to be divided, he resolutely re- fused to accept for his own share any portion of the money which represented the value of the slaves, but used it to purchase their free- dom, and ever after took upon himself the care and support of those thus liberated ; even leaving a bequest in his will for their main- tenance in old age.

In 1775 he became a public preacher in the Quaker Society, and from that time until his death, when over eighty years of age, he was a faithful and tireless worker in what he be- lieved to be the cause of truth and righteous- ness. He was especially earnest in the convic- tion that service in the ministry should be free, and without the selfish stimulus of earthly re- ward, and to this end he was scrupulously care- ful when traveling in the service of the society, and on all other occasions, to defray his own expenses.

During the exciting years of the Revolu- tionary war he carefully maintained the peace- ful principles of his sect, and such was the confidence reposed in his high character that he was permitted, in the exercise of his relig- ious duties, to pass six times through the lines of the contending armies. He was scrupti- Jously just in his business affairs, holding in all cases the dictates of conscience to be su- perior to the fallible laws of man.

In his dress, the furniture of his house, and all outward things, he carried to the ex- treme the principle of plainness and simplicity advocated by his society. In person he was erect, of commanding stature, and possessed in a remarkable degree that intangible attri- bute which we denominate "presence." In so- cial life he was dignified but kind, a little re- served in manner, and giving the impression of great intellectual force, combined with a stern devotion to the convictions of duty. Affable in bearing, and inheriting the courtly politeness of the old school gentleman of the last century, his society was much sought by intelligent people of all classes, who were at- tracted by his rare and varied gifts as a. con- versationalist.

His public addresses were not adorned with flowers of rhetoric, nor polished by scholastic learning, but were plain, logical discourses, delivered with a natural earnestness and elo- quence which seemed to inspire his audience with a measure of his own strong faith, and to carry them onward to conviction in the principles he advocated with such force and sincerity.

His religious views were somewhat in ad- vance of those popular in his day, and were the result of individual thought and experi- ence, uninfluenced by theological reading or metaphysical study. While accepting, in its broadest sense, the Quaker doctrine that the Almighty Spirit directly influences the hearts of all mankind, and that a strict adherence to the manifestations of duty, as revealed to each individual soul, is the foundation of all true religion, he was disposed to assign a less ex- alted place to the Bible, as God's specially re- vealed guide to man, and to maintain the Uni- tarian view of Christ's divinity. He took strong and decided ground against the old- time belief in Satan's personal existence and active work in the world, holding that the weaknesses and unbridled passions of human nature were the actual and only evil spirit against which mankind had to contend. In his view God was all love, and he rejected every doctrine or theory that impugned the absolute wisdom and goodness of the Divine Being, or His universal affection for all the human fam- ily, however indorsed by conclave or synod. As it was his nature to think out his conclu- sions for himself, and then to take bold and fearless ground in maintaining his convictions of right, his advanced views naturally met with the disapproval of many of the conserva- tive members of his society, and after a few years of excited discussion the Quakers in America divided into two separate bodies, which have ever since remained distinct. Those who united with the sentiments of Elias were called Hicksite, and those opposed to him Or- thodox, Quakers. The former are the most numerous about New York, Philadelphia and

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OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.

Baltimore, while the latter compose the bulk of the society in the New England and West- ern States.

Like most celebrated men of strong will and earnest convictions of duty, Elias Hicks made a decided impression upon the religious thought of his time, although the circum- scribed limits within which the customs and principles of the Quaker Society of that day confined his labors prevented his working in connection with other associations; thus re- stricting his efforts to the endeavor to promote a higher standard of Christian life among his own religious associates.

During his long and active career he was constantly traveling about the country, ad- dressing the meetings of his society, and wher- ever he went large and deeply interested audi- ences gathered to greet him. His noble pres- ence and eloquent words made lasting im- pressions upon his hearers, the memory of which was ever afterward cherished in affec- tionate hearts and has been handed down with a feeling of reverence to a later generation.

Elias Hicks died at Jericho, Long Island, on the 27th of February, 1830.

Many old families were represented among the residents of Flushing before it was opened up by modern improvements so as to develop into a metropolitan suburb. The Thornes could trace their descent to' William Thorne, who settled on a neck of land which was called Thorne's Point until the name was supplanted by its modern designation of Willett's Point. The family were all intensely patriotic during the Revolution, and one died while a prisoner on a hulk in Wallabout Bay. The Cornell family claimed connection with Flushing from 1643, when Richard Cornell, a sturdy Quaker, settled within its bounds, and after a life of exceeding usefulness left a large family, by whom the name was retained in the front rank. The Lowerres were originally Huguenot refu- gees, and came to America in 1660 or there- about, gradually developing into Quakers as time went on. These words might also be ap-

plied to the Embree family and to that of the Van Zandts.

Jamaica also furnishes the local historian with records of many old families, chief among whom is that of King. This family came to Long Island, where Richard King had long been a successful merchant. There his son, Rufus King, the most famous of the family, was born in 1755. He was educated at Har- vard, where he was graduated in 1777, and then studied law in an office at Newburyport. His studies were somewhat disturbed by his becoming an aide to General Sullivan in that hero's Rhode Island expedition, but after its disastrous termination he was honorably dis- charged and returned to his desk. After he was admitted to the bar he rapidly won quite a prominent place, and as a member of the General Court of Massachusetts, to which he was elected, he was soon distinguished by the clear manner in which he handled all of the many pressing public questions then before that body. In 1784 he was elected to Con- gress, and was returned again in 1785 and 1786. In 1785 he offered his famous resolu- tion that "there should be neither slavery nor unvoluntary service in any of the States de- scribed in the resolution of Congress in April, 1784, otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been per- sonally guilty; and that this resolution shall be made an article of compact and remain a fundamental principle of the constitution be- tween the original States and each of the States named in the said resolve." This was not pressed to a vote at the time, but the princi- ple laid down was adopted in the ordinance of 1787 for the government of the Northwestern territory. In the movement to strengthen the Federal authority, which began to agitate the country almost as soon as peace was declared, Rufus King took a prominent part, his views being in favor of a strong central executive authority. He was recognized as one of the leaders, with Alexander Hamilton, of the Fed- eralist party, and by voice and pen strove

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

mightily that its principles might prevail. In 1788 he was chosen Senator along with Gen- eral Schuyler from New York, and was re- elected in 1795. But higher honors awaited him. He was offered the Secretaryship of State, and declined, but accepted the post of Minister to Great Britain. He left New York in 1796, and for eight years continued to rep- resent his country at the court of St. James, although during the latter part of the time he was not in political sympathy with the then President (Jefferson). In 1804 he asked to be relieved, and when his successor was appoint- ed returned to America and retired to a beau- tiful farm he had purchased at Jamaica. Thus began the long and honorable connection of his name with the good old village. There he mainly resided, keeping a watchful eye on public affairs, until 1813, when he was again elected to the United States Senate, and con- tinued to serve until 1825, when he retired, as he hoped, to enjoy the leisure he had so richly earned. In reviewing his career in the Senate chamber we are unable to recall any policy advocated by him which was not wise, just and eminently patriotic, and his stanch opposition to slavery, to the indiscriminate sale of the public lands, sales often made upon credit and without guarantee, and in particular his opposition to the scheme of a political bank with a capital of $50,000,000 pledged by the government, showed that, strong Federal as he was, he was unwilling to lend aid to a scheme which in a few years would either have become bankrupt itself or would have para- lyzed and bankrupted the trade of the country. In 1825, at the earnest solicitation of Presi- dent Adans, Rufus King again entered public life by accepting once more the post of Am- bassador to Great Britain, but after a few months' residence in London his health failed and he was compelled to resign. He died in New York City April 29, 1827.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 106

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188