A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 89

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 89

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In recent years a new development has taken place on Long Island, in the holding by individuals of vast extent of its territory, such as the property at Oakdale of William K. Van- derbilt and the estates of F. G. Bourne, of W. H. Whitney and others. These demesnes are veritable baronial holdings and rival in beauty and elegance many an English show place. But they are much more home-like, and the res- idences erected on them are a thousand times more comfortable than most of the storied old- world castles we read so much about. The old owners of manors on Long Island would have gazed with wonder at these estates, the modern

580

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

successors of their vast holdings. The modern manors are not so large as the old ones, and their title deeds do not convey any question- able "rights,"-rights which sometimes sadly interfered with "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ;" but they are better worth living on and give to their owners more genuine pleasure and comfort than any of the old patri- archs could derive from their broad but bleak and sterile acres.

Of late years a feature of summer-home life on Long Island has been the organizations which club together, buy a piece of property, erect a club house and cottages and restrict the rights of property-owning on their domain to their own members. By this means many a pleasant colony has been formed of people who are acquainted with each other and whose com- pany is congenial. Some of these places are most attractive, their co-operation permitting many expenses which the members could not indulge in single-handed, and they afford as a result of the benefits of co-operation all the pleasure of rural outdoor life at a very moder- ate cost.

But the multitude of people who go to Long Island flock to the resorts and the num- ber of them is legion. Take Patchogue, for in- stance. It is in itself an old and settled com- munity, lying in the shelter of the Great South Bay, in a little bay which bears its own name, with a railroad station in its midst, and one of the best roads in the island reaching from its centre right across to Long Island Sound, to Port Jefferson. It has an industry pre-emi- nently its own, its oyster trade, as well as several manufacturing establishments. Little need for it one would think, to spread bait to catch summer visitors; yet season after sea- son they flock to it by the thousand. Its wide streets charm every one; and its churches, vil- las as well as its general air of comfort and cleanliness are satisfying somehow to the dweller in cities. Of course it caters to this annual trade and has all the attractions which an up-to-date seaside resort should have, and,

unlike many of the smaller towns in Suffolk county, it spends money on improvements with no niggard hand. As a sea-bathing resort it has all the adjuncts which fashion demands, and a fleet of car-boats or sailing vessels or naptha launches are daily riding in its harbor, waiting the beck and call of any who want to enjoy a sail on the Great South Bay. If one is tired of the seacoast he can easily turn his steps inland ; he can enjoy a glimpse of the country, or, by hiring a gig, can drive for many hours through rich and varied scenes and never once catch a glimpse of the coast until he returns to his hotel or boarding-house, and boarding- houses are as plentiful in Patchogue as dollar bills in a bank.

For those who desire seaside with very little, comparatively, of country, a tract of Long Island has been coming slowly into vogue in recent years, and that is at its eastern end along the shores of Great and Little Pe- conic Bay. A recent writer speaks of this sec- tion in the following enthusiastic fashion,-a fashion which, however, is truthful, in spite of its enthusiasm :

"Along Peconic Bay are a number of towns and villages whose fine climate, good roads and general attractions are making them prime fa- vorites with summer visitors. The bay itself is a beautiful body of salt water, on whose placid bosom all manner of pleasure craft can be seen during the warm months, bearing hap- py groups of care-free folk. They sail or row over the blue waters in land-locked security from the rollers of the open sea. If they wish to take a dip in the surf, good beaches offer the alluring opportunity.

"On the north side of the bay, after leav- ing Riverhead, one soon comes to the town of Aquebogue, a name admirably descriptive, for water and bog make up the bay-front side. The Saxon half of the name and the sedgy flats about the town suggest the marshes of Runnymede, where the barons wrested the Magna Charta from King John.

"The land rises as one reaches Jamesport,

581

SUMMER RESORTS.

and here are hills crowned with old churches and pleasant homes. This town has become so popular for a summer holiday that the dif- ficulty frequently met with is getting accom- modations, a fact that has served as a stimulus in the erection of many cottages.

"Franklinville is a pretty village, 'at peace with all the world.' Contentment exhales from it as a fragrance, and it always has a colony of summer residents.

"A little way on down the narrow Italy- shaped peninsula into which the north side of Long Island is here tapering is the modest village of Mattituck. Both to the north end and to the south it has fine water views. Hav- ing comfortable inns and hospitable farm- houses for the entertainment of visitors, it has won deserved repute as a place of sum- mer outing. One of the diversions of those sojourning here is found in a little creek flow- ing toward the Sound and abounding in crabs. In both sea and bay fish are plentiful.

"'Just sneeze and you pronounce it :' that is a remark the writer overheard as descriptive of the name Cutchogue. But this description is suggestive in other ways than phonetically. A sneeze is apt to result from too much oxy- gen, and in the air that blows fresh from the water over sightly Cutchogue oxygen is abund- ant. This pretty town has other advantages than good air and a fine view. It is on one of the best roads in America, the long, straight highway leading from Riverhead to Orient. But good roads on Long Island, it should be said, are the rule rather than the exception. Every natural advantage in surface and soil helps their construction and maintenance. The drainage is good, the grades seldom steep, save near the ocean, and there is plenty of land to give the roads needed width. As a result these highways between verdant stretches of farm land, in the shade of noble trees, by the shores of shining lakes, and in sight often of the mighty sea, offer a perpetual invitation to walking, cycling and driving.

"One's first impression of Peconic, formed

from a glance down its broad, shaded street, is favorable, and closer acquaintance with the old town confirms this impression. Jutting out from the shore is a headland called Nas- sau Point. Southold, a few miles east, lays claim to antiquity in its name, and points to the fact proudly that its first settlers secured a concession from the Indians and from a church as early as 1640. There is a conten- tion between Southold and Southampton, across the bay, as to which is the older. In August, 1890, Southold celebrated, with much ceremony, the two hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of its founding. The town has a cen- ter where the stores, schools, and churches are grouped, and about it the houses are scattered widely. Whichever way the wind may blow the old place is fanned by a sea breeze. In this fact some antiquarians profess to have found a reason for the great age of some of the inhabitants, a few of whom, it is gravely claimed, antedate the founding of the place.

"Journeying to the very end of the main line of the Long Island Railroad one reaches the progressive and interesting town of Green- port. It has over 3,000 inhabitants, and is both a resort and an important business centre. Besides the trade that comes to it from being the terminus of the railroad, it has a consider- able commerce through its boat connections with Shelter Island, New London, and Sag Harbor. Within the safe haven of its harbor a mighty fleet could find anchorage. The town's large summer population is drawn from a wide territory-New England and the West being represented as well as New York and Brooklyn. These sojourners have pleasant stopping places in well-appointed hotels and comfort-giving cottages. They find every means of outdoor diversion. Boating, sailing, fishing, and shooting are excellent, and many pleasant trips can be made awheel, afloat, or afoot. The view one gets from a bluff north of the town is expansive and exhilarating. Dancing in the sunlight are the waters of the Sound stretching away to the green shores of

582

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Connecticut ; to the south lies Peconic Bay, a glittering sapphire set between the green heights of Shelter Island and the trees of Greenport, with spire and roof peering through them; to east and west the eye travels over water to the far horizons. This north prong

the history not only of Long Island but of the country at large ought to commend it to many classes. To a certain extent and up to a certain time it was a "resort," but since it became a railroad centre it is so no longer ; yet for one who wants to explore Long Island

CATHEDRAL AT GARDEN CITY, L. I.

of Long Island pushes on from Greenport, beyond the pretty town of Orient, with its one thousand people, to its end at Orient Point. Here the land, which has beeen grad- ually becoming narrower, dips into the sea, and what, in some of the geological epochs of the past, was a greater Long Island here bc- comes the bed of the Atlantic."

To many, the central portion of Long Isl- and will always be its most attractive feature. Jamaica itself might be a resort, deserves to be a resort in fact, for its antiquity, its natural beauty ; and the important part it has played in

no place is better adapted as headquarters u11- less one is prowling around Montauk Point, or meandering solemnly in the outskirts of Wading River. It is surrounded by a cluster of pretty home-like towns,-Hollis, in the one direction and Woodhaven in the other, each worth a visit to get a good understanding of the comforts and discomforts, the joys and drawbacks of the individual the comic papers like to run foul of as the suburbanite.

It is not very far by rail from Jamaica to Garden City, a place which has acquired so much prominence from the beautiful cathedral

583

SUMMER RESORTS.

and schools founded by the late A. T. Stewart and his widow. Stewart was a strange in- dividual. The most successful merchant of his time, every speculation he entered into in connection with his legitimate dry-goods busi- ness turned to gold : everything else he touched turned to dross. One of his pet schemes was to found a city on Long Island, and with that end in view he purchased a large tract of land in the township of Hempstead. He knew that a town must have some reason for its exist- ence, and he furnished the reason-the cathie- dral. He also built houses for the people to live in; but none was to be sold, all to be rented, and the rentals in turn was to help support the cathedral and its work. It was a failure. Americans do not like to live in an atmosphere of restriction, and that was what life at Garden City meant. The cathie- dral is a thing of beauty, the architectural beauty of Long Island, and the schools asso- ciated with it are the best of their kind; but it was not until Stewart was dead and the silly restrictions were removed that Garden City began to attract people. Its growth has been slow : the word "city" as its title has proved a misnomer. It will in course of time be peo- pled : that is inevitable ; but it will never be in itself a city, for the next time that the Greater New York stretches itself it will be swallowed up as have so many more popular places.

For sylvan beauty no section of Long Is !- and can more commend itself than that around Lake Ronkonkoma. Says the writer we have already quoted :

"The sheen of its limpid surface sparkles like the eyes of an Indian maiden. Fed by springs at the bottom, its waters are as pure as they are clear. The lake is about three miles around, and its shores form the shape of a pear. In places it is over sixty feet deep. As a shady fringe around it are many trees, and clustered about are a number of cottages. Along the beach of white sand a road runs, and the view from it over the crystal face of the lake is beautiful. This is the largest body

of fresh water on Long Island. It is fifty-five feet above sea level. Through some mystery of nature it has periods of ebb and flood, but these are not coincident with the tides or by any possibility connected with them. On the sloping banks daisies nod to their relatives the lily-pads in the water. In the darkling depths, bass, catfish, and perch disport themselves. Floating now and again over its bosom, as if calling its Indian name, are the sounds of bells from St. Mary's-by-the-Lake, and from other steeples. A legend has it that a phantom canoe now and again goes noiselessly over the waters bearing an Indian girl, love-lorn, and in search of the young brave to whom she has given her heart. With the dawn her birch- bark boat skims away into the ether and the sun looks down into the mirror face of Ron- konkoma."

But we must cease mentioning places, for wherever our eye falls on the map some great hotel like that at Long Branch or some quiet, old-fashioned inn like that at Roslyn comes before us demanding a word; and the sum- mer delights of Southampton, or Cold Spring or Moriches or Shelter Island troop up calling for more detailed description than can well be given them individually in a chapter de- voted to all as a class. Then too many his- toric spots are recalled, such as the early home of him who when a wanderer far from it wrote the plaintive words of "Home, Sweet Home,"-one of the world's songs; the old Indian Canal at Shinnecock ; the memorial to Nathan Hale; the haunts of Captain Kidd, and even the late tumult and excitement at Camp Wyckoff, where our soldiers rested afeer their return from their short but glorious cam- paign in Cuba,-all these bid us linger, all in- spire a desire to tell their story; but such things cannot be crowded into a chapter and had better, here at all events, be left untold.

For fifty years or thereabout Long Island has been a paradise for the land boomers. Money has been made in its real-estate field, and much has been lost. The land boomer is

584

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

an evil: of that there is no doubt; and the story of his doings in Williamsburgh and and other places have won for him a memor- able reputation. He has done harm in many quarters,-harm which exists to this day, be- cause he has floated a half-considered and ill advised scheme, and then when the "bottom fell out of it" left it hopelessly a wreck. Such results are painfully evident all over Long Island. But still the boomer has been of serv- ice. He quickened the extension of the old city of Brooklyn by his efforts more than did any other agency; he it was who opened up its farms and turned them into streets and squares and won for 'it its title of "city of homes ;" he, too, has been the means of bring- ing to the front most of Long Island's most popular resorts. They have been started in the first instance by his glowing descriptions and his confidently expressed hopes, and once he induced the people to believe as he professed to believe the rest was easy. He made money. He turned strips of sand into foundations of wealth, won a price for old farms which would have astonished the old holder of a manor pat- ent; but the people got something for their

money, something they could use for health and pleasure. It was said of a once famous real-estate auctioneer and boomer in Brook- lyn that he sold more sand and mud than any other man living. So he did. But people built hotels on the sand and homes on the mud, and so all were benefited. The boomer should be gratefully remembered when we think of the marvellous prosperity which Long Island has for so many years enjoyed for its pleasant country homes, its suburban pleasures and the wealth which the vast throngs of summer vis- itors yearly bring to its resorts.

But if the boomer has passed a greater power has arisen to perform his work, to per- form it more honestly, more thoroughly, and with more beneficial and permanent results. That power is the railroad system of the island. There is no doubt that the plans now in progress for the extension and develop- ment of the Long Island Railroad will open up the entire island to business and pleasure to an extent even now little dreamed of and make it become a veritable fairyland of homes and resorts, and that, too, at a not very far distant day.

CHAPTER XLIX.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.

EARLY MEDICAL LEGISLATION-A SOUTHAMPTON DOCTOR AND HIS FEES-NOTED PHYSICIANS OF THE OLDEN TIME-BROOYLYN'S PIONEER DOCTORS.

By WILLIAM SCHROEDER, M. D .*

T appears from the records of the past, that the relation of the medical man to the people was not the same as that of the minister or the schoolmaster, for his efforts in behalf of humanity did not re- ceive the same recognition as was accorded to

the two other professions. This may be largely accounted for by saying that medical science, as we understand the term to-day, was un- known, and that the people submitted them- selves to various forms of treatment with no particular object in view other than to lower

* This chapter and the two following, all re- lating to the history of the medical profession on Long Island, are from the pen of Dr. Will- iam Schroeder, of Brooklyn, and have been presented here in answer to a very general request that so much, at least, of Dr. Schroe- der's historical studies as could be made avail- able should be gathered together and pre- sented in an enduring form. All of the mat- ter contained in these three chapters was prepared and presented at various times and in various publications-publications which having served their day and purpose are now forgotten or so scarce as to be beyond general reach. It was felt that the material which had been so carefully and so lovingly compiled, at a great cost of time, research and patient labor, should be brought within easy reach of all interested in Long Island history.

William Schroeder was born in New York city, July 26, 1854, but since he was four months old his life has been spent in Brooklyn. He may therefore be regarded as to all intents and purposes a native of that borough. He studied medicine at the Long Island College Hospital, from which he was graduated with honors in the class of 1881. Soon afterward he entered upon practice in Brooklyn and slowly but surely advanced to the front in pro- fessional circles. He is a member of the

Kings County Medical Society, of which he is the official Historian, and is a member also of the Brooklyn Medical Society, the Brooklyn Pathological Society, the Long Island College Hospital Alumni Association and several other medical organizations.

Dr. Schroeder is also a prominent figure in social life. In Masonic circles he has attained high rank, having served as Master of Nassau Lodge, No. 356, and High Priest of Gate of the Temple Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. In the Order of the Eastern Star he has held the office of Grand Lecturer for the State of New York. An eloquent public speaker, Dr. Schroeder has lectured in public several times, mainly on Masonic matters, on which he is recognized as an authority of more than ordin- ary standing. To medical and periodical lit- erature he has for many years been a steady contributor, mainly on historical themes. He is to the present day a diligent and painstaking student and he gathered around him a working library of which any library man might well be proud. In addition to his medical books, he has a collection of Masonic literature, col- lected from all sources and all lands, which could hardly be found equalled in any other local private library, while of works relating to Long Island history and antiquities his treasures are large, varied and unique.

586

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

their vitality. The patient received consider- able attention from his neighbors, and they were always ready to give advice and offer treatment-which usually consisted of herbs of various kinds, each one possessing peculiar merits, capable of curing all the ills that human flesh is heir to. Many recovered, due to the fact of their possessing a robust constitution, consequent to their mode of living, which was largely out of doors; their living apartments being larger and their food more wholesome, -therefore much more health-giving than our manner of living at the present day.

A few historical notes, relative to the early history of medicine on Long Island, may not be out of place at this time.

Benjamin F. Thompson, in his History, published in 1839, informs us that the name conferred upon Brooklyn by the Dutch was Breucklin (broken land), and in the act for dividing the province into counties and towns, passed Nov. 1, 1685, it is called Breucklyn.

On the 18th day of October, 1667, a patent was granted by Governor Richard Nicolls to the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of Breucklen, their heirs, successors and assigns. "It is generally believed that Governor Stuy- vesant, in 1657, gave a general patent of the town to Stephanus Van Cortlandt, of that por- tion known as Red Hook." Grants were also made between the years 1642 and 1647, by Governor Kieft, to different individuals for lands on the Brooklyn shore, from Red Hook Point to the Wallabout Bay. In 1670, the in- habitants being desirous of enlarging their common land applied to Governor Lovelace, who granted a license for that portion known as Bedford, extending from Brooklyn Ferry to the Flatbush turnpike.

In turning our attention to medical educa- tion in the State of New York, we find that in 1767 or 1768 an attempt was made in the city of New York to establish a medical school. The faculty, organized at that time, continued to read lectures until the beginning of the War of the Revolution, which converted their col-

lege into a military hospital. From this time until the year 1792, there were no medical lec- tures delivered in this State, and from that time until the institution of the College of Physicians and Surgeons by the Regents of the University in 1807, medical education did not make much progress, in fact, the advancement of medical science, so far as the State of New York is concerned, may be dated from the year 1807.

In 1760 the General Assembly of the Prov- ince of New York ordained that no person should practice as a physician or surgeon in the city of New York before he was examined in physic or surgery.

It appears that the first degree that was granted in New York was that of Bachelor of Medicine, conferred upon Samuel Kissam and Robert Tucker, in 1769, by the College of New York. In 1770 the degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon the same gentle- men. (Transactions of the Medical Society, State of New York, 1827 and 1842.)

The presentation of these historical notes at this time is intended to fix in our minds the condition of things as they existed at that time. By so doing, we can more easily comprehend the efforts put forth by medical men at that time, to organize a college or society. Long Island evidently was not looked upon as the best place to practice medicine, as the writer has been unable to find a record of any physi- cian, who was willing to call Long Island his home, until about the year 1725.

The practice of medicine on Long Island is well presented in an address, delivered by WV. S. Pelletreau in 1890, at the 250th anni- versary of the town of Southampton. He seems to have understood the relative position of the medical man in the community, for he admits that the procuring of a minister and then of a schoolmaster always preceded that of a doctor. His language is so beautiful and truthful, that I shall take the liberty of giving it in full.

587

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.

For long years after the settlement there appears to have been no physician in town. A "Dr. Craig" is once mentioned, but he evident- ly was not a permanent resident. Families then doctored their ailments with domestic remedies. It was a part of the duty of a good housewife to lay in a good stock of herbs at the proper season. "Yarb teas" of all kinds were given in cases of sickness, and if they did 110 good they certainly did no harm.

It is quite a question, whether many of these herbs were not brought with the first settlers from England, with the traditional knowledge of their efficacy. Some of them are never found growing wild, far from the haunts of men. However this may be, each plant, according to their ideas, possessed a peculiarly good quality. Catnip was soothing to the nerves ; Indian posy was strengthening ; boneset was good in fevers; and skunk cab- bage was used for rheumatism, but never cured it.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 89

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