Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 56

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360

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Mr. Moody secured the assistance of Mr. Herman Liebmann, a partner in one of the most reputable business firms in Brook- lyn, to enable him to carry the proposition through, as he (Moody) was not strong enough financially to undertake so large an operation. The Liebmanns, for there are two of them (brothers), occupy a large retail store running through from Fulton to Washington street, and own about half of the block, the southerly half of which was offered to the Government. It will be seen that, if the sale could be effected, the adjoining property of the Liebmanns would be greatly benefited. It was for this reason that they consented to purchase the lots, some thirteen in number, and turn them over to Moody. Mr. Liebmann proceeded quietly to buy, the sellers knowing nothing about the purpose for which he was buying; but, unfortunately for him, before all the lots had been taken, and before certain leases had been gotten rid of, it got into the public journals that the property was being acquired for the Government, the result of which was that prices rapidly advanced. At this juncture, Mr. Liebmann would have withdrawn had he not already purchased so many lots that he was forced to carry through what he had undertaken, and the result was that he paid $501,082.50 for what the Government was to pay $450,000 for. Meantime, he has been losing in interest, at six per cent., seventy-five dollars per

* Mr. Bell, in the interim, had succeeded Mr. Hill as Supervising Architect.

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

day, while this examination progressed, besides being subjected to many other expenses and annoyances, not the least of which was that of being published in the papers as a thief and scoundrel."

Here Mr. James quoted the report of the Investigating Com- mittee, showing that the transaction was above reproach, and continued :

"I have no question but that, had it been known that the pur- chase was being made for the Government, the cost would have reached six hundred thousand dollars. One lot, 22x100 feet on Washington street, was purchased by Mr. Liebmann from a Mrs. Titus for thirty thousand dollars, on which ten per cent. was paid and an agreement duly signed. When it became known that the lot was to go to the Government, Mrs. Titus tendered back the ten per cent. and the agreement, and stated that she had sold under misapprehension ; that the property was worth more, and that she would not execute the deed. A suit is now in court to compel compliance with the contraet, but meantime the Secretary has relieved Mr. Moody from conveying it and the corresponding lot on Adams street, so that the Gov- ernment plot will be 175x235 feet, and the total cost will be $405,500. The public building is to be used for the general Post Office, for the United States District Court, and for the office of the Collector of Internal Revenue. February 9, the Supervis- ing Architeet filed his report with the Secretary, recommending the purchase of the Johnson street site. On February 16, the Secretary sent the order to Mr. Moody to purchase it. During the week intervening, the pressure on the Secretary to purchase other sites was intensified, and at one time he had nearly con- cluded to purchase the Dutch Church property without the Court street front. Presuming that I knew the president of the Board of Trustees, he requested that I write asking him to com- municate with him direct, as to price and terms, which was done. Against this plan the Supervising Architect filed written objections. The size of this plot is 145 feet on Joralemon street, running through to Livingston street 310 feet. On this street the frontage is 140 fect. After taking off forty feet on each side for an open space, as the law requires, the plot left would have been very unsuitable. With high walls on either side, at a dis- tance of only forty feet, the light would have been shut out from the lower story. It would have afforded insufficient accommo- dation, particularly for the United States courts and attendant offices. The business is so large that two court-rooms, two jury rooms and other extra rooms are required; besides, the architect would have no opportunity for architectural display in planning the edifice. The city of Brooklyn is growing with astonishing rapidity. Its population is seven hundred thousand, and in a very few years, at its present rate of inerease, it will reach one million inhabitants. Probably no other city in the United States is making more rapid progress. It should have a public building commensurate with its importance. If any mis- take has been made, it is, perhaps, that a much larger sumn was not available under the law, so that the Secretary could have selected such a site as would have entirely satisfied himself, and in so doing he would, beyond doubt, have satisfied the larger

part of the citizens. The Johnson street site is the best attainable with the means at his disposal, and is desirable because of its proximity to the City Hall and other city and county offices, its accessibility to New York by way of the Bridge and Fulton Ferry, and its close proximity to Wall Street Ferry. It is within one block of the business centre, upon a street which must, in the nature of things, become the great avenue from Brooklyn to New York. The business of the Post Office is undoubtedly the most import. ant to the general public, although, under the existing system of collecting and delivering of letters by carriers, it is not visited so much as it otherwise would be, except for purchase of stamps, money orders, etc. I append a report of the postmaster for the year 1883. The business of the United States Courts is very large, in some branches of law, notably admiralty s its, one-fifth of all that are brought to court in the United States being tried in Brooklyn. I append statistics from the annual reports of the Attorney-General. The Internal Revenue office located here is one of the largest and best managed distri ts in the country, and was visited, in the month of May, by eleven thousand people for the transaction of business, its r cepts aggregating three millions per annum. It may not be improper for me to state that I have had no personal interest in the selec- tion of any particular site. My action has been guided by reasons which secmed to me to be wise at the time. The Honer- able Secretary himself drew my attention to it. I objected to considering it, and advised the selection of the property at the corner of Adams, Willoughby and Pearl streets, and he requested me to ascertain its cost. It was found to be about $650,000. It was then, after having exhausted every desirable site near the City Hall, and when the Secretary had decided to buy the Dutch Church property alone, without the Court street front, that I held it to be far preferable to buy the Johnson street property."

The statistics alluded to by the Congressman show that Brooklyn is well favored with Government litigation, and that its Internal Revenue business is not far behind that of any revenue district in the country.

The result of the Congressional investigation showed that there was no foundation for the charges made, and that the purchase was as honorable and legitimate a business transaction as was ever consummated, and that Mr. Moody deeded the prop- erty to the United States Government June 20, 1884, receiving therefor a check for $408,500.

Mr. Moody went home from Washington after five months' fight, which he will probably recollect as long as he remembers anything. The weight of the load he has had to carry can be appreciated only by those familiar with the phases of legislati n He displayed qualities of endurance, and especially for delicate and effective manipulation, which surprised veteran legislators and, what is more remarkable than anything else, when the forces he had to deal with are considered, is the fact that he hu won his fight without soiling his fingers. The opposition partie were beaten at every point. They had all the advantages whiel arc presented where a single objection may block legislation in definitely, but they were outgeneraled to the last, thanks to Mr Moody's tact, skill and perseverance, and the justice of his cause

(For the above we are largely indebted to the columns of the Brooklyn Eagle.)

UNITED STATES INTERESTS

KINGS COUNTY.

E PLURIBUS

POST OFFICE, NAVY YARD; FORTS, INTERNAL REVENUE, ETC., ETC. BY

Army Reftiles A.M.W.J Editor.

T THE U. S. POST OFFICE IN BROOK- LYN .- JOEL BUNCE was the first and (in 1819) THOMAS W. BIRDSALL, the second postmaster of

Brooklyn, the office being in their store at the corner of Front and Fulton streets. He was succeeded by ERASTUS WORTHINGTON, a native of Colchester, Ct., who was for several years connected with the Long Island Star. His intelligence, activity, courteous and winning manners, and his enthusiastic love of music, made him a favorite in Brooklyn society. He was a stationer and bookseller ; and, during his incumbency, the office was removed to Fulton street, nearly op- posite Hicks. In 1824 the office was held by Mr. BEN- NETT, then by Mr. S. E. CLEMENTS, "an eagle-nosed Southerner and active politician;" and later by JOSEPH MOSER, whom we have noted on page 116. In 1829, ADRIAN HEGEMAN kept the office, in connec- tion with books and stationery, in Fulton street, near Hicks, and served twelve years. In 1841, the late GEORGE HALL (ex-Mayor) was appointed post- master, and the office being inadequate to the popu- lation, was removed from Fulton street to a small room in Hicks street, opposite Doughty. It remained there a few weeks and was then removed to a new building, twelve by twenty-five feet, put up for the purpose, in Cranberry street, between Fulton and Henry. At this time the whole force of the office consisted of the post- master, one delivery and marking clerk, who acted as assistant postmaster, and had in addition a small sta- tionery stock, which he found plenty of time to attend to, and the mail messenger, Benjamin Richardson, who took the mail twice daily to New York, and was the only letter-carrier of the village, and like many other historic personages survives in the memory of many, owing to a highly gifted dog which always accompa-

nied him. This benevolent quadruped entered with spirit on the business of letter-carrying and evinced a remarkable relish for the virtuous shins of our ancient citizens of thirty years ago.

During Mr. Hall's reign the gross receipts of the office amounted to less than $5,000 a year. In 1845, Mr. HENRY C. CONKLING succeeded Mr. Hall, and the office was removed in Fulton street to between High and Nassau. During his term, in 1848, the large fire occurred in this city, and the post office was burned down. All matter belonging to it, however, was saved and removed to a place of security, and the office was opened in a rear room of the Appentices' Library, on the corner of Cranberry and Henry streets. Here it remained only a short time, and was then removed to No. 6 Court street, in Montague Hall. The business gradually increased, and the office now boasted three clerks and six letter-carriers. In 1849, Mr. Conkling was succeeded by GOLD S. SILLIMAN, Esq., in whose reign nothing particular occurred, the business pro- ceeding quietly and increasing with the population. Three more carriers, however, were added to the force. In 1853, Mr. Silliman was succeeded by DANIEL VAN VOORHIS, Esq., and the office was again removed to 337 and 339 Fulton street. Here it remained some five years, and in 1857 Mr. Van Voorhis was succeeded by Mr. WILLIAM H. PECK, and the office, which now em- ployed about twenty carriers and five or six clerks, migrated to Montague street, near Fulton. In 1861, GEORGE B. LINCOLN became postmaster and held the office over five years. By this time the business had so greatly increased that it had some ten clerks and thirty carriers. It was during Mr. Lincoln's term that the money order department was opened, and several re- forms were also made to facilitate business.

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

GEORGE BURT LINCOLN was born at Hardwick, Mass., in 1817; left his father's farm for a country store when fifteen years of age; and, at the age of twenty-one, in 1838, commenced business on his own account in New York city. He early became interested in National polities, and in 1843, while residing in Mas- sachusetts, he joined the old " Liberty Party," and was a member of the Faneuil Hall Convention, which first nominated Henry Clay for the Presidency. In 1852, he became a resident of Brooklyn, and active among the anti-slavery voters of the city. An earnest worker in the Fremont campaign of 1856, he was, in the words of Gov. Cullom, of Illinois, "among the first to name Abraham Lincoln as the next candidate of the Republican party, and did mueh to bring about his nomination."

He was the first, also, in one of his vigorous politi. eal letters to the press, to tell the story of Uncle Abe's having been a rail-splitter-a eirenmstance which, though in itself insignifieant, furnished to the Repub- lican party the most powerful politieal war-ery of that campaign.

Hon. Leonard Swett, of Illinois, who headed the Republiean electoral ticket, always affirmed that it was Mr. George B. Lincoln who first gave courage to the people of that state to believe that their favorite eould be elected.

In the first dark hour of the Rebellion, when Wash- ington was threatened, Mr. Lincoln volunteered (the only representative of Brooklyn), and bore arms in the celebrated " Clay Guard," until the arrival of troops from the North. Appointed, by his great name- sake, postmaster of Brooklyn, Mr. Lincoln was fore- most in the support of the government, and in assist- ing and providing for the comfort of the troops enter- ing upon, or returning from the field. In 1864, he was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention, which non- inated Andrew Johnson as Vice-President; and, in 1865, was re-appointed postmaster of Brooklyn, at the urgent request of many of its first eitizens. In 1868, he was appointed, by Gov. Fenton, a member of the Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, of which, shortly after, he became the President, an office which he held until the abolition of that commission in 1870 (see page 561).

It was during his presidency, and largely through his strenuous endeavors, that the slaughter-houses were driven from the city limits of New York and Brook- lyn, and that business confined to the improved ab- butoirs in Jersey City.

The oldest of Mr. Lincoln's sons, George B., Jr., was Adjutant of the 67th Reg't. N. Y. S. V., and en- gaged in most of the battles of the Potomac Army; and was subsequently on Gov. Fenton's military staff. The youngest, Frederick S., was for some time a mas- ter's mate in the navy, and subsequently appointed to the United States Naval Academy. Their mother,

Mrs. Lincoln, rendered comfort and valuable service, both in the hospitalities of her own home, and in the army hospitals, to the defenders of the Union.

In 1866, Mr. Lineoln was succeeded by THOMAS KIN- SELLA, Esq., who was nominated by President Johnson, but not being confirmed by the Senate, was succeeded on May 1st, 1867, by Col. SAMUEL H. ROBERTS, and the post office was onee more removed to its present location in Washington street. The present office was erected and oceupied within twenty-nine days after its commence- ment. In 1868, Colonel Roberts was sneceeded by ANTHONY F. CAMPBELL, Esq., and in May, 1869, ex- Mayor SAMUEL BOOTH, Esq., became postmaster, serv- ing until 1874.

During the year last mentioned the post office at Williamsburgh, of which C. C. TALBOT, Esq., was post- master, and the post office of Greenpoint, of which SAMUEL S. FREE, Jr., was postmaster, were consoli- dated with the main office of Brooklyn. Mr. Booth retired from the postmastership and C. C. Talbot, Esq., was made postmaster of the consolidated offices. Janu- ary 1st, 1878, Col. JAMES McLEER was appointed post- master and has served continuously since. When he became postmaster he found the office a mere appen- dage to the New York department. Nearly all the mails despatched from Brooklyn were sent to that office, where they were overhanled and forwarded to their destination. Col. MeLeer failed to understand why this should be the ease. He eoneluded that the third city of the Union, within easy reach of the termini of the great railways of the country, should not be eom- pelled to rely on the New York office for the dispatch of its mails. Thoroughly determined to secure inde- pendenee for the Brooklyn office, quietly, but with characteristie energy, he applied himself to the work. He found that the people of Brooklyn were compelled to wait for the delivery of the great Southern mails until 11 o'clock in the morning. Under the old system this city -- the seat of the United States District Courts, with a vast jurisdiction, the United States Revenue Office, having vital business relations with the whole of Long Island and Richmond County, and collecting from the industries of those counties nearly four mil- lions of dollars a year-was compelled to await its mails from Washington and the great eities of the Atlantic seaboard until they underwent the slow pro- cess of filtration through the New York office. Colonel McLeer proposed that this should cease and that these important mails should be delivered at the Brooklyn office direct from the railway depots of Jersey City, thus enabling him to receive and deliver them at 7:30 A. M. Here the Annex boat was brought into requisi- tion, and through its agency so manifest an improve ment was secured that it was soon extended to the West and Southwest mail routes; so that now all mails for the Atlantic and Gulf states and for many of the

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UNITED STATES INTERESTS.

Western States are dispatched and received direct, to great saving of time and the decidedly better security of the mails. The postmaster gradually applied this sys- tem to the Eastern, Northern and Western mails, making up pouches or packages direct for the various railway post offices and railway route agents, thus secur- ing direct dispatch without loss of time through the New York office. This whole matter of receiving and dispatching mails is now conducted as independ- ently at the office in Washington street as it is at any first-class office in the country. And it is controlled solely by the postmaster and the Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service, whose office is in New York city. Very little Brooklyn mail, except some for the Northwest, is now handled at the New York post office. Col. McLeer also instituted numerous much-needed im- provements in the collection and delivery of the mails, which he has perfected to such a degree as to render both branches of the post office work very effective. When he became postmaster there were only thirty-eight clerks and eighty-nine carriers, and about 14,000,000 pieces of mail were handled by the office annually. At this time (1884) fifty-five clerks and one hundred and forty-one carriers are employed. The city, for facili- tating mail distribution, is divided into five districts. The main office embraces all that part of the city west of Bedford avenue, south of Flushing avenue and east of Macomb street and Gowanus canal ; Williamsburgh station embraces all that part of the city lying east and north of Flushing avenue and Broadway and west of the Manhattan Railway and Mceker avenue ; Green- point station embraces the whole of the Seventeenth ward; Van Brunt station embraces all that part of the city lying west of Macomb street ; Brevoort station embraces all that part of the city lying east of Bed- ford avenue and south of Broadway and Flushing avenue.

The assistant postmaster is Col. Charles B. Morton ; the superintendent of Williamsburgh station is William B. Hopkins; the superintendent of Brevoort station is Louis Baur ; the superintendent of Greenpoint station is Edward Brooks; the superintendent of Van Brunt station is Edward P. McManus; the chief clerk is Col. William H. DeBevoisc; the superintendent of mails is William H. Cunningham ; the superintendent of car- riers is William B. Maas; the superintendent of the money order branch is Barrett V. A. Lyon, and the superintendent of the registry branch is Thomas M. K. Mills.

The annual report of postmaster McLeer, for the year 1883, recently issued, shows that during the year the total number of pieces received and dispatched was 75,586,445. The total postal receipts for the year amounted to $352,296.54, being an increase of $34,220 .- 86 over the previous year. The money order business reached the sum of $1,504,090.02. The increase over 1882 was $168,728.57.

COLONEL JAMES McLEER, Postmaster of Brooklyn, was born in Brooklyn in December, 1840. The out- break of the civil war, in 1861, found him a student in the law office of the lamented General Philip S. Crooke, awaiting the attaining of the majority that would entitle him to admission to the bar, for which he had already passed a successful examination. But the demands of country and the impulses of patriotismn proved stronger than the promise of a successful pro- fessional career; and the call to arms found Col. McLeer among the first to enroll himself in the ranks of Company C, of the Fourteenth Regiment, which was mustered into service for the period of the war by General McDowell, May 23d, 1861. The young soldier, now beginning his active military career, was one of the first detachment of Union troops which crossed the Potomac to the Virginia shore, and took possession of the grounds in the vicinity of Arlington House, to which point the regiment subsequently followed and went into camp. On the 16th of July the offensive campaign against the Confederacy opened, the forward march was begun, and on the 21st, the Fourteenth had reached Centreville. On this date occurred the fateful battle of Bull Run, in which engagement the Four- teenth received its " baptism by fire." Crossing Bull Run at Sudley's Ford, the regiment went into action and unintermittingly fought for four hours and a half, but was at length forced to retire, the enemy being re- inforced by the arrival of fresh troops. Three times during the engagement the regiment occupied the spot opposite the Henry House, whose character is fittingly described by the designation of "slaughter pen," on the third occasion re-capturing the guns of Rickett's battery, but afterward being obliged to abandon them for lack of support. During one of these charges Colonel McLeer was seriously wounded in the head and right arm. He remained in the hospital, most of the time delirious, for many weeks. Before his wounds were finally healed, however, he insisted upon rejoining his regiment, under the stimulus of the intelligence of a forward movement about to be undertaken by the Union forces, and participated in all the engagements and the terrible marches and countermarches of the campaign in Virginia, of 1862, np to and including the battle of Grovetown, in which engagement Colonel McLeer was again so severely wounded that his cscape from death sccms well-nigh miraculous. The battle occurred on the 29th of August, the Fourteenth occupy- ing the left of the first line of the Union forces, which extended from the Warrenton road to a belt of woods just beyond the left of the regiment. Col. McLeer, while in the act of firing his rifle, received a shot in the left arm, just above the elbow, tearing the flesh, shattering the bone, and causing it to fall useless at his side. Recovering quickly from the shock, with wonderful nonchalance he said, "Well, I'll have one more shot, anyway;" and with his right arm alone he

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

COLONEL JAMES MCLEER.

brought the piece to his shoulder, aimed and fired. But as the bullet sped from the barrel, a second shot shattered his right leg, and caused him to fall helpless to the ground. While thus grievously wounded, the , tide of battle ebbed and flowed over the place where Colonel McLeer lay. Time after time the enemy charged in mass, in lines three and four deep, stumbling over the wounded until it seemed as if the little life remaining in their mutilated forms would be trampled out of them. To these sneceeded the stragglers-the prowling coyotes of every battle-field-robbing the wounded and rifling the bodies of the dead of valuables and clothing. The young soldier felt that he was dying; the shock of the double wound had been very great; he was gradually growing weaker from loss of blood, and as night began to settle down over the terrible scene, he felt that his time had come. Suddenly the thought suggested itself, that if he could stop the

profuse bleeding from the arn he might possibly live through the night; and taking his handkerchief from his pocket, and inserting one corner in his teeth, he succeeded eventually in tying it around the wounded arm, and partially quenching the flow of blood. During the night, with others, he was removed by a soldier of the Thirteenth New York Volunteers, to a place of shelter in the woods. With the break of day the battle recommenced. Quick and fast the shells began to play around the group of wounded men, of which Colonel MeLeer was the central figure, cutting off the branches above their heads and dropping in dangerous proximity to their retreat. In this emergency it was determined to endeavor to signal the battery that there were wounded in that part of the wood; and one of the Fourteenth ac- cordingly ripped off the leg of his red pantaloons, which was held up by one of the less seriously wounded of the number in hopes of attracting attention. To this day

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Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 56

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : Munsell Number of Pages: 1360

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360