History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals., Part 100

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co.
Number of Pages: 703

USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 100

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most important fire insurance companies and several of the marine underwriting organizations of New York city are managed by them, and notably the foremost institu- tion of the kind in the country, as is generally conceded, the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company of New York. As the present chief officer of this company, John D. Jones, and his able predecessor Walter R. Jones, were Long Islanders by birth, by long descent and by early associations, and were loyal in the maturity of their pow- ers to their home and the home of their forefathers, it seems appropriate in this connection to include a brief notice of them.

In Hunt's "Lives of Eminent American Merchants " there is a memoir of Walter Restored Jones, which will explain and excuse the brevity of this slight outline of his career and character. He was born at Cold Spring, Queens county, April 15th 1793; was a most prominent member (in an entirely new direction) of the old and well known Jones family of Queens county, particularly distinguished for the celebrity of four generations of its members at the bar and on the bench of the colony, city and State of New York, for the period of a century and a half. For over a quarter of a century the late presi- dent of the Atlantic was a most intelligent, active, ener- getic and successful man of business, chiefly in the line of marine insurance, to whose financial interests and their beneficial development he devoted his remarkable powers. At an early age he was engaged as a clerk in the United Insurance Company, one of the first institutions of the kind for undertaking marine risks. In 1829 he was elected, vice-president of the Atlantic Insurance Company. This company pursued a successful career and continued bus- iness to 1842, when the old stock company was discon- tinued and a new one organized on the mutual plan. This had become the popular method of conducting in- surance, as being the most secure and at the same time the most advantageous to the assured. The present At- lantic Mutual Insurance Company was then organized, with Mr. Jones as president. His untiring industry, acute penetration, high character for probity and honor, exact methodical habits, promptness and punctuality all combined to raise this association to the highest rank and insure its success and reputation. After thirteen years of unexampled prosperity the company sustained an immense loss in the death of its chief, by apoplexy, induced and aggravated by intense labor and unflagging attention to the business interests of the company and unselfish neglect of the laws of health. He was suc- ceeded by his nephew John D. Jones, the present incum- bent, who has wisely and energetically carried out the rules of his predecessor, which had established the char- acter of the company, and in following them ad- vanced the institution to a higher degree of repu- tation ' and greatly increased its strength, influence and resources.

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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.

JOHN D. JONES.

John D. Jones was born at Cold Spring. Long Island, on the 15th of August 1814. His father, John H. Jones, was a son of John Jones, one of the sons of William Jones, a son of Thomas Jones, the common ancestor of the Queens county family of that name. His mother was a daughter of Judge Divine Hewlett, of an old Huguenot family. The father of Mr. Jones was a man remarkable for intelligence, activity and versatile business talents, occupied with agriculture, manufactures, com- merce and whaling adventures; of high character and en- dearing domestic qualities, most hospitable and kindiy in disposition, he was all together a genuine man. In his father's house and in management of his farm, mills and store the son was early well grounded in the fundamental principles of political economy and their application to the practical conduct of affairs. These occupations constituted an admirable school for an underwriter, and formed the basis of his business education. The mother of Mr. Jones was a lady warmly beloved by her children, and her character as wife, mother, hostess and neighbor, and indeed in all the relations of life, warranted their af- fectionate devotion to her memory.

Mr. Jones, at the early age of fifteen years (November 29th 1829), was engaged as clerk for the Atlantic Insur- ance Company of New York, and as the youngest eni- ploye performed duties the modern clerk would not consider his proper work. In those days the higher officers thought differently, and considered that the humblest offices were fitting work of the young aspirant, who having thus practically learned his calling from the very rudiments would be educated intelligently to direct and command in the highest sphere he might, thereafter attain. Josiah L. Hale was the presiding officer at this date. He was a cultured gentlemen, of much experience in underwriting, obtained by practice in Boston, Mass., of which State he was a native. He was popular with the merchants of New York, and by his honor and integrity gained their esteem and confidence. Mr. Jones con- tinued as clerk with various advancements until July 1842, when the institution discontinued business as a stock company and was succeeded, under the same of- ficers and management, by the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, a marine underwriting organization, as before stated, on the mutual plan. In this company Mr. Jones continued his clerkship until July 23d 1842, when he was elected secretary. He was appointed second vice-pres- ident in the same institution June 6th 1849 (a new office then created by reason of increase of business). He was appointed vice-president February 15th 1854, and on the 25th of April 1855, after a novitiate of over 25 years of faithful and efficient service, succeeded to the presidency.

During the years from 1837 to 1841 Mr. Jones was sec- retary of the Merchants' Marine Insurance Company, of which Thomas Hale, a brother of Josiah L. Hale, was the president. At the same time, by request of the of-

ficers of the Atlantic Insurance Company, he retained charge of the department of loss-adjusting of that com- pany, and performed the duties pertaining thereto; thus continuing unbroken his relation with that and the suc- ceeding mutual company from the commencement of his career in 1829, making a period of over 52 years. Thus the united business lives of Walter R. and John D. Jones for over half a century have been devoted to, and really embody the history of, that institution, which it would require a separate chapter to give.

There are other kindred institutions with which Mr. Jones has long been identified through his positions as vice-president and president for the past 27 years- among thiem the Board of Underwriters, the Coast Wreck- ing Company, the American Shipmasters' Association and the Life-saving Benevolent Association. In the management of each of these he took an active part. These most useful associations, growing out of and closely allied to the work of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, commended themselves especially to his atten- tion. Mr. Jones is of course a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Of the domestic life and character of Mr. Jones we do not feel at liberty to speak as freely as we could wish in the present brief sketch of his career as a man of af- fairs. For this purpose, and to render justice to his purely business character as well, a much fuller and more elaborate memoir, similar to that of his uncle, is de- manded, which with that referred to would comprise a comprehensive sketch of these two careers and an out- line history of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company.

A few personal details are essential to complete this brief sketch of this representative Long Islander. Mr. Jones married, on the 9th of June 1852, at the "old home," the residence of the late General Henry Floyd-Jones, one of the daughters of that well known senator and accomplished gentleman, his third cousin once removed, Miss Josephine Katharine Floyd-Jones, whose mother, a most estimable lady of old Scottish blood, was thoroughly imbued with the characteristic national virtues. She was a sister of Judge Watts of Louisiana, and one of her sons, whose career has re- flected honor on his family and name, is Colonel De Lancey Floyd-Jones, of the regular army of the United States.

The health of Mr. Jones was delicate for many years, and is preserved now by care and attention. This in- duced him in 1859 to take a European tour, and for some years past to make annual visits to the south, for benefit from the climate and relaxation from the toils and anx- ieties of business. Hs has always been accompanied on these journeys by his devoted wife.

His portrait was painted in early life by Shepherd Mount-a very pleasing picture; and later, at the request of the Board of Underwriters, by Mr. Huntington, the eminent artist.

Respy. yours. I. D. Jones

563

J. C. HEWLETT-DR. O. L. JONES'S SUMMER HOTEL.

JACOB C. HEWLETT.

The subject of this memoir was born at Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., September 23d 1800, and died at the same place, December 28th 1879.

His ancestors were among the earliest settlers in their respective sections. He was the lineal descendant of George Hewlett, who was actively engaged in the early settlement of the town of Hempstead, L. I.

John the youngest son, from whom Jacob C. descended and who is designated as John Hewlett the first, settled at Rockaway. His wife's name was Mary Smith. They had a son John, who in the line of descent is called John Hewlett second. He married Hannah Jackson, daughter of the second Colonel John and Elizabeth Jackson, who lived at Jerusalem, L. I. After their marriage he bought a tract of land located in East Woods (now known as Woodbury). Here he settled and remained till his death, May 5th 1790, in the 88th year of his age. His wife, Hannah J., died three years previous, viz. March 3d 1787, in the goth year of her age. Their re- mains rest in a family burying ground situated on a nar- row projecting mound a short distance east of the house, now designated as Mount Nebo. The place is now in the possession, and the ground thus dedicated is to be the burial place, of the descendants of John Hewlett the second, who among other children left a son John, born February 17th 1731, who is designated as John Hewlett the third. He married Sarah Townsend, a daughter of Rumoan and Mary Townsend. John Hewlett the third died April 4th 1812, and his wife Sarah died September 9th 1808. They had seven children married, including Devine, who was the father of the subject of this memoir. Devine Hewlett married Annie Coles, daughter of Jacob Coles and Sarah Cock. Annie Coles, the mother of Ja- cob Coles Hewlett, was of the 7th generation from Robert Coles, who came from England in 1630 and settled in Massachusetts, afterward going with Roger Williams to Rhode Island, where he died about 1651. Devine and Annie Hewlett had twelve children, as fol- lows: Sarah, who married John Hewlett for her first husband and Singleton Mitchell for her second; Amelia, married Thomas Coles; Loretta, married John H. Jones; Elizabeth, married Henry Scudder; Martha and an in- fant son, died young; Hannah, married Thomas Harri- son; Phebe, died unmarried; John D., married first Jane P. Townsend, second Elizabeth T. Townsend; William, unmarried; Margaret Anne, married Edward K. Bryar; Jacob C. Hewlett, married Elizabeth Jones. She was the daughter of John and Hannah Jones, and was born December 9th 1798, and died at Cold Spring Harbor January 13th 1869.

The children of Jacob C. Hewlett were: Mary E., who married Townsend Jones; John D., who married Harri- ette A., daughter of Thomas Harrison, for his first, and Emma E., daughter of Isaac and Maria L. Labagh, for his second wife; Sarah, who married William E. Jones; Walter R., who married Henrietta Muhl; and Phebe A., who married John E. Chase.

The children of Walter R. Hewlett now living are Walter J., Phebe E., Louis, Robert, and Henrietta A.

The children of Townsend Jones and Mary E. Hew- lett are Townsend, who married Katharine S. Howard, and Joshua Thomas.

The children of William E. Jones and Sarah Hewlett are Sarah E., Florence L., and Willianı E.

LAURELTON.

[BY H. H. FROST.]

Laurelton is located on the west side of Cold Spring Harbor, near the sound, and is thirty miles east of New York city.

The property upon which Laurelton Hall is built formerly belonged to the late Oliver H. Jones, of New York city, who was president of the New York Fire Insurance Company for thirty years. Twenty-five years ago Mr. Jones erected a spacious mansion upon the site occupied by the present mammoth structure. It was his custom to bring his family to this secluded and pictur- esque spot for summer recreation, remaining until late in the season, the scenery being particularly attractive and the foliage charmingly beautiful when tinged with the various hues which follow October frosts.

In the distribution of the large estate of his father Dr. Oliver L. Jones became owner of this choice bit of real property. This occurred in 1871, at the time the doctor graduated. This young man possessed to a commenda- ble degree a spirit of enterprise, which he inherited from his public spirited father, and which directed his atten- tion to the project of establishing a summer resort upon this delightful and attractive peninsula, which subse- quently was named Laurelton. In November 1872 ground was broken for the erection of the building that now adorns the locality. In June of the following year the hall was opened for the reception of guests.

The edifice is 150 feet long, 50 feet wide and four stories high, with mansard roof. A fine basement and cellar are under the entire building; in the former of which are the laundry and kitchen, thoroughly equipped with the best approved of modern appliances. The purest of spring water is led through the house, and every portion of the large structure is supplied with gas, which is manufactured in an adjacent building erected for that purpose. One hundred sleeping rooms are con- veniently and pleasantly arranged upon the upper floors, with broad corridors running between them, affording perfect ventilation to each apartment; while abundant light is secured, and also a magnificent view of the broad bay, a long stretch of the sound just beyond, and near by the sloping hills and quiet valleys which very nearly surround this delightful home.

As the hall stands upon an elevation, which almost constitutes a peninsula, the facilities for perfect drainage are not surpassed by those of any similar summer resort anywhere, for the bold shore and deep water of the bay enable the sewers to discharge their contents beyond

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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.

recall. The healthfulness of this location is one of its particular characteristics, and is combined with rare and exquisite beauty of natural scenery, with which the eye never wearies. A generation ago the perfect healthful- ness of this immediate neighborhood had been widely published and commented upon in the metropolis, and thus it was that the late lamented Dr. James R. Wood, the eminent surgeon of New York city-with whom Dr. O. L. Jones pursued his medical studies-selected here the site of his beautiful summer residence, which he pur- chased of the former owner of Laurelton, and which is but a few hundred feet from the hall. Dr. Thomas F. Cock, also of New York city, owns, and occupies from May until November each year, a handsome residence near by, and during the season of 1881 Louis Bell, who married the daughter of Dr. Wood, built a charming " box," which is fittingly alluded to as the central gem in the diadem that crowns this scene of rural beauty.

Laurelton enjoyed marvelous prosperity so long as direct traveling facilities were affordcd it, but when the steamboat, from lack of support from other sources, ceased to run, and the patrons of the house were com- pelled to depend solely upon the railroad, the nearest station of which was three miles distant, the number of visitors decreased to some extent; yet it is claimed that a wealthier and more select class abundantly compen- sates for any deficiency in this respect.

From the upper stories of the house the Connecticut shore is plainly visible, the eye taking in at a glance the entire country from Rye Beach on the west to and in- cluding Bridgeport on the east. The pretty New Eng- land villages reflect the morning sun, and the blue hills rise grandly in the background. Lloyd's Neck, a bold promontory bordering the sound, is but a short distance from Laurelton, and, although wholly separated from it by water, is a portion of Queens county. Upon Lloyd's Neck is Fort Hill, a relic of Revolutionary days, which was the center of dark, traitorous, and murderous deeds, that ought to bring regretful feeling to every patriotic heart. English vessels were crusing in the sound, and those who should have stood firmly by their country in her imminent peril in many instances gave aid and com- fort to the enemy, supplying them with provisions by raiding the farm yards of the patriots at night in search of stock and poultry, which they exchanged for British gold.

Not far from Laurelton, on the west side of the harbor. is Cooper's Bluff, which has been visited by the curious for the purpose of viewing a remarkable depression in the earth at this point. The height of the bluff above tide-water is probably ninety feet, and this deep cavity is only a short distance inland. It is formed like an in- verted cone, with surprising regularity of outline. At the surface of the ground this vast identation, which is sixty feet deep, occupies an area of six acres, but at the bottom it comes to a point. Nothing appears to prove the wonder the result of human agency. Tradition connects it with the aborigines of the locality. This section of the island was occupied before the whites

came by the Matinecock tribe of Indians. They were engaged in many conflicts with the Pequots of Connecti- cut, who every autumn invaded the harbors and bays of the north shore for the purpose of obtaining game and corn, and wives too from among the many comely mai- [dens that belonged to this lordly tribe. But the race is gone; the name of the once powerful tribe dwelling here would have been forgotten long ago had not the Society of Friends adopted it in locating their meeting.house near Glen Cove. Hundreds of this brave tribe died, inan by inan, on the ground they loved, before the wig- wams they guarded, and are now part and parcel of the earth under our very feet. The ferocious wolves of the tribe across the sound were ever preying upon their substance. The last battle of these two tribes is said to have occurred on the extreme northern point of Lloyd's Neck. The Matinecock tribe was driven inland by the hordes of Pequots. That night the gallant defenders of their homes and hunting grounds retreated to Cooper's Bluff, there to await succor, and the invaders, with the dawn, rushed into an empty fortification half a mile south of Cold Spring Harbor. During the night the valiant Long Island braves, who were intrenched near Laurelton, were reinforced from the section of country now comprising Oyster Bay, Locust Valley and Glen Cove, and the approach of the enemy was awaited with confidence. At carly dawn they came, but when hosts of young warriors emerged from the cover the huge ex- cavation afforded them they precipitately fled. Many were slain, and the fcw who reached their canoes and subsequently their homes conveyed the intelligence that the Matinecocks "outnumbered the stars," which re- sulted in the cessation of hostilities and depredations by the Pequots. It is recorded somewhere that these island Indians were never conquered, and it is said they left a purer name for good faith and friendship than any other tribe of America.

We were at Laurelton soon after the place was for- mally opened to the public. A sweet faced little girl, whom we afterward knew to be the eldest child of the present owner of Laurelton, was playing upon the beach, tossing the smooth pebbles and pretty shells in the water; and later in the day a company of young men and maidens, who were the guests of the hall, were crushing the yielding sand under their feet as they promenaded hither and yon. We contrasted these scenes with those enacted there centuries ago, and in our reverie the fol- lowing words, from another writer, came to mind:

"Little thought the gay maidens and gallant beaux gave to the bones of the mighty dead that lay moulder- ing everywhere about them. How lightly rang the song, the laugh, the clear glad carol of youth in the serene sunshine; and yet how solemnly, in what fearful calm- ness, slept a thousand men under the grass. The same air once rang to the wail of Indian maidens, who sat by the bodies of the valiant dead. The same sunshine fell on horrible wounds, and teeth clenched in the last long gasp, and cold foreheads moist with the death dew. The same holy twilight that mantled us after a while, as with an atmosphere of love, shrouded the sleep of the Matine- cock, as his grasp relaxed on the throat of his foe, his

View of Laurelton from Brick Yards.

LAURI WEST SIDE COLD SPRING;

Scene at Cold Spring .

중국士

Rogers Del.

RILTON, RINHARBOR, QUEENS CO., L.I.

569

LAURELTON-BENJAMIN S. POWELL.

brown cheek was laid quietly on the green sward, and he sank to rest under the stars. They have slept well thus far, through centuries. Thrones have crumbled. The thunder of the invaders' cannon shook these hills to their foundation. The meteor-like lives of men have dazzled the world with their radiance while they red- dened it with blood. More than ten generations. have been born and returned to the earth from which they sprang, and the sleep of the stalwart brave is as deep as when the dark-eyed girls sang sadly over him, and his dust was mingled with the dust of his foe. Four hundred years ago! What right had we to be sitting within sound of those glad voices down by the shore, where the waves rippled so musically, and think of the forgotten centuries? What right had we to summon ghosts of the grim warriors to frighten the maidens of quiet later years? But they were there. Their giant forms stalked through the wooded uplands, and we gazed on their plumes and saw their dark eyes flash in the gloom of the coming evening. Four hundred years ago, fair child of the white man, on the site of Laurelton Hall, sat an Indian girl, holding in her arms the head of her dying lover. He is buried under the green turf of your croquet ground."

The facilities of travel afforded the patrons of Laurel- ton are scarcely satisfactory, although with a shorter route, by a road recently opened to the station, the time from the city, in the summer at least, is only one hour and a half-not so tedious a trip, all things considered, as at first appears. All visitors are well rewarded for any loss of time incurred, if only for one day to breathe the delicious air of Laurelton, and in connection with this enjoyment they are permitted to look upon a land- scape of surpassing beauty. Crest upon crest of the sur- rounding hills rise in every direction save to the north, and the soft and ever varying shadows which pass over their verdant slopes and wooded ravines, and that peculiar atmosphere which gives so great a range of vision, in so picture-like a scope, impart that serenity, that softness and beauty, which are as enchanting as indescribable.

SOUTH OYSTER BAY.

South Oyster Bay is a continuous line of residences on the south road for about three miles, which is the breadth of the town on this side of the island. There are a num- ber of very fine places here, occupied principally by mem- bers of the Jones family. This place is noted for its beautiful and productive trout ponds.

BENJAMIN S. POWELL.

Benjamin Seaman Powell was born April 23d 1824, on the old homestead farm in South Oyster Bay, that had been in the possession of his forefathers for several gen- erations. His father, Walter Powell, was born Novem- ber 6th 1792 and died January 30th 1853. The father of the last named was Benjamin Powell, and after him our subject was named. Mrs. Walter Powell was Maria,

daughter of John and Mary Seaman, of Jerusalem, in the town of Hempstead. She was born October 6th 1796, and died May 30th 1879, in the 83d year of her age.

They had two children, Mary Alice, born January 27th 1822, and Benjamin Seaman, whose portrait appears above. This brother and sister have always reinained on the old home farm, with the exception of about a year's time, when Benjamin, then near the age of 20, was a clerk in the store of S. S. & W. D. Jones & Co., in Jerusalem South, now called Seaford. In return for the care they received from their parents in childhood they have enjoyed the privilege and nobly performed the duty of tenderly caring for them in their declining years, and administering that comfort which is such a blessing when parents reach their second childhood and receive back the gentle attentions they had lavished so many years before. Since the death of the father and mother they have still remained in the home of their childhood, neither of them ever having been married. Although not active members of the church organization, the mem- bers of the Powell family have always been nearer to the Friends' way of thinking in religious matters than to any other. In politics Mr. Powell has been a firm, consistent Republican ever since the campaign of 1860. He has been to the polls and voted when he was the only Republican in all his section of the town. He has never sought or accepted any political or other public place. His life is a fine example of the thrift, prosperity and integrity of an upright farmer, who has attended to his own business and done it well.

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History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals., Part 100

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co. Number of Pages: 703

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co.
Number of Pages: 703