USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 29
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To the tent of the wounded captain came the bars of a major, forestalling a commission, which will be for gen- erations to come a source of pride to his descendants, reading, " Promoted for meritorious services rendered on the field of battle, and particularly on the 12th of May 1864." The honor was justly earned; the battery held, as it were, the key to the position, and had it been taken or flanked the consequences would have been serious.
From that time through that terrible forty-five days in which Grant opened the road to Petersburg the battery was engaged almost daily, losing at Cold Harbor one man killed before crossing the river, another afterward and two wounded, and having twelve horses shot. On the 16th of June the siege of Petersburg was undertaken, and this battery built Fort Wilcox in front of the " cra- ter," and held it seven weeks, during which seven men were wounded. In August the 34th was sent to the left, where several engagements occurred, the most severe of which was at Pegram's Farm, where the 34th bat- tery lost three killed, four wounded and had six horses killed. During a change of line soon after, the battery was again placed in front of Petersburg, and owing to the exhausted condition of the men and horses was sent to the rear for two months. In November it advanced and took position on Crow Nest, where a winter of watchful- ness but comparative rest was passed. On the 25th of March Major Roemer was ordered to occupy Fort McGilvery, near Appomattox. In the small hours of the ensuing morning the rebels surprised and captured Fort Stedman, situated immediately to the left, and under cover of its guns attempted to storm Fort McGilvery in the rear. Loading three guns of his light battery, and placing one en barbette in the rear of the fort, under the
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Capa
I27
THE PRINCE FAMILY.
married a Montrose. Neither Robert, Elizabeth nor Susannah left children, so far as is known.
Samuel Prince, who was born May 20th 1728, married Ruth Carman April 24th 1751, and had nine children, named respectively Robert, Elizabeth, James, Mary, Samuel Ist, Samuel 2nd, Elizabeth 2nd, Margaret and became so famous was by Samuel Prince at Great Neck, Susannah. Prince street in New York city was named from this Samuel Prince, who had a considerable tract of land there.
had thirteen children, of whom nine died young. Those who arrived at maturity were John, Sarah, William and Benjamin. John Prince moved from Flushing to Prince- It was at this house that the Duke of Clarence, after- town, near Schenectady, where he had large flour mills. ward King William IV. of England, was received when He was a member of the Legislature in 1797 and 1798, and died without issue, October 1802.
Sarah married Major Charles McNeill, who resigned from. the British army after the Revolution, and had seven sons, who are the progenitors of the McNeill families of Long Island, Washington and elsewhere. Benjamin married Rebecca Willets, and had two children, Anna and Rebecca. Anna married Charles Townsend and had one now deceased. Rebecca married Effingham W. Lawrence and had three children, William Henry, Francis and Frederick A.
Francis was the rector of the Church of the Holy Communion, New York, at the time of his death, in 1879.
William Prince born November 10th 1766 married Mary, daughter of Eliphalet Stratton, December 22nd 1794, and died April 9th 1842. His children were: William Robert, born November 6th 1795; Mary Ann, born August 5th 1797; Alfred Stratton, and Edwin, the last of whom died young.
Mary Ann (still living-1881) married Thomas H. Mitchell, of Richmond, Virginia, by whom she had two daughters, Rosalie A. and Josephine H .; and afterward married J. Dayton Harris, of New York.
Alfred S. married Hannah Smith, and had two sons, Linnæus and Charles A. William R. Prince married Charlotte G., daughter of Governor Charles Collins, of Rhode Island, October 2nd 1826, and died March 28th 1869, having had four children-Charlotte Collins, Sera- phine Collins, William, and L. Bradford, all of whom sur- vived himn.
Charlotte C. married Edwin Henry, March 10th 1853. aud lives at Flushing, having three children-Florence L., Anna C. and Cornelia C. Florence married Wilson L. Gill, of Columbus, Ohio, in 1880.
Seraphine C. married Henry F. Cox, of Racine, Wis., January 10th 1857, and died childless in 1870.
William, born July 9th 1833, died December 18th 1880, unmarried.
L. Bradford, born July 3d 1840, is spoken of in a separate sketch.
Samuel Prince the elder lived on Great Neck, a little west of the church; and his brother Robert lived in Flushing. Samuel is named as a witness on the trial of Edward King for the murder of William Smith in 1733. The first establishment of the nursery which afterward
about 1725; but it must soon have been followed by the nursery at Flushing, which continued during five genera- tions and over 130 years in the family.
From Robert is descended the Wintringham family of Long Island; from Mary, the Winter family; and Samuel (2nd) has very many descendants, named Prince, Wat- rous, Bass, McKeen, etc. William Prince who was the immediate ancestor of the present Flushing family mar- Robert Prince and his son William occupied the land south of Bridge street, extending from Lawrence street to the middle of the block between Prince and Main streets, and on the south about to the Reformed Dutch church, the family mansion being on Lawrence street, ried Ann Thorne, and lived until January 1802; having just northeast of the "Effingham Lawrence " house. The old mansion, which was of rounded shingles, re- mained until about 1863, when it was taken down.
he visited the town, and here also General Washington and his distinguished party were entertained in 1789. In Washington's journal (1789, October 10th) he speaks of this visit as follows: "I set off from New York about 9 o'clock, in my barge, to visit Mr. Prince's fruit gardens and shrubberies at Flushing. The vice-president, gover- nor, Mr. Izard, Colonel Smith' and Major Jacobs accom- panied me."
It was at this house also that the bust of Linnaeus was crowned by De Witt Clinton at the celebrated meeting of foreign and American scientists in 1823.
In 1793, June 26th, William Prince the second (1766- 1842) purchased from Bayard, Le Roy and Clarkson the property on the north of Bridge street, containing So acres, lying between the present railroad on the west and Farrington street on the east, and established his nursery there, calling it the " Linnæan Nursery," while his brother Benjamin remained on the old homestead and called his establishment the " Old American Nursery." Ultimately they were again consolidated. The residence of William Prince was on the north side of Bridge street, just where Linnæus street now is.
This William Prince was a man of great energy of character, excellent judgment and much kindness of heart. In the language of Mandeville's History of Flushing, he " was of an enterprising, amiable and kindly character, universally esteemed in life and regretted in death." He may truly be called the father of the pros- perity of Flushing.
Before his time the route to New York had been by Jamaica or the Head of the Vleigh to Bedford, and thence to Brooklyn ferry, a distance of 17 to 20 miles. In 1799 Mr. Prince organized a company, of which he was president, to build a bridge over Flushing Creck; this was accomplished in the next year. Soon after this, by his exertions, aided by Joshua Sands and others of Brooklyn, a bridge across the Wallabout was built, greatly shortening the route to the New York ferry. The amount of labor in accomplishing these matters was very great. In the work of getting a turnpike con-
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
structed from Flushing to Newtown, which was shortly afterward accomplished, he counted that he had traveled over a thousand miles.
Mr. Prince was a zealous churchman, being con- firmed at the first episcopal visitation ever made to the village, by Bishop Provoost, June 28th 1802. He was a vestryman of St. George's Church as early as 1798, and was a member of the vestry thirty-two years, during fourteen of which he was warden.
He was devoted to botany and natural science gener- ally ; was a corresponding member of the Linnacan Society of Paris, the horticultural societies of London and Paris, and the Imperial Society of Georgofili, at Florence, and the author of the " Treatise on Horticul- ture," published in 1828.
His son William R. Prince inherited his father's love of botany and his great energy. He was connected with the American Institute, National Pomological Society, and many other leading societies, in whose transactions he took a prominent part; was the author of the " Treat- ise on the Vine," 1830, the " Pomological Manual," 1832, and " Rose Manual," 1835, and in his later days re- ceived the degrees of M. D. and LL. D.
After his marriage he bought (July 8th 1827) the Em- bree property, corner of Bridge street and Clinton (now Lawrence) avenue, where he continued to live until his death, and which is still the family residence.
Although never holding any public office he was en- thusiastic in politics, especially as a friend of Henry Clay. In 1848 he was a member of the national conven- tion at Harrisburg, which ultimately nominated General Taylor, going as a Clay delegate. In 1831 he delivered the 4th of July oration at Hempstead.
William Prince the son of William R. Prince was a man of extraordinary scientific attainments. He entered the army as a private at the breaking out of the Rebel- lion, and served till wounded at Antietam. Subsequently he became an officer in the 155th N. Y. (volunteers), and soon afterward was appointed a lieutenant of ordnance, U. S. A., passing a most brilliant examination on his ad- mission to the corps in 1864. He was twice brevetted for "gallant and distinguished services;" became suc- cessively first lieutenant and captain, and died at Wash- ington in 1880. During his service he was chief ordnance officer of the middle military district (Va.), of North and South Carolina, and on duty at the arsenals of Water- vliet, Washington, Frankford, New Orleans and Spring- field.
L. BRADFORD PRINCE.
L. Bradford Prince was born at Flushing, on the 3d of July 1840. He is a lineal descendant on the maternal side of Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth, one of the " men of the Mayflower," and had for great-grand- father and grandfather respectively Governors Bradford and Collins of Rhode Island. His paternal ancestors are mentioned in the sketch of the " Prince Family."
Owing to the delicate health of Mr. Prince much of his early life was passed in the south. As he grew to
manhood he engaged in horticultural pursuits at his father's place, in Flushing, but after a short experience abandoned this line of employment to study law. Enter- ing Columbia College law school, he passed through the course with special honor, and upon graduating received the $200 prize in political science.
From his youth he has been exceedingly active in all matters affecting the welfare and improvement of his native town. In 1858 he originated the Flushing Library Association, obtaining the first subscriptions, drawing its constitution, acting three years as secretary and afterward as president; for several years he was chairman of the village lecture committee, conducting courses of lectures in 1859, 1860 and 186t, which have never since been equaled in the town. For five successive years, 1861 to 1865, he was chairman of the "Fourth of July commit- tee," which had charge of the public exercises and dis- plays on the national holiday. In 1863 this committee erected the liberty pole at the west end of the park. and in 1865 inaugurated the movement for the building of the "soldiers' monument." To this latter Mr. Prince devoted himself for over a year, in raising money and collecting the names of the fallen heroes. He was also the originator of St. George's Brotherhood, a religious society, organized in 1868 and still doing an active and increasing work. On many public occasions, such as the foundation of the new public school, the opening of the opera house, the celebration at the introduction of water, etc., he has delivered appropriate public addresses.
Very early in life he developed an extraordinary apti- tude for political matters, and the activity he displayed in his district during the Fremont campaign won for him a vote of thanks from the town club, of which his age- he was then but a lad of sixteen-prevented his becoming a member. In the canvass of 1860, though still a minor, he was secretary of the local political organization, and worked enthusiastically for the success of the Lincoln ticket. In 1861 he was chosen a member of the Repub- lican committee of Queens county, on which he served continuously almost 20 years, during several of which he was its secretary and chairman. He was a delegate to State conventions during the years from 1866 to 1878 with scarcely an exception; was elected a delegate to the national Republican convention held at Chicago in 1868, and the following year became a member of the State committee. The political labors of Mr. Prince at this period were all the more honorable from the fact that they were pursued purely as a matter of principle, and without the least expectation of personal advance- ment, the district in which he resided being strongly Democratic. His qualifications for filling a responsible position were, however, too apparent to be neglected, and in 1870 he was elected to the Assembly, receiving a majority of 1,415 votes, members of all parties joining in his support. In 1871 he was re-elected to the Assembly by a large majority, although his opponent was the strongest Democrat in the district and an experienced legislator. who had already served both in the Assembly and in the Senate.
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HON. L. BRADFORD PRINCE.
The following year he received the extraordinary com- pliment of a request for his continuance in office, signed by more than two thousand voters, irrespective of party; and, having been nominated by acclamation, was re-elected without opposition. In 1873, having declined a nomination to the Senate, he was again returned to the Assembly, almost without an opposing vote. In the fall of 1874 the Democrats made a determined effort to redeem the district, which now for four years had been lost to their party, and placed the Hon. Solomon Town- send-who had served three terms in the Legislature and in the constitutional conventions of 1846 and 1867-in opposition to Mr. Prince. The canvass was an exciting one, but resulted in a victory for Mr. Prince, who se- cured a majority of 771 votes. There is believed to be no other instance on record of a person being elected five successive times in a district politically opposed to him. In the canvass of 1875 Mr. Prince received the Republican nomination for the Senate, and, although the Democrats were successful in the district on the general ticket by nearly 2,700 majority, he won the election by a majority of 904, running 3,594 ahead of the ticket.
The legislative career of Mr. Prince was an exceedingly useful and highly honorable one. In 1872, 1873 and 1874 he was chairman of the judiciary committee, per. forming the multifarious and arduous duties in the most creditable manner, and rendering valuable service to the State. While filling this position over eleven hundred bills came into his hands for reports-a larger number than were ever submitted to any other committee, either State or national, in a similar length of time. During the winter of 1872 it became his duty to conduct the investigation into the official conduct of Judges Barnard, Cardozo and McCunn. This investigation extended from the middle of February to about the middle of April, during which time 239 witnesses were examined, and over 2,400 pages of evidence taken. The thoroughness and fairness with which the investigation was conducted won the approval of fair-minded persons of all shades of political belief, and its results form one of the bright- est pages in the history of the recent "reform move- ment." The reports of the committee in favor of impeaching two of the judges and removing the other met with general public acquiescence, and were adopted by the house, and Mr. Prince was chosen one of the managers to conduct the impeachment trial, receiving 110 out of 113 votes cast on the ballot in the Assembly. He was also appointed to proceed to the bar of the Senate and formally impeach Judge Barnard of high crimes and misdemeanors. He was active in the matter till the close of the trial, and it has been generally conceded that to no other man is the judiciary of the State so much indebted for being relieved of the disgrace that would have attended the retention of Barnard and Cardozo on the bench.
The recent amendments to the constitution of the State received from Mr. Prince special attention. In 1872 he introduced, and succeeded in getting passed, the bill for the constitutional commission. During the ses-
sions of 1873 and 1874 he had charge of the proposed amendments, both in committee and in the Assembly, and the task of explaining and defending them fell almost exclusively to his lot. Just previous to these amendments being submitted to the people for ratification -in the fall of 1874-Mr. Prince, at the request of the Council of Political Reform, wrote a pamphlet on the subject, which was widely circulated as a campaign document, and tended largely to their success at the polls. In the session of 1875 he prepared and introduced nearly all the bills required to carry the new constitu- tional system into effect, that work being assigned to him by general consent, although the Assembly was Dem- ocratic.
The reformation in the system of legislation in New York occurred wholly during Mr. Prince's terms, and its history is worthy of record, if only to show the results of persistent effort. During his first month in Albany Mr. Prince introduced two resolutions, one in relation to the organization of cities under general laws, and the other including the whole question of special legislation. On this latter he made a careful speech in February 1871; but the proposition to do away with special legisla- tion was met with opposition and almost derision by all the old and leading members. In no way discouraged, The renewed the fight next year, made a striking speech on the "Evils of Hasty Legislation " in February, and later, as chairman of the judiciary committee, presented a report on "Reform in the Methods of Legislation," which has been the foundation of all action on the sub- ject since. At the same time he introduced a bill for a constitutional commission to report the necessary amend- ments. The next winter he succeeded in getting the commission to report in favor of his propositions to pro- hibit special legislation; and, as we have before seen, championed these amendments for two years in the As- sembly, and then before the people. In November 1874 he had the pleasure of seeing all the reforms which he had first proposed in January 1871 placed in the organic law of the State-the fruit of nearly four years of steady and untiring effort.
While in the Legislature Mr. Prince gave special at- tention to the canal system of the State, and the question of transportation from the west to the seaboard. He made several speeches on this subject in the Assembly, as well as at the organization of the Cheap Transporta- tion Association, at Cooper Institute in 1874, and at the great Produce Exchange meeting in 1875. The New York Chamber of Commerce twice formally acknowledged these services to the mercantile community by votes of thanks. In 1874 he was chairman of the Assembly com- mittee to conduct the United States Senate Committee on Transportation Routes through the State; and per- formed that duty in September of that year. At differ- ent times during 1874 and 1875 he lectured on this sub- ject of transportation in New York, Albany, Troy, Poughkeepsie, etc.
In May 1876 Mr. Prince was a member of the national Republican convention which nominated Hayes and
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
Wheeler. In 1877, though tendered a unanimous re- nomination to the Senate, he declined to serve again, on the ground that he could not afford longer to neglect his private business.
Mr. Prince's reputation is not, however, confined to the field of politics. As a lawyer he occupies a high position, his clear, incisive reasoning power and rare ability as an advocate rendering him eminently success- ful. In 1868 he was chosen orator of the alumni associ- ation of the Columbia College Law School, and for two years was president of the association. In 1876, hav- ing again been chosen alumni orator, he delivered an oration in the Academy of Music on "The Duties of Citizenship," enforcing the idea that men of character and education should take the lead in political affairs.
Mr. Prince is well known also as a thoughtful writer and lecturer on various topics, among which those re- lating to legislative and governmental reform have at- tracted wide attention. His lecture on " Rienzi " has been delivered over 20 times; and a satirical one on " Queen Fashion " much oftener.
A work from his pen entitled " E Pluribus Unum, or American Nationality," a comparison between the con- stitution and the articles of confederation, passed through several editions in 1868 and received the warmest com- mendations from statesmen and political scientists. In 1880 a Chicago firm published a work of Mr. Prince's on a somewhat similar subject, entitled " A Nation or a League ?"
As a speaker he is well known throughout the State, having been active in the general political canvass every year when not himself a candidate, and in 1876 speak- ing over 40 consecutive nights, from Rochester and Salamanca to Plattsburg and Brooklyn.
On occasions like the Fourth of July and Decoration day his talents have naturally been called into requisi- tion, and he has delivered the orations at various times at Brooklyn, Sag Harbor, Ronkonkoma, Hempstead, Flushing, Katonah, Farmingdale, Baliston, Oneonta, New Brighton and Elmira.
He is also a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having been district deputy grand master of Queens and Suffolk counties for the years 1868, 1869 and 1870, and again in 1876. In 1877 he was appointed on the grand master's staff as grand standard bearer. He is now grand representative of New Mexico to the grand lodge of New York. Mr. Prince has always taken a lively interest in all that pertains to the best interests of the farming community, and has delivered a number of addresses before various agricultural societies through- out the State-notably those of Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Orleans, Suffolk and Cattaraugus counties. For ten years he was superintendent or director of the Queens County Agricultural Society, and in 1862 wrote an agri- cultural history of the county, which was published by that society. He is also a life member of the Long Isl. and Historical Society, and for 15 years-from 1864 to 1879-was an officer in that learned body. He is now first vice-president of the Historical Society of New Mexico. In religious affairs Mr. Prince is likewise
prominent. He is a leading member of the Episcopal church, in which he has for years been a licensed lay- reader under the bishops of Long Island, Colorado and New Mexico. He has been a member of many diocesan conventions on Long Island, and was a deputy from that diocese to the Triennial General Convention at Boston in 1877 and again at New York in 1880. He is one of the corporation of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, on Long Island, and at the laying of the corner stone there- of, in June 1877, made the address on behalf of the laity of the diocese.
In New Mexico he is senior warden of the church at Sante Fe, and chancellor of the jurisdiction of New Mexico and Arizona. In missionary matters he is very active, delivering addresses at various times in St. Peter's Church, Albany; Calvary, New York; St. Ann's and St. Peter's, Brooklyn; Grace, Jamaica; St. James's, New- town; Bethesda, Saratoga; St. George's, Hempstead; at the missionary conference of 1879 at Baltimore, etc.
In the General Convention of 1880 he introduced the idea of the American Church Building Fund, and carried it to a successful organization. In September 1881 he delivered the address at the laying of the corner stone of the church in Sante Fe.
In October 1878, without any application or request from him, Mr. Prince was nominated by President Hayes as naval officer of New York, in place of Hon. A. B. Cornell, at the same time Theodore Roosevelt was nominated as collector. This inaugurated the great con- test in the Senate over the "New York appointments," between the President's reform policy and the old system of senatorial dictation. No action being taken at the special session, President Hayes renominated Roosevelt and Prince in December. After a long contest the nominations were rejected by a vote of 31 to 25.
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