USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 35
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The Seamans generally buried on the farms of the de- scendants of Benjamin and Thomas, but those portions of the farms which contained them have all passed into the hands of strangers, and nearly every vestige of these burial places has become obliterated. In consequence of the removal of most of the old stock and the estab- lishment of a large burial ground by the Friends in 1827, these plots ceased to be used, and now probably not one headstone is left standing above the resting places of the pioneers. The Jacksons have preserved a family ground since 1744, and the graves are generally well marked. The first burial therein was that of Phebe, daughter of the second Colonel John Jackson and wife of William Jones of West Neck, Oyster Bay.
SCHOOLS.
Of early school-houses there is nothing authentic. Thomas Seaman, a great-grandson of Captain John by Benjamin and his fourth son, Solomon, was known as the schoolmaster. There were probably a few other teach- ers before him. In the next generation and between 1780 and 1800 Joseph Birdsall, a grandson of Nathan, taught a school at Jerusalem. Following this, John Gar- ner, who married a daughter of Joseph Birdsall, had the school for many years. Many of the descendants of both Joseph Birdsall and John Garner are now living at Jerusalem and are very influential citizens. The first school-house (District No. 5) is said to have been built soon after the Revolution; another was built on the same site about 1800. A new building was erected near the old site about 1842, and about 1876 a new site was chosen and a house built thereon not far from the old site.
District No. 6, Seaford, organized a school about 1830, which is now large.
BUSINESS BEGINNINGS.
By town records Henry Linnington, from whom Ste- phen Linnington, late merchant in Front street, New
161
MILLS AND CHURCHES IN "JERUSALEM."
York, and Abraham Linnington, New Lots, are descended, appears to have had a mill at Jerusalem from 1660 to 1683. He was the father-in-law of Captain Seaman's fourth son, Solomon; there seems nothing certain to fix the location of the mill. It was sold to Cyrus Whit- more and the buildings were removed many years since. January 23d 1705 John Jackson obtained from the town the whole privilege of Jerusalem River for a grist and fulling-mill, and a grist-mill was built near the meadow edge. This has since been owned by his descendants.
Thomas Jackson early in 1800 built a dam about three-quarters of a mile up the stream, on which were built a fulling-mill and a saw-mill, operated for many years and eventually owned by Cyrus Whitmore; these mills were burned about 1860. The property soon after passed to James M. Seaman; the saw-mill was rebuilt and run a short time, then removed and a paper-mill erected, which has been operated by him since about 1875.
The Birdsalls had a grist-mill in 1776; the date of building is not known. It was located about half a mile further up the stream than the Birdsalls'. It appears to have passed to Michael Combs, then to Cyrus Whitmore and his sons; and it is now owned by Edgar Seaman, a descendant of Thomas.
Benjamin Seaman built a dam on the head of Seaman's Creek about 1820. A grist-mill and paper-mill were built and the grist-mill was operated many years. It is now leased by Edgar Haff and is run as a moulding, scroll and upright saw-mill.
The wheelwright shops of Micajah Southard & Sons and of Samuel Verity & Sons (still run by descendants) had a reputation for the excellence of their work at an early day. A tannery established by a company of the settlers about 1835 or 1840 stood within 300 feet of where the first house was built. It soon passed to Henry H. Hewlett, and was discontinued after a few years. The building is now used by Lee & Brother as a fly-net factory.
The main trading point down to 1830 was at or near the Seaman and Jackson corners, where the present road from Hempstead to Seaford crosses the old Jerusalem road.
A tavern appears to have been kept up nearly two live stock, the increase thereof became very rapid. hundred years on one or another of the corners, and sometimes on both. Of the keepers there is no record, but the buildings were large enough for ample accommo- dations and the amount of custom was considerable until the construction of the Hempstead and Babylon turn- pike and post road near the shore. The old John Jack- son tavern (now A. D. Frye's residence) and Uncle Jim Smith's Sportsmen's Hotel, Jerusalem South (now Sea- ford), then took the places of the old stands.
never had a lawyer, doctor or priest, and now has no liquor sold in its limits." This applied to the present farming district.
RELIGIOUS EFFORTS.
Onderdonk's "Friends of Long Island and New York " says: " At Jerusalem meetings were early held at private houses. In 1697 it was agreed that meetings should be kept every five weeks, on First days; 1699, Roger Gill and Thomas Story had meetings, peaceable and pretty large, at Benjamin Seaman's; 1791, a First day meeting was appointed at Thomas Seaman's once a month, but discontinued in 1793." About 1820 a meet- ing appears to have been held weekly at private houses. In 1827 Jericho monthly meeting built a meeting·house 34 by 28, 14-feet posts, at a cost of $965, on the east side of the main road, about 1,000 feet north of the old corn- ers. Meetings of the society have been held continu- ously since the building was erected. Ardon Seaman, who was a recommended minister of the society, be- longed to this meeting from its creation until his death, in 1875; and for a period of fifty years was earnest in his efforts to awaken and keep alive the religious and high moral feeling in the community which surrounded him in the home of his fathers.
The meeting continued to be well attended so long as the descendants of the early settlers held the land, but as strangers, belonging to other denominations, have taken the place of most of them, the Friends' meeting and resi- dent membership are now very small. In the meantime there has been for many years an active organization of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Bridge, just out- side the bounds of the purchase, with a branch and meeting-house at Seaford. A German Methodist mis- sion church at the Plain Edge and a church edifice at Bellmore, owned by the Presbyterians, have in part met the religious wants of the community.
DEGENERACY AND REFORM.
The early settlers, being also proprietors in the town purchase, were more than usually large land holders, and as they had the plains on the one hand for summer pas - turage, and the meadows at the south for winter food for
Added to this was the fertility of the virgin soil, on which wheat grew well on every clearing, and corn only needed a fair amount of care to yield abundantly, and the sons and grandsons were soon in affluent circumstances. The orchards by this time began to yield bountifully, and cider became a year-round beverage. A number of negro slaves were held in each family, and the great grand- children soon began to suffer from the dissipation which must almost of necessity follow where a whole com- munity felt no necessity for work.
The tract, always noted for its healthfulness, never had a resident physician until 1866. The early settlers were At that time Jerusalem lane (some two and one-half miles long, four to five rods wide, and kept almost as smooth as a modern race-track) was well known to the sporting world. Some of the finest racing stock of the members of, or had a leaning to, the Society of Friends, but there was no settled meeting or preacher prior to 1820, and there were no lawyers prior to 1870. It was a remark of an old inhabitant, in 1843, that " Jerusalem time was kept in the stables of Jacob Seaman and others.
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
Scarcely a week passed but a crowd gathered at the corners at least twice, if not oftener, for sport of some sort.
On one cccasion, when tired of seeing the horses run, a number of the slaves were entered, and one fellow, a good runner but supposed to be lazy, was followed. with a long whip by the one who entered him; the parties were well known to the writer. The result of this dissi- pation soon began to show itself. The masters did not work and very many of them became poor. The slaves did not work very hard, but they did eat up the hogs; the hogs had eaten up the corn, and the successive heavy yields of corn had so completely exhausted the soil as to have literally almost eaten it up.
In 1800 the Jerusalem purchase was about as poor in many senses of the word as it was possible to make it. Vegetation would wither at the slightest drought; not more than 25 to 30 tons of timothy or clover hay was cut from the entire tract.
But there was a latent manhood left, and soon after this date the spirit of the children of the men who sub- dued the original forest was aroused. and found equal to the task of redeeming and renovating the lands of their forefathers. One or two earnest men were instrumental in breaking up the racing in the highways. The farms were divided up, and necessity obliged the owners to go to work; and harder working owners of the soil from that day to this cannot be found elsewhere. The use of wood ashes as a fertilizer by one or two men, with remark. able results, was followed by a general use thereof; this by stable manure, fish, ground bone, guano, &c .; until to-day the cultivated portion of the purchase yields at least 1,200 tons of hay, timothy and clover, and in wheat and corn and nearly every variety of crop is equal in its product to any similar number of contiguous acres de- voted to ptain farming to be found in the State.
The murder of Samuel F. Jones, June 27th 1873, for which Lewis Jarvis and Elbert Jackson (negroes) were executed January 15th 1875, was committed at Jerusalem. The author of the reference to this affair on page 51, after that page had been printed, corrected the name of the victim as there erroneously given.
JERUSALEM'S SOLDIERS.
From the Birdsalls, who intermarried with the Sea- mans and Jacksons, descended Colonel Benjamin Bird- sall, of Revolutionary fame, and Senator John Birdsall, representing the district in the State Legislature.
Jerusalem furnished a large quota for the war of 1812, but without a full list no names will be given,
Jerusalem purchase was well represented during the Rebellion. Company H 119th New York (Captain B. A. Willas, himself a descendant of one of the early settlers) was nearly filled from this territory. Very few of the name of Seaman or Jackson were then living within its limits. From this cradle of the families, however, went Surgeon Edgar Jackson, a young man of great promise, who lost his life in the service; Henry P. Jackson, Samuel Jackson Jones and Albert Jones, and Captain Obadiah
Jackson Downing, of the Harris cavalry, who did much hard fighting and suffered much from imprisonment. Oscar C. Jackson also represented in part the Jackson stock; while John W. Seaman, 95th New York, who was severely wounded and disabled at the battle of the Wil- derness in 1864; Gilbert Seaman, Charles Seaman and Platt Seaman, noted sharpshooters, Valentine Seaman and others of the old stock " made their names known by their deeds." Captain John Birdsall, a representative of the blood of the Seamans and Jacksons, as well as that of the name he bore, was among the early volunteers.
ROCKAWAY BEACH.
This great summer resort is nearly five miles long, and from an eighth to half a mile wide. The ocean front is almost a straight line, while the northern front, on Jamaica Bay, is very crooked. About 1795 seven or eight hun- dred acres, including Garry Eldred's, and from there to the point of the beach, were owned by Samuel Rider. He sold half of his property, with the exception of El- dred's. He sold an undivided half of the rest of the property to Henry Hewlett. The other undivided half he gave to his son Rothey Rider. David Jennings ob- taining judgment against R. Rider, about 1840, Sheriff T. Treadwell sold the latter's undivided half to Henry Hewlett, which gave that gentleman possession of the whole tract. About five years later the property was purchased by a Mr. Cowhart, and he failing to pay his interest the property reverted to the children, and it was foreclosed by Abram Hewlett. It was purchased in 1853 by James Remsen and John Johnson for $525. At that time there were no buildings on the beach, with the excep- tion of two or three little hotels at the upper end. Then the beach was reached by a wagon road and yachts. Now excursion steamers ply between New York and the beach, while two railroads run trains hourly during the busy season. Large hotels, stores, restaurants and boarding houses have sprung up, until the place is a city in popu- lation during the summer season.
Forty years ago, with the exception of Saratoga Springs, Rockaway was the most famous watering place in America. About the year 1833 the renowned Marine Pavilion was built. It was two stories high, and con- tained about 150 rooms. Its piazza was 200 feet long and 25 feet broad. It was consumed by fire in 1864. Since that time have sprung up many large hotels at Far Rockaway, the beautiful hotel at Long Beach and those at Rockaway Beach, including that colossal structure the Rockaway Beach Hotel,
THE LARGEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD.
In 1881, while not yet completed, a part of it was opened to the public about the Ist of August. The building is 1, 188 feet long by 250 feet wide. It has several hundred rooms and over 100,000 square feet of piazzas. It fronts the ocean, and the beach is unsur- passed. Near the hotel are a large number of bathing houses. The water and gas supply is furnished from the company's own works, a Holly pumping machine forcing
BENSIN &WAINWRIGHT
REMSEN & WAINWAIT HIT!
SEASIDE BATHING PAVILLION
DATHING
SEAS.DE
SEASIDE
SEA SIDE BATHING.
SEA
SIDE
HOTEL
LA SIOK BATHING
OUTTARIH
REMSEN & WAINWRIGHT
SEA SIDE HOUSE EMSEN &WAINWRIGHT,
AMERICUS
9
SEA SIDE HOUSE, Second Landing, Rockaway Beach, Long Island, REMSEN & WAINWRIGHT, Propr's. Accommodations for 400 Guests. Depot for all Steamboats and Trains. 1000 Bathing Houses. Still Water and Surf Bathing.
PAVILION
MAMMOTH
163
ROCKAWAY BEACH HOTELS.
the water from a large well to all parts of the hotel. The drainage system is complete; all the refuse matter is discharged through massive iron pipes at a point distant from the hotel, and is carried by direct currents into Jamaica Bay. The rooms are heated by steam. The observatory on the top of the hotel is 200 feet square and there are two elevators to it. An unob- structed view of the ocean, the bay and the Long Island country for many miles is obtained from this elevation. The new iron pier, constructed by the Rockaway Beach Pier Company, is the largest of its kind in the United States. It extends about 1,300 feet into the ocean, be- yond the breakers, affording water sufficiently deep for landing from large steamers. Its general width is 311/2 feet, the pier head being 811/2 feet wide. Every span is braced.
OTHER HOTELS, ETC.
To James S. Remsen belongs the credit of being the pioneer in promoting the interests and welfare of Rocka- way Beach. He was born at Jamaica, L. I., October A fine livery stable has been opened at Seaside station by John D. S. O'Brien, of Oceanus. He keeps every description of carriage and other vehicles, which can be had at any time. 14th 1813. Mr. Remsen has been proprietor of the Ja- maica Hotel for forty years, and in 1881 was the owner of twenty hotels at the beach, the museum building, the drug store, and other property. His father, R. Remsen, was a native of Hempstead. Among the favorite hotels of the beach is the Seaside House, established many ROCKVILLE CENTRE. years. The proprietors are James Remsen and William Wainwright. When Mr. Remsen became a part purchaser This village is a mile east of Pearsalls on the Southern Railroad, and there may be found on file in the Queens County clerk's office a man made in the year 1854, with the following advertisement: of the beach many of his friends believed him to be de- ranged, but after long years of earnest work and the suc- cess of his enterprise they have changed their minds. The building is directly in front of the three piers known " The subscribers, having purchased the farm of the late Rev. Mordecai Smith, on the Merrick and Jamaica Plank Road, nine miles from Jamaica and three miles from Hempstead village, with a view of extending the village offer for sale a large number of building lots, fifty feet front and two hundred feet deep. The site is one unsurpassed within the State for salubrity of climate as the Seaside Landing, on Jamaica Bay, where all the steamboats discharge their passengers. It is also near both railroad stations, and fronts westwardly on Remsen avenue, the principal thoroughfare. The building is three stories high, and there are piazzas thirteen feet wide on three sides of the building. It has accommoda- ! and beauty of location. It lies on a natural terrace, tions for about 300 guests. The wine room is in a separ- ate building across the avenue, and on the main pier is a large restaurant.
On the beach at the other end of the avenue is the Surf Pavilion, commanding a fine view of the sea and the new iron pier. This house is on the corner of Eldert's and Ocean avenues, and is very easily reached by a fine plank walk from Eldert's landing, and from the railroad station. It has 443 feet frontage on the beach, and affords a magnificent view of the broad Atlantic. The dancing floor is 80 by 40 feet in the main building, and 40 by 50 feet in the extension. The restaurant seats 125 persons, and refreshments can be ordered at all hours. The building is one of the best to be found at any sea- side resort, and the dancing platform has the advantage of being inclosed quickly by large shutters in case of a sudden shower, or a high wind. There are 300 bathing houses, in charge of polite attendants. Expert swimmers and a lifeboat are always on duty for the benefit of bathers. The proprietors are Messrs. Harper & Stumpf.
The extensive and well arranged Metropolitan Hotel is centrally located on Remscn avenue, between the Sea- side Landing and the beach, and its piazza joins the plat- form of the Long Island Railroad station. The proprie- tor is Alderman E. E. Datz, of Jersey City. The house has a capacious restaurant and lodging-rooms, and a picnic grove attached. Besides the above described build- ings there are the Atlas Hotel, the Mammoth Pavilion, Rutland's Seaside Pavilion (Holland's Station), Hillyer's Surf House, the Grand Republic Hotel, East End Hotel, Hammell's Hotel, Atlantic Park Hotel, the Holland House, and at Eldert's Grove, near the railroad depot, the two houses and six cottages owned by Captain John R. Carney, known as the Captain Jack Hope House. Hundreds of small buildings used for every variety of business go to make up the Rockaway Beach of 1881.
Dr. H. C. Van Norman located at Rockaway Beach in 1879, and in 1881 was the only physician there. He has an office at 382 West Thirty-second street, New York, near Ninth avenue.
commanding an extensive view of the surrounding coun- try and the lake lately purchased by the city of Brook- lyn as a reservoir for their water works. The Rockaway Bay, renowned for its abundance of game and shell-fish of all kinds, lies within less than a mile from the village. The property is partly improved, a post-office being al- ready established, and stages passing three or four times to and from the city of New York. Gentlemen wishing a country seat will find it to their interest to secure lots in said village.
" JOHN P. RHODES, President. " ROBERT PETTIT, Treasurer. " JULIUS AUERBACH, Secretary."
Previous to the date of the above the nucleus around which the village had grown consisted of the farm of the late Samuel De Mott (the father of John W. De Mott and Elijah P'. De Mott) lying on the south side of the plank road, opposite the Smith farm. This was pur- chased of the De Motts by the late Stephen R. Wiggins, who owned it a number of years and sold it to Robert Pettit, who built a large store and dwelling on the site of the De Mott dwelling, which had always been kept as a
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164
HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
tavern. This in fact was the commencement of the vil- lage of Rockville Centre; it was bounded by the plank road on the north, a road running through this farm southeasterly to Christian Hook now called Oceanville) and to the bay, and another running south to East Rock- away. At this time there were about half a dozen ancient farm houses in the place. After the advent of Mr. Pettit and the purchase and mapping out of the Smith farm, which was on the north side of the plank road (the main country road through the island) the vil- lage began to grow. In 1868 John P. Rhodes bought the farm of Israel Wright, lying to the north of and ad- joining the Smith property, and, mapping it out at right angles with the former map, added it to the village. The two farms comprised one hundred acres.
Rockville Centre is on high ground, perfectly drained by the stream through the valley from Hempstead village to East Rockaway Bay, and beautified by the succession of lakes which feed the Brooklyn city water works. The most southern of these formerly belonged to Rev. Mordecai Smith, who utilized it all his life for grist. mill and carding and fulling machines. In the western part of the village is what is now denominated the First Methodist Church, a very handsome edifice, occupying the site of one of the oldest churches of that denomi- nation on Long Island.
The village has a population of about one thousand, largely made up of men doing business in the city, and of sea captains and their families. A large portion of the latter class come from Maine and other eastern States. The business men find easy access to New York, by way of the Southern Railroad, which passes through the village. There are three churches.
Previous to the building of the railroad there were but very few buildings; one store, a post-office, a weekly paper, the Picket, and one church. At present there are several stores and three hotels, viz .: the La Rosa House, the Crossman House (built in 1867 and conducted by W. H. Crossman), and the Henry House, Edward Denton proprietor. Mr. Crossman built the house now used as a store and post-office in 1856. There are three churches, the office of the South Side Observer, the wheelwright shops of Charles H. Losea, Freeman E. Eager's paint shop, the blacksmith shop of J. R. Sprague, Thurston's first- class drug store, the tin shop of James R. Brightman and the large manufactory of A. V. S. Hicks, started in 1871. Mr. Hicks employs about 15 persons, and, besides hand and machine knitting, manufactures sixteen kinds of hammocks; also tropical beds, school bags, fly nets for horses, etc. Henry Lotz has a livery stable in connec -. tion with the Lotz House, and also keeps a lumber, coal and wood yard. Aside from these there are the usual number of enterprising professional and business men to be found in a thriving village.
next year a house for a truck was secured, and a truck was built by C. II. Losea. Rubber buckets were pre- sented, and in 1877 a neat uniform was obtained. The company has a nice house for its apparatus, with every- thing in proper shape to fight the fire fiend.
The following gentlemen have been post-masters in Rockville Centre: Root Pettit, Frank Wyant, Hubbard Smith, John H. Reed and Clinton F. Combs.
ST. MARK'S M. E. CHURCH.
For some time previous to 1843 the Jamaica and Rockaway circuit embraced the village of Jamaica, Far Rockaway, Foster's Meadow and that region of country now known under the various names of Pearsalls, East Rockaway, Rockville Centre and Christian Hook, but which was known at that time by the general name of Near Rockaway. In the spring of 1843 Jamaica was detached from this circuit, and the remaining places con- stituted what was afterward known as the Rockaway circuit. Rev. John J. Matthias was preacher in charge at the time of the separation, and the following ministers were successively stationed over the circuit: Revs. H. Hatfield, David Holmes, S. C. Youngs, E. O. Bates, J. W. B. Wood.
The name Rockville Centre first appears on the record in 1854. In the minutes of the fourth quarterly conference of that year this church, which had previous- ly been known as Near Rockaway church, and which was situated half way between Rockville Centre and Pearsalls, is called Rockville Centre church. In the same document it is stated that the trustees of a new vil- lage which had just been laid out in the immediate vicinity had offered to the society " a lot of land with a deed of gift as a site for a new parsonage." The offer was accepted with thanks. Subsequently Revs. Samuel H. King and J. D. Bouton were placed in charge of the circuit. In 1857 after considerable discussion it was de- cided that two preachers should be employed, one to be supported by Rockville Centre, the other by Far Rocka- way and Foster's Meadow. Accordingly in 1858 Rev. W. Gothard was appointed pastor of the church at Rock- ville Centre, which thus virtually became a station, al- though still united with the other places in quarterly con- ference. The successors of Mr. Gothard were: Revs. Charles Stearns, 1860, 1861; Henry C. Glover, 1862, 1863; Rev. Albert Booth, 1864, 1865; Rev. John Wesley Horn, 1866; Rev. Henry D. Lathan, 1867.
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