History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683, Part 38

Author: W.W. Munsell & Co., pub; Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather); Cooper, James B. (James Brown), 1825-; Pelletreau, William S. (William Smith), 1840-1918; Street, Charles R. (Charles Rufus), 1825-1894; Smith, John Lawrence, 1816-1889
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 677

USA > New York > Suffolk County > History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683 > Part 38

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Mr. Carman's mother was Mary Ann, daughter of Samuel Homan, of Brookhaven, where the Homans were among the first settlers. He had one brother who died some thirty years ago, and a sister who now lives in New York city.

In 1850 he married Ellen, daughter of Captain John Prior of Patchogue. The issue of this marriage has been a son and a daughter.

Mr. Carman commenced the contest of life with nothing but his sturdy hands and brain, and his unswerving de- termination to work and win. He supplied the deficien- cies of early education by mastering the mysteries of grammar and other studies one by one, from an open book as he worked at the carpenter's bench. No for- tune, or the smallest factor of a fortune, to the amount of a single dollar, ever came to help him start in life. One evidence of his acquirements is the fact that he has been president of the board of education in Patchogue for the past ten years. He is naturally a leader among men, but never assumed or accepted leadership until thoroughly qualified.

In 1872 he built the house and fitted up the grounds and pleasant surroundings that now constitute his attrac- tive home on Ocean avenue, Patchogue, where the old homestead of his wife's family had once been. He is eminently genial and hospitable, and his interesting family contribute their full share to the attractions of this domestic circle.

Mr. Carman is a natural conversationist, with an un- usually large and firm grasp of subjects, upon which he expresses his views in a consise, exact manner, with a delightful mixture of humor and anecdote. He is a man of prompt decision and incisive action, and has a weight and momentum of character that make him a notable man wherever he is placed.

MORDECAI HOMAN.

Mordecai Homan, whose memory is cherished by a generation that is fast passing away, as one of the most prominent residents of his day, was a native of that part of Yaphank then included in Middle Island. He was born November 5th 1770, and in his early life worked on his father's farm and taught school. About the close of the last century he purchased the interest of other heirs in his father's farm, and, having married Miss Polly Buckingham of Old Milford, Conn., settled down to the active duties of a useful life. In society, in the church and in town affairs he was recognized as a leader. His own modest disposition alone prevented his rising to positions of greater prominence. He held the office of justice of the peace until he became familiarly known as Squire Homan, but his greatest service to his town was in the office of town clerk, which he held during 41 successive years, 1807-47. He died March 8th 1854, and his remains were laid at rest in the old parish bury-> ing ground at Middle Island, near the church in which for many years he had been the clerk, and leader of the music. His works "do follow" him, as also does a numerous posterity.

DR. NATHANIEL MILLER

was born at Springs, in the town of East Hampton, April 17th 1783. He was the son of Elisha and Abigail Mil- ler. His academic education was obtained at Clinton Academy, and his further course was pursued at the New York Medical College, from which he received a diploma. His practice as a physician at this place began in 1812 and ended in 1863. He was a prominent man and an acknowledged authority in his day. He was sent to the Assembly in 1818, and again in 1849. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Captain John Havens of Moriches, and he had seven children living at the time of his death, viz .: Nathaniel, Mary A., Caroline E., Jerusha K., Sarah, Laura C., and Julia F. He died May 7th 1863, and was buried in the private cemetery on the homestead.

GEORGE P .. MILLS

was born in Smithtown, May 30th 1801. His parents were George and Tabitha Mills. After receiving a fair education at the district school and at Clinton Academy, East Hampton, he engaged in the mercantile business with his father in Smithtown, and afterward with Harry W. Vail at Islip. In 1844 he removed to a farm at Bellport. He was supervisor of Brookhaven from 1847 to 1851, inclu- sive, and represented the western district of Suffolk in the Assembly in 1858. He was married January ist 1834 to Sarah, daughter of Thomas Hallock of Smith- town, and had five children, one of whom died young. One daughter and three sons survived him. He died at Bellport, March 6th 1868, and was buried at the Pres- byterian church cemetery of Smithtown.

6 1

Formis Mo Bangles

JAMES . M. BAYLES.

The subject of this sketch is an old and prominent ship-builder at Port Jefferson. His father, Elisha Bayles, removed from Mount Sinai in 1809 to this place and be- gan business as a merchant when Port Jefferson was a hamlet of barely more than a dozen houses and was dubbed by the suggestive title of " Drowned Meadow." The store he kept stood on what is now Main street, then little more than a wood road, from which the gates and bars had scarcely been removed. His family con- sisted of four sons and a daughter, all of whom are still living. Here for 10 or 15 years he kept the general store that supplied the varied wants of the young vil- lage. His old home is still standing on Main street and is occupied by his youngest son, Captain Joseph Bayles. Under its roof was born, on the 18th of Jan- uary 1815, the subject of this sketch, James M. Bayles. His brothers were Alfred, Charles L., and Joseph. His sister's name was Maria.

this work was when he was 14 years old, and his wages were $5 per month for six months. At the end of the season he received $31, the extra dollar being a present from the captain for his neatness in taking care of the vessel. This money he gave to his father. He continued this kind of life for the next three years, making several trips to southern ports, including Newbern, Charleston, Savannah and Mobile. From the last of these trips he saved $50, which became the nucleus of all his future accumulations. From the age of 17 to 20 he worked with his father in caulking and rigging vessels. For the last year of his minority he paid his father $150 and began business for himself one year before he was of age.

At the age of 23 he had accumulated $250, and like a sensible young man made up his mind to take a partner for life. So in November 1838 he was married to Desire Ann Hawkins, whose family was among the first and oldest in Setauket. The business to which he had de- termined to devote his life was ship-building, and the first vessel of his construction was built in 1836. Since that time Mr. Bayles has built over 90 vessels. In 1861 business having a large increase about that time. From that time to the present the firm has remained J. M. Bayles & Son.

About the year 1822 a general desire was manifested to change the name of the village, and the senior Mr. he took his oldest son, James E., into partnership, the Bayles, then an ardent Democrat and an admirer of Mr. Jefferson, urged the adoption of the name the village now bears, in honor of the great president.

Mr. Bayles has served his town as assessor three years, as commissioner of highways three years, and three years.

In his early years James M. Bayles spent his winters in attending district school, and his summers on board a wood sloop that ran to New York. The first summer of | as sole trustee of the school district. In politics he has

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

always been a consistent Democrat of the Jackson school. Although his usual place of worship has been at the Presbyterian church he contributes to the support of other churches as well. In temperance matters he has taken an active interest, believing that no cause is more worthy the support of all who have the greatest good of mankind truly in view. He has always been a warm friend of the common school system, as a paying in- vestment for this generation to make and hand down to the next.

Strict integrity, good work, honest pay, deserve confi- dence and you will get it-these are some of the rules and maxims that have guided hint through his long, hon- orable and prosperous career.

The wife of Mr. Bayles died on the 21st of January 1880. His children are very pleasantly and harmoniously settled in life, as follows: James E., partner in ship- building; Samuel H., master of the schooner "Annie A. Booth "; George F., partner in the mercantile firm of J. M. & G. F. Bayles; Annie S., Mrs. A. Curtis Almy, of Hempstead; Hamilton T., clerk in a store; Stephen Taber, assistant cashier of a bank in New York; Havens Brewster, M.D., physician in Brooklyn, being the only one of Mr. Bayles's sons who has chosen one of the learned professions.

The firm of J. M. Bayles & Son employs 50 men the year round, thus largely contributing to the prosperity of the village. Mr. Bayles was active in the construc- tion of the Smithtown and Port Jefferson Railroad. He was made president of the company in 1870 at the first meeting of the board of directors, and has retained that position ever since.

BENJAMIN F. THOMPSON,

the honored historian of Long Island, whose name will grow brighter as the passing generations learn to appreciate the service he did in rescuing many of the fragments of Long Island history from oblivion, was a native of South Setauket. His great-great-grandfather was John Thompson, who came to Setauket in 1656. Benjamin F. was born May 15th 1784. He was the son of Dr. Samuel Thompson, who was also a farmer of this village. He was educated at Yale College, but did not graduate. He studied medicine with Dr. Ebenezer Sage, of Sag Harbor, and practiced that profession about ten years, after which he exchanged it for that of the law. He was married June 12th 1810 to Mary Howard, daughter of Rev. Zechariah Greene. He represented a district of this county in the Assembly in 1813, and again in 1816. He was also a town commissioner of schools for this town in 1813 and 1814. He afterward removed to Hempstead, and in 1839 published a history of Long Island in one volume. A second edition, greatly enlarged and improved, was published in 1843, comprising two volumes. Still later he prepared the matter for a third edition, which unfortunately was never published. While making preparations for its publica- tion he was suddenly attacked by disease, which re

sulted in death on the 21st of March 1849. His remains were buried in the family plot at Hempstead, where he left two children.

EDWARD OSBORN.

Edward Osborn was born in New York city, July 26th 1817. His father, Charles Osborn, was born in East Hampton, Suffolk county, and was educated at the academy in that village. At the age of 16 he went to New York city and engaged as a clerk in Mr. Van Wagnan's hardware store on Fulton street. After a term of years he married, and engaged in the same business on his own account. In the course of time his former employer be- came embarrassed, and Mr. Osborn bought his stock and stores, his business expanding until he became one of the leading importing and wholesale merchants in his line of trade. His location was Nos. 33 and 34 Fulton street, and the property still remains in the possession of the family.

About 1830 he purchased a tract of land at Bellport, built upon it, removed his family, and there spent the re- mainder of his life. He was an able man, commanding the respect of all who knew him, and his ample fortune was the result of his own application and energy. He had six sons, of whom Edward, the subject of this sketch, was the fifth. Besides the schooling he received in New York city he attended for a time the academies at East Hampton and Huntington. In early life he developed a great taste for hunting, fishing, boating and sportsman- ship in all its better phases.

In July 1844 he married Catharine, daughter of Rich- ard Gerard of Brookhaven. She was born May 3d 1824, and was one of a family of ten daughters and two sons, the mother of whom is still living, at the age of 85 years.

Mr. Osborn was of an active and observing turn of mind, feeding his love of variety by a great deal of travel. In 1855 he went to Europe in a sailing vessel, Dr. Rice of Patchogue accompanying him. He made two other trips across the Atlantic, the last with Dr. Chapell of Patchogue; and went in 1872 to California, making the tour of that remarkable portion of our country.

His social qualities were specially prominent, winning many warm friends, who seemed attracted to him by the strongest regard. They were always welcome and made to feel at home at his charming residence in Bellport, and of the comforts and courtesies there experienced they never tire of telling.

A sudden attack of illness cut him off in the 56th year of his age, universally mourned and regretted. His death occurred at his home January 24th 1873.

He left one son, Charles Edward, who was born April Ioth 1849, and who still lives on the old homestead. Charles Edward Osborn married Nellie, daughter of George W. Rogers of Brooklyn. They have one child, Charles Whytelaw, born February 7th 1879.

In 1876 Mrs. Edward Osborn built a house across the road from the old homestead, where she settled the next year and still lives, enjoying good health and the society of many friends.

Edward Debono

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

THE TANGIER SMITHS.

Colonel WILLIAM SMITH the patentee of St. George's manor, was born at Newton near Higham-Ferrers, in Northamptonshire, England, February 2nd 1655. In 1675 he was appointed by King Charles II. governor of the royal city of Tangier, Africa, and commander of the troops necessary to protect an establishment on that bar- barous coast. He remained governor of Tangier 13 years; hence his descendants are distinguished from other families of the name of Smith by the appellation of "Tangier Smiths." In the Protestant church at Tangier, November 26th 1675, by Rev. William Turner, D.D., Colonel William Smith was married to Martha, daughter of Henry Tunstall, Esq., of Putney, county of Surrey, England. In 1683 they, with their three living children, returned to England. Three years later they embarked for America, and arrived in New York August 6th 1686. He was very soon appointed a member of his Majesty's council, under Governor Dongan*, which posi- tion he occupied until his death, 1705. On the death of the Earl of Bellomont in Iyor, in the absence at Barbadoes of John Nanfan, the lieutenant governor, Colonel Smith by virtue of his position as president of the council was pro tem. at the head of the govern- ment, although four of the members opposed it. Colonel Smith showed great decision of character, as neither threats nor bribes could induce him to swerve from his duty. In May 169r the supreme court was established by an act of the Legislature, and Colonel Smith was at once appointed associate judge and soon after chief justice. He is said to have discharged the duties of his various offices with great dignity and impartiality.

Soon after his arrival in America Colonel Smith visited Setauket, and in 1687 purchased Little Neck, where he soon established his residence. June 8th 1693 he was commissioned to succeed Colonel Youngs in command of the militia of Suffolk county. About this time he purchased of the Indians the large tract of land which with Little Neck was constituted as the manor of St. George by the patents of 1693 and 1697. Colonel Smith erected his family mansion, beautifully situated, on a neck of land overlooking Long Island Sound from Setauket Harbor, where the family of the late Judge Selah B. Strong now reside; honored descendants of Colonel William Smith, through his son Colonel Henry Smith.

Colonel William was actively interested with the inhab- itants of Brookhaven in most of the public enterprises of the time, and joined with them in their worship in the old town church. There his wife was accorded peculiar honor by a specification in the order for seating people made about the year 1703, by which she was the only woman to be allowed to sit at the table with the honored

justices and all householders who should contribute forty shillings or more to the minister's salary.

Colonel William Smith died at his residence February 18th 1705, and was buried in the cemetery which he had prepared not far from his mansion, where he had laid to rest several of his children. His widow, a very intelli- gent and well-bred lady, survived him four years. She was known as the " Lady of the Manor."

Colonel William and Madam Martha Smith had thir- teen children, only five of whom, three sons and two daughters, survived their parents. Of these, the eldest, Colonel Henry, remained in possession of the homestead at Setauket, while the second surviving son and tenth child-William Henry-established a residence at Mastic, on the south side. Colonel Smith's descendants are al- lied to the best families of our country, among them the De Lanceys, McIlvaines, Dwights, Johnsons, Howlands, Aspinwalls, Woolseys, Woodhulls, etc.

Colonel Henry Smith, above referred to, was born in Tangier, Africa, January 19th 1679. He was a man of ability and prominence in his day, occupying many positions of honor and trust in the county as well as in the town. He filled the office of county clerk from 1709 to 1716, and was for many years a judge of the county and a delegate to the prerogative court, for taking the proof of wills, etc. He was president of the Brookhaven trustees most of the time from 1709 to 1720, and during several of those years was also supervisor of the town. He was married January 9th 1705 to Anna, daughter of Rev. Thomas Shepard, of Charlestown, Mass., the cele- brated Rev. Cotton Mather officiating in the ceremony. By this wife he had nine children. He afterward mar- ried Frances Caner, who died, leaving no children. His third wife was Margaret Biggs, by whom he had two children, one of whom became the wife of Captain Wil- liam Nicoll.

Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith, the only son of Henry, who was the son of Colonel Henry, the eldest son of Colonel William Smith, was born at Setauket, in 1740. Possessed of a sufficient estate, which he inherited from his father, who died when he was but a lad, he in early manhood showed a determination to devote his time, his energies and his means to the work of educating and Christianizing the Indians. He received the honors of Lebanon College at the age of r7, and four years later received the offer of a position as tutor in that institu- tion, which offer he refused for the sake of teaching an Indian school at that place. In June of the following year (1763) he was ordained at Lebanon, and with Jo- seph, a favorite Indian pupil of the school, as an inter- preter, he started on a missionary excursion into the Mohawk country, being directed to proceed to Onohogh- quage. The Pontiac war soon afterward cut short his progress in this undertaking and he returned to his home at Setauket, where he resided in 1766. He afterward went south and engaged in preaching the gospel to the colored people of Virginia, where he is said to have been very successful. In all his efforts for the elevation of these despised races he seems to have been actuated by

* " And whereas there is a clause in my instructions to send over the names of six persons more fitt to supply the vacancy of the council, six of the fittest I find in this government are as followeth : Matthias Nichols, William Smith, James Graham, Gabriel Minvielle, Francis Rumbouls, Major Nicolas Demyre." Colonial Hist. State of N. Y., Vol. III, page 417 ; from Governor Dongan to the Lords of Trade, February 1687.

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

a spirit of pure benevolence, receiving no pay for his labor, and bearing his own expenses. Having returned to his home and family at Setauket, he came to an un- timely death by the discharge of a shotgun while out hunting. It was supposed to have been an accidental discharge of the gun while in his own hands, but many years afterward a negro at some place in the Southern States, when about to be executed for a murder which he had committed there, confessed that he had not only committed the crime for which he was about to die, but that he had years before murdered a minister by the name of .Charles Jeffrey Smith, at Setauket, on Long Island, of which crime he had never been suspected. The exact account of this confession has unfortunately been lost. Mr. Smith's death occurred in August 1770, while he was in his thirty-first year, and his body was laid in the family cemetery on Little Neck.

Major WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, son of Colonel Wil- liam, the progenitor of the "Tangiers," was born at Se- tauket, March 13th 1689. He married a lady by the name of Merrit, from Boston, by whom he had one son, Merrit. For his second wife he married Hannah Cooper, of Southampton, March 3d 1718, by whom he had two sons and five daughters. He died January 27th 1743. Major Smith inherited the southern part of his father's domain, and chose for his home a point on the Great South Bay known as Sebonack, St. George's manor, commanding extensive views rarely surpassed in beauty. That seat is now owned and occupied by his lineal de- scendant Hon. Egbert Tangier Smith.

WILLIAM SMITH son of the major, and commonly called Judge William, was born at Mastic, in 1720. He was a man of considerable note during the Revolution- ary period. He was county judge several years, from which circumstance he received his distinguishing title. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of July 1776, and among the men who framed the State consti- tution upon which the "new form of government" was established in 1777. During the remainder of the Revo- lution, while the island was in the hands of the British, he represented the district in the State Senate. He was at this time, 1776-83, in exile from his property. Before leaving it he buried the patent in the ground. He after- ward returned and enjoyed the fruits of peace for several years, He died march 17th 1799, leaving a widow and five of the eight children who had been born to him. His tentment, through half a century. Here they have borne seventh son, WILLIAM, born April 30th 1769, married Hannah Phoenix Smith, of Smithtown, and established a homestead at "Longwood."

WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH, a great-great-grandson of Colonel William, the original "Tangier Smith," and through his mother a lineal descendant in the fifth gen- eration from Richard, the original " Bull Smith," was born on that portion of St. George's manor known as Longwood, July 8th 1796. He was the son of William Smith the proprietor of Longwood, who, dying in the vigor of his manhood, left William Sidney an orphan at the tender age of seven years. 'From that time until he reached his majority he was under the guardianship

of his uncle, General John Smith, of Mastic. After ac- quiring his education, during the advanced years of his youth he entered the mercantile office of Cotheal & Rus- sell in New York, one of the firm being his brother-in- law Robert M. Russell, in whose family he was also an, inmate. Here he continued for several years.

While residing in New York he enlisted in the military service of the State, and in 1815 received the commis- sion of ensign in the 142nd regiment of New York State infantry, and the following year was appointed lieuten- ant of a company in the same regiment. Later he was promoted by a commission from Governor Yates to be brigade major, which position he resigned in the autumn of 1823. At the age of 21 Mr. Smith left the city and took possession of his estate at Longwood. In the spring of 1821 he received an introduction, through- a mutual friend-Honorable Silas Wood, the pioneer historian of Long Island-to the family of Major William Jones of Cold Spring, L. I. In this family he soon be- came a favorite guest, and two years later was married to Eleanor, the third daughter of Major Jones. This event, which took place on the 7th of May 1823, proved in its lifelong sequel an unusually happy one, not only to the families immediately connected, but to the wide range of appreciative society with which the young couple in their chosen home were afterward surrounded.

After spending a year at the home of the bride, while the old homestead at Longwood, which for twenty years had stood unoccupied by the family, was being fitted up for their occupancy, they removed thither and entered upon the active duties of a long and useful life. For nearly 55 years they walked together, and as the twilight of life's evening was drawing its calm shades around them, she, whose days of usefulness had been so nobly filled, reviewed in a collection of "Golden Wedding Mementos " some recollections of their united journey. In these pages we read that in their early life they had "settled down in the old homestead at Longwood, with courage and determination to encounter cheerfully the trials which were sure to meet them. * * * They were remote from all the conveniences of a settled com- munity or village, having neither railroad nor telegraphic communication with the outer world, and even mails were infrequent. Yet, with all these privations, their home has been one of happiness, peace, plenty, and con-

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