Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 100

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor
Publication date: 1949
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 922

USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 100
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Glantz is a member of Temple Israel. He is a member of Long Beach Lodge No. 1048 of the Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 627 of Long Beach. He also holds membership in the Square Club of Long Beach and in the Grand Street Boys Association of the City of New York. His hobby is fishing.

At New York City in March, 1923, Louis Glantz was married to Iris E. Barris, a native of that city and daughter of Samuel Barris, M.D., and his wife Rachel (Corn) Barris.

C. MILTON FOREMAN-One of the oldest lum- ber firms on Long Island is that bearing the name of C. Milton Foreman, located at 36 Commerical Street, Freeport. Founded in 1850, it has borne various names in its time. Among them have been William Foreman, the father of C. Milton Foreman, and be- fore that Carman and Foreman. The present owner of the business operates a hardware branch at North Main Street and Brooklyn Avenue. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Freeport.

C. Milton Foreman was born in Freeport on June I, 1875. His father was a native of Tunbridge Wells, England and came to Canada at the age of twelve where he was educated and where he graduated from the University of Toronto and came to the United States in 1870, at the age of twenty-three. He taught school in Merrick and later at Hempstead, Long Is- land and then became one of the faculty of a private academy in Freeport. This position he resigned to enter the lumber business, becoming a partner in the firm of Carman, Raynor and Company, a concern that had been in operation for twenty-three years. After the death of Mr. Raynor, it became Carman

and Foreman and when Mr. Carman died in 1891, the name was changed to William Foreman. Mr. Fore- man himself died five years later, on September 26, 1896. The mother of C. Milton Foreman was the former Jennie Hewlett, born at Merrick on April 3, 1849. She died on May 25, 1919.

C. Milton Foreman, present owner of Foreman's was educated in the public schools of Freeport and at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. In 1893 he became associated with his father in the lumber busi- ness. Three years later, when the elder Mr. Foreman died, the son succeeded to the ownership of the firm and changing the name to his own, has operated the business ever since, later adding the hardware branch. Mr. Foreman is a Republican and a Presbyterian.

He has two sisters, Stella, with whom he shares the original family home, and Nellie Hewlett Fore- man, now the wife of Alfred T. Davison of Garden City. Miss Stella Foreman has been closely associ- ated with her brother in all the Foreman enterprises. Like her brother, she has been active in community affairs. Mr. and Miss Foreman share as a hobby motoring and travel. They went around the world in 1923 and 1924 and visited many of the South American countries in 1925.

LEWIS FAMILY-Two brothers, George and Frank Lewis of Port Washington, are real-life char- acters whom John J. Floherty writes about in his book, "Flowing Gold," a story of oil with its romance, adventure, history and human interest. The real-life story of George and Frank Lewis, told under the chapter heading, "Oil Goes to Market," is one packed with drama. The true account of how the two brothers became a unique part of the fabulous petroleum indus- try reflects the spirit of our pioneer fathers who per- severed into unknown channels, buoyed only by a cheerful spirit that carried them through more than one crisis.

Before the two brothers entered into one of the most highly competitive enterprises in the world-the marketing of oil, they were "baymen," harvesters of the sea where they obtained clams and oysters for market. George and Frank Lewis, like many of the local families of the Village of Port Washington, en- joyed a fine livelihood from the cultivation of shell- fish. Port Washington is part of a natural harbor, which Long Islanders claim is the lovliest found on the Atlantic Coast. When the Lewis brothers first labored at the cultivation of shellfish, it was known as Cow Bay, but several decades ago it was changed to Manhasset Bay. The oysters and clams which the brothers harvested here eventually found themselves on the tables of restaurants and famous eating places in New York. Of pioneer stock, both brothers had engaged in raising and harvesting oyster crops since boyhood. When George Henry Lewis was eighteen years old he owned a boat which he named the "Sham- rock." Shortly afterward he formed a partnership with his brother, Frank, and together once a week they set out in their craft, laden with shellfish, bound for the New York markets along the East River. It was a rugged and laborious life, and when they were not fighting the elements, they had the problem of oyster pirates, who under the cover of darkness des- cended on the bay to ransack the oyster beds. In those days when the product was brought to market, the shellfish would be picked up by horse-drawn trucks, a familiar New York sight which has since disappeared. As their business flourished the Lewis brothers sold the "Shamrock," and built a larger craft which they named the "Gladys L." The brothers were

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becoming advanced in years and their business was thriving, when misfortune befell them. It became illegal to take shellfish from Manhasset Bay and neighboring waters.

Their boat the "Gladys L." lay tied to the dock, the weather was beginning to turn cold, the brothers were untrained for any other business but that which involved the operation of boats. It was George who first suggested that they head the boat to the coal docks in New Jersey and bring back a deckload of coal. They had their health, George Lewis had three sons, and they had a sound boat. Thus they entered the coal business, about which they knew nothing and for which they owned no equipment. They did not know how they would deliver the coal when they brought it back. They just hoped. When they re- turned to their dock, where the building of the Lewis Coal and Oil Company now stands, they be- gan unloading their deckload of ten tons of coal in the tiny cove. Shortly afterward a neighbor called on the brothers and asked if he might buy some coal, since it appeared that coal was going to be scarce that winter. The brothers told him he might purchase it, but he would have to do his own hauling. And so the first deckload of coal the Lewis brothers brought from the New Jersey docks was delivered in this manner. The brothers continued to haul coal in their ten-ton craft, when, one night three years later, George decided that instead of hauling ten tons of coal at a time, they could haul one hundred. In this way the "George and Frank," a large and broad craft sup- planted the "Gladys L." Before long the Lewis broth- ers had invested in trucks and they were delivering coal to outlying residential sections as well as to Port Washington. The demand for fuel increased and soon the brothers were required to order coal shipped from the mines. The quiet, little town now hummed with new activity, and before the local residents real- ized it, a new and prosperous industry had developed in their midst.

Now that the business was well established, a new threat was imminent. One of the residents had in- stalled an oil burner and in a matter of a few short months many homes had installed similar equipment. The brothers, George and Frank realized in a practi- cal and matter-of-fact way that oil burners were here to stay. They immediately launched plans to enter the oil industry; inexperienced to cope with a propo- sition of this magnitude, but determined to try it. The brothers formed the Lewis Coal and Oil Com- pany. Their craft, the "George and Frank," was con- verted into a tanker with a capacity of 23,000 gal- lons. Although oil demands considerable special equip- ment, two storage tanks were quickly erected at the waterside. The brothers purchased a small oil truck, a primitive affair, with a metal cylinder mounted on a truck chassis. It was without compartments or any metering or pumping device. By means of gravity and three ten-foot lengths of hose, the brothers were able to fill a customer's house tank. When a residence was higher than where the truck stood, five gallon cans were employed to move the oil from truck to house. Despite these disadvantages, the new business of marketing oil flourished. The sons of George Henry Lewis had entered the business and shouldered con- siderable responsibility.

Since the death of George Henry Lewis in 1941, the now substantial industrial enterprise is operated by his three sons. Captain Edwin Henry Lewis (q.v.), who has had vast nautical experience, is in charge of all transportation and is president of the Lewis Transpor- tation Company. A younger brother, John M. Lewis

is vice president of the Lewis Coal and Oil Company and of the Lewis Transportation Company. The third of the triumvirate is Harvey W. Lewis (q.v.), presi- dent and general manager of Lewis Coal and Oil Company, and secretary of the Lewis Transportation Company and of Lewis Associates. Another member of the executive staff is Norman D). Riker who serves as president of the Lewis Associates and is sales manager of Lewis Coal and Oil Company.

Frank Lewis is now retired at the age of seventy- two, but he and his brother have left behind them a tank farm with a storage capacity of more than seven million gallons, a squadron of tank trucks, each worth thirteen thousand dollars and an efficiently operated industry that suggests a metropolitan enterprise rather than a village business. In addition the company has devised a system known as "weather control," which determines how much fuel each of its customers has in his tank. The device is based on the simple fact that as the temperature falls, the oil consumption is increased. Then on each customer's file card a rec- ord is kept of daily temperature, mean temperature, degree days and tank content, which in combination gives what is known as "Constant K," a mathemati- cal speedometer in a way which determines the heat mileage of every gallon of fuel oil delivered.

Three years before his death, George Henry Lewis witnessed the completed, modern structure that now houses the Lewis Coal and Oil Company and its re- lated interests, including Lewis Associates which distributes automatic oil. One of the pioneers of Port Washingont, for he was born there in 1869, George Henry Lewis leaves behind him an industry rich in American tradition.

EDWIN HENRY LEWIS-A native of Port Washington, Long Island, Edwin Henry Lewis has long been identified with the busines circles and civic affairs of the community. As president of the Lewis Transportation Corporation, he serves that city and a wide territory in his field of operations. He long has been constructively interested in local develop- ments and is notably ready to co-operate with organi- zations and projects that work to this end.

Born at Port Washington, New York, on August 26, 1892, Edwin Henry Lewis is the son of George and Clara Lewis. He was educated in the public schools of Port Washington, and early became en- ployed in local concerns. He has had a vast nautical experience, being known as Captain Lewis, and he eventually founded the Lewis Transportation Cor- poration. This enterprise operates five vessels and transports all the petroleum products for the Lewis Coal and Oil Company of which he is a stockholder.

Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; a member of the Port Wash- ington Kiwanis Club, and the Manhasset Bay Sports- men's Club. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is generous in his contributions to reli- gious and charitable works.

On November 28, 1913, at Port Washngton, New York, Edwin Henry Lewis married Jennie Whaley, daughter of Benjamin and Grace Whaley. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are the parents of six children, all of whom are married, except the youngest daughter: Anita; Edna; Edwin, Jr .; Grace; Gladys; and Catherine.

HARVEY W. LEWIS-A native of Port Wash- ington, Nassau County, Harvey W. Lewis has spent most of his business life in that village, where he is one of the substantial businessmen, and a respected and popular figure in the community.

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Mr. Lewis' father, the late George H. Lewis, was, with his brother Frank, for many years engaged in the shell fish business and later the two brothers en- tered a coal, oil and transportation business at Port Washington. Their story is given more fully in the accompanying sketch of the "Lewis Family." George H. Lewis, who died on January 1, 1941, married the former Clara Hults, who predeceased him in 1921. Of this union Harvey W. Lewis was born on March 21, 1898. After attending public grade and high schools in Port Washington, he was employed with the Ameri- can Express Company in its office at 65 Broadway, New York City. He was employed in their foreign exchange department, for six years before becoming associated with Lewis Brothers, of which firm he has been secretary and general manager for some time and now president. Mr. Lewis has also acquired bank- ing interests, and was a member of the board of direc- tors of the Roslyn National Bank.

Mr. Lewis for several years was an active member of the Lions Club of Port Washington. He is a Methodist in religion. He finds recreation in golf and fishing, and is a member of the North Hempstead Country Club.

In the City of New York, on August 26, 1926, Harvey W. Lewis was married to Mary Driscoll of Syracuse, New York, a daughter of John and Kather- ine (Dowd) Driscoll. Of this marriage there is one son, Harvey Richard, who was born on December 22, 1928. He is now a student at the New Hampton Preparatory School, New Hampton, New Hampshire.

EDWIN H. HELLER, M.D .- Except for the three years he was serving as a Flight Surgeon in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Dr. Edwin H. Heller has been in general practice as a physician and surgeon in East Hampton since 1932. He is on the staff of the Southampton Hospital.

Dr. Heller was born at Sag Harbor on July 15, 1905, the son of Morris and Pauline (Berger) Heller. He attended Sag Harbor's elementary and high schools, graduating from the latter in 1922. He then became a student at Cornell University, from which he was graduated in 1926 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three years later he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from Cornell Medical School.

After three years of internship and residence at Fordham Hospital, Dr. Heller came to Suffolk Coun- ty and established himself in practice at East Hamp- ton. In 1942 he was commissioned in the Army Medi- cal Corps and was then trained as a Flight Surgeon in the Air Forces. He served in the European Theater of Operations and in 1945 was placed on inactive status in the rank of major. Returning to East Hamp- ton, Dr. Heller resumed his practice and his staff duties at Southampton Hospital. He is a member of the Suffolk County and New York State medical societies and the American Medical Association.

Dr. Heller married Dora Fenton, daughter of Henry and Blanche (Lincoln) Fenton of Castleton, Vermont, at Harrison, New York, on August 28, 1935. They have one daughter, Nancy, born in East Hampton on April 27, 1939, and one son, Edwin, Jr., born in Southampton on August 17, 1946.

KAY CHRISTIAN LENSKOLD-A varied ca- reer has been that of Kay Christian Lenskold, but at all points concerned with the arts. A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr. Lenskold inherited his artistic inclination and talents from his father, Wil- liam C. Lenskold, who was an interior decorator. Mr. Lenskold's mother was the former Olga Zimmerman.

After attending Manual Training High School in Brooklyn, New York, Kay Christian Lenskold started his career in 1912 as a commercial artist in the field of street railway advertising. In 1914 he became associ- ated with Vitagraph Motion Pictures Company in the production of publicity and still photographic shots. Photography at this time captured his interest, and he became a camera man for the Vitagraph Company. But when this concern moved its studios and opera- tions to California, Mr. Lenskold did not go along, but became associated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, doing photogra- phic work for the museum's department of public edu- cation. After the entrance of the United States into World War I, he served with a photographic unit of the Army Signal Corps as an instructor, stationed at Columbia University.

In 1919, at the conclusion of his war service, Mr. Lenskold returned to the service of the Museum of Natural History for a time, but in 1921 he went with the M. L. Rimes Illustrating Company in the dual capacity of photographer and artist. In that same year he went into business independently as a com- mercial photographer, his first studio and office be- ing in the Old Bank Building at Floral Park. The success and expansion of his business has caused him twice to move to more ample quarters, and at present the Lenskold Studio is located at 220 Jericho Turnpike. Mr. Lenskold is a member of the Photo- graphers International, and is past president of the Long Island Photographers Association.

Actively interested in local business and civic af- fairs, Mr. Lenskold belongs to the Lions Club of Floral Park and to the Floral Park Board of Trade. He is affiliated with Free and Accepted Masons Lodge No. 1016 of Floral Park, and was formerly a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In religion he is a communicant of Christ Lutheran Evangelical Church of Floral Park.

In New Jersey on August 15, 1917, Kay Christian Lenskold was married to Olive M. Rasmussen, a daughter of Fred J. and Hansine Rasmussen. Of this marriage there are two children: I. Helen Olive (Mrs. Koch), who was born on December 30, 1919. 2. Doro- thy Jane (Mrs. Rivera), born on September 14, 1921.

CHARLES J. D. NEULIST-Always ready to give his time and talents to progressive civic causes, and active also in fraternal and social affairs, Mr. Neulist is one of the most popular lawyers and citi- zens of Port Washington and vicinity.

Mr. Neulist's father, Karl Neulist, was born in Ger- many in 1861. A landscape gardener, he came to the United States and found a ready field for his knowl- edge and talents among the estates and the suburban developments of Long Island. The young Charles J. D. Neulist, who was born in New York City on July 18, 1890, began his schooling in Cedarhurst, Long Island, and transferred to the public schools of Port Washington when the family moved there in 1902. His studies continued in that village until 1906, after which he attended the well-known Heffley Institute in Brooklyn, for a year and a half, before entering New York University, intent upon winning the degree of Bachelor of Laws. For he had fixed his ambition on a legal career. He received the coveted degree in 19II, and the same year entered the employmnt of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company at Mineola, Nas- sau County. On May 19, 1913, Mr. Neulist was ad- mitted to the bar, and in the latter part of that year he started in practice in the Village of Port Washington. Subsequently Mr. Neulist became a member of the firm of Neulist and Kregner, engaging

ELBERT A. FANNING

L. Leou Framing

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un real estate activities and the selling of insurance. Currently he is engaged in the independent practice of law. He is also a figure in the banking business as treasurer of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Washington.

During the first World War Mr. Neulist was in the country's service as a member of the paymaster's staff of the Naval Air Station at Rockaway, and dur- ing the second World War he served on the Selective Service Board of Nassau County.

Mr. Neulist is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, and is a past secretary of that group. In the Flower Hill Hose Company No. I, he is a past secretary and a former first lieutenant. Another of his great interests is the Knickerbocker Yacht Club. His fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Colum- bus, and he was one of the organizers of Council No. 1227, and also of the Knights of Columbus Home As- sociation of Port Washington. A Roman Catholic in religion, Mr. Neulist and his family are communicants of the Church of St. Peter of Alcantara at Port Wash- ington.

At Brooklyn, on May 14, 1919, Charles J. D. Neu- list was married to Helen McCormack of that Bor- ough. They are the parents of three children.

L. LEON FANNING of 78 Sound Avenue, River- head, New York, son of Elbert A. and Sarah (Tuthill) Fanning was born in Northville on February 22, 1887. Following his attendance at the local school and the Riverhead High School, he entered farming with his father.

The Fanning farm has been in the family for over one hundred years. Mr. Fanning has more than dou- bled the acreage and developed a modern potato farm with irrigation system and potato storage.

Mr. Fanning is a member of the Sound Avenue Congregational Church, the Sound Avenue Grange, Aquebogue Men's Club, Old Landing Recreation Club and the Riverhead Town Agricultural Society. The last mentioned society is the oldest co-operative in the United States. Mr. Fanning is also a member of the Masonic Lodge of Riverhead No. 645. For many years he has served as both town and county com- mitteeman of the Republican party.

Mr. Fanning is one of a family of four children. A sister, Miss Edith Bernice Fanning, born May 29, 1876, resides on the Fanning farm. She graduated from the Riverhead Union School and attended River- head Academy, but as there was illness in the home, she early became the homemaker. Miss Fanning is a member of the Congregational Church, the River- head Chapter Order of the Eastern Star, Riverhead Woman's Club, Daughters of the Revolution, Suffolk County Home Bureau and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

A brother, Irwin Clifton Fanning, born March 25, 1880, was graduated from the Riverhead Union School, Professor Hallock's School in Bridgehampton and Jamaica Normal School. He taught in New York City for several years. Part of 1904 he traveled in Europe. On July 19, 1907, he passed away in Colo- rado Springs, Colorado, at the age of twenty-seven. He was a member of the Congregational Church and the Riverhead Masonic Lodge.

A younger sister Vera V. was born March 25, 1891. She was graduated from the local schools, Cortland Normal School and Columbia University. On August 22, 1931, she was married to Joseph Weller Brush of New York and Baiting Hollow. Mr. and Mrs. Brush are the parents of one son, Joseph W. Brush, Jr., born August 4. 1934.

Mr. Fanning's father, Elbert A. Fanning, born

January 14, 1840 died September 5, 1925, was the son of Abraham and Martha (Pattie) Luce Fanning, the latter the daughter of Benjamin and Densie Hal- lock Luce.

Mr. Fanning's paternal grandfather Abraham Fan- ning, born March 15, 1800, died September 23, 1849, was the son of John Fanning and Mary Aldrich Fan- ning. John Fanning served as a soldier in the War of 1812. Both he and his wife were natives of the town of Southampton, where many generations of Fannings have been born and reared. Mr. Fanning's grandmother Pattie Luce Fanning, was born August 4, 1799 and died December 30, 1876.

Elbert Alonzo Fanning operated the home farm but his chief interest was contracting and building, which he followed until a few years before his death. The Sound Avenue Congregational Church, dedicated on August 25, 1904, was built by him and his part- ner Mr. Fred N. Mosely, and is pictured in another volume of this work. When Elbert A. Fanning was eighteen years old he started for California, going by way of the Isthmus of Panama, reaching his des- tination in thirty days. He was accompanied on the journey by his brother, Edgar B. Fanning, and his uncle, Richard E. Foster. After a brief stay in San Francisco he worked for several months on a farm near the city. He then engaged in mining for a time but soon erected a sawmill in the mountains and for ten years operated this. After being West for nearly twelve years, he came East to see his family, ex- pecting to return to the West. However, he married and settled on the home farm. His family recall in- teresting stories of his experiences in California in the early days.

Elbert A. Fanning married Sarah Jane Tuthill on March 2, 1875. She was born March 16, 1848, died June I, 1923, the daughter of Nathan and Jane (Sal- mon) Tuthill, the former of Orient and the latter of Mattituck. Mrs. Fanning's ancestry dates back to John Tuthill who emigrated from England to America. He was born in 1635 and died in Southold in 1717. On his mother's side she was descended from William Salmon of England, born 1610, and emi- grated to New England, and then to Southold. After the death of his first wife Katherine Curtis Sunder- land, he married Sarah, daughter of the first Barnabas Horton, also of Southold.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 100

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor Publication date: 1949 Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 922

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor
Publication date: 1949
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 922