USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 12
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 12
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106
chell) Estabrook, who were the grandparents of ucorge Mitchell Estabrook. 7. Charles Edward and Jennie ( Hodges) Estabrook.
George Mitchell Estabrook, son of Charles Edward and Jennie ( Hodges) Estabrook, was born at Mani- towoc, Wisconsin, on March 6, 1886, and was edu- cated in the Milwaukee South Side High School, and Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he majored in mathematics and obtained some in- struction in engineering. His first employment of note was in 1905 and 1906 when he was a rodman with a civil engineering crew on the Western Mary- land Railroad. In 1907 he located in Hempstead, and from 1907 to 1910 was connected with engineering work at Garden City and Long Beach for Charles W. Leavitt, Jr. From 1910 to 1912, he was chief engineer with Cyril E. Marshall, concerned with the design and construction of the Hempstead sewer system. In 1915-16 and again in 1919-20, Mr. Estabrook was engineer for the village of Hempstead. During the intervening years he was serving his country in World War I, with the rank of first lieutenant in the Finance Division of the United States Army Air Corps. Mr. Estabrook, incidentally, has never lost his interest in military affairs, especially aviation. He was one of the founders and the first commander of the Hemp- stead Post of the American Legion, and is a flying enthusiast both from the love of it and because of its practical qualities of transportation.
What is now the Estabrook Construction Company dates from a partnership maintained between Law- rence Eugene Kirwin and himself, initiated as the Kirwin-Estabrook Construction Company. When Mr. Kirwin retired in 1929, the concern assumed its pre- sent firm name, and of it Mr. Estabrook has since been the sole owner. In early years he had been as- sociated with the construction of such projects as the upper campus at Lehigh University, Pennsyl- vania, was resident engineer during the development of Forbes Field Baseball Park, in Pittsburgh; and went to various parts of the East in connection with his vocation.
The Estabrook Construction Company, together with its predecessor firm, has been identified with building of such Long Island construction as the Hempstead High School, the Franklin, Fulton, Jack- son, and Ludlum primary schools, the Professional Building, the Cathedral Apartments, the Central Nassau Building, the old Post Office and the Rup- pert warehouse, all of Hempstead; the Calkins Gym- nasium and Brower, Barnard and Mason halls at Hof- stra College, Hempstead; the Baldwin, Cedarhurst, Wantagh, West Hempstead and Garden City schools; the Garden City Bank, the Franklin Square National Bank, St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church at West Hempstead; the Schaefer warehouse at Mineola; the Garden City Golf Club and the Garden City Country Club and many private homes.
George Mitchell Estabrook is vice president and a director of the Franklin Square National Bank, and from September, 1933, to February, 1934, was conser- vator of the First National Bank of Hempstead. He was one of the organizers of the Franklin Shops, Inc. and was formerly vice president, also formerly presi- dent of Central Nassau Inc. of which Franklin Shops Inc. is a tenant. He is a former chairman of the board of trustees of Hofstra College; member of the Hemp- stead Association of Commerce; has been a grand juror of Nassau County, and very much to the fore in the promotion of local progress and the welfare of the community. In 1935 came one of his several elec- tions as mayor of Hempstead, and to the village he
Steel Engraving by M. J.Conn
Lewis Historical Pob, Co, inc.
Junge W. Flatbrush
nd ch
al al
D-
1-
al if
a d
d - d e
id rd i- ü -
ire
eer
en
he
in of
p-
he
ce
ts
e- ce
as 1-
e
ny
lan ry- nd ng
e
43
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
rendered most excellent service and led an adminis- tration responsible for many public improvements. Mr. Estabrook is a member of the Long Island As- sociation and has served since 1936 on its board of directors and as vice president from 1942 through 1945. In politics he is an independent. Fraternally he he affiliated with the Masonic order and the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks. By right of noteworthy ancestry lie belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution, and is keen in his interest in history. He is well known as a collector of Currier and Ives prints, of which he has a large and especial- ly fine collection.
On February 3, 1914, George Mitchell Estabrook married Mary Adelaide Lynch, daughter of John Joseph Lynch, postmaster of Oscawanna, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Estabrook are the parents of three children: 1. George Mitchell, Jr., who died in infancy. 2. Virginia Mary, who married Merton D. Custer, of Johnstown. Pennsylvania, now of Hempstead, and is the mother of two daughters: Barbara Ann and Susan. Mr. Custer served in World War II, Trans- portation Division, United States Army, with the rank of first lieutenant and was discharged as captain in the Coast Artillery. 3. Barbara Ann.
GEORGE B. BENSTOCK, D.M.D .- A native of Suffolk County, Dr. George B. Benstock has sought and found his career in dentistry within that part of Long Island, excepting the years of his service in World War II, in which he had a distinguished record. Apart from his professional activities, Dr. Benstock participates in the civic affairs and public life of the village of Lindenhurst and is a leader in both of these fields.
The late Morris Benstock settled in Central Islip about the year 1890, and there established the first general store in that community, where he became prominent in all movements for the civic betterment and progress of that village and that area of Suffolk County. To him and his wife, Rose Benstock, the son they named George B. was born at Central Islip on August 8, 1910. His education began in the local schools, and after graduating from the Islip High School he attended Alfred University in up- state New York, transferring later to Syracuse Uni- versity in the city of that name, and finally to the dental school of Tufts College, from which he re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine upon graduating with the class of 1934. In that same year he established his office in the village of Lindenhurst, where he has continued in the general practice of dentistry to the present time, enjoying a large patron- age and a high standing in professional circles and in the community at large.
During World War II Dr. Benstock enlisted in the United States Army Dental Corps in the spring of 1942, and was connected with that service through the spring of 1915. Twenty-one months of this period were spent in the Arctic Theater of Operations, dur- ing which time he was theater dental surgeon. Upon receiving his honorable discharge from the service, Dr. Benstock held the rank of a major.
Dr. Benstock is a member of the board of educa- tion of the village of Lindenhurst. He is a member of the planning board of that village, and formerly served as vice chairman of the Lindenhurst library committee. He is a charter member, a past president, and still an active booster of the Lindenhurst Lions Club. He is deeply interested in the work of the Boy Scouts of America. His professional affiliations
are with the Suffolk County Dental Society, the American Dental Association, and with Alpha Omega, a dental fraternity. In religious matters he is a member of the Lindenhurst Hebrew Congregation. His principal recreation is golf.
On October 7, 1934, George B. Benstock was married at Huntington, to Betty Aronson of that village, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Aronson. Of this union there are two children: I. Marilyn, who was born in the Southside Hospital on May 2, 1936. 2. Linda, born in the Huntington Hospital on June 8, 1941.
PAUL VERCO BRINLEY, M.D .- From the Middle West Dr. Paul Verco Brinley came by chance, or choice, to Long Island's lovely old Suffolk County village of Patchogue, there to acquire a lucrative prac- tice in general medicine and obstetrics, and to become one of the most highly regarded physicians in that part of Long Island as the result of a career which was interrupted by a long period of service to our country during World War II.
Dr. Brinley's father, the late William Robert Brinley, was a native of Paxton, Illinois, who became a mining superintendent, and is buried at Cannons- burg, Pennsylvania. William Robert Brinley married Marietta Jane Wills, a native of the state of Ohio, who survives her husband. Of this marriage Paul Verco Brinley was born at Westville, Illinois, on September 8, 1904. Educated in his native state, he graduated from the Benton, Illinois, high school and from the University of Illinois, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, in 1928. He had already chosen medicine as his career, and continued his studies at the medical school of the University of Illinois, from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1931.
Dr. Brinley passed his internship in 1930 and 1931 at the West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1931 he came east, and established his practice at Patchogue. A general practitioner, Dr. Brinley is also widely known as an obstetrician. He is on the staff of the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital at Port Jefferson, Suffolk County.
Dr. Brinley entered the United States Army on August 9, 1942, with the rank of a captain in the Medical Corps, and served until November, 1945, when he received his honorable discharge, having before that time been advanced to the rank of major. Resuming his practice at Patchogue, he also participates in the organized affairs of his profession and in the life of his adopted community. He holds membership in the Suffolk County, New York State and American medical associations. He belongs to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and to the Loyal Order of Moose. His favorite recreation is boating, for which no place one could think of affords better facilities than Patchogue.
In 1934 Paul Verco Brinley married the former Natalie Chevalley, who was born at Blue Point, Suffolk County, Long Island, and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Julius Chevalley of that place. Of this marriage there are two children: 1. Barbara Jane, who was born at Patchogue in August, 1935. 2. William Robert, born also at Patchogue in Sep- tember, 1941.
CARROLL M. SWEZEY-One of the major business concerns of Patchogue is the department store operated by Swezey and Newins, Incorporated. of which Carroll M. Swezey is president and general manager. This store was established in 1894 by Mr.
L.I .- 2
44
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Swezey's father, Arthur M. Swezey, an outstanding citizen of the village who was once its mayor and served it in numerous other ways. Before assuming the presidency of the store Carroll Swezey was in the stock brokerage business in New York City.
Mr. Swezey was born in Patchogue on May 16, 1899. His mother was the former Horacena Dicker- son. The elder Swezey was a native of East Patchogue. He was a director of the Patchogue Union Bank and Savings Bank, a member of the Board of Education and an official of the Patchogue Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Carroll M. Swezey completed his early education in the Patchogue High School. In 1920 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and in 1922 that of Master of Business Ad- ministration from the Harvard University School of Business. For the next three years he worked with his father in the department store at Patchogue. Then he became president of Swezey, Topliffe and Company, Wall Street securities firm, with which he remained until 1937. Returning to Patchogue, he assumed the presidency and general managership of the store. Swezey and Newins' carries a complete line of merchandise, men's, women's and children's, household and many other varieties.
Mr. Swezey is a member of the Dartmouth Chub of New York and the Domino Yacht Club of Patch- ogue. With his family he attends the Congregational Church.
He married Henrietta Rose, daughter of Walter and Augusta (Leaming) Rose of Patchogue, in the village on May 12, 1925. They are the parents of two children: Priscilla, born in Brooklyn in January, 1929, and a graduate of the Patchogue High School; and Carroll M., Jr., born in Patchogue in November, 1926, a graduate of Patchogue High School, who served as a sergeant in the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific toward the end of and after World War II.
EDWARD THEODORE NEU-Although he is a native of the city of New York, where he first saw the light of day on September 16, 1866, Edward Theodore Neu, a son of Karl and Anna Maria (Miller) Neu, has long been a prominent and leading citizen of Lynbrook in Nassau County, a participant in its religious, political and fraternal affairs, and honored particularly as one who ably and faithfully adminis- tered the duties of public office as justice of the peace for twenty-eight years, from 1907 to 1935. Mr. Neu has long been connected with the People's Na- tional Bank of Lynbrook and is now vice president.
During the first World War Mr. Neu served in the home guard. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Republican Club of Lynbrook. He is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons of Lynbrook and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Rockville Centre, and of the latter or- ganization he holds the fifty year medal. His re- ligious connection is with the Congregational Church of East Rockaway.
At Wantagh, Edward Theodore Neu was mar- ried on July 21, 1901, to Hetty Armenia Smith, a daughter of Oliver Winfield and Sara Delia (Hub- bard) Smith. Oliver Winfield Smith was in his early life a sea captain, and later was employed for twenty voars in the United States Sub-Treasury in New York City. His wife, came of one of the oldest families not only in Long Island but in America.
Mrs. Hetty Armenia (Smith) Neu was born at Bay Shore, on April 9, 1877, and educated at East
Rockaway. To Mr. and Mrs. Edward Theodore Neu five children were born; details concerning which appear in the biography of their mother, next ensuing.
HETTY ARMENIA SMITH NEU-A native of Bay Shore, where she was born on April 9, 1877, Mrs. Hetty Armenia (Smith) Neu, the wife of Edward Theodore Neu of Lynbrook, Nassau County, comes of notable ancestry in both family lines, and indeed through her mother, can trace her lineage back not only to early settlers of Long Island, but to some of the first white settlers on the eastern seaboard of the North American continent. The Hubbards, her mother's family, settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1635, and some of them are known to have come to Southampton, at least as early as 1748.
Although Hubbard is the most usual spelling of the name of this family, it is found in ancient records, as Mrs. Neu has learned from genealogical records in her possession, in a number of forms, including Hoberd, Huberd, Hubert, Hoebard, Haburd, Hubird, Hubbert, Hubard and Hulbert. It is believed to have been derived originally from the old Danish name Hubba. In the newspapers, the "Nassau Daily Re- view-Star." of July 12, 1940, the story of the most distinguished member of this family, Captain John Hulbert-sometimes also called Hubbard-is related.
Among the historical items displayed in the Long Island regional exhibit at the World's Fair in Fluslı- ing Meadows in 1939 and 1940, was a flag which was properly the object of much reverent attention. It is said to have been the first flag of stars and stripes flown during the war of the American Revolution, and records indicate that it was carried by Captain John Hulbert in 1775. These records show that Cap- tain Hulbert was a ship-builder, and Mrs. Neu sur- mises that the flag may have been made by members of his family to be flown from the stern of one of his vessels. It is known that Captain Hulbert raised a company of volunteers in East Hampton, Bridge- hampton and Southampton, in June and July, 1775. to protect four thousand head of cattle on the Mon- tauk grazing lands, from British raiders, the safety of this large herd of live stock being of great impor- tance for the provisioning of the Continental army. In September, 1775, Captain Hulbert and his company joined the American forces at Fort Constitution on the Hudson River. and subsequently went north and fouglit in the battle of Ticonderoga. Assigned to escort British prisoners of war to Philadelphia, Cap- tain Hulbert's company, tradition has it, carried this flag with them on the journey.
Captain Hulbert, or Hubbard, married Elizabeth Arthur at Huntington. on January 25, 1748, as Mrs. Neu related in the "Nassau Daily Review-Star" of the date cited above. Many descendants of this mar- riage are identifiable today, and some of them trace their ancestry through branches of the family that have wandered far from Long Island. The Suffolk County Historical Society in 1910 received letters from Miss Adelaide L. Hurlbert of Wethersfield, Con- necticut, and from Mrs. W. B. Heck of Owensboro. Kentucky, containing information which showed them to be among these descendants. Still living on Long Island are, in addition to Mrs. Neu, her daughter Mrs. Charlotte Neu Crandell, her grandson Raymond Crandell, her sister Mrs. Frances Davison of East Rockaway, and her brother Lorenzo D. Smith of Lvnbrook.
Captain John and Mrs. Elizabeth (Arthur) Hul- bert had a son. Jeremiah, born in Southampton. as family Bible records show. He married Esther Rogers
Edward J. Nel
45
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
of East Hampton, by whom he had nine children, all born in Southampton. In 1812 he moved to Bay Shore and built a home on part of a farm facing what is now Brook Street; this house has been moved to Second Street, where it is still standing. Lewis, one of the nine children of Jeremiah and Esther ( Rogers) Hulbert (or Hubbard) married Josephine Peterson, and among his children was one Seth Rogers Hubbard. He is known to have been at one time the keeper of the famous Fire Island lighthouse, from which all ships making the port of New York were first reported.
Seth Rogers Hubbard married Betty Ann Abrams of East Rockaway, and they had a daughter, Sarah Adelia, who married Oliver Winfield Smith of Bay Shore. To this couple there were born ten children, three sons and seven daughters, of whom the oldest was named Hetty Armenia. She attended school in East Rockaway, and on July 21, 1901, was married to Edward Theodore Neu (q.v.).
Mrs. Hetty Armenia (Smith) Neu is a charter member of the Anne Carry Chapter, of East Rock- away, of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which was founded twenty-five years ago, and for the past twenty years she has been historian of that chapter. She is affiliated with the Congregational Church of East Rockaway.
Edward Theodore and Hetty Armenia (Smith) Neu are the parents of five children: I. Charlotte Eliza- beth Smith, who was born on March 21, 1902. 2. Olive Margaret, born on March 8, 1904. 3. Charles Edward, born Deceniber 9, 1906. 4. Anna Vail, born on Oc- tober 1, 1910. 5. Frank Arthur, who was born on May 10. 1917. This young man, who was a member of the National Society of the Children of the Ameri- can Revolution, splendidly vindicated his lineage dur- ing the second World War. When his country needed his services and the call to duty came. he joined the United States Army. becoming a technical sergeant in the Air Corps. He had completed nineteen mis- sions with the Eiglith Air Force when he fell a victim to the tragic chance of war. He was shot down and killed over Doelzig, Germany, on November 30, 1944. For his gallantry in the performance of his duties, Sergeant Frank Arthur Neu had been awarded the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters.
RAYMOND H. LaCLAIR-Long in the lumber business in Suffolk County and elsewhere in New York State, Raymond H. LaClair is now postmaster of Huntington. He is prominent in fraternal affairs, especially in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. LaClair was born at Highmarket, in Lewis County, New York, on February 27, 1889, the son of John and Mary (Santiff) LaClair. His father, a dairy farmer at Highmarket, was born in Strass- bourg, France; his mother is a native of New York State.
The future postmaster is a graduate of Turin High School and Lowville Academy. In 1908, he entered the lumber business as bookkeeper for the Parker and Moore Lumber Company at Lowville. By the time he left that concern in the spring of 1910, Mr. LaClair was also yard foreman. His next position was with the West Canada Lumber Company at Herkimer, where he was shipping clerk. On March 17. 1910, he first established himself in Huntington, having become an employee of W. Wilton Wood, lumber merchant. Six years later Mr. LaClair returned to Herkimer as assistant superintendent of the West
Canada Lumber Company. But a few years later, he was back in Huntington with Mr. Wood's business and there he remained until in January, 1938, Presi- dent Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed him Hunt- ington's postmaster. Mr. LaClair is now on perma- nent tenure as postmaster under United States Civil Service. When the Huntington Lodge, No. 1565, Ben- evolent and Protective Order of Elks, was instituted on June 29, 1920, Mr. LaClair was its first exalted ruler. He remains one of its foremost leaders. He is also a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, the Huntington Business Men's Associa- tion and St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. His hobby is gardening.
Mr. LaClair married Frances Henry, daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Collins) Henry of Lowville, in that community on October 18, 1910. They are the parents of two daughters: Helen, born January 12 1912, and Dorothy, born December 27, 1918. Helen LaClair, a graduate of Huntington High School and the Cortland Normal School, was married to James Patterson of Newport, Rhode Island, who in World War II was a lieutenant, junior grade, in the United States Navy. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have a son, Raymond J., born at Bluefield, West Virginia.
Dorothy LaClair, a graduate of Huntington High School, was married in 1943 to Melvin J. Gardiner of Huntington, who was a corporal in the United States Army in World War II. She and her husband are the parents of a son, Richard J. Gardiner, born on November 12, 1944.
OSCAR MUROV-A member of the bar with a wide public and private practice, Oscar Murov has given liis community, Lindenhurst, considerable lead- ership in interests outside the law, such as welfare, education, culture, work for service men, civic de- velopment and religion.
Mr. Murov was born in Brooklyn on February II, 1911, the son of the late Meyer and Vite (Goldman) Murov. His father, a prominent Brooklyn builder, died in 1932. His mother is an electrologist in Brooklyn.
Oscar Murov is a graduate of Boy's High School, Brooklyn. He took his prelegal work, as well as some of his law studies, at St. John's College. In 1932 he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from St. John's University. Even before he completed his pro- fessional education, Mr. Murov had entered the legal field. From 1929 to 1934 he was associated with the well-known New York attorney. Bernard H. Sandler, Esq., taking a prominent part in the famous Wendel Estate litigation.
In April, 1934, he was admitted to the New York State Bar. On May 22, 1935. he was admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. On February 3. 1936, he was admitted to practice before the Treasury Department.
In 1934, Mr. Murov left Mr. Sandler's office and established himself in independent law practice. He remained in New York City until 1939, althoughi in 1936 he had moved his home and established a branch office in Copiague, Long Island. While in Copiague, he was a founder and first elected presi- dent of the Copiague Chamber of Commerce, which group initiated the Building Code for the town of Babylon.
In 1037 Mr. Murov formed a law partnership with Jacob Bendersky, Esq .. in Amityville. and later they opened an additional office in Lindenhurst. The law
46
LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
partnership was dissolved in 1942 and Mr. Murov continued the practice of law individually at Linden- hurst.
From time to time Mr. Murov serves as special counsel for the village of Lindenhurst and the town of Babylon, having acted in legal matters for these two public entities on numerous occasions. He is also counsel to Allied Abstract Corporation.
In World War II Mr. Murov was chairman for the Lindenhurst Campaign of the National War Fund Drive.
He was one of the executive officers of the group that established the servicemen's lounge in Linden- hurst. He was one of the founders of Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce, Inc., having been its tem- porary chairman and first elected president.
In addition, Mr. Murov is a member of the board of directors of Lindenhurst Memorial Library and a past director of Lindenhurst Hebrew Congregation. He is also a director of the Lindenhurst Republican Club and one of its past presidents. He is a mem- ber of the Hook and Ladder Company No. I, Lin- denhurst Volunteer Fire Department, the Zionist Organization of America, the Bay Shore Lodge of the Order of B'nai B'rith, Babylon Lodge No. 793. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; the Sunrise Square Club; the Suffolk County Bar Association; the Suffolk Timber Point Club; the National Re- publican Club and Tau Delta Mu fraternity.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.