USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 3
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 3
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Dr. Adams is the author of "The Globe Playhouse, Its Design and Equipment," published by the Har- vard Press in 1942, and has contributed articles on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan drama to a number of scholarly periodicals in America and England.
On July 2, 1929, in Glasgow, Scotland, John Cran- ford Adams was married to Alice deBois Murray, the daughter of Charles R. and Joan McSymon
(Kay) Murray. Dr. and Mrs. Adams have two chil- dren: I. Charles Murray Adams, born April 18, 1931; and 2. Joan Elizabeth deBois Adams, born September 21, 1932.
WALTER JACOBI SCHWALJE-An instructor in education at New York University and at Hofstra College, at Hempstead, Long Island, Dr. Walter Jacobi Schwaljé was born in New York City March II, 1894. He is the son of Georges and Theresia (Eshmann) Schwaljé, his father being a builder.
Walter Jacobi Schwaljé attended Public School No. 87 in New York City, from which he graduated in 1908. He then attended Yonkers High School from which he was graduated in 1912. He then became a student at New York City College, from which he graduated in 1916. Later he did graduate work at the University of Minnesota, took a Master of Art's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1924, and in 1931 completed the work for his doctorate at New York University and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In the meantime Dr. Schwaljé had been active in the teaching profession. He was successively, teacher and supervising principal in Minnesota; superintendent of schools in North Dak- ota; and teacher of modern languages in Bronxville, New York. In 1922 he became superintendent of schools at Long Beach, New York, and held this post for nineteen years, until 1941. Since 1934 he has been an instructor in educational administration and super- vision at New York University and at Hofstra Col- lege, in Hempstead, Long Island. Dr. Schwaljé is the author of a number of magazine articles and of a volume entitled "Help Yourself to Education," which is scheduled for publication in the spring of 1949 by Marcel Rodd Publications. He is already working on a new manuscript tentatively entitled "Think About It." Dr. Schwaljé is a member of the Rho chapter of Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. He is a Republican in his political tendencies but likes to be independent of too close party lines and has been known to vote for the Democratic candidate. At Long Beach in 1936-40 he served as "cultural commissioner." He is a member of the Administrators' Club, and belongs to the Lu- theran Church.
On August 16, 1916, at Richmond Hill, New York, Dr. Schwaljé was married to Lillian Uhlhorn, the daughter of Theodore and Pauline (Hays) Uhlhorn. Mrs. Schwaljé is a Lutheran in her religious affilia- tion. Dr. and Mrs. Schwaljé have two children: I. Anita Doris (Schwaljé) Marchese, who was born July 5, 1917; 2. Earl George Schwaljé, born May 24, 1921, who was an aviator in World War II.
RALPH B. DAYTON-A veteran in the field of banking and finance of Port Jefferson, Ralph B. Dayton was identified with the Bank of Port Jefferson for more than a half century, first in an unimportant position, later as executive official and president, and eventually as chairman of its board of directors. There are few bankers on Long Island with so long a con- tinuous record of service with a single financial in- stitution.
Born at Port Jefferson, on April 7, 1867, Mr. Day- ton was the son of James and Sara (Bennett) Dayton, his father being one of the old-time shipping masters and the owner of several sea-going ships built in that period when Port Jefferson was both a center of shipyards and the home port from which a number of vessels sailed. If he had continued along the choice of
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his boyhood, he might well have been on his way to a nautical career. However, he was to model his life along far different lines, for he decided that a better future lay in the field of banking. In 1889 he assisted in setting up the original books of the Bank of Port Jefferson, and became its second clerk and bookkeeper in 1891. In 1892 he was elected assistant cashier, and his further activities included: director in 1901, cashier in 1912, vice president in 1924, and president on April 11, 1929. On January 10, 1946, he was made chairman of the board of the institution with which he had been so prominently active over an exception- ally long period. He was highly esteemed for his knowledge of banking, enterprise in finance and sound judgment in both local and metropolitan bank- ing circles.
Mr. Dayton was a director of the Union Savings Bank of Patchogue and treasurer of the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital directors, and treasurer of the Suwassett Oyster Company until it was dis- solved some years ago. He was also treasurer of the Northern Brookhaven War Memorial Fund. He was one of the backers of the United Boys Brigade of America, the local company of which was formed by the late Wilson Ritch, who lost his life in France, in World War I. His son, Colonel Harry C. Dayton, was first lieutenant of the company while Mr. Ritch was captain. More recently Mr. Dayton lent his support to the Boy Scouts of Suffolk County. In the early 1890s he was one of the original members of the Port Jefferson Bicycle Club. He was a member at the time of his death of the Port Jefferson Rotary Club, Port Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department, and the Port Jefferson Yacht Club.
Fraternally Mr. Dayton was one of the oldest mem- bers of Suffolk Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and the oldest past master of the lodge, having served in that office from 1902 to 1904. He was treasurer of the lodge for many years, and only relinquished that office about two years ago because of the arduous duties connected with it. He likewise was to the fore in religious and charitable groups, especially in the Town of Brookhaven. Mr. Dayton was a trustee of the Port Jefferson Presbyterian Church, of which he had been a member since 1900, and held the office of elder and treasurer for many years. He sang in the church choir for more than forty years, and was a member of the Long Island Presbytery.
Ralph B. Dayton married Bertha Craven, daughter of Captain W. H. "Harry" Craven, famous east coast shipmaster who died December 27, 1945. Mr. and Mrs. Dayton were the parents of one son: Colonel Harry C. Dayton, of the United States Army, now retired; a biography of whom next ensues.
Death came to Ralph B. Dayton on June 5, 1946. Word of his passing came as a shock to a host of friends, associates and acquaintances, for he had long been one of those citizens so substantial in achieve- ments and character as to seem to be a permanent part of the life of the community. His memory will be cherished as one who contributed importantly to municipal development and the welfare of people in all walks of life.
COLONEL HARRY CRAVEN DAYTON, after a long and brilliant career in the United States Army, including service in two World Wars, has retired from active duty and is now expending his energies in his native town of Port Jefferson, where he is taking an
active interest in community affairs. He is president of the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, a trustee and treasurer of the Northern Brookhaven War Me- morial Fund and a strong supporter of local sports activities and, in fact, of all that makes for civic welfare.
He was born August 15, 1895 at Port Jefferson, the son of Ralph B. and Bertha (Craven) Dayton. His father was a banker. Colonel Dayton's paternal grandfather, Captain James Dayton, was one of the best known skippers in the South American and Mediterranean trade in the eighteen seventies, and his maternal grandfather, Captain W. H. "Harry" Craven, was a United States Navy veteran of the Civil War and a sailing contemporary and close friend of Captain Charlie Barr and Captain Lem Miller of International Cup Race fame.
Harry Craven Dayton attended the Port Jefferson public schools, graduating from Port Jefferson High School in 1913. He then became a student at Lehigh University, where he graduated in 1917 as a chemical engineer. Some years later, in 1926 to 1930 he took special courses at Purdue University while he was stationed there as a member of the teaching and coaching staff, and in 1940 studied with the News- paper Institute of America.
In 1916, while at Lehigh University, Colonel Dayton had been a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and that same year went on a United States Naval Training Cruise. In July, 1917, he enlisted in the United States Signal Corps, and from August to November, 1917, was at Officers' Training Camp in Plattsburg, New York. He became a second lieuten- ant of Field Artillery in November, 1917. He was sent overseas in January, 1918, as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces of World War I and from January to March of that year attended the Field Artillery School at Saumur, France. From April, 1918 to July, 1920, he was with the 76th Field Ar- tillery, 3rd (Marne) Division, returning to the United States with his unit after his service with the Army of Occupation in Germany was ended, in August, 1919.
In September, 1920, Colonel Dayton was given the post of principal of the United States Army High School at Camp Pike, Arkansas, and served in this capacity until June, 1921. From August, 1921, to June, 1922, he attended the Field Artillery School at Camp Knox, Kentucky, and from July, 1922, to September, 1926, served with the 9th Field Artillery at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. In October, 1926, he became assistant professor of military science and tactics at Purdue University and also served as a member of the coaching staff of that university in Freshman baseball, wrestling and pistol practice and was a registered official of the Indiana High School Athletic Associa- tion. He remained at Purdue University until August, 1930. In September, 1930, he left Purdue and until April, 1934, was with the 5th Field Artillery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Madison Barracks, New York. From May, 1934, to September, 1936, he was with the 24th Field Artillery at Fort Stotsenberg, in the Philippine Islands, and from October, 1936, to April, 1937, with the 14th Field Artillery and the 84th Field Artillery at Fort Riley, Kansas. In May, 1937, he was detailed from the Field Artillery to the Quar- termaster Corps and stationed in the Arkansas Civil- ian Conservation Corps District until June, 1938. He was retired in August, 1938, from active duty, with the rank of captain in the Field Artillery.
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Following Colonel Dayton's first retirement from the United States Army, in 1938, he became associ- ated with Harry Unna, famous California trainer and conditioner of horses at the "Golden Prince" Re- habilitation Farm at Imperial Beach, California. "Heelfly," famous handicap star from the stable of Alfred G. Vanderbilt and later owned by George Stratton of Douglas Aircraft, made his last comeback prior to his retirement to the stud, from the rest cure at Imperial Beach.
In January, 1941, Colonel Dayton was recalled to active duty in the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army and was stationed at the Port of Em- barkation at San Francisco, where he was with the Army Transport Service until December, 1944, his service during this period including tours of duty at . the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, and in the Southwest Pacific. From January, 1945, to September, 1946, Colonel Dayton was stationed in Washington, D. C., where he served as Chief of the Intelligence and Security Division in the Office of the Chief of Transportation. He was a member of the Security Intelligence Corps and the Counter- Intelligence Corps and National Safety Council. He was promoted to his present rank of colonel in July, 1945, and in September, 1946, because of a physical disability, was retired from active duty.
Following the death of his father, "R. B.," and his subsequent retirement from active duty for the second time, Colonel Dayton has returned to Long Island and has interested himself in the community welfare of Port Jefferson and Northern Brookhaven. He served as secretary of the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce in 1947, and as president in 1948 and 1949. He is a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson, and of the Cedar Hill Ceme- tery Association, and serves as trustee and treasurer of the Northern Brookhaven War Memorial Fund. Colonel Dayton is a director of the Port Jefferson Rotary Club, and belongs also to the Port Jefferson Yacht Club and to Hook and Ladder Company No. I of the Port Jefferson Fire Department. He takes a keen interest in athletics and in 1947 was president of .the Chamber of Commerce Softball League, and again in 1948 and 1949. He has been coach of the Port Jefferson Seahorses Basketball Team. He is counselor of the Suffolk County Baseball League, a member of the Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and chief counsel of the Suffolk County Chapter of the American Institute of Banking, of which chapter he is a member. Colonel Dayton is a member of the Lehigh University Alumni Associ- ation, the Purdue University Alumni Association, the Beta Iota Chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Purdue Chapter of Scabbard and Blade, the Third Marne Division Society, Wilson Ritch Post of the American Legion, the Bamboo Oasis, Manila, Philip- pine Islands, of which he is a life member; and Suf- folk Lodge No. 60, Free and Accepted Masons, Ar- kansas Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and Scimitar Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On November 7, 1925 at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, Harry Craven Dayton was married to Beulah Goelz, the daughter of Joseph J. and Sadie (Myrick) Goelz.
JESSE MERRITT, of Farmingdale, Long Island, one of the state's most eminent authorities and writers on historical subjects, has been for a number of years the official historian of Nassau County, as
well as the historian of the Village of Farmingdale. He is prominently associated with a number of learn- ed societies, and is the author of three books on the subjects of his research.
Born in the village where he lives today, on Sep- tember 4, 1889, Mr. Merritt is a son of Jesse and Pauline (Willis) Merritt. His father was born in 1839, and his grandfather in 1796. Both voted for Abraham Lincoln for President, theirs being for three genera- tions a staunch Republican family. The house in which Mr. Merritt was born, was built by his an- cestors in the year 1699 on land purchased by them from the Indians, part of which he now owns, and has been in the ownership of the descendants ever since. Mr. Merritt's father, also named Jesse, was a son of John C. and Phebe (Albertson) Merritt, and an agriculturist by occupation, a life member of the Queens County Agricultural Society, and secretary of the Long Island Farmers Club. A prominent citi- zen of his community, he served as a trustee of the school district for thirty years and for twenty-five years was clerk of the Bethpage Religious Society of Friends. His wife, Pauline Willis, was the youngest child of Charles and Abigail Willis.
Mr. Merritt received his education at the Friends Academy, Locust Valley, at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and Brooklyn Law School. From 1917 until 1924 he was clerk of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors and during this period he saw military service, being a veteran of the 7th New York In- fantry Regiment (107th Federal), Company C, which outfit participated in the Mexican Border affair in 1916. During World War I, he was attached to G-3, 27th Division and served in France and Belgium. He worked on the division's war diary, World War I. He received three awards; the Victory Medal with three stars, the Cross of Honor and the Mexican Border Medal.
Mr. Merritt has beeen official historian of the vil- lage of Farmingdale since 1920, and official historian of Nassau County since 1936. He is the author of three books: "Two Hundredth Anniversary of Matinecock Meeting, Locust Valley, Long Island, 1724-1924"; "Essays on Walt Whitman"; and "Story of Nassau County, New York." These have received favorable reviews in "New York History" and the "Saturday Review of Literature." He also has written a number of articles appearing in the "Nassau County Historical Society Journal" and the "Long Island Historical Society Journal."
A life member of the New York State Historical Association, Mr. Merritt has belonged to this or- ganization for twenty-two years. He has been, since 1936, councillor of the Long Island Historical Society and is a member of the Friends Historical Associa- tion and honorary curator of the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Penn- sylvania. He is vice president of the Benjamin West Society at the same address. Mr. Merritt is also chair- man of the Joint Committee of Records for the New York Yearly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends. He is an honorary member of the George Washington Society of Alexandria, Virginia, and of Phi Alpha Theta, national honor society in history. Other memberships include: the New York His- torical Society; the American Lodge of Research (New York); the Colonial Historical Society; the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (New York City); the American Association for State and Local History; the American Historical Association; the Bibliographical Society of America;
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the Typophiles; and the Grolier Club. He is a di- rector of the Nassau County Historical Society.
Mr. Merritt has been a member, since 1919, of the Morton Lodge in Hempstead, Free and Accepted Masons, which lodge was founded in 1797, becoming 1921, a charter member of the Bethpage Lodge in Farmingdale. He served as its secretary for two years and he is a corresponding member of the American Lodge of Research, with which he has been affiliated since 1934.
On April 3, 1917, Jesse Merritt married Mabel Elva Witte, the ceremony taking place at 535 Second Street, Brooklyn, the Rev. Vedder Van Dyck, now Bishop of Vermont, officiating. Mrs. Merritt is a daughter of Theodore and Jeannette (Thurston) Witte, her ma- ternal grandmother being a Hawkins. Mr. and Mrs. Merritt are the parents of two daughters: I. Jean, born in 1920, a graduate of Swarthmore College. She is married to André Hubbard and resides in Farm- ingdale. 2. Jessica, born in 1924, a graduate of Friends Academy, Locust Valley, who also attended Swarth- more College. The Merritt homestead is on Merritt Road in Farmingdale.
ROBERT REED COLES-Associate Curator of the Hayden Planetarium of New York City and a popular lecturer and writer on astronomy, is a na- tive of Glen Cove, where he was born June 21, 1907, and where he continues to make his home. Mr. Coles is the official historian of the city of Glen Cove and is an active member of the Nassau County Historical and Genealogical Society.
He is the son of Franklin Albert and Carolyn (Reed) Coles. His father, an attorney at law, was at one time district attorney of Nassau County and rep- resented his district in the New York State Assembly.
Robert Reed Coles was graduated from the Glen Cove High School in 1927. He then attended Colum- bia University. In 1929 Mr. Coles became a lecturer in the Education Department of the American Mu- seum of Natural History and served in this capacity until 1936, when he became a member of the scientific staff of the Hayden Planetarium. He has been a member of this staff ever since and is at present As- sociate Curator of the Hayden Planetarium. Mr. Coles has also delivered several hundred popular lectures on astronomy to men's clubs, church groups and similar organizations in the eastern part of the United States and has written on astronomy for "American Weekly", "Sky and Telescope" and other popular publications. He is a member of the Ameri- can Astronomical Association and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. During World War II, Mr. Coles served from 1942 to 1945 as captain on active duty in the United States Army Air Forces, attached to the 105th Army Air Force Base Unit and serving entirely in the United States. He now is on inactive status, retaining his captain's commission. He is a member of the American Legion and belongs also to the Hempstead Harbor Club and the Circus Saints and Sinners. His religious affilia- tions are with the Society of Friends. Mr. Coles takes a keen interest in local history and, as stated above, is now the official historian of the city of Glen Cove.
On July 21, 1943 at Glen Cove, Robert R. Coles was married to Edna May Kempsell, the daughter of George French and Violet Constance Kempsell. Mr. and Mrs. Coles have two children: I. Constance Carolyn Coles, born April 13, 1945. 2. Franklin Al- bert Coles, born April 4, 1948.
NANCY BOYD WILLEY (Mrs. Malcolm Mac- donald Willey), a well-known resident of Sag Har- bor, has made a particular study of the history of that long-settled locality and has become its foremost present-day historian. Married to Dr. Malcolm Mac- donald Willey, professor of sociology and academic vice president at the University of Minnesota, Mrs. Willey makes her home in Minneapolis a large part of the year but still considers herself a loyal citizen of Sag Harber, where she and her husband spend a part of their time and of which she is the official vil- lage historian. Her two books and many articles on the subject of this locality's history are indispensa- ble material to interested students and fascinating ac- counts as well.
Born July 23, 1902, Nancy Boyd Willey is a native of Sag Harber, and a daughter of William John and Annie (Cooper) Boyd. She is a graduate of the Girls High School in Brooklyn, and of Barnard College where she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1923. Following graduation she did statistical work with the National Industrial Conference Board in New York City.
Mrs. Willey is the author of the books: "The Story of Sag Harbor," published in 1939, and "Built by the Whalers, A Tour of Historic Sag Harbor," which first appeared in 1945 and for which popular demand led to the publication of a revised edition in 1948. Their author is also contributor of historical articles in the "Long Island Forum," a journal interested in the preservation of historical data of the locality. Mrs. Willey also is a founder of The Old Sag-Harbour Committee and was that organization's first president. She is village historian of Sag Harbor, and a mem- ber of the New York State Historical Association.
She has continued her interest in local history and spends three months of each year there at the home she now owns: "The Long Island Herald House," built in 1735, in which David Frothingham published the first newspaper on Long Island in 1791. Mrs. Willey's religious denomination is Episcopalian.
In Brooklyn, February 6, 1924, Nancy Boyd mar- ried Malcolm Macdonald Willey. Dr. Willey was at that time a member of the faculty of Dartmouth Col- lege, and had already attained considerable repute as a sociologist. Subsequently, in 1927, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Dr. Willey accepted an appointment as professor of sociology at the Uni- versity of Minnesota, of which university he is now the academic vice president. Mr. and Mrs. Willey have no children. Their home in Minneapolis is at 255 Bedford Street, Southeast, but they make their summer residence at Sag Harbor.
GEORGE LORING HUBBELL-Of those who may be credited with the development of the remark- able Village of Garden City as a home community famous far beyond the borders of Nassau County. George Loring Hubbell probably contributed more than any other individual, with the possible excep- tion of some of the original members of the Garden City Company.
Born at Chazy, in Clinton County, in the northern part of New York State, Mr. Hubbell could boast ancestors of prominence in both family lines, his parents being John Walcott and Margaret Moores (Beckwith) Hubbell. His education began at public school in his native village and was continued at high school in St. Albans. Vermont, and at Williams College in Williamston, Massachusetts, of which he is a graduate. His first employment was with the Long
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Steel Engraving by Terry Casey
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Island Rail Road in the humble capacity of an errand boy in the Long Island City freight yards. Seven years later when he resigned from the railroad's service he was general purchasing agent, claim ad- juster and real estate agent.
Mr. Hubbell left the service of the Long Island Rail Road in order to accept the position of general manager of the Garden City Company, of which he is now a member of the board of directors. The Garden City Company is the parent organization which owned and controlled Garden City up to the time it was incorporated as a village in the year 1919. Mr. Hubbell at that time was elected the first president of the incorporated village, and since then he has been four times re-elected to the same office, and once to the position of mayor. He served on the village board for fourteen years, when he refused to serve any longer.
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