Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 61

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 61
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 61

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In Farmingdale Dr. Robert is a member of the Rotary Club, vice president from 1945 to 1946, and president from July, 1946, to July, 1947, and delegate to the International Rotary convention at Atlantic City, New Jersey in June, 1946. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and the Knights of Columbus. He worships at St. Kilian's Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale and politically is affiliated with the Republican party. Interested in sports, Dr. Robert enjoys hunting and fishing in his leisure.

Dr. Robert married, on December 9, 1922, Doris L. Bebelheimer, daughter of T. S. and Annie D. (Dalton) Bebelheimer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. and Mrs. Robert have one child, Lorraine Doris, who served in World War II in the United States Naval Reserve in radio work, and is now a student at Women's College, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina.

FRED TABOR-There have been few more loyal citizens of Orient, Long Island, than Fred Tabor nor any more beloved and honored for the manhood he exemplified and the usefulness of his achievements. His faith was deep and well-founded in the agricul- tural possibilities of the Island, particularly of the place in which he was born and dwelt all his life. He devoted himself to the cultivation of the land and from a meager start, despite a great personal handicap, he built a substantial business as a grower of food crops for the metropolitan markets.

Fred Tabor was born in Orient, Long Island, on January 13, 1868, son of Seth B. and Jane (Terry) Tabor. On February 12, 1898, after being variously employed for several years, he decided to become a

farmer. With more determination than money, he eventually managed to purchase six acres of land in the Orient section, and rented four more, so that he launched out on his enterprise with ten acres, practi- cally no capital and not much experience. He got along better than was to be expected until the fourth year when an abcess on his leg made him bed-ridden and finally caused the amputation of the leg. The operation was successful but left him facing a practi- cally helpless future. Under the encouragement of a faithful wife and of loyal friends, he gradually resumed his agriculture and won success in spite of his handi- cap. In 1914 he was joined in partnership by his son Russel Tabor, and in 1927 another son Kenneth Tabor entered the business in what was thereafter known as Fred Tabor and Sons. At the time of the death of the elder Mr. Tabor in 1946, the original ten acres had grown to be two hundred and thirty acres of modern potato and truck land, one hundred and thirty-three of it then being planted to potatoes, seventy-eight acres of lima beans, and fifteen acres in cauliflower.

Illustrative of one of the secrets of Fred Tabor's success was the progressive attitude he took toward a number of features of Long Island methods and means of farming. When he started in, the "Early Ohio" was the chief type of potato planted. It neither was sufficiently productive nor resistant to disease and weather, so he began a search for some- thing better. This he found in the "Irish Cobbler," a potato that was popular in some parts of the West. He experimented with this and other kinds on his land and when the "Irish Cobbler" proved best all- round he used it in his planting. This strain of seed potato is now one of the most extensively used on Long Island.

Fred Tabor was a charter member of the Farm Bureau, was one of its greatest boosters, and was chairman of the Farm Bureau Potato tours for a number of years. He was one of the first farmers who, with the aid of the Farm Bureau, home-mixed their own fertilizers; one of the first farmers to start using certified seed potatoes, and was one of the first to adopt tractor farming, eliminating the dependence upon horses. In fact, in all phases of farming he exemplified the true pioneer spirit.

As a citizen, Fred Tabor was always public-spirited and ready to cooperate with men and movements in projects planned to benefit the community. He was a town trustee for many years, served on various committees, and was liberal in his support of charities. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and attended the Orient Congregational Church.

Fred Tabor married (first), September 27, 1888, Phebe Birdella Terry, daughter of Russell and Mary (Kokendaffer) Terry, who died March 12, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Tabor had two children: I. Russell, born May 2, 1889. 2. Hazel, born June 24, 1891. Mr. Tabor married (second), October 22, 1896, Rose Terry, daughter of Henry Horace and Mary A. (Young) Terry, who died June 24, 1903, leaving two children: 3. Gladys, born September 29, 1897. 4. Ken- neth, born July 28, 1902. Fred Tabor married (third), October 17, 1905, Abbie Elizabeth Tuthill, daughter of Roscoe Stevenson and Isabella (Rackett) Tuthill, who survives her husband.

The death of Fred Tabor occurred on March 22, 1946, at Orient, Long Island, thus bringing to an end a courageous and eminently useful life. When a host of those who were familiar with his achievements and character paid tribute to his memory, there were

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many who recalled his own tribute to Orient. From one of the pieces of verse he took pleasure in com- posing, one of his best known ends with these words: When God made this world of ours and had it nearly done He finished with Long Island and it pointed towards the sun. He swept his hand from Brooklyn to Montauk and felt content. He smiled and finished with his jewels and called it Orient.

JOHN J. ROE AND SON, REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE-The John J. Roe and Son, Real Estate and Insurance business was established in 1898 by John J. Roe who is still actively engaged in its operation in association with his son, John J. Roe, Jr.

John J. Roe, Sr., is a direct descendant of the original John Roe who came to this country in 1655 and located in the town of Brookhaven. He is a great- grandson of Captain Austin Roe who was one of General Washington's spies on Long Island during the Revolution. Captain Roe was proprietor of Roe's Tavern in Setauket when Washington stayed there during the tour of Long Island as President of the United States. John J. Roe, Sr., was born in Patchogue on May 26, 1874, and in 1898 established in his native city an insurance and real estate business, now known as John J. Roe and Son, located in the Roe Building at 125 East Main Street. Active in the affairs of his community, he was formerly president of the village of Patchogue, and has served as chairman of the vil- lage Zoning Board of Appeals since its inception. Among his other business associations he is vice presi- dent of the Union Savings Bank and has been trustee for over thirty years, and he is trustee of the John T. Mather Hospital of Port Jefferson. He is past president of the board of trustees of the Congrega- tional Church of Patchogue, past president of the Round Table Club, and charter member of the Patch- ogue Rotary Club. Fraternally he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, South Side Lodge No. 493, the Suwasset Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, the Patchogue Commandery of Knights Templar, and the Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Brooklyn. He married Effie J. Smith April 24, 1902, daughter of I. Wallace and Esther J. Parker Smith, of Port Jefferson.

John J. Roe, Jr., born January 8, 1905, at Patchogue, received his early education in the public schools of his community, graduating from the high school with the class of 1922, and receiving his degree from Brown University in 1927, after which he attended Columbia Law School. His entire business life has been de- voted to association with his father in the firm of John J. Roe and Son, which has grown to be one of the largest real estate and insurance agencies on Long Island. His business connections are numerous, including the People's National Bank of Patchogue, of which he is director, the Union Savings Bank, of which he is trustee, the Suffolk County Agents As- sociation, of which he is past president; the Sub- urban New York Association of Local Agents, of which he is past secretary and treasurer; the New York State Association of Local Agents, of which he is a past president; and he is governor of the Long Island Real Estate Board. His club member- ships include the Patchogue Rotary, of which he is a charter member; the Domino Yacht Club, of which he is past commodore, and he is a past president of the Patchogue Round Table Club. Fraternally, Mr. Roe belongs to the South Side Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Suwasset Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, the Patchogue Commandery and the Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of

the Mystic Shrine. A trustee of the Congregational Church, he is also a member of the Insurance Society of New York, the Brown University Club of that city, is past director of the New York State Insurance Federation, and is a past treasurer of the South Shore Community Chorus.

John J. Roe, Jr., married Olga Vreeland, of Brook- lyn, April 17, 1934, daughter of Walter J. and Fannie Sutherland Vreeland, both natives of that city, and their children are: 1. John J. 3rd, born July 7, 1935. He is the ninth generation of John Roes in the town of Brookhaven. 2. Walter Austin, born June 9, 1938. 3. Sally Ann, born October 13, 1940. All the children were born at the John D. Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York.

ALEC N. THOMSON, M.D .- Wth the appoint- ment of Alec N. Thomson of Nassau Point, Peconic, Suffolk County, to the superintendency of the Eastern Long Island Hospital, in March, 1947, the executive board of that institution recognized the long associa- tion of a very eminent and able physician with both medical affairs and community activities in Long Island's North Fork.

Born in 1881, Dr. Thomson pursued his medical studies at the Long Island College Hospital in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, from which he was graduated in 1905. His internship was passed in Brooklyn, at the Bushwick Hospital, and subse- quently he served on the staff of the Swedish Hos- pital, also in that borough. He also held the post of director of clinic of the venereal disease department of the Brooklyn Hospital.

During World War I, Dr. Thomson entered the armed service as a lieutenant, and attained the rank of a major. In World War II, he served as district medical officer of the emergency medical service un- der the Civilian Defense set-up for Suffolk and Nassau counties, and was also the executive secretary of the office of Civilian Defense for Suffolk County.

From 1922 to 1937 Dr. Thomson was regularly a summer resident of Nassau Point in Peconic, and since 1937 he has made his permanent home there. After World War I he did not return to his active pre-war practice but devoted himself to administra- tive work in the medical-public health field as direc- tor of medical activities for the American Social Hygiene Association, the committee on dispensary development of New York City and, until 1937, the Medical Society of the county of Kings and the Academy of Medicine of Brooklyn. He is a member of county and state medical societies, a Fellow of the American Medical Association and Fellow of the American Public Health Association. He has long taken a keen and helpful interest in community affairs on the North Fork. He has conducted classes in first aid for several of the fire departments in that section of Suffolk County. One of his great interests is the Boy Scout movement, and he has been active in promoting it in Cutchogue. Dr. Thomson was presi- dent of the Custer Institute in 1946-47, and belongs to the Southold Yacht Club, in which he has served as a member of the board of governors.

When the resignation of Mrs. Ann Miska as super- intendent of the Eastern Long Island Hospital was tendered and accepted by the executive board, that body acted on the recommendation of the medical staff in offering this important position to Dr. Alec N. Thomson. The action was not a surprise, since as shown by the medical staff's recommendation, Dr. Thomson has long enjoyed the confidence of his pro- fessional colleagues throughout Suffolk County.

L.I .- 24

FRED S. PULVER

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GEORGE DODGE SMITH-From his youngest days, George Dodge Smith has been active in the public life of his native Manhassett and Nassau Coun- ty. When he was only twenty-two years old, he was treasurer of the Manhasset School District. Since those days he has held outstanding positions of leader- ship in the banking world, in water development, civil service and numerous other essential activities. Dur- ing World War II he held an important civilian posi- tion with the United States Signal Corps in its procurement work. Mr. Smith is now Civil Service Commissioner of Nassau County.

He was born in Manhassett on February 14, 1885, the son of Frank Sanford and Annie (Dodge) Smith. His father was the owner of the general store at Manhassett. Through his mother, George Dodge Smith is descended from a family that settled on the North Shore of Suffolk County in 1641. The head of that family was Tristram Dodge. The Dodges have lived in the vicinity of Port Washington since soon after 1641.

Mr. Smith first went to the public schools of Manhassett. In 1899 he became a student at the Friends Academy at Locust Valley. In 1903 he was graduated from the Bryant and Stratton Business College in Brooklyn.

He then became an accountant in a New York export house. After a brief period, he returned to Manhassett and worked with his father in the general store. It was during this time that he also began his public career, as treasurer of the Manhassett School District, in 1907, and from then on his public life was closely interwoven with his private. In 1909 he left the general store to work in the Tax Receiver's office in the Manhassett Town Hall. In February, 1910, he began his banking career as a teller for the First National Bank of Mineola, where he was soon promoted to assistant cashier.

Mr. Smith resigned from the Mineola institution to become cashier in 1917 of the Bank of Nassau County at Great Neck, now the Great Neck Trust Company. In 1919 he became treasurer of the Gregory Coal and Lumber Company of Great Neck, and in July, 1920, he returned to the First National Bank of Mincola as vice president and cashier, and here remained until 1933, when he was elected president. He resigned the presidency in 1938. Mr. Smith has been on the board of the Mineola bank since 1918.

In 1938, when the Nassau County Charter went into operation, the County Board of Supervisors appointed him Civil Service Commissioner and this post he has held ever since. Mr. Smith held his first public post, with the school district, until 1927. In 1920, lie had been appointed a member of the Board of Water Commissioners of Manhassett. In 1921 he became chairman of the board and this post he held for ten years. From 1918 to 1927 he was a director of the Great Neck Trust Company.

In the World War II period, 1942 to 1944, Mr. Smith served in New York City as a member of the Price Adjustment Board, created under the Renegotia- tion Act of 1942, in the Signal Corps.

He is past president of the Rotary Club of Garden City; past master of the Paumanok Lodge, No. 855, Free and Accepted Masons, at Great Neck, and a member of the Rockville Centre Council, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. and Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at

Brooklyn. He is a former member of the Hempstead Country Club and the Port Washington Yacht Club. He worships at the Dutch Reformed Church in Nortli Hempstead.

FRED S. PULVER-"The story of Fred S. Pul- ver's life is a typical story of the rise of a poor young son of immigrant parents, by dint of hard work, con- scientious habits and the will to succeed, to a posi- tion of honor and responsibility in business and pub- lic life." The sketch of the career of Mr. Pulver from which this paragraph is quoted, forms the basis of the following biography.

Rudolph and Annie Barbara Pulver, an ambitious and vigorous young couple, left their native Switzer- land in 1860 shortly before the outbreak of the Ameri- can Civil War, and crossed the Atlantic to settle in Brooklyn, New York. He had been an inn keeper in his native land, but in the United States he accepted what work was available in a time of turmoil and poli- tical strife. In Brooklyn, Fred S. Pulver was born to them on March 17, 1864. Four years later the build- ing upon which his father was working as a carpen- ter, collapsed, and as a consequence he was killed. The mother was left with six children to support and rear and did so exceptionally well under most diffi- cult circumstances.

At the age of ten years Fred S. Pulver was con- tributing to the family expenses by selling news- papers and delivering grocery orders, mainly on Sat- urdays and after school, while keeping up with classes in Public School No. 5, on Warren Street, Brooklyn. At thirteen years he was working full time at various jobs, and at the age of eighteen he became an em- ployee of Joseph Fahys and Company, manufacturers of watch cases at Carlstadt, New Jersey, where lie soon learned the art of watch-case engraving. Down through the years lie took on additional financial en- terprises and became a director of the Long Island State Bank and Trust Company.

Early in life Mr. Pulver became interested in frater- nal orders and never ceased to labor on behalf of a closer understanding and greater cooperation among men through the get-together spirit so successfully fostered by fraternal societies. In 1888 he was ad- mitted to membership in Wamponamon Lodge, No. 436, Free and Accepted Masons, at Sag Harbor. Here again he devoted his unflagging efforts to the common good, taking such keen interest in the work and proving of such value to the communal interests that he was elected master in 1898, and again in 1918. In 1888 he also became a member of Sitra Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Greenport, New York. Some of the other fraternal affiliations of Mr. Pulver, and the honors which they conferred upon him, are: re- presentative of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee-ap- pointed by Grand Master Robinson; member of Clin- ton Commandery, Knights Templar, of Brooklyn, be- ginning 1889; charter member of Patchogue Com- mandery, Knights Templar, Patchogue, 1900; member of Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Brooklyn; member of Long Island Grotto. Brooklyn; one of the organizers of Mishonnoch Chapter, No. 605. Order of the Eastern Star; past patron, also past assistant grand lecturer ; member of Past Masters Association; member of Past Matrons and Patrons Association; past noble grand. Suffolk Lodge, No. 90, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Sag Harbor: C. H. Howell Encampment, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. of Riverhead: and member of Rebekah, Veritas Lodge No. 167,

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Riverhead. Mr. Pulver was also an organizer of Court Montauk, No. 85, Foresters of America, at Sag Har- bor, February 3, 1888, and held the office of secretary for the first ten years of this organization's existence; he was also a past chief ranger, holding a number of supreme and grand court offices. In 1921 he received a high honor at the hands of the state organization, being elected grand chief ranger of the state of New York, and also past supreme deputy. He organized Montauk Circle No. 1121, Companions of the Forest; is past circle deputy, also past supreme deputy. Mr. Pulver also organized the Sanctuary Guarding Star, No. 64, Shepherds of America, later becoming a past pastor, as a supreme trustee. He was also a member of Southampton Lodge, No. 1574, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

In the field of public offices and services, Fred S. Pulver was continously to the fore. On January I, 1914, he was appointed commissioner of elections, and fulfilled the duties of this important post with honor until December 31, 1920. He was then elected county clerk of Suffolk County, New York, which office he held from January 1, 1921, to December 31, 1926. Still advancing steadily in his public career, he was next elected justice of the peace of Southampton Town. This office he assumed on January 1, 1927, and held it for two years, contributing much through his native wisdom and level-headedness, sense of justice and fair-dealing, and knowledge of the law, to the public amity. Mr. Pulver resigned his justiceship on January 1, 1929, and was elected town clerk of Southampton Town, which office he took over on January 1, 1930, discharging its duties creditably until his resignation on September 30, 1930.

Mr. Pulver also, for a time, was chairman and trea- surer of the Suffolk County Republican Committee. For a number of years during his period of residence in Sag Harbor, he was foreman of the Gazelle Hose Company of the Sag Harbor Fire Department. Dur- ing one of Governor Miller's terms in office he was appointed port warden by the Governor but declined to qualify.

Into the field of education Mr. Pulver's influence extended also. He was president of the board of edu- cation of Pierson High School, at Sag Harbor, and many of his associates can attest to the progress which this institution of learning made under his leadership. In 1912 he became secretary and treasurer of Oakland Cemetery Association, Sag Harbor. Here again his ability as a progressive and economical ad- ministrator was demonstrated.

In 1930, in what may be considered the crowning honor of his long and full career, Mr. Pulver was ap- pointed United States marshal by President Herbert Hoover. This was a recess appointment, made Sep- tember 28, 1930, and was approved by the United States Senate on December 18th of that year. A testi- monial dinner was tendered to Hon. Fred S. Pulver, United States Marshal of the Eastern District of New York, by his staff of deputies and bailiffs, held at the St. George Hotel, in the Silver Room, the evening of December 5, 1932.

As a young man Mr. Pulver became a devout churchman, and in 1888 he joined the Presbyterian Church at Sag Harbor, and his faithful and active de- votion to the church was rewarded by his election as treasurer in 1902. When he assumed this office, the treasury of the church was comparatively meager, containing but $100 in trust funds. Due to the prudent and conscientious stewardship of the new treasurer, however, its worldly fortunes rose rapidly and in- creased many-fold, so that, after Mr. Pulver had

served in this capacity for twenty-seven years, he was able to turn over to his successor no less than $36,000 in trust funds. During much of this time he also served as superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday school, and also as elder, deacon and trustee. Work- ing tirelessly in the interest of the church and of re- ligious education, he gave of his time and efforts with- out stint, as evidenced by the fact that, during his ser- vice as superintendent of the Noyac Sunday school at Noyac, Long Island, he walked from Sag Harbor to Noyac, a distance of some four miles each way.

On January 10, 1889, Fred S. Pulver married Lil- lian G. Hildreth, and they became the parents of four sons and four daughters. One of their daughters died when six months old, and there were nine grand- children.

When past three score years and ten, Fred S. Pul- ver died on December 28, 1935. His practical achieve- ments had been especially noteworthy and worthy of preservation in printed records. Equally notable were his contributions to the community with which he was so long identified, along the lines of civic and fra- ternal groups, to public affairs and religious activities, whereby he made the lives of others richer, fuller and happier. The influence of his character, personality and accomplishments abides in the lives of the host of those who cherish his memory.

CLARENCE W. PULVER-Suffolk County's auditor is Clarence W. Pulver, a leading Republican since 1925 and operator of a large bottled gas business, with branches in Riverhead and Bridgehampton. Mr. Pulver is also a director of the Bridgehampton Na- tional Bank and active in various fraternal organiza- tions, especially the Masonic.

He was born in Sag Harbor on September 10, 1893, the son of the late Fred S. and Lillian Gertrude (Hil- dreth) Pulver. His father, a prominent citizen of Suf- folk County, was once county clerk and a United States marshal. He died in 1935. The mother died in 1944. .

Clarence W. Pulver was educated in the public schools of Sag Harbor, being graduated from the Sag Harbor High School in 1912. Even before he left school, he began to work on a butcher wagon. On completing his schooling, he apprenticed himself in the toolmaker's trade as an employee of Joseph Fahys and Company, Sag Harbor. For twelve years he was a toolmaker, after which he entered the automobile business as a salesman. For a year and one-half he was with Tucker and Murray Garage Company in Bridgehampton.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 61

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