Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 77

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 77
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 77

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).

From 1927, the year he left high school, until 1930, Mr. Morris was a cost analyst with the General Motors Export Company. When he entered the water business, he literally started "at the bottom." For his first work was that of laborer. He entered the employ of the South Bay Consolidated Water Com- pany at Patchogue in 1930. Soon he rose to service man, later to company representative and finally to chief clerk. He held the last-mentioned position from 1936 to 1943. In 1943, Mr. Morris resigned from the South Bay Consolidated Water Company to be- come superintendent for the New York Water Service Corporation at Babylon. Two years later he was promoted to the managership. This post he held until July, 1947. From August, 1945, to February, 1946, he was the acting manager for his present company and his former employers at Sag Harbor and South- ampton, respectively, then as manager to date with the South Bay Consolidated Water Company, Patchogue Division.

Mr. Morris is past master of Connetquot Lodge, No. 838, Free and Accepted Masons, at Sayville, having served in this office in 1944. He is also a trustee of the lodge, having been elected in 1945. In 1946-1947, he was secretary-treasurer of the Suffolk Masonic District Council and July 12, 1947 was ap- pointed Assistant Grand Lecturer for the Suffolk District. He is a member of Penataquit Chapter, No. 309, Royal Arch Masons, at Bay Shore; the South Side Fellowcraft Club, at Patchogue, the Past Masters Association of Long Island and the Boy Scout Com- mittee and Board of Review for Troop 112 at North Babylon. In 1946-47 he was president of the Rotary Club of Babylon and active in such other organiza- tions as the American Water Works Association, the Nassau-Suffolk Conference of Water Superintendents, the Long Island Association and the Lions Club of Babylon. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Morris and Alice Cornelia Sisson, daughter of Burton L. and Sophie (Fort) Sisson, of Easton, New York were married in Harrison, New York, on July 1, 1933. They are the parents of two sons, Peter André, born June 9, 1936, and Jeffrey Alexander, born October 4, 1940.

LESLIE TERRY WELLS-A farmer long active in the public interest, Leslie Terry Wells of Riverhead has been president of the Suffolk County Farm and Home Bureau and the Suffolk County 4-H Club As- sociation since 1938. For nearly two years during World War II period, he was the Suffolk County Administrator of Rationing and at the same time a member of the Suffolk County Civil Defense Council.

Mr. Wells was born and reared on the farm which he now operates. This is on Sound Avenue, River- head, his birth occurring on January 2, 1892. His parents were Herbert Willard and Henrietta Estelle (Terry) Wells. From his earliest working days, he helped his father on the farm, in the meantime at- tending school. He was graduated from the River- head High School in 1911. His scholarship and leader-

ship brought him election as class valedictorian. Two years later, he was graduated from the New York State School of Agriculture.

Returning to the farm on completing his education, Mr. Wells began to give full-time to his agricultural career. In 1914 he and his father formed a partner- ship. The home farm then consisted of sixty-five acres, but this later was increased to one hundred forty-five acres. The partnership continued until the death of the senior partner on November 3, 1936. Leslie T. Wells then carried on alone. In 1941, how- ever, he and a son-in-law, Harold J. Evans, Jr., began working about two hundred acres of farm land to- gether. This association continues.

Aside from his leadership in the county Farm and Home Bureau and the 4-H Club movement, Mr. Wells is active in the Suffolk County, the New York State and the Sound Avenue Grange, the Aquebogue Men's Club and the Riverhead Town Agricultural Society. He was County Administrator of the War Price and Rationing Board, with offices in the county court house at Riverhead, from January 5, 1942, to No- vember 15, 1943. He is a deacon in the Sound Avenue Congregational Church.

Mr. Wells married Sarah Helen Reeve, daughter of Hattie (Morse) and John Goldsmith Reeve, at Mattituck on November 24, 1914. They are the parents of three daughters: Helen Estelle, born December 22, 1917, married to Harold James Evans, Jr., and mother of two sons, James and Glen; Henrietta, born October 30, 1922, the wife of John W. Howard of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, and they have one daughter, Katherin Ann, born June 8, 1947; and Sarah Ann, born November 3, 1927, a student at Hastings Col- lege in Hastings, Nebraska.

JOHN H. FANNING-If the population of Kings and Queens counties is as unstable as the flowing tides, and if the great majority of present residents of Nassau are newcomers or the children of those who have come thither in search of homes since the turn of the century, it is not so in Long Island's fourth and easternmost county, Suffolk. There one may find families whose pioneer ancestors settled along its bay-indented shores and among its little wooded hills when it was still Indian country, while the future metropolis of New York City was a mere cluster of houses south of Wall Street, and the achievement of American independence was yet far in the future. There are few, if any, stocks longer or more firmly rooted in Long Island than the Fannings, and the present John H. Fanning of Riverhead in Suffolk County can trace his ancestry back through seven generations to the first John Fanning who settled in those parts.

In every generation, too, the Fannings have con- tributed to the industry, economy and progress of Suffolk County, and have been among its leading and most useful citizens. William R. Fanning, a native of Riverhead, who is now living in retirement at the age of eighty-eight, during a long life as a pros- perous farmer found time to engage in banking also, becoming a member of the board of directors of the Suffolk County Trust Company, and to discharge with ability and integrity the duties of the office of super- visor of the town of Riverhead. William R. Fanning married Ella Hulse, a native of Wading River, who is now deceased. John H. Fanning is their son, born at Riverhead on August 22, 1881. He received his schooling in the public schools of his native place, and in due time joined his father in the operation

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of the family farm. Today Mr. Fanning, still living in the Fanning homestead at Middle Road and Hor- ton Avenue, where he was born, continues to culti- vate his one hundred and fifty cleared acres, special- izing in the raising of potatoes and cauliflower. In addition to the cultivated acreage, the Fanning farm includes fifty acres of woodland.

Mr. Fanning is a member of the Suffolk County farm bureau. As in the instance of his father, his chief interest apart from his agricultural operations is in banking, and he is a member of the board of trustees of the Riverhead Savings Bank. He attends the Congregational Church, and is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum.

At Hampton Bays, Suffolk County, on January 25, 1908, John H. Fanning was married to Olive Bellows, a daughter of the late Edwin C. and the late Carrie M. (Squires) Bellows, who during their lifetimes con- ducted a livery stable and a hotel in Hampton Bays. They are both interred there. Mrs. Fanning is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and is serv- ing as chairman of the Riverhead town branch of the North Fork chapter of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Fanning's brother, Dr. Ralph Fanning is a member of the faculty at Ohio State University where he teaches the history of architecture.

SAMUEL RABSON-Young in years but well- versed in the law and commanding the respect of his colleagues and the confidence of his clients, Samuel Rabson is one of those attorneys who has turned from the pressures and strains of life and practice in metro- politan New York City, to find pleasanter homes and equally good professional opportunities in the grow- ing, progressive villages of Long Island, both in sub- urban Nassau and in Suffolk County where the com- munities retain more of their old-time independence.

Mr. Rabson was born in New York City on June 30, 1911. The young Samuel Rabson attended public school in New York City and the renowned Erasmus Hall High School in the borough of Brooklyn, from which he graduated. He also studied at the College of the City of New York, and at the Pace Institute of Accounting, before entering the Brooklyn Law School in furtherance of his decision to make the law his career. From this institution he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1932.

Admitted to the bar of the state of New York in 1933, Mr. Rabson began practice of the law in New York City, where for some nine years, more or less, he served numerous clients and acquired a secure standing at the bar, before coming to the decision, in 1942, to transfer his practice to the pleasant environment of Center Moriches in Suf- folk County. Here lie continues to practice to the present time, with an office on Main Street in that village. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

In New York City on August 23, 1936, Samuel Rabson was married to Mae Kagan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kagan. Of this marriage there is one child, Carol, born on July 23, 1941, in the city of New York.

EDWIN JOHANKNECHT, JR .- One of the most honored citizens of Patchogue, and indeed of Suf- folk County, Edwin Johanknecht, Jr., illustrates in his long career the value of concentration upon a single line of endeavor, and the rewards that attend

industry and fidelity in the performance of the task in hand.

Born at Jamaica, Queens County, on October 20, 1879, long before Queens became a part of New York City, Mr. Johanknecht is a son of Edwin and Sarah K. Johanknecht. The elder Edwin Johanknecht has been a merchant in Patchogue for many years. Edwin, Jr., entered the service of the Union Savings Bank of Patchogue as a clerk in 1901. Throughout the years he has given his faithful service to this financial institution and has risen through various ranks to the office of president, which he has ably held since 1943.

Mr. Johanknecht served the village of Patchogue as treasurer for twenty-seven years. He has been active in business and civic circles and is a member of the Patchogue Rotary Club. In religion he is a Congregationalist. Masonry has been one of his great interests throughout his lifetime. He belong to the South Side Lodge of Patchogue, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is a former treasurer. He is a past high priest of Suwasset Chapter No. 195 of the Royal Arch Masons of Patchogue, and a past com- mander of Patchogue Commandery No. 65 of the Knights Templer. He is also affiliated with Kismet Temple, Brooklyn, New York, of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

HENRY GILBERT DE GRAFF-One of the best known undertakers in Lindenhurst, Henry Gilbert De Graff, has for years been among the leaders in his profession throughout Long Island.

Mr. De Graff was born November 11, 1911, at Sayville, Long Island, son of Neil A. and Caroline (Fiala) De Graff. His father is now retired.

Henry Gilbert De Graff received his early educa- tion in the local schools, was graduated from the Say- ville High School in June, 1929, and attended Drake's Business School at Jamaica, New York, for four months.

After having finished his formal education, Mr. De Graff engaged in the laundry business, remaining at this occupation until 1934, at which time he be- came associated with the Isaacson Funeral Home. In September of the same year he joined the Raynor Funeral Home at Sayville, there serving his em- balmer's and undertaker's apprenticeship. In July, 1935, he received licenses in embalming and undertak- ing, permitting him to practice in New York State. He remained at the Raynor Funeral Home until July, 1943, at which time he enlisted in the United States Army Transport Service. By this time he had risen to the assistant managership of the funeral home. While in the Army Transport Service, he served with the Water Division. He performed duty on the United States Army transport "Henry Gib- bins" in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, along the coast of North Africa, and at ports on the shores of England, Ireland and Scotland. He was transferred to the Army hospital ship "Thistle" in 1944, and on this ship traveled throughout the Mediterranean, the South Atlantic and the South Pacific. During the years 1942 and 1943 he served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve (Auxiliary) as a member of the Bay Shore flotilla, and saw service off the coast of Fire Island on submarine patrol. On March 16, 1946, he returned to civilian life, and be- came a licensed manager of the Heling Funeral Serv- ice at Lindenhurst, New York, on May I of that year. He has continued in this position, demonstrat- ing unusual fidelity and devotion to duty. He has

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since purchased this business but continues to operate it under the name of Heling Funeral Service.

Mr. De Graff plays an active role in the profes- sional, civic and social life of his community. He is a member of the National Funeral Directors' Asso- ciation and the Metropolitan Funeral Directors' As- sociation of New York City. He is vice president of the Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce, and a com- missioner of the Boy Scouts of America. He also holds memberships in the Lindenhurst Lions Club, the Wet Pants Yacht Racing Association of Sayville, and the Young Men's Club of the Grace Methodist Church at Lindenhurst. In religious affiliation he adheres to the Episcopal faith, and attends St. Ann's Episco- pal Church at Sayville.

On May II, 1935, at the St. Ann Episcopal Church in Sayville, Henry Gilbert De Graff married Albertine E. Kreyer, daughter of Louis H. and Albertine M. (Huus) Kreyer, and they became the parents of the following children: I. Dennis G. M., who was born March 31, 1942. 2. Donna Elise, who was born March 29, 1947.

REV. JOSEPH I. FOLEY-A native Long Island- er, the Rev. Father Joseph I. Foley, now pastor of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church at Babylon, was born in Brooklyn, on June 21, 1898, soon after that met- ropolis of Long Island cities became a borough of the Greater City of New York. A long period of service in his native borough preceded his first assignment to a pastorate in Suffolk County, and his three years at Shelter Island were a useful preparation for his as- sumption of the cares of a large parish at Babylon, where for some years he has labored with notable success, held in high respect and affection not only by his own parishioners, but by all the people of that village and vicinity, without distinction of creed or class.

A son of Daniel and Mary (Farnan) Foley, the young Joseph I. Foley, feeling a vocation to the priest- hood in his youth, attended St. John's Seminary in his native Brooklyn, and after his graduation he was ordained at that institution in 1922 by the Most Rev. Thomas E. Molloy. In that same year he was as- signed as a curate to the Church of St. Gregory in Brooklyn, and there he served until 1937.

Father Foley's first pastorate was that of the Church of Our Lady of the Isle, at Shelter Island, Suffolk County, far out at the eastern tip of Long Island, where the waters of the Atlantic flow into the Peconic bays. Here, however, he remained for only three years, being called in 1940 to the impor- tant parish of St. Joseph's in Babylon, where he has continued to the present time, with notable success ministering to the spiritual needs of his numerous flock and at the same time discharging the exacting administrative duties which fall to the pastor of a large parish. Father Foley is a member of the great Catholic fraternal order, the Knights of Columbus, and is chaplain of the local branch of the Catholic Daughters of America. He also serves the community as chaplain of the Hook and Ladder Company, a part of the fire department of the village of Babylon. For recreational purposes Father Foley is a member of the Brentwood Country Club.

WILLIAM JOSEPH BECKER, JR .- At Bay Shore and elsewhere in Suffolk County, the name of William Joseph Becker, Jr., has long been associated with progressive endeavors and with intensive, sin- cere work on behalf of youth, especially boys. For

Mr. Becker, a lifelong engineer who is now distribu- tion superintendent for the Long Island Lighting Company's Bay Shore division, is a leader in the Ro- tary Club and in its many civic and welfare projects and in the Boy Scouts of America organization cover- ing the entire Bay Shore district. He is a veteran of World War I.

Mr. Becker was born in New York City on July 21, 1892, the son of William Joseph and Kate (Verhoeff) Becker, both also native of New York City. His father, a graduate of Columbia University, spent fifty years in the United States Customs Service at New York City.

The Bay Shore leader received a variegated educa- tion. Following graduation from the Ridgewood (New Jersey) High School in 1911, he entered Wor- cester Polytechnic Institute at Worcester, Massa- chusetts, and later transferred to the Rhode Island State College at Kingston, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1916.

Immediately thereafter Mr. Becker entered the en- gineering field, in which he has remained ever since. His first position was with the Henry R. Kent Com- pany of New York City as a field engineer, after which he was in the employ of the United States De- partment of Docks and Harbors at New York. The nation had no sooner entered World War I in April, 1917, when Mr. Becker was commissioned a captain in the United States Army Ordnance Department. He served until August, 1920.

On leaving the service, he accepted an engineering post with the Midwest Refining Company, of Casper, Wyoming, and was assigned to its construction pro- jects. Three years later he was appointed construction superintendent of the A. E. Fitker Company of New York City. From 1927 to 1932 Mr. Becker was con- struction manager for the Trojan Engineering Com- pany, also of New York City. In 1932 he joined the Long Island Lighting Company and two years later was promoted to his present position, the superinten- dency of distribution in the Bay Shore division.

Mr. Becker's activities in the community and in organization work have led to his election to the presi- dency of the Rotary Club of Bay Shore and to the district chairmanship of the Bay Shore District Coun- cil, Boy Scouts of America. In the Boy Scout or- ganization, he is also a former cub master. He is a member of Fortitude Lodge, No. 200, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Ramsey, New Jersey.

Mr. Becker married Dorothy Carver, of Allendale, New Jersey, in that community in October, 1925. She is the daughter of Wallace E. and Fannie (Cock- croft) Carver. Mr. Becker is the father of three chil- dren: Virginia, now Mrs. Gibson, who was born in Denver, and William Joseph III and Barbara Ann, both born in New York City. Virginia, who makes her home in Los Angeles, California, has two children: William Joseph Gibson and Kathleen Clare Gibson. The son, who served in the United States Navy in World War II, is a graduate of the Bay Shore High School. He is now (1948) a student at the University of Vermont at Burlington, Vermont. Barbara is a graduate of Northfield School for girls at Northfield, Massachusetts, now entering Middlebury College at Middlebury, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. William Joseph Becker, Jr., reside in Brightwaters.

RALPH R. HAWKINS-Since 1911 Ralph R. Hawkins has been closely identified with activities looking to the development of the entire Patchogue area and, though he is retired today, he remains active, chiefly in a consulting capacity. For years he was

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manager, treasurer and a director of the Patchogue Electric Light Company and a director of the Union Savings Bank of Patchogue. In World Wars I and II he gave important service in civilian capacities.

Mr. Hawkins was born in East Patchogue on Jan- uary 17, 1879. His parents were Captain Eugene E. and Georgianna (Robinson) Hawkins. His father, born in Port Jefferson, was a sea captain who died many years ago. His mother, a native of East Patch- ogue, still lives in that community. She was born in 1848. Another son of Captain and Georgianna Haw- kins is Eugene E. Hawkins, also now retired, who lives in the old family home in East Patchogue, on the South Country Road adjacent to the home of his brother, Ralph R. Hawkins.

The latter first attended a district school, located in East Patchogue. After he went to the Patchogue High School for some time, he enrolled at Pratt In- stitute in Brooklyn. In 1900, when he was twenty-one, he received the Pratt certificate as a mechanical engi- neer. The next few years he was in the employ of the Brown Cotton Gin Company at New London, Con- necticut. In February, 1905, he became an engineer for the Ogdensburg Power and Light Company and, subsequently, also for the Ogdensburg Street Rail- way Company. In time he rose to be superintendent of both utilities. In January, 1911, he returned to the place of his birth to become manager of the Patchogue Electric Light Company. Soon he was also treasurer and, later a director of this concern. In 1945 he retired, but continues in a consulting capacity. During his association with the electric com- pany he was in charge of installation of the electric lights from Bellport to Eastport.

In World War I, Mr. Hawkins served as an engi- neer with the United States Fuel Administration. In World War II, he was a member of wartime advisory group on public utilities to the United States Army's Second Service Command.

Mr. Hawkins is a member of the finance committee of the board of directors of the Union Savings Bank of Patchogue. He is a life member of the Suffolk County Historical Society, a member of the South Side Lodge, No. 493, Free and Accepted Masons, at Patchogue; Suwasset Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is a past high priest; and Patchogue Commandery. He also belongs to the Domino Yacht Club of East Patchogue. He is a former president of the board of trustees of the Patchogue Congregational Church.

Mr. Hawkins married Nellie A. Ammerman, daugh- ter of Charles and Emma (Adams) Ammerman, at Hawley, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins are the parents of a daughter, Pearl Cecelia, born in Ogdensburg on December 6, 1908. She is a graduate of Patchogue High School, Mount Holyoke College and Pennsylvania State College. She holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke and that of Master of Science from Penn State. She has also taken special courses at Columbia University, Cleveland College and New York Uni- versity.

Pearl Cecelia Hawkins married William Hart Peters, of Gerard, Pennsylvania. Mr. Peters is also a graduate of Pennsylvania State College, which awarded him the degree of Bachelor of Science. He took the degree of Master of Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, and is with the Cornell Aeronautical Research Laboratories at Buf- falo, New York, as a member of the mechanical research department. Mr. and Mrs. Peters have three children, Marjorie Hart, Carol Joan and Mary Lou.

DANIEL DEVERELL PERRY-Since Daniel Deverell Perry joined the younger professional coterie of Port Jefferson in 1931, he has gone far in his practice as architect on Long Island. His work includes several public buildings that have enhanced his reputation, but this phase of his profession is by no means all-inclusive of his interest. In personal activities he is a member of several organizations of architects and serves the community in civic affairs.

Born in Buffalo, New York, on August 29, 1905, Daniel Deverell Perry is the son of George Daniel and Emma (Deverell) Perry, both natives of Buffalo. Before retiring, the elder man was operating a sand and gravel business in Port Jefferson. The son pre- pared for higher education in the grammar and high schools of Buffalo and Rochester, New York, being graduated from high school in 1924. Entering Syra- cuse University, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, with the class of 1930.

During the following year, on May 8th, Mr. Perry engaged in the practice of his profession under his own name in Port Jefferson, with offices at 1213 Main Street. Among the larger of the designs that have come from his boards are those of the Port Jefferson High School, the Lake Ronkonkoma Elementary School, and a school at Centereach, New York. Mr. Perry is a member of the American Institute of Archi- tects, the New York Society of Architects and the New York State Association of Architects. He belongs to the Port Jefferson Rotary Club, the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, and is a Republican in poli- tics. Fraternally he is affiliated with Port Jefferson Lodge, No. 60, Free and Accepted Masons, the Port Jefferson Yacht Club and the Black Friars Theatre Guild. Yachting is his favorite sport.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 77

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