Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 81

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 81
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 81

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

Mr. Brush's grandparents on his father's side were Floyd and Fanny Brush of Danbury, Connecticut. Their ancestors had lived in Huntington, Long Island. Gould L. Brush, their son, was born January 27, 1850, and died August 15, 1896.

The first Wyckoff in this country was Pieter Clae- sen Wyckoff (died 1694), who settled in what is now Brooklyn on March 4, 1637. The children were Nicho- las, Annatje, Mayken, Cornelius, Garret and John. Mr. Brush's progenitor was Cornelius Wyckoff who married Gurtje (Gertrude) Van Arsdalen in 1678. The old Wyckoff house on Canarsie Lane, Flatlands, Brooklyn, has been preserved by the Wyckoff As- sociation. Mr. Brush is a member of this association which meets annually. Interested descendants of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff come from many states to attend.

CARL H. HOFFMANN-Prominent in the pri- vate practice of law in Suffolk County, Carl H. Hoff- mann is also attorney for the Village of Bellport and a director and vice president of the Bellport Na-

Joseph W. Bush.

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Henry R. Talmage

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tional Bank. He participates in Republican and other activities on a county-wide level and in the civic af- fairs of both Bellport, where he lives, and Patchogue, where he maintains his offices.

Mr. Hoffmann was born in Brooklyn on August 5, 1899, son of the late Adolph and Katie (Hertlin) Hoffmann. The mother makes her home in Medford, where the family moved from Brooklyn in 1908.

Carl Hoffmann completed his elementary school education in Medford and in 1917 was graduated from the Patchogue High School. Three years later he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the Brooklyn Law School and in the following year was admitted to the New York State bar. From 1921 to 1928 he practiced his profession in New York City then established his offices in Patchogue. He has remained in this village ever since, with a con- stantly widening clientele. In 1941 Mr. Hoffmann became village attorney. Earlier he had become vice president and a director of the Bellport National Bank. He is a member of the Suffolk County and the American bar associations, the Rotary Club of Patchogue, the Patchogue Lodge, No. 493, Free and Accepted Masons and a Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, the Suffolk County Republican Club the Bellport Bay Yacht Club, and the Old Inlet Club. His church is the Episcopalian and his recrea- tions are fishing, boating and hunting.

The Hoffmann family is well known at Medford, for Mr. Hoffmann's father was for many years a prominent real estate and insurance broker there. One of the first in his field to establish himself at Medford, the late Mr. Hoffmann took an active in- terest in all civic enterprises.

Carl H. Hoffmann married Helen Langan, daugh- ter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Brown) Langan, of Brooklyn, on July 5, 1921. They are the parents of two children: I. Helene E., born March 7, 1937, and 2. Robert L., born August 17, 1942, both in Bellport.

HENRY R. TALMAGE and his son (Nathaniel A.) are the owners and operators of a two-hundred- acre farm on which are grown potatoes, cauliflower and narcissus. Mr. Talmage is also president of the Long Island Produce and Fertilizer Company, with main offices in Riverhead, one of the largest busi- ness organizations in Suffolk County. He was one of the organizers of the Long Island Cauliflower Association, major marketing organization of that crop, and for thirty-five years was either president or vice president. He is now one of the directors of that organization. It is Mr. Talmage who is credited with arranging the introduction on Long Island of certified seed potatoes in 1918. He is president of the board of directors of the new Riverhead Hospital Association and a director of the Henry Perkins Hotel Association. For ten years, by appointment of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt (when he was Governor of New York State), Mr. Talmage served on the New York State Banking Board. He is noted also for his work in organizing the New York State Farm Bureau and his participation in the formation of the National Farm Bureau.

Mr. Talmage was born at Westhampton on De- cember 28, 1871, the son of Nathaniel Miller and Mary F. (Raynor) Talmage, the former serving throughout the Civil War with Company K, 5th New York Cavalry as a lieutenant. He spent the rest of his life in farming and introduced his son to

a field in which he has achieved such eminence. The young Henry Talmage attended district schools at Riverhead.

When he was ten years old, the family moved to Riverhead, where he attended the Riverhead Acad- emy. He then attended the Mystic Valley Institute at Mystic, Connecticut, for a year and, subsequently, took a winter course at the Cornell State College of Agriculture at Ithaca.

The elder Mr. Talmage originally settled in what is called Baiting Hollow, taking over the former Jonathan Horton Farm consisting of one hundred and twelve acres. The Talmages, father and son, worked this farm together and in time Henry Talm- age succeeded his father in the ownership. One by one, as he expanded his operations, he took over ad- jacent small farms until he had increased his acre- age to two hundred. This number of acres is under cultivation, with potatoes the principal crop. Cauli- flower is the second biggest item. Mr. Talmage and his son are the only farmers in Eastern Suffolk County who cultivate narcissus. They operate a greenhouse in which this flower is cultivated for market in the winter. Mr. Talmage and son own sixty acres of land on Long Island Sound which they have not yet cultivated.

In 1902-the year he participated in the forma- tion of the Long Island Cauliflower Association- he also helped organize and build the Baiting Hol- low and Roanoke Telephone Line, which later in- creased its service territory to include Mattituck and Port Jefferson and made connections with an- other local company in Patchogue. Eventually the entire local system sold out to the Bell Telephone Company.

The Long Island Produce and Fertilizer Com- pany which Mr. Talmage joined Chauncey H. Young in organizing in 1922 now markets about twenty- five percent of the Suffolk County potato crop and is probably the largest farm machinery distributing agency on Long Island. It manufactures sprays and fertilizers and other farm supplies. Mr. Talmage retains the presidency. George Cushman is general manager.

Aside from his other connections, Mr. Talmage is a member of the Rotary Club of Riverhead.

In July, 1895, at Baiting Hollow, Mr. Talmage married Ellen E. Wells, daughter of Goldsmith and Phile (Corwin) Wells. Mr. and Mrs. Talmage be- came the parents of two children: Nathaniel Allen (q.v.), and Christine, both born at Baiting Hollow, the former on December 7, 1901, the latter on Febru- ary 15, 1907. Christine Talmage is a graduate of the Riverhead High School. She holds the degree of Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, from which she was graduated in 1929. On August 29, 1946, she married Earl Bayes of Shepherd, Michigan, where they now reside.

NATHANIEL ALLEN TALMAGE-Every pro- duce dealer, every steward of a select club or chef of a high class hotel, at least in the eastern states, knows that Long Island's Suffolk County is the prime source not only of oysters and other seafood, but of the country's best varieties of two vegetables in par- ticular, namely potatoes and cauliflower. For this dis- tinction the Talmages of Riverhead are partly respon- sible. Nathaniel Miller Talmage spent his entire life not only in farming but in studying to advance the occupation which he loved and to improve its

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products. His son by the former Mary F. Raynor, Henry R. Talmage (q.v.), has continued this scientific and highly specialized industry and has passed on the heritage and the enthusiasm that is his to his son, Nathaniel Allen Talmage. Another distinction which the Talmages can claim is that they are the only farmers in eastern Suffolk County who cultivate and force narcissus for the market.

Nathaniel Allen Talmage, who was born at Baiting Hollow, December 7, 1901, began his studies at the the Riverhead High School, and, eager to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, attended the College of Agriculture of Cornell University. After leaving the University he became associated with his father's farming operations under the firm name of H. R. Talmage and Son. The core of the Talmage farm holdings is the former Jonothan Horton farm of one hundred and twelve acres which Nathaniel Miller Talmage acquired in the Baiting Hollow area. From time to time his son Henry R. Talmage (q.v.), as he expanded the family operations, acquired adjacent small farms until he had increased the total acreage to two hundred. Nathaniel Allen Talmage is now active in the management of this large agricultural enterprise. He is also associated with his father in the Long Island Produce and Fertilizer Corporation, of which he is a director. He has acquired banking interests, and sits on the board of directors of the Long Island State Bank.

A Congregationalist in religion, Mr. „Talmage is active is the service of his church. He is vice presi- dent of the board of directors of the Home Mission Board of the Congregational Christian churches, and in 1944 was elected for one-year term to the position of moderator of New York State Congregational Conference. He is a member of the Suffolk County Farm Bureau and belongs also to the Sound Avenue Grange. His fraternal affiliations are with the Alpha Zeta fraternity, which he joined while at college, and with Riverhead Lodge Number 645 of the Free and Accepted Masons.

At Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York, on December 29, 1926, Nathaniel Allen Talmage married Emily Hawkins Terrell, a daughter of John and Jennie (Hawkins) Terrell. Mr. and Mrs. Talmage are the parents of four children: I. Jane Terrell, born at Riverhead in 1928; was graduated from high school there and later from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. 2. Mary Ellen, who was born at Riverhead in 1929; is a graduate of the Riverhead High School. 3. John Henry, born at Riverhead in 1930. 4. Nathaniel A., Jr., born in 1932.

ZACHARIAH R. HALLOCK-Since before the days of the American Revolution and the establish- ment of the independence of this Republic, there have been Zachariah Hallocks in Long Island's Suf- folk County-seven generations of them in an un- broken line; the first five of them farmers, and all of them men of substance and respected citizens of their community.

The Zachariah Hallock-fifth of the name-who married Caroline Terry, was a resident of Northville in Suffolk County, and their son, the sixth Zachariah, or Zachariah R., was born in that village on February II, 1885. After attending the district school in his native place he also studied at the Riverhead High School, before taking employment, as a lad of sixteen years, with the firm of Wells and Hudson of River- head, Suffolk County and Brooklyn, New York City.

With this firm of wholesale and retail produce dealers the young Zachariah R. Hallock remained for six years, after which for five years he was connected with the coal business at Coney Island in New York City.

From coal Mr. Hallock went into the lumber busi- ness as a salesman, travelling from Chicago to New York City. In 1915 he returned to Suffolk County, and established the feed, grain and produce business which was to remain one of his interests to the present time, at Jamesport. In the same year also he estab- lished the firm of Hallock and Luce, in association with the late Orvis H. Luce. Subsequently Mr. Hal- lock assumed control of this business individually. In 1942 Mr. Hallock took his son, the seventh Zach- ariah Hallock, into business with him in the firm of Z. R. Hallock Company.

Meanwhile in 1928 the I. M. Young Company of Riverhead and Zachariah R. Hallock of Jamesport established what is known as the Atlantic Fertilizer Corporation. In the course of time Mr. Hallock be- came president of this company, a position he still holds at this time. He has also become a factor in the banking business, and is vice president of the Suffolk County Trust Company of Riverhead, and a member of the board of directors of that financial institution.

A man of public spirit, enjoying the respect and con- fidence of his neighbors and fellow-citizens, Mr. Hal- lock formerly served as justice of the peace of the town of Riverhead. He is an earnest supporter of the Congregational Church in Riverhead, and promi- nent in the Masonic order on Long Island, being affili- ated with the Riverhead Lodge No. 645 of the Free and Accepted Masons; with the Sithsa Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Greenport; with the Greenport Commandery; with the Order of the Eastern Star at Riverhead; and with Kismet Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Brooklyn, New York City. Mr. Hallock's interest in the business and civic affairs of his community is manifested also in his membership in the Rotary Club of Riverhead. Fond of fishing and golf, he belongs to the Southampton, Westhampton and Riverhead Golf Club.

In the borough of Brooklyn, City of New York, on June 17, 1917, Zachariah R. Hallock married Olive L. Hallock, a native of Smithtown Branch, and a daughter of Frank R. and Ann (Davis) Hallock. Of the children of this marriage, the seventh Zachariah, known as Zachariah, Jr., was born at Jamesport, Suffolk County, on November 5, 1917. He attended public grade and high schools at Riverhead before becoming associated with his father in the Z. R. Hallock Company in 1937. As noted above, in 1942 Zachariah Hallock, Jr., became a member of this firm.

Zachariah Hallock, Jr., during World War II en- listed in the United States Coast Guard, in December, 1942, and with the rank of storekeeper, second class, served until November 1, 1945, when he received his honorable discharge. On March 1, 1941, Zachariah Hallock, Jr., married Doris E. Culver, of Westhamp- ton, a daughter of Oliver S. and Helen (Young) Culver. Of this marriage there are two children, one named Zachariah R., III, who was born at Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York, on June 27, 1942, and is in fact the eighth Zachariah Hallock to be born in Suffolk County, and Peter W. Like his father Zachariah Hallock, Jr., is a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Riverhead and of the Riverhead Lodge No. 645 of the Free and Accepted Masons. He also belongs to the Rotary Club of Riverhead and to the American Legion. His hobby is photography.

Mrs. Zachariah R. Hallock is a long time member

L.I .-- 34

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Chas Wella Brown

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of the Order of the Eastern Star of Riverhead, being past matron of the chapter at that place. Mrs. Zach- ariah R. Hallock, Jr., is now also a member of the Riverhead Chapter of that great national order.

ALBIN W. SWENSON, JR., M.D .- One of the younger physicians of Suffolk County, whose career began with a long tour of active duty in the medical corps of the United States Navy, Dr. Albin W. Swen- son, Jr., has, since his release from the service, estab- lished himself in private practice at Patchogue, and has already won the confidence of a widening circle of patients, and demonstrated his sound qualifications arising from a thorough grounding in medical science, as well as from his invaluable wartime experince.

Dr. Swenson's father, Albin W. Swenson, Sr., is a native of Rutherford, New Jersey, and employed by Crucible Steel Company of America, with his office in Harrison, New Jersey. He married Frances B. Pin- chin, a native of that city, and there on December 15, 1915, their son, whom they named for his father, was born. Prior to moving permanently to Sayville, the Swenson family for some twenty years had spent their summers there. Albin W., Jr., began his educa- tion at St. Lawrence's Parochial School in Sayville, and continued it at St. Francis Xavier High School in New York, from which he graduated before entering Fordham University in that city. From Fordham he received the degree of Bachelor of Science upon graduating with the class of 1937. Having already decided upon a medical career, he studied at the New York Medical College, connected with the Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital, in New York, and from this institution received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 194I.

After an internship at St. Mary's Hospital in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, Dr. Swenson entered the United States Navy Medical Corps as a member of the United States Naval Reserve. Holding the rank of a lieutenant commander, he saw active service in the European Theater of Operations, be- ing present at four invasions, and later he also served in the Pacific Theater. He received his honorable dis- charge on April 4, 1947, and shortly thereafter opened his office in Patchogue.

Dr. Swenson is a member of the medical staff of the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital at Port Jefferson, Suffolk County, and Southside Hospital. He belongs to the Suffolk County Medical Society and to the American Medical Association. Fond of outdoor sports, he holds membership in the Bellport Country Club at the Long Island village of that name, and his favorite recreation is a game of golf.

On June 9, 1911, Albin W. Swenson, Jr., was married at Bay Shore, to Genevieve Gardner of Brightwaters, who is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. McCarthy. Of this union there are two children: I. Karen, who was born in June, 1943. 2. Albin W. III, born on January 21, 1947. Both of these children were born at St. Mary's Hospital, Brooklyn.

CHARLES WELLS BROWN-Long associated with the bar and with public life in Suffolk, Judge Charles Wells Brown ranks as one of the first citizens of Long Island's easternmost county. He is a native son and a scion on both sides of his family tree of old Long Island stock. His father, the late Henry W. Brown, was a native of Flanders in Suf- folk County, who followed the sea, serving on coast- wise boats, most of his life, and his mother, who was Elmira Ann Sanford before her marriage to

Henry W. Brown, was also born in Flanders. She is now deceased.

Charles Wells Brown was born at Flanders on De- cember 10, 1882. He attended public school in his native village before entering the Southold Academy, from which he went on to the New London Busi- ness College at New London, Connecticut. During these early years he chose the law as his profession, and attended the New York Law School. He was ad- mitted to the bar in New York State in 1910, and since then has been engaged in the general practice of law in Suffolk County. He was associated with the late George F. Stackpole of Riverhead for a good many years, but also conducted his own private practice, and during the course of more than thirty- six years he has represented a great many important clients. His legal competence and judicial tempera- ment resulted in his appointment, in 1920, to the position of Federal referee in bankruptcy in Suffolk County, and he continued to discharge the duties of this responsible post until July 1, 1947, respected by the legal fraternity and the general public, alike for his grasp of the law and his justice and fairness in administering it. From 1920 to 1924 Judge Brown also served as justice of the peace of the town of Southampton. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

Judge Brown is a member of the Methodist church of East Quogue, and is affiliated with Potunk Lodge No. 1071, Free and Accepted Masons of Westhamp- ton and with the Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Riverhead. His favorite recreation, appro- priate to a native of Suffolk with its wide marshes, is duck shooting.

At Hampton Bays, Long Island, on September I, 1927, Charles Wells Brown married Gladys S. Smith, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Smith. Of this marriage there are two children: Henrietta, now Mrs. Everett Le Mere. 2. Ethelyn. Both of the children of Charles Wells and Gladys S. (Smith) Brown were born in Flanders, Suffolk County.

PERRY BELMONT DURYEA has engaged in a successful business career in Montauk, far at the eastern tip of Long Island's Suffolk County. He has been in this business since 1919-the firm continuing without interruption since its establishment in 1882. The present designation of the firm is Perry B. Duryea and Son, Mr. Duryea having been joined by Perry B., Jr., upon the latter's return from service in the Navy. The elder Perry B. Duryea has to his credit an excellent record of political activity, having been elected senator from the First Senatorial Dis- trict in 1941 and been appointed Conservation Com- missioner by Gov. Thomas E. Dewey. He formerly served as town supervisor and his career, both in private practice and public office, has been such as to earn him the confidence and high respect of Suffolk County citizens.

Mr. Duryea was born in New York City on June 9, 1891, son of Carll S. Duryea, who was engaged in the publishing business, and Myra J. (Howell) Dur- yea. His elementary and secondary schooling Mr. Duryea obtained in the public school system of Amityville, and he continued his studies at the New York University Law School, where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1915.

Shortly thereafter, the United States had difficulty with Mexico and Mr. Duryea served with the 14th Infantry, which went to the Mexican border as a part of the punitive expedition. Continuing in the military service during World War I, he served in the

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Ordnance Department, for fourteen months in France.

At the close of that war, Mr. Duryea entered into partnership with E. B. Tuthill, operating under the firm name of E. B. Tuthill and Company, a firm which had been established by Mr. Tuthill in 1882. This partership continued for thirteen years, after which period E. B. Tuthill retired and the business was taken over by Perry B. Duryea, who continued opera- tion under his own name until January 1, 1947.

At the close of World War II, Perry B. Duryea, Jr., returned from service in the Pacific and a partner- ship was formed between him and his father, under the name of Perry B. Duryea and Son. Thus the busi- ness has continued in an unbroken line since 1882.

Mr. Duryea's first political office was that of super- visor of the town of East Hampton, to which he was elected in 1934 and in which he served for six years. In 1941, Mr. Duryea was elected to serve his sena- torial district, the First, as state senator, and this office he filled with distinction for four sessions, to- taling three years, three and one-half months. While serving as state senator, Perry B. Duryea was ap- pointed by Gov. Thomas E. Dewey to the office of Conservation Commissioner of the State of New York, the appointment being made April 11, 1945.

Fraternally, Mr. Duryea is a member of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and holds the Thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a member of the American Legion.

Perry B. Duryea, Sr., married, in 1920, Jane Stew- art. They are the parents of two children: I. Perry B., Jr., associated with his father in the firm of Perry B. Duryea and Son. 2. Jane A. (Duryea) McDonald.

EMIL R. HEGER-For a quarter of a century, Emil R. Heger has been a well-known figure in the life of the South Shore, Long Island, as banker, financier, and man of affairs. While his present in- terests center in Lynbrook and Malverne, he is in activities and outlook a citizen of the whole island, one who is thoroughly convinced that it is one of the best of all places in which to live and labor. His life and experience are both varied and colorful and at all times he has been the architect of his remarkable career.

Born in a small German city he was brought by his parents to the New World as a child of six years, his father leaving his native land because he was an anti-monarchist. The family settled in what was then, Breslau, Long Island, and Emil R. Heger began his education in the Lindenhurst school, learning both English and German. As a boy he began contributing to his own livelihood by working in a button factory, and in the late 188os was employed in making electri- cal gadgets. He improved his personal fortunes by going to work in a grocery store in Brooklyn, open seven days a week, for which he received fifteen dollars a month.

In those early days he also was a builder's appren- tice, mower of lawns, plumber's helper and general handy man. He took life as it was while keeping his eyes open to better opportunities.

In 1895, while living in Hempstead, he obtained a position with John Hancock Mutual Insurance Com- pany in Brooklyn, serving that company in various capacities in Paterson, Passaic, and Jersey City, when the urge for Long Island caused him to obtain a transfer as a district manager in New York City in 1906. He then moved to Rockville Centre and con-

tinued with the company for eight years, making a total of eighteen years of service. Nearing the forty- year mark he realized he had been selling his youth with no assurance for the future. Having accumu- lated a little capital by his thrift, Mr. Heger bought an interest in a new hardware store in Rockville Centre, and after several years the partners acquired another store in Lynbrook. It was while engaged in hard- ware business that an event occurred which turned him toward the real estate field where he had his greatest success. Not being able to secure a satis- factory lease on a store, he decided that it was better to own property than rent, and purchased a building in 1920. In 1921 he sold his hardware interests and thereafter bought, sold, built, financed, and managed real estate on a modest scale.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 81

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