Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 9

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 9
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 9

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In March, 1917, one month before the American declaration of war upon Germany, Mr. Smith hope- fully took the examinations for a commission in the United States Army. This had been suggested by Congressman Hicks of the First Congressional Dis- trict. But he was rejected because he had only the large toe on his right foot.

After beginning his legal practice, Mr. Smith was appointed counsel to the Fire Commission of the .Maidstone Fire District in the Town of East Hamp- ton. The village had not yet been incorporated. After the limits of the Fire District were enlarged, Mr. Smith represented the petitioners in connection with the incorporation of the Village. Their appli- cation was approved in 1920. Mr. Smith then became first Village Clerk, Tax Collector and Counsel. As collector, he made a one hundred percent collection. He is still Village Counsel. In the summer of 1917 he was elected to the Board of Education. He served for eighteen years and during the last few years of his membership he was president.

In 1917 Mr. Smith was retained as counsel by the Board of Trustees of the Freeholders and Com- monalty of the Town of East Hampton. He served continuously thereafter until 1940, when the board decided to have the Counsel of the Town Board act as counsel for the Board of Trustees. It was during his period of service with the Town Board of Trustees that Mr. Smith compiled the history of Montauk.

In addition to his service with the Judiciary Com- mittee, the East Hampton Neighborhood Associa- tion and the Suffolk County Republican Committee, Mr. Smith was for a time director and secretary of the Greater New York Suffolk Title and Guarantee Company and since its incorporation he has been director, secretary, and counsel of the Sweet Ship- yard and Machine Works, Inc., of Greenport. He was assistant counsel to Hugh Davis, Esq., who was general counsel to Carl Fisher in connection with his development of Montauk. Mr. Smith is Past Exalted Ruler and honorary life member of South- ampton Lodge 1574, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also a life member of Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and is a member of the Lotos Club, the National Republican Club, Delta Chi fraternity, the Suffolk County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. He holds membership in the Sons of the American Revolution in descent from the Root, Smith, Daniels, and Jones families, all old Massachusetts and Connec- ticut lines.

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

Mr. Smith married Bessie E. Huntting of East Hampton in December, 1910. Raymond A. Smith, Jr., is the eldest of five children born to the marriage. The others are Lieutenant David Huntting Smith, a graduate of Syracuse University, 1939 where he was a Delta Kappa Epsilon; enlisted in 1940, and served with the United States Infantry in the Southwest Pacific throughout World War II, and is now sta- tioned at Fort Lee, Virginia, having decided to make the Army his career; Shirley Root Smith, graduated from William Smith College, formerly taught in the English Department of the Babylon High School, married John Williamson, and they have a daughter Joanne; Betty Smith Powell, who attended Syracuse University, and whose husband Morgan Powell is an Army Captain formerly stationed at Cairo, Egypt, and active in military affairs, throughout Africa, they have two daughters, Jacquelin Ann and Betsy; and Lila Jane Smith, who graduated cum laude from Cort- land State Normal College in 1947, married Donald Odell, and is teaching temporarily at Homer, New York.

Raymond A. Smith, Jr., was born on June 30, IgII. In 1928 he was graduated from East Hampton High School, and in 1929 from Manlius School at Manlius. Four years later he was graduated from the Sheffield School of Yale University, New Haven, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. In 1936 he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School.

Returning to his native New York State, Mr. Smith, Jr., took the bar examinations and was ad- mitted to practice in June, 1937, and immediately joined his father in the practice of law at East Hampton.

At the time of his graduation from the Sheffield Scientific School in June, 1933, the younger Mr. Smith was a lieutenant in the United States Army Officers Reserve Corps, a rank for which he quali- fied at Yale. Elected Justice of the Peace of the Town of East Hampton in November, 1937, and re- elected in November, 1941, Mr. Smith was serving in this judicial post when he was called into active duty, December 8, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a member of the invasion forces- a Field Artillery officer-at Normandy and parti- cipated in the campaigns of Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe, receiving campaign ribbons in recognition of his participation in these encounters. He was also awarded the Bronze Star. Returned to inactive status in De- cember, 1945, he resumed his law practice at East Hampton, where he is now counsel to the East Hampton Town Board and the trustees of the township.

He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Associa- tion, the East Hampton Post, No. 550, Veterans of Foreign Wars, of which he is Commander, the Colony Club and the Berzelius Society at Yale, the National Republican Club, and the Suffolk County Bar Association. With his family he attends the Presbyterian Church, and is active in the Boy Scout program of Suffolk County.

Raymond A. Smith, Jr., and Miriam Conklin of Amagansett were married at Amagansett, Long Is- land, in November, 1937. They have one daughter, Susan Conklin Smith, born on March I, 1939, in East Hampton; and a son, Raymond A. Smith, III, born October 17, 1946.

DWIGHT T. CORWIN-The importance of cauli- flower in the economy of Long Island, especially of Suffolk County, can hardly be measured but is widely recognized. An indication of the confidence which a large element of the cauliflower industry has in Dwight T. Corwin may be gained from the fact that since 1922 he has continuously been general manager of the Long Island Cauliflower Association, with headquarters at Riverhead. Mr. Corwin is active in numerous other spheres of industry, commercial, civic and public, not only in the county seat but in the county as a whole. He has been chairman of the Suffolk County Civil Service Commission since it was first constituted years ago. He is a former super- visor and justice of the peace of the town of River- head. He is president of the Riverhead Hotel Asso- ciation, which operates the Henry Perkins Hotel. He is chairman of the board of directors of the Long Island State Bank and Trust Company. Mr. Corwin's eminence in Suffolk County, his wide knowledge of its many activities and its people and his broad in- terests are among the qualifications which led to his being invited to become a member of the Advisory Board of this History of Long Island-Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Dwight T. Corwin was born in Riverhead in Au- gust, 1870. The family home, in which his birth took place, stood on the present site of the His- torical Society Building. His parents were Henry Harrison and Sarah Ellen (Terrell) Corwin. The father, also a native of Riverhead, was a prominent lumber man and a leading citizen of the community and county. The Corwin family was among the early settlers of the county.

Dwight Corwin was educated in Riverhead's public schools. When he was eighteen years old, he went into his father's lumber business, Corwin and Vail, gaining early experience as day laborer in the yard and clerk in the office. The other half of the Corwin and Vail firm was George M. Vail, Dwight Corwin's uncle. The younger Mr. Corwin remained with the firm for thirty years.

In 1916, he was elected Suffolk County's first county auditor, an office he held for six years, resign- ing because of ill health. He had previously been a member of the Riverhead town board of supervisors and been justice of the peace of the town. In 1922 he was elected general manager of the Long Island Cauliflower Association and this organization he has led through depression, war and prosperity ever since. His connections with the hotel operating com- pany, the Long Island State Bank and Trust Com- pany and the County Civil Service Commission have already been noted. Mr. Corwin is also a member of the Rotary Club of Riverhead, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Riverhead Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ma- sonic order. In the last named he is a member of Riverhead Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and a Noble of Kismet Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Brooklyn. His church is the Methodist.

Mr. Corwin married Arrene Wise, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wise, in Brooklyn in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Corwin have one daughter, Mrs. Evangeline Balsden, born in Riverhead. Educated in Riverhead public schools and at Darlington University in Penn- sylvania, she is now secretary to the comptroller of the National Young Women's Christian Association.

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LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

GEORGE D. A. COMBES-In Rockville Centre the late George D. A. Combes won prestige as a business man, banker and exemplary citizen. He carried forward to new heights one of the outstand- ing mercantile firms in the community. He figured prominently in local financial leadership, and was con- stantly and exceptionally prominent in religious, literary and humanitarian activities. To quote from a "Memorial," of the Rockville Centre Luncheon Club, only one of the groups with which he was identi- fied: "He was the personification of honesty and in- tegrity in business dealings." A pastor testified that he was "always straightforward and helpful." An editor pointed out that "he was most influential in his own way," and another disclosed that his "charities in later years exceeded his personal income."

George D. A. Combes is a descendant of some of the earliest settlers on Long Island, the paternal line having been traced as follows:

(1) Richard Combes was the first-comer, or founder of the family on Long Island, he, having settled at Hempstead about 1668; he is declared to be the pro- genitor of most of that name in the southern portion of Long Island.

(II) John Combes.

(III) Daniel Combes.

(IV) Nathaniel Combes.

(V) Nathaniel Combes, a farmer.

(VÍ) Benjamin, an agriculturalist, who served in the War of 1812.

(VII) Clinton Fletcher Combes, who taught school for a time, and was also a surveyor, a postmaster, and a merchant. He opened a store first at East Rock- away, and in 1868 started the store at Rockville Centre, where he dealt in all kinds of merchandise. The leading merchant of his day in this section, he remained active until 1888, and died in 1890. He married Susan Davison, of East Rockaway, daughter of Alexander and Amelia (Denton) Davison, and they were the parents of Glentworth D., of whom further. (VIII) Glentworth D. Combes, born in 1850, re- ceived his education in the public schools of Rock- ville Centre, his birthplace. He was reared in the mercantile business, and in 1888 practically took charge of the enterprise that had been founded by his father and conducted up to 1907. When he died he had changed the business importantly by the addi- tion of lumber and coal yards, eliminating most of the mercantile portion with the exception of hardware and groceries. He was one of the founders and a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Rock- ville Centre, and served as a member of the board of village trustees. He married Mary Harriett Ayles- worth, a native of Nebraska.

(IX) George D. A. Combes, son of Glentworth D. and Mary Harriett (Aylesworth) Combes, was born May 12, 1889. After being graduated from high school, class of 1905. he became associated with John Lyon, an attorney. Then came the death of his father and upon his shoulders rested the responsibilities of the elder man's enterprises, and he gave exceptional leadership to what was known as the G. D. Combes Estate. With associates he greatly enlarged the activi- ties of the concern, and more than two decades ago promoted it to high standing among the business firms of Rockville Centre.

At the time of his death, Mr. Combes, long a banker, was president of the Rockville Centre Trust Com- pany. He had served as secretary on the board of trustees of the Rockville Centre Public Library, and had proved most helpful in its development and broadened service to the community. He was presi- L.I .- I

dent of the South Nassau Communities Hospital from the time of its founding. From 1920 he was his- torian of the Village, and he served many years in a similar capacity for the town of Hempstead. He was also treasurer of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Rockville Centre. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics.

On August 1, 1910, George D. A. Combes married Florence Augusta Wichern, daughter of Henry and Rebecca (Mangels) Wichern. Mrs. Combes is treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church; of which she has been a member for forty years and church treasurer for thirty-six years. She is a member of the board of directors of the South Nassau Communities' Hospital, and she serves on the Rockville Centre Girl Scout Council.

Mr. and Mrs. Combes became the parents of two children: 1. George Donald, born June 9, 1913; married Alice Louise Marvin, of Freeport, and they have three children: i. George David. ii. Nancy Louise. iii. William Marvin. 2. Ruth Harriett, born July 29, 1916, married Robert David Ledlie, of Sara- toga Springs, and is the mother of three children: i. Linda Ruth. ii. Karen Elizabeth. iii. Robert Boyd. In the prime of his years, George D. A. Combes died on September 20, 1941, and the press, the public and personal associates and friends vied in paying tributes to his achievements, personality and character. Said the congregation and trustees of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church:

WHEREAS, His unfailing devotion and fidelity to his church for more than a score of years marked him out as an exceptional Christian gentleman, modest, genuinely sincere, wise, helpful, of high principles, openhearted to all; a devoted husband and father ; a public benefactor ; be it

RESOLVED, That we record our gratitude to Our Heavenly Father for all the blessings of his outstanding Christian service among us, and our prayers for God's comfort for his family in their sacred memories of this great, good man who constantly 'went about doing good,' until the day when 'God took him'."

The "Memorial" of the board of directors of the Bank of Rockville Centre Trust Company, reads in part :

Mr. Combes was director of this institution from May 11, 1915 to January 9, 1923, and from January 19, 1926 to the date of his death; and President from May 13, 1936 to September 20, 1941. As a public spirited citizen, Mr. Combes was instrumental in founding the South Nassau Communities Hospital and was President from its inception. As an historian he was deeply interested in early American history, and particularly in that of Long Island. He traveled far and searchcd decp in order to obtain his facts, which facts he well remembered and could delightfully review. As a friend and benefactor of those less fortunate than he, he was the Good Samaritan. As President of this institution he brought dignity and distinction to it. His friendships werc wider than he knew, and his standing in the community higher than he realized. He was fair and liberal in his appraisals of men. His integrity as a business man and banker was of the highest. In his passing, in what should have been his prime, we feel that the community has lost one of the most distinguished citizens of all its history. Because of his worth as a citizen and neighbor and as a fellow member of this Board, and because of a loss genuinely felt by us all, we here inadequately record our appreciation of his worth, and cxtend to his family our deepest sympathy.

CHARLES A. FISHER-Of the extraordinary de- velopment of Long Island's once rural acres and small villages into a populous, progressive area of sub- urban communities and country homes, with numerous modern business and amusement centers and many new industries, Charles A. Fisher has been a witness for nearly five decades, and in this evolution, more- over, he has had an active and constructive part.

Born at Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, Charles A. was a son of George A. and Anna M.

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

(Bragle) Fisher, both of whom were natives of the adjacent community of Green Island. The family moved to New York City a few years after the birth of Charles A. Fisher on July 8, 1876, and from 1882 the youngster grew up in the metropolis and at- tended the New York City public schools.

At an early age Charles A. Fisher perceived the destined growth and development of Long Island, and the lucrative possibilities that beckoned to men of enterprise, and accordingly he entered the realty development field, becoming associated in the build- ing of apartments and stores in Flushing, which was an independent Queens County village until its incor- poration into Greater New York City, as part of the borough of Queens, in 1897. After some years of such operations in the area more immediately adjacent to Manhattan, Mr. Fisher decided to go farther out on the Island, and in 1916 he settled at Amityville in Suffolk County. There in 1922 he established the real estate and insurance business which he has con- ducted with great success from that time to the present. Prior to that he had become president of the Long Island Brick Company, located at Beth- page, Suffolk County, and he held this position until 1923.

Active in civic and public affairs as well as in busi- ness, Mr. Fisher accepted nomination for the posi- tion of judge of the town of Babylon, to which he was elected in 1925. This judicial post he filled with integrity and ability for sixteen years, or until 1941. Judge Fisher has long been one of the most prominent members of the Amityville Club, of which he served as president for thirteen years. He also belongs to the Amityville Business Men's Club. In the line of his professional interests he holds membership in the Long Island Society of Real Estate Appraisers. A Republican in politics, he belongs to the Suffolk County Republican Club. Fond of outdoor life, he became a charter member of the Timber Point Club, and he is also on the roster of members of the Unqua Corinthian Yacht Club. His fraternal affiliation is with the Amityville Lodge No. 977 of the Free and Accepted Masons.

At New York City on October 27, 1897, Charles A. Fisher married Anna A. Bremer, daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Bremer, who died in 1930. Of this mar- riage there were two children: I. Granville, who was born at Flushing, Borough of Queens, New York City, in October, 1899. He became one of the lead- ing businessmen of Amityville, universally respected and held in wide affection by his fellow-citizens, by whom his death in 1937 was sincerely mourned. Gran- ville Fisher was married to Katherine Adams of White Plains, New York and the father of three children, namely Marjorie, Charles and Robert Turin. 2. Grace H. Fisher, married Clarence M. Lovatt, of Nyack, New York.

ISLAND COAL AND LUMBER COMPANY- Established in 1930, the Island Coal and Lumber Company, with headquarters in the village of Med- ford near Patchogue, has become known throughout Long Island, nearly all areas of which are visited daily by the company's twelve trucks. The company en- joys an island-wide business in building materials and coal. Founded by the brothers Clinton D. and Louis A. Finger and William Wingerath, the company is today owned and operated solely by the Finger brothers.

Clinton D. and Louis A. Finger were both born in Beacon. New York. the sons of Louis and Theresa Finger. They were educated in the public schools of

Beacon. In 1927 the brothers moved to Suffolk County, settling in Medford.

Three years later they joined Mr. Wingerath in the Island Coal and Lumber Company, beginning with two trucks, two employees and limited space. They now occupy a large area on Route 112 in Medford, about four miles from Patchogue. Their two trucks have grown to twelve, their two employees to thirty. The volume of the business has multiplied in even greater ratio. In 1939 the Fingers purchased Mr. Wingerath's share of the enterprise and thus be- came sole owners and operators. They carry a com- plete line of building materials and coal. The busi- ness is now incorporated under the name Island Coal and Lumber Corporation, with Clinton D. Finger, president, Louis Finger, vice president and treasurer.

Both brothers are active in Masonic circles at Patchogue. Clinton Finger was also a director of the Patchogue Bank for six years. At the present time he is vice president of Canyon Lumber Corporation, operators of a large mill at Everett, Washington. Both are members of South Side Lodge No. 493, Free and Accepted Masons, at Patchogue, and cach is past high priest of Suwassett Chapter, No. 195, Royal Arch Masons, at Patchogue. Clinton Finger enjoys fishing as a hobby, and his brother Louis Finger is particularly fond of hunting.

Clinton Finger married Myrtle Reich, daughter of George Reich, of Medford, in that village on March 15, 1936. They have four children: Jack, Ellen, Clinton, Jr., and Jean.

Louis Finger married Anna Jacobson, native of Sweden, in Medford on February 4, 1940. They have two children: Louis A., Jr., and Robert.

SAMUEL I. SLOANE-A lawyer of outstanding ability and established reputation, Samuel I. Sloane, of Port Jefferson and Patchogue, has built up a lucra- tive practice and acquired a large circle of clients dur- ing the seventeen years since he came to Suffolk County from New York City, where he had already laid the foundations of a successful legal career.

The son of Phillip Sloane, a merchant, and his wife, Rose (Sapiro) Sloane, Samuel I. Sloane was born at North Adams, Massachusetts, on August 28, 1898. After graduating from the Drury High School in his native place, he entered Williams College at nearby Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts upon graduation with the class of 1921. Meanwhile during World War I, Mr. Sloane had served in the United States Army. His ambition was fixed at an early age on a career in the law, and to this end he entered the Law School of New York University in New York City, where he received the degree of Doctor of Jurispru- dence in 1924.

Establishing himself in practice in New York City, Mr. Sloane made rapid progress there, but in 1931 came to Suffolk County and now maintains offices at Patchogue and Port Jefferson, New York. Taking up his residence in Patchogue, he has entered actively into the life of both communities. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association; of the Ki- wanis Club of Patchogue; of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks in the same village; of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Loyal Order of Moose of Port Jefferson; and of the Knights of Pythias in New York City. His religious affiliation is with the Jewish Center of Patchogue.

At Brooklyn, New York, on December 28, 1926, Samuel I. Sloane married Mae L. Lifshen of that borough of New York City, whose parents are Mr.

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DADE

I. AIR VIEW OF DADE BROS., INC., MINEOLA, L. I.

2. CARAVAN OF TRUCKS HAULING CRATED AIRPLANES TO WATERFRONT.

3. DADE TRUCKING DIVISION ARE HEAVY HAULING SPECIALISTS.

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

and Mrs. Frank Lifshen. Of this marriage there are two children: I. Joyce Grace, who was born in Brooklyn on August 5, 1930. She is now a student at the Patchogue High School. 2. David Alexander, born in Brooklyn on March 15, 1938.

JESSE E. DADE-Into the career of Jesse E. Dade, chairman of the board of directors, Dade Brothers, Inc., of Mineola, there has come the color, adventure, hardships of a life that is associated with the pioneers of the West of a hundred years ago. It so happens that the important features of his story date only after the turn into the present century when as a young man just past his majority, he landed in Blackduck, Minnesota, a backwoods townsite rather than a settlement, "one of the most notorious places in the State." He was elected the youngest mayor in Minnesota when the more decent people decided that it was time to "clean up" the town, and did so at great personal risks. Although probably not without significance, his first big stake in his business career was the purchase of a livery stable-in 1947, he was chairman of the board of one of the outstanding firms in the United States, engaged in the crating and transportation over the highways, and overseas, of articles of great bulk, such as airplanes-Dade Brothers, Inc., of Mineola.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 9

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