Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 91

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 91
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 91

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).

Nathaniel Denton died before 1695. His wife was Sarah by whom he had three sons: I. Natha- niel, of Jamaica, who married Elizabeth Ashman and had eight children. 2. Richard, of Jamaica, who mar-

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ried Mary Thurston and had six children. 3. Samuel, of Jamaica, who married Mary and had seven children.

Richard Denton, of Jamaica, bought of William Smith, of Foster's Meadow, Hempstead, fifty acres of land, on April 16, 1683, at which place Richard died in 1699. His wife was Mary, daughter of Joseph Thurston, and Ann Foster, widow of Thomas Foster. They had six children: I. Richard Denton, who mar- ried Temperance Titus and removed to Huntington. 2. Mary Denton. 3. Sarah Denton. 4. Joseph, who went to Greenwich, Connecticut, and died there in 1734. 5. Hannah. 6. Benjamin, who went to Newing- ton, Connecticut, and from thence to Amenia, New York.

Richard Denton, of Huntington, married Temper- ance, daughter of Edmund Titus of Westbury, Long Island. She died January 9, 1742, aged sixty-one years. They had four children: I. Richard Denton, Jr., of Huntington, who married, February 24, 1736, Tabitha Rogers, and they had ten children. 2. Temperance, of Huntington, who married, January 12, 1736, Thomas Brush, and had five children. 3. John, who married, January 23, 1738, Elizabeth Kelsey, and had ten children. 4. Benjamin, who married Rebeccca Ket- cham, and had eight children.

Benjamin Denton, of Huntington, was born in 1721, and died May 12, 1789. He was married, March 26, 1747, to Rebecca Ketcham, who was born in 1722, and died May 23, 1783. By her he had eight children: I. Alexander, baptized February 5, 1749, died April 24, 1814, and had four children. 2. Hannah, baptized June 10, 1750, died June 18, 1779, married July 10, 1770, to William Netherway. 3. Rebecca, baptized October 3, 1751, died young. 4. Benjamin, baptized January 20, 1754, married Sarah Middlebrook and had seven children. 5. Esther, baptized October 2, 1755. 6. Rebecca, baptized February 22, 1756, unmarried. 7. Mary, baptized September 16, 1759, died February 17, 1812, aged fifty-two; married, March 1, 1787, Ben- jamin Coadington. 8. Martha, baptized June 3, 1764, died September 13, 1815, married February 17, 1790, Augustine Jarvis.

Alexander Denton was born in 1748, and died April 24, 1814; married February 20, 1770, Rebecca Johns- ton. She died May 2, 1814, aged sixty-three years. There were nine children: I. Keturah, baptized De- cember, 1772. 2. Mary, baptized January 14, 1776, died September 12, 1827, married September 8, 1800, Silas Conklin. 3. Rebecca, who married Joseph Vel- sor. 4. Phebe, baptized, June 25, 1780, and died June 21, 1796. 5. Elizabeth, baptized May 27, 1781, mar- ried November 14, 1801, Peleg Conklin. 6. Israel, born August 6, 1785, died March 13, 1850, married, first ; married, second, Elizabeth Rog- ers: ten children. 7. Samuel, born May 13, 1778, died August 27, 1860; married Hannah Van Benthusen: eight children. 8. Benjamin, born September 30, 1788, died July 10, 1848, married Anna Maria Lindsley. 9. Amelia, baptized June 8, 1794, married February 20, 1812, Garret Horton.

Benjamin Denton, born September 30, 1788, died July 10, 1848, married Anna Maria Lindsley, born January 3, 1803, died April 26, 1881, aged seventy- eight years, three months and twenty-three days. Their children were: I. Lewis B., born October 7, 1820, died August II, 1833. 2. Mary E., born May 26, 1822, died May 25, 1824. 3. Emily M., born February 25, 1824, died October 24, 1832. 4. James H., born January 30, 1826, died November II, 1831. 5. Eliza J., born August 20, 1828. 6. Susan A., born January 25, 1831, died March 31, 1837. 7. Joseph B., born No- vember 29, 1832, died March 27, 1899. 8. Sarah M.,

born August 22, 1834. 9. Mary L., born May 31, 1836, died June 26, 1837. 10. Amelia A., born Septem- ber 3, 1838. II. Benjamin L., born June 10, 1840, died July 10, 1848.

Joseph Berrian Denton, who was born November 29, 1832, died March 27, 1899, married Phebe Higbee.

FRANK WHITTEMORE ABRAMS entered col- lege to become a civil engineer. He achieved his purpose and earned his degree. By that time, how- ever, he had decided, quoting an article about him in "The National Petroleum News" of January 2, 1946, that he "couldn't see himself knocking about, bearing a transit level, in foreign parts, no matter how exotic or romantic those might be. 'A job in the hand is worth two in the jungle,'" and forthwith he ob- tained a position with the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). That this was no passing whim, no decision made in haste to be repented at leisure, is evident from the fact that Mr. Abrams is still associ- ated with Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), thirty-six years after joining the organization. He has risen through many ranks and is now chairman of the board of directors.

Born at Rockville Centre, Nassau County, on June 24, 1889, Frank W. Abrams is the son of Zachariah and Mary Louise (Farmer) Abrams. Zachariah Abrams was a farmer. After graduating from the South Side High School in 1907, the son entered Syracuse University. In 1912 he received his de- gree in Civil Engineering and that same year saw the beginning of his connection with the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) as a draftsman at their Eagle Works, Jersey City, New Jersey. His part- icular work at the drafting board was construction design. Ten years later, having advanced through several supervisory positions, he was made manager of this plant.

According to "The Lamp," a magazine of the pe- troleum industry, in the issue of February, 1946, the Eagle Works was the smallest plant of the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), and its managership might have been regarded as offering little prospect of further advancement, or even as a kind of back- water in which a man might get stymied-if this is not mixing the metaphor too much. But, says "The Lamp," "Young Abrams-he was then thirty-three- took things in hand with his usual good spirit. 'Any man who gets the job of running Eagle Works,' he de- clared to his fellow workers, 'is bound to be a success.' His cheerfulness brought the natural responses. Everybody went to work as if Eagle were Jersey's most important refinery." Before long Mr. Abrams was entrusted with the management of the company's refinery at Parkersburg, West Virginia, in addition to the Eagle Works.

From his earliest association with Standard Oil (New Jersey), Mr. Abrams has given his whole atten- tion and thorough intelligence to mastering the pro- blems of oil refining, and in 1926 his leadership in that science was recognized by his appointment as head of the company's refining operations throughout the New Jersey area. At this time he was also serving as a member of the company's manufacturing committee, and in addition he was placed in charge of the construction of a new refinery on the other side of the globe, at Palembang on the island of Sumatra.

Mr. Abrams' analytical and inventive mind has evolved many economies in the processes of refining petroleum. "After careful analysis of every perti- nent detail," says "The Lamp," " he improved manu- facturing by raising the efficiency of operations and

Fecha W. Cobama.

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cutting unit costs." Beginning in the 1920s, "The Lamp" reminds us, the purely mechanical process of separation by heat alone has given way, as oil refining has evolved, to elaborate chemical treatment. "Scientists now analyze the petroleum molecules, break them down and rebuild them into many new and useful products. To manufacture these products, it has been necessary to design and build entirely new and infinitely complex kinds of refinery equipment. In this work Mr. Abrams found full scope for his combined talents-in construction design, perceptive management and direction of other men."

As noted by "The National Petroleum News," Mr. Abrams was elected president of Jersey Standard's principal domestic refining and marketing affiliate in 1933. Says "The Lamp," "in the following year, on the basis of his wide experience, he was made a member of the parent company's coordina- tion committee, composed of Jersey department heads and executives of affiliated companies. . . . The co- ordination committee deals with long-range problems on a world-wide basis.

"The board of executive experience gained on the coordination committee brought a further expansion of his duties in 1935, when he was placed in charge of the coordination of the company's domestic manu- facturing operations. In 1940 he was elected a dir- ector of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), and in 1944 was chosen to be one of the company's three vice presidents."

The February, 1946, issue of "The Lamp," records that Frank W. Abrams "recently succeeded Ralph Gallagher" as chairman of the board of directors of the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). "The Lamp" has this to say of some of the characteristics which account for Mr. Abrams' rise to this responsible position: "In all of his supervisory assign- ments Mr. Abram's ability to get the cooperation of the men under his direction has been one of his most valuable gifts as an executive. In his own quiet, deliberate way he creates a spirit of loyalty and builds his group into a smoothly working team. Peo- ple want to do their best for him, especially when a situation gets difficult.

"His method is perfectly simple. It arises out of his constant, sincere interest in the men with whom he works. They all know that Frank Abrams is their friend, that they will be treated fairly, that their work will get full recognition." He is said to know an extraordinary number of the men under him by their first names, but more of them in the re- fineries than in the offices. Of his characteristics and methods on the executive and directorial level. "The Lamp" says that he is "always composed and at ease," and that "he has a way of doing a great deal of work without ever seeming to be hurried. When things get tense, he clears the air with a joke, for he knows that men cannot do their best thinking when they are on edge.

"After finishing a task he often persuades his col- leagues to come out of the office for a walk. When he makes a speech he just gets up and talks quietly and naturally, with a sense of humor which prompts him to tell stories on himself rather than on the other fellow. He remembers the name and job of almost everybody in the company whom he has known, and takes a personal interest in their welfare."

"The National Petroleum News" says that "Mr. Abrams has the happy faculty of keeping his head in some of the loftier pinnacles of business, and his feet on some rather fertile ground down at the end of Long Island. This is his own 'little bit of New

England,' a miniature farm of ten acres near a place called Mattituck. In just a shake, he can put New York's towers behind him and be in just the kind of environs he knew and loved as a boy. . . " "He loves to work with growing plants," says "The Lamp," "as his father, a successful Long Island farmer, did before him, and as his son Frank, Jr., does now as a nurseryman." His neighbors whom Mr. Abrams calls "serious" farmers, raise chiefly potatoes, cauli- flower and brussels sprouts, market crops for which Suffolk County is famous, but he likes to experiment with berries, tomatoes and asparagus. "The National Petroleum News" says that "the man who has been working on the development of the zippered lima bean" had better hurry or Frank W. Abrams will beat him to fame by developing "the natural mashed potato-or some similar refinement upon nature." Obviously Mr. Abrams enjoys his leisure hours on his Suffolk County miniature farm, al- though as "The Lamp" says "Mr. Abrams does not have much time for hobbies; for he is fully occupied in putting his long and varied experience to its best use."

The memberships of Mr. Abrams indicate some- thing of the scope of his organizational interests. He is a member of the National Industrial Confer- ence Board, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the New York State Chamber of Commerce, the American Institute of Metallurgical Engineers, Amer- ican Petroleum Institute, and he is a trustee of the National Planning Association, Washington. Espec- ially in the field of education, he figures actively as a trustee of Syracuse University, and in most recent years he has made addresses before various bodies on this subject, such as "The Stake of Business in American Education." Along a similar line was his address before the graduating class of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, January 14, 1948, entitled "What the American People Expect of Business and In- dustry," that won acclaim. His "The Red Cross-Our Business" a brief message that was widely circulated, was given as chairman of the Commerce and Industry Committee, Red Cross 1948 Fund Raising, at the Mobilization Luncheon, on February 13, 1948. He has received the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws, Syracuse University and Doctor of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

"The National Petroleum News" notes that "church, the University Club, golf and reading claim many of his hours outside of business which are not devoted to truck gardening. He is an avid reader and is collecting a sizeable library." Mr. Abrams' re- ligious affiliation is with the Mattituck Presbyterian Church. Besides belonging to the University Club of New York City, he is a member of the North Fork Country Club at Cutchogue, Suffolk County. He is fond of golf and his friends say he plays a good game.

On October 15, 1915, Frank Whittemore Abrams married Ruth F. Corrigan, daughter of Thomas and Jane Corrigan. Mr. and Mrs. Abrams are the parents of a son, Frank Whittemore, Jr., who was born March 20, 1920, and who, inheriting his grandfather's and his father's love of the soil and of growing things, is engaged in the nursery business. He is married, and the father of two children; Susan, and Frank Whittemore, 3rd.

W. KENNETH PUGSLEY-The shift of popula- tion, the influx of newcomers, has probably been greater during the past four decades in Long Island's three westerly counties than anywhere else in the

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world; but in Suffolk County there are still old fami- lies, long rooted in that fertile soil and familiar with its bracing salt sea airs. Such a family are the Pugsleys. John Valentine Pugsley, a cabinetmaker and wheelwright by trade, was one of the pioneer settlers of the Riverhead section, probably well over a century ago; and his great-grandson W. Kenneth Pugsley is today a resident of the village of Riverhead and one of its most substantial businessmen and most respected citizens.

John Valentine Pugsley's grandson, William E. Pugsley, born in Riverhead, married Annie Elizabeth Perke, who was also a native of that typical Long Island community. William E. Pugsley is now living in retirement after many years of successful operation of a dairy business. To him and his wife, W. Kenneth Pugsley was born at Riverhead on April 20, 1906. After attending the public grade and high schools of his native place, he studied Diesel engineering at New York University in the City of New York, where he took postgraduate work.

In 1930 Mr. Pugsley became plant superintendent for the Long Island Ice Corporation of Riverhead, a position which he held until 1944. Having determined to go into business for himself, in the summer of 1944 Mr. Pugsley organized the firm known as the Pugsley and Greene Motor Corporation of Riverhead. This concern, of which W. Kenneth Pugsley became and remains the president, while Ray F. Greene is secretary and treasurer, holds the Ford Motor Com- pany sales and service franchise for Riverhead. Highly successful from the start, the company looks forward to a post-war era of great and profitable activity.

Mr. Pugsley is an active participant in business and civic affairs as a member of the Rotary Club of Riverhead. He is a member of the Methodist church. For recreation he turns away from the steering wheel, the gear shift and the clutch to mankind's oldest sport, horseback riding.

At Riverhead, Suffolk County, on January 5, 1935, W. Kenneth Pugsley was married to Dorothy Reeve, a daughter of A. Herbert Reeve (q.v.) of Flanders, Suffolk County, and his wife Emily (Penny) Reeve. Of this marriage there are two children : I. Emily Ann, who was born at Riverhead on February 18, 1940. 2. Harriett Elizabeth, likewise born at Riverhead, on June 16, 1944.

HENRY B. HOLMES-A successful younger executive among the businessmen of Glen Cove is Henry B. Holmes, vice president and treasurer of the Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Com- pany. He has risen rapidly with this concern after a period of service with the United States Navy during World War II.

Mr. Holmes is a native of Douglaston. He was born April 12, 1913, son of Alfred Bertram and Ellen North (Winnett) Holmes. His father, who is a native of Toronto, Canada, has been associated with the Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Com- pany since 1908, and is now chairman of the board of directors. Mrs. Ellen Holmes is likewise still living.

After receiving his public school education in Doug- laston, Henry B. Holmes entered Westminster School at Simsbury, Connecticut, and is an alumnus of Princeton University, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1936.

As a member of the Reserve Corps of the United States Navy, Henry B. Holmes saw active service

during World War II, holding a commission of lieu- tenant, and remaining in the service for two years.

His connection with the Columbia Ribbon and Car- bon Manufacturing Company of Glen Cove dates from the beginning of his career, and he familiarized himself with the plant's processes through work in the factory, and was Eastern sales manager before the war. He advanced to more responsible executive posi- tions after his period of naval service, becoming vice president in 1944, and treasurer in 1946. His marked administrative abilities have proven invaluable to his company. Mr. Holmes is also a director of Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Company Inc .; Harris-Moers Company of Cincinnati, Ohio; Canada Carbon Company, Toronto, Ontario; and Nassau Union Bank, Glen Cove.

Mr. Holmes is a Republican in his politics, and is a member of the Nassau Country Club. He is a communicant of the Dutch Reformed Church in Douglaston, his birthplace.

In New York City, December 26, 1936, Henry B. Holmes married Virginia Rawson, daughter of Cecil and Stella (Sutphin) Rawson. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are the parents of three children: I. Virginia Ellen, born October 17, 1939. 2. Margaret Townsend, born May 6, 1941. 3. David Reesor, born May 18, 1948. The family makes its home in Old Brookville.

FREDERIC MARSHALL STONER -A native Midwesterner, Mr. Stoner was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, son of Henry and Mary (Hayden) Stoner. His father was a farmer near that town, and there Frederic M. Stoner received his public school educa- tion. After graduating from the Valparaiso High School, he attended Valparaiso University for some time and then went to Beloit College in Beloit, Wis- consin, graduating in the class of 1904.

After graduating from Beloit College, Mr. Stoner returned to Valparaiso and entered the Law School of Valparaiso University, graduating therefrom in 1906. He then did some postgraduate work in the Chicago-Kent College of Law, completing his work there in 1907.

Mr. Stoner practiced law for a time in northwestern Indiana, and then entered the real estate business in which he remained until the outbreak of World War I. During that conflict, he went overseas as a Young Men's Christian Association secretary, serving with the 89th Division until the end of the war. This period of service took him over the embattled areas of France.

After his return from France in late 1919, Mr. Stoner settled in Gary, Indiana, remaining there until he came to Long Island in 1944. Since that time he has lived in Amityville.

Mr. Stoner is a member of Delta Tau Rho frater- nity and of Porter Lodge No. 137, Free and Accepted Masons. In his religious faith he is a Presbyterian, and in politics, a Democrat.

In Bridgeport, Ohio, June 27, 1912, Frederic Mar- shall Stoner married Marjorie Adolph, daughter of Edwin Iffland and Julia (Atchison) Adolph.

GEORGE P. BUSCH-The real estate and insur- ance firm of Busch and Hilliard has been one of Hempstead's successful enterprises since 1933.

Mr. Busch was born in Hicksville, on August 21, 1898, the son of Garrett and Amelia (Radtke) Busch, the former a native of New York City who died in Hempstead after many years as a coal dealer, the

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real estate firms of eastern Long Island, long iden- tified with the growth and development of that area.

Mr. Dugan, who is one of the foremost real estate brokers of eastern Long Island, has in recent years, brought about the sale of many large shore-front parcels and country places, to wealthy and prominent persons. Mr. Dugan is strictly a real estate specialist and is recognized as an authority on real estate values. He is constantly retained by representatives of large estates, corporations and individuals as expert ap- praiser.

ERNST J. GEHBEN having always directed his activities toward the field of real estate, since 1940 has operated his own office on Merrick Road at Sea- ford, Long Island.

He was born at Altenbruck, Germany, March II, 1909, son of Ernst and Emma (Wahlen) Gehben, the latter of whom, a native of Germany, died in February of 1913. His father, who passed away in February of 1916, was born in Germany also, but came to the United States in 1870, and established a restau- rant business in lower Manhattan, the first one of the cafeteria type in New York City. Ernest J. Gehben, graduated from Richmond Hill High School in 1927, and then attended Cornell University for a period of three years. He entered the real estate business in New York City under his own name in 1934, con- tinuing in that location until 1940, at which time he established his present general real estate agency in Seaford, Long Island, with offices at Merrick Road. A Republican in his political interests, Mr. Gehben is a member of the Long Island Real Estate Board, and was treasurer of the Lutheran church of Seaford for a term of three years ending January I, 1947. Whenever leisure permits he derives relaxation and pleasure from his favorite sport of boating.

WILLIAM F. RHINEHART-Born at Inwood, New York, on May 7, 1891, the son of the late Wil- liam R. Rhinehart, an oysterman, and his wife Sarah (Fosdick) Rhinehart, who is still living, William F. Rhinehart has not had to wander far from his birth- place to achieve success in business and high standing in his community.

Mr. Rhinehart, after attending the public schools of Inwood and of Lawrence, and Brown's Business Col- lege in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, entered banking, which has continued to be his prin- cipal occupation, as a bookkeeper and teller with the National Bank of Far Rockaway, at the place of that name. With this bank he remained for approximately four years during the period 1913 to 1917. From the National Bank of Far Rockaway he went to the Far Rockaway branch of the Bank of the Manhattan Com- pany, as a teller, remaining with this institution for about three years. Leaving Far Rockaway, he went only as far as Cedarhurst, where he became the as- sistant cashier of the Peninsula National Bank. This position also he held for three years.

In 1923, confident in his mastery of the science and business of banking, and perceiving the need of a financial institution in his native village, Mr. Rhine- hart organized the First National Bank of Inwood, and became its first cashier. Subsequently he was ad- vanced to the office of executive vice president, and in 1943 he was elected to the presidency of this bank, which position he continues to fill to the present time, guiding the profitable operations of the institution which he founded, with sound judgment and in a spirit of service to the business community and the

people of Inwood in general. Mr. Rhinehart's stand- ing in the banking field is indicated by the fact that he is a member of the board of directors of tlie Nas- sau County Clearing House Association.

In his leisure Mr. Rhinehart likes to indulge in the hobbies of golf and fishing, and he enjoys his membership in the Peninsula Golf Club. He is active in the affairs of Peninsula Lodge No. 1105 of the Free and Accepted Masons, and in Lodge No. 260 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past noble grand. Mr. Rhinehart and his family are members of St. Paul's Methodist Church.

William F. Rhinehart is married and is the father of one child, a son, Joseph F., who is now associated with the First National Bank of Inwood as head of the mortgage department. Joseph F. Rhinehart mar- ried Clara Barrington, of Washington, North Caro- lina, and is the father of one son, named Franklin E.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 91

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