Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 96

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 96
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 96

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Ralph DeWitt Howell was born at Babylon, May 2, 1897, the son of Elmer Winfield and Kizzie (Brown) Howell. (See accompanying record.) The family is descended from Richard Howell, who came to America in 1640 with his mother and step-father, Peter Hallock, and settled in Southold.

Ralph DeW. Howell finished Babylon High School in 1915 and was graduated in architecture from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, in 1918. He volun- teered for both World wars, being stationed for six months in 1918 at Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jack- sonville, Florida, where he became a second lieu- tenant, and continued in the Officers Reserve Corps actively until 1943, when he assumed active service for three years and three months in World War II, achieving the rank of major in the Corps of Engineers. After two years as assistant post engineer at Camp Upton, New York, during World War II, he was made post engineer at the Air Forces Convalescent Hospital at Pawling, New York, and the United States Disciplinary Barracks, at Green Haven, New York, concurrently.

Mr. Howell has been a licensed public adjuster of fire losses since 1930 and has been a resgistered archi- tect since 1934. He is a director of the Suffolk County Federal Savings and Loan Association of Babylon, and has had wide experience as an appraiser of buildings throughout Long Island. He is affiliated with the Rotary Club of Babylon, the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Legion, the Pratt Architectural Club, the Plymouth Brethren, and is a life member of Babylon Lodge 793, Free and Accepted Masons. He served as President of the Babylon Exchange Club in 1939. He is a major in the Engineer Reserve Corps, Army of the United States.

Mr. Howell's chief hobby appears to be music, for he served as organist of the First Baptist Church, Babylon, for twenty years, and continues to give occasional organ recitals, and is an associate of the American Guild of Organists. While serving eighteen years as superintendent of the Sunday school of the First Baptist Church, Babylon, he gave weekly talks to children illustrated by sketches in chalk, and he has published a book containing a hundred and fifty of these Story Talks in Lines (Revell).

Ralph DeWitt Howell married (first) September IO, 1919, Jessie Dunseith, daughter of George and Minnie (Warnken) Dunseith, who died January 16, 1943, leaving three children: I. Jessica H. Carpenter, born August 8, 1922. 2. Ralph DeWitt, Jr., born April 30, 1925. 3. Doris Reeve, born March 18, 1931. He has four grandchildren: two children of Jessica H. Carpenter, Herbert Lyon Carpenter III, born April 18, 1945, and Alaina Howell Carpenter, born March 23, 1947; and two daughters of Ralph DeW., Jr., and Natalie Gray Howell, Cassandra Gray Howell, born December 15, 1945 and Robin Moffat Howell, born November 19, 1948. Mr. Howell married (second), June 4, 1944, Margaret E. Eledge, of Englewood, Ten- nessee, daughter of William Walter and Stella (Liner) Eledge.

CLINTON A. HOMMEL-One of the leading in- dependent contractors and builders of Greenport, with offices at 401 Main Street, Clinton A. Hommel was

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winner of the "E" Award during World War II, as superintendent of construction for the James Stewart Company Associates.

He was born at East Marion, Suffolk County, Sep- tember 10, 1905, son of the late Frederick and Emily (Rackett) Hommel; the former, who was engaged in the fishing industry, was a native of Southold, and the latter of East Marion. After completing his edu- cation in the elementary and high schools of his native town, Clinton Hommel prepared for his career in his chosen field by serving an apprenticeship with Willard Wiggins, builder and contractor. At the same time to further his knowledge of the business, he pursued a correspondence course in architecture and engineering, graduating from the Chicago Tech- nical College in 1925. He established himself three years later in his own business, and in 1940, added all the services that are necessary for a complete con- struction company; including plumbing, heating and electrical equipment. During the second World War, he received the distinction of the Army and Navy "E" Award for his services as superintendent of con- struction for the James Stewart Company Associates of New York, and was active for nineteen months in Trinidad. Now one of the largest independent con- tractors on Long Island, he employs some thirty per- sons in a successfully expanding organization. He is a member of the Baptist Church at East Marion, and is devoted to the outdoor sport of boating, being particularly interested in sailing.

Clinton A. Hommel married at Woodbury, April 28, 1938, Bernice Thornhill, daughter of Albert and Grace Williams Thornhill; the former a native of Greenport and the latter of Southold.

J. ANDREW NEWCOMB-All the Newcombs of the Province of New Brunswick in Canada were ship's carpenters and shipbuilders. These were Wil- liam A. Newcomb's trades, which led him to work in various yards along the Bay of Fundy and other ship- building centers along the Atlantic seaboard, eventu- ally bringing him to Port Jefferson in Suffolk County, where he worked on the last big sailing vessel to be built, the "Martha E. Wallace;" which was construc- ted for the late John T. Mather, a leading citizen of that village whose memorial is the John T. Mather Hospital at Port Jefferson.

William A. Newcomb married Theora J. Ayer, and of this union J. Andrew Newcomb was born in the Province of New Brunswick on August 30, 1890. It was about the year 1900, when he was brought by his parents to Port Jefferson. There he completed his elementary education at the public schools, and for a time attended the Port Jefferson High School. His apprenticeship as an automobile machinist was served with A. N. Randall, the pioneer automobile dealer of Port Jefferson.

In 1919 J. Andrew Newcomb, and his brother Spur- geon Newcomb, established the firm of Newcomb Brothers as an agency for the Nash car. In 1922 they became agents for the Dodge line, and subsequently they acquired the Plymouth dealership as well, and they continue to represent these two cars in Port Jefferson, building a lucrative business with a host of customers from a wide area of Suffolk County. J. Andrew Newcomb has also entered the banking field and is a director of the First National Bank of Port Jefferson.

In politics an independent voter, and in religion formerly a Baptist and now a member of the Pres- byterian Church, Mr. Newcomb is one of the sub- stantial and respected citizens of the community where

he has lived for some forty-seven years. He enjoys fishing as a recreation.

At Patchogue, J. Andrew Newcomb was married on December 22, 1919, to Minnie E. Willis of Port Jefferson, a daughter of Richard and Minnie (Jacques) Willis; both native Long Islanders. Mrs. Newcomb is related to the Merritt family who have long been prominent in business, civic and cultural affairs on Long Island. One of her cousins, Jesse Merritt (q.v.) of Farmingdale, is official historian of Nassau County and is on the board of publication.

J. Andrew and Minnie E. (Willis) Newcomb are the parents of two children: I. J. Andrew, Jr., who was born at Port Jefferson on October 9, 1923. He is a graduate of the Port Jefferson High School and is now associated with the business of Newcomb Brothers as manager of the parts department. 2. Theora J., born at Port Jefferson on March 10, 1926. She graduated from the Port Jefferson High School and attended Hofstra College at Hempstead. She is now working with her father as a bookkeeper.

JOSEPH N. REINHART-An outstanding busi- ness man and agriculturist of Peconic and of this region of Long Island, Joseph N. Reinhart was an outstanding contributor toward the growth of Long Island, as an agricultural center. His integrity and honesty earned for him an excellent reputation among his many friends and business associates.

Mr. Reinhart was born October 3, 1896, at Jamaica, Long Island, the son of George and Mary (Richter) Reinhart. When he was a small child his parents moved to Melville, Long Island, where they purchased a farm.

In 1919, having received his education and having gained valuable experience in his community, he established a wholesale business which dealt in pro- duce. In addition he conducted a trucking enterprise at Huntington Station, Long Island, continuing in these operations there until 1941, at which time he or- ganized a branch at Peconic. He remained in charge of his business interests until the close of his life. He also owned extensive farm lands in upstate New York, in the town of Hornell, and his sons are con- tinuing the operation of his business and farming in- terests.

Mr. Reinhart was active in his community as a member of the Long Island Truckers Association, the Suffolk County Farm Bureau, the Nassau County Farm Bureau, and the Knights of Columbus at Farm- ingdale. In politics he was a Republican, and in religious belief he was a Roman Catholic.

On January 23, 1918, at Farmingdale, Long Island, Joseph N. Reinhart married Agnes Hake, daughter of Joseph and Anna Schroder Hake. The Hake family established a farm in Melville about fifty years ago, having moved from Brooklyn, New York, and members of this family have become successful farmers. Joseph and Agnes (Hake) Reinhart be- came the parents of the following children: I. How- ard, who was born February 5, 1919, at Melville, was graduated from the Huntington, Long Island, High School, attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and married Marie Janis, daughter of Paul Janis, at Med- ford, New York, on April 27, 1947. 2. Ann, who was born June 20, 1923, was graduated from the Bay Shore High School, and on September 25, 1943, was married to Albert Chadwick, a veteran of the second World War; they became the parents of two children, Cynthia, who was born July 1, 1944, at Greenport, Long Island, and Keith, who was born April 16, 1947. 3. Mary A., born November 17, 1925, was graduated

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from the Bay Shore High School, and was married to Carl E. Vail 2nd, son of Cart Vail and member of a prominent pioneer family of Peconic; two sons, Carl E. Vail 3rd, born to them March 24, 1946 and Joseph N., born November 8, 1947. 4. Joseph N., Jr., who was born July 16, 1926, at Huntington, attended the Southold High School, and together with his brother, Howard Reinhart, he carries on his father's business enterprises.

On August 6, 1946, at Peconic, Long Island, Joseph N. Reinhart passed away. His death was a cause of deep sorrow in his community, where he had been known and respected by many. His loss to the busi- ness and agricultural life of Long Island was felt greatly by a host of colleagues.

LOUIS JAEGER-The late Louis Jaeger was the dean of the business community of the Village of Greenport, the oldest merchant in that old Suffolk County community, having been engaged in retailing for more than half a century, and active in the man- agement of the Louis Jaeger and Son Department store to the end of his days.

Louis Jaeger was a native of Germany who was brought to the United States in his boyhood, and at the time of liis passing had been a resident of this country for sixty-five years. He came to Greenport about the year 1886, to accept a position as a clerk in the general store operated at that time by the late Nathan Kaplan, which was located on Front Street, where the Sterds Restaurant now stands. Some years after first entering Mr. Kaplan's employment, Louis Jaeger, in company with Police Justice John A. Bas- searear, bought out the original owner. The store was operated by Mr. Jaeger and Mr. Bassearear for about five years, and when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Jaeger went into business for himself in a store on Main Street.

Skilled merchandising, fair dealing and courtesy re- sulted in the steady growth of the business, and as noted above, the Louis Jaeger and Son Department Store became the oldest store in continuous operation in the Village of Greenport.

As recorded in "The Suffolk Times," of Greenport, in its issue of April 24, 1936, Louis Jaeger died sud- denly on April 17, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. It is noted in this obituary that Mr. Jaeger had long been active in civic affairs and in the social life of the village with which he had been so long iden- tified. He was for many years a member of the board of directors of the Greenport Chamber of Commerce. One of his abiding interests was the Eastern Long Island Hospital, of which he was the oldest member of the board of directors, and at the time of his death, a member of the executive board. He was also an exempt fireman, having for many years served as secretary of the old Empire Engine Company, which was dissolved when the Greenport Fire Department was motorized.

"The Suffolk Times" said of Louis Jaeger, that he "was a good businessman, a good citizen and an ac- tive booster for the Village of Greenport."

Louis Jaeger was married, and his wife Mrs. Fan- nie Jaeger survives him. Of this marriage there are two sons and a daughter: 1. Sidney, who is now a resident of the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City and a member of the board of directors of the Louis Jaeger and Son Department Store in Green- port. 2. William, who is now the owner of the de- partment store business and a resident of Greenport. 3. Jeannette, who now lives in New York City.

GOTTLIEB J. NICKLES-Starting his career as an employee of a large corporation in a specialized and responsible position Gottlieb J. Nickles felt the call of the soil as so many inen have, but unlike most men, he did something about it. Turning his back on commercial life and office work, he acquired a farm in richly agricultural Suffolk County, where his suc- cesstul operations have made him, while still in the mid-thirties, one of the substantial citizens of the Southold area.

Mr. Nickles' father, Gottlieb Nickles, was a native of Germany who was brought to the United States as a boy. When he came to manhood, he settled at Greenport on the North Fork of Suffolk County's easternmost region, and became a ship's captain. He married Martha Reutis, who like himself was born in Germany, and was brought to Greenport as a girl. They are still living. On May 2, 1911, their son Gott- lieb J. Nickles was born. He attended school in his native village, graduating from the Greenport High School with the class of 1929. Subsequently, he at- tended Columbia University in New York City and also the Pace Institute. In 1930 he entered the eni- ployment of the National Dairy Products Corpora- tion of New York City and was placed in charge of their group insurance department. This association continued until 1941, when Mr. Nickles settled at Beixedon in the Township of Southold, Suffolk Coun- ty and, as noted, devoted his attention and energies to farming, an occupation which, concentrating on two of Suffolk's specialties, potatoes and cauliflower, he has found substantially profitable. Mr. Nickles is a member of the Suffolk County Farm Bureau.

In local affairs Mr. Nickles is a member of the Southold Volunteer Fire Department and of the Pec- onic Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, which meets in Greenport. In religion he is a member of the Presbyterian Church. His recreation is fishing.

In Reno, Nevada, in March, 1941, Gottlieb J. Nickles married Grace Rogers Beutelstetter, a native of Brooklyn.

JOHN SOMYAK-As a business executive and progresive citizen John Somyak has made his mark in the Rockaways section of Long Island. Starting as a newsboy as a lad, he has devoted more than forty years' service to the public in the distribution of news- papers and other publications on an ever increasingly large scale. Patriotic and civic-minded, he has gone actively into politics and is one of the notable Demo- cratic party leaders in his home county.

Mr. Somyak was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 10, 1889, son of John and Teresa Somyak, his father an expert cabinetmaker who, reared abroad, received the usual compulsory European training. Seeking a larger freedom and opportunity he came to the New World and ultimately settled in the upper South. Their son of this account was educated in the public schools and began to contribute to his own livelihood at the age of thirteen years, as a newsboy. When fifteen years old he secured the agency for "The Evening Journal," and, as has been indicated, Mr. Somyak went on to acquire the exclusive rights for the distribution of all New York, Brooklyn and Long Island papers, daily and Sunday editions, extending east over the whole of Long Island from the city line to the end of the island, both north and south shores. All this was not accomplished in a day or months, but by work covering four and more decades. In 1925 he organized the Rockaway News Supply Company, a corporation of Rockaway Beach, of which he is the

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president and driving force. In 1933 Mr. Somyak built the present plant at Valley Stream, which is the official headquarters of the above-mentioned company

To public affairs Mr. Somyak has devoted a great deal of his time and energies. No worthy project that makes for the benefit of Long Island and especially of the Rockaways fails to enlist his hearty cooperation and frequent leadership. He was the "Democratic party leader of the Rockaways" and was president of the West End Democratic Club, and the founder of the John Somyak Democratic Club. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Elks Club, belongs to the New York Athletic Club, and worships at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, of Rockaway Park. At Detroit, Michigan, on January 31, 1915, John Somyak married Anna Gordon, daughter of Meyer and Rose Gordon. Mr. and Mrs. Somyak are the parents of three children: I. Arthur John, born June 27, 1917. 2. William Henry, born August 4, 1921. 3. Alice Elaine, born November 16, 1923.

ERNEST G. ROCHA-A Citizen of the world who has seen several continents in war and peace, Ernest G. Rocha, some twenty-two years ago, made the happy choice of the south shore of Long Island as a place to live and work, and in that environment has achieved a notable business success.

Mr. Rocha's father, the late John G. Rocha, was a native of the Portuguese insular possession of Ma- deira, who became a merchant in British Guiana, South America. He died in 1934, and was followed in 1939 by his widow, the former Leolinda Ferreira. Ernest G. Rocha was born in British Guiana, April 9, 1894, and was educated there in the public schools and at St. Stanislaus College at Georgetown in that same colony. He came to manhood at the time of the first World War and enlisted in the Canadian Army where he held a commission as a second lieutenant. was employed by the Royal Exchange Insurance Company of Canada first in their Canadian office, and subsequently in their branch office in New York City, as an accountant. In 1924 he became associated with the Hearst publications, particularly the "New York Mirror," as an accountant and city circulator. This connection continued until 1929.

In the latter year Mr. Rocha became associated with the Rockaway News Supply Company, Incorpo- rated, then distributors at Rockaway Beach, Queens- borough, New York City, and now located at Valley Stream, Nassau County. Of this organization he is now comptroller. This company is a wholesale dis- tributor in Nassau and Suffolk counties and in part of Queens County, with an office and plant at 518 Rock- away Avenue in Valley Stream, where it employs 150 workers and a fleet of fifty trucks.

Active in the business and civic affairs of his adopted community, Mr. Rocha is particularly interested in the Kiwanis Club of Valley Stream, of which he was elected president in 1946. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, belong- ing to the Freeport Lodge. A Roman Catholic in religion, Mr. Rocha attends St. Agnes' Church of that denomination in Rockville Centre. His leisure-time hobby is stamp collecting.

In Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, on December 25, 1923, Ernest G. Rocha married Muriel Gwendolyn Stewart of that city, a daughter of William Hayward Stewart and his wife whose maiden name was Paton. Of this marriage there are two sons: I. John Albert, who during World War II entered the United States Army and as a member of the Third Division of the Seventh Infantry, with the rank of

sergeant, saw active service overseas in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. 2. Ernest G., Jr., who chose the United States Navy as his branch of service in the same war, becoming a seaman first class and see- ing action in the Philippines and in the Marshall Islands.

PHILIP B. MATTHEWS opened his offices for the general practice of law in the Village of South- ampton, in February, 1939, and has practiced con- tinuously in Southampton, with the exception of the period of time between October, 1942 and January, 1946, during which time he served with the armed forces of the United States in World War II.

Mr. Matthews was born in Bridgehampton, Suffolk County, on the 3Ist day of October, 1912, the son of P. B. Matthews and Marian Frances (Downes) Mat- thews. His father, a native of Mapleview, New York, was graduated from Oswego State Normal College in about 1900 and then settled at Water Mill, New York, in 1903. In 1907 Mr. Matthews, Sr., became princi- pal of the Bridgehampton High School, where he served in such capacity until 1915, at which time he was appointed district superintendent of schools for the eastern towns of the County of Suffolk, which position he held until his retirement in 1941. Marian Frances (Downes) Matthews was born in Oswego, New York, and died in Bridgehampton, in 1927.

Philip B. Matthews graduated from the Bridge- hampton High School in 1930 and then attended Southampton High School for one year after which he entered Colgate University in the fall of 1931. Mr. Matthews attended Colgate University until June, 1933, at which time he was transferred directly into the New York University Law School, from which he graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1937 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1938.

Philip B. Matthews entered the United States Army in 1942 as a private in the 12th Armored Division. He was thereafter transferred to the Judge Advocate General's Officer Candidate School, from which he graduated as a second lieutenant in March, 1944. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned to duty overseas with the Judge Advocate General's Department, where he served for a short period of time with the Sixth Army Headquarters in New Guinea and was then transferred to the Ist Cavalry Division in the Ad- miralty Islands. Mr. Matthews served with the ist Cavalry Division in Leyte and Luzon in the Philip- pine Islands and in Japan. While serving in Luzon, he was appointed the Staff Judge Advocate of the Ist Cavalry Division.

At the conclusion of World War II, Mr. Matthews returned to Southampton, and re-opened his law of- fices for the general practice of law. He was appointed as assistant director of the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency. Mr. Matthews is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association, Free and Accepted Masons, Old Town Lodge of Southampton, and is a Past Commander of the Nathaniel Howell Topping Post, No. 580, American Legion. He is a charter member of the Timber Point Club and is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mr. Matthews is enrolled in the Republican party and is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Bridgehampton.

Mr. Matthews was married in Bay City, Michigan, on the 12th day of January, 1946, to Miss Gail Gillis of that place, daughter of Burton J. and Blanche Gillis. A daughter, Marian Gail Matthews, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Philip B. Matthews at Southampton Hos- pital, on the 27th day of May, 1947.

Truestr. Rocha

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low M. Young

Walter & Stark.

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HERMAN ALBERT SILL-A native of Green- port in Suffolk County, Herman Albert Sill as a young man felt that aviation was his vocation and purposcd to make it his career. However, chance or choice turned his talents to the field of business, wherein his sucess as a dairyman has been notablc.

Born on May 17, 1909, Mr. Sill was a son of the late Albert and the late Ada (Reiter) Sill. His father was a native of Germany, a blacksmith by trade, who came to the United States as a young man and settlcd in the pleasant village of Greenport, where in those pre-motor car days his skill was much in demand. Herman Albert Sill attended the public schools of Greenport.

The Sill Dairy of Greenport and Southold was es- tablished by the late Ada (Reiter) Sill in 1899, and has been owned by her son Herman Albert Sill to the present time. It is the oldest established dairy in Greenport and its vicinity. Having a branch in South- old, the Sill Dairy is now in the process of establish- ing a branch for the distribution of milk and milk products on Shelter Island, the world-renowned resort which lies across a narrow strait from Greenport, be- tween Gardiner's Bay, Noyak Bay and Little Peconic Bay. Mr. Sill belongs to the Suffolk County Farm Bureau and to the Suffolk County Dairymen's Asso- ciation. He is busily engaged in the establishment of a herd of pure-bred Ayrshire cows, and hopes to acquaint the dairymen with their possibilities. He believes that, with advanced scientific methods and superior stock, dairying can become one of Long Is- land's leading agricultural pursuits.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 96

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