Portrait and biographical record of Queens County (Long Island) New York, Part 130

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1220

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J UDGE WILLIAM SUTTER. justice of the peace and attorney-at-law, College Point, was born in Tenth Street, this village, No- vember 19, 1854, and is the only child of Alex- ander and Sophia (Kellner) Sutter. His father, who was a carpenter by trade, settled at College Point in 1854 and remained here, actively en- gaged at his trade, until his death when sixty- three years of age; his wife now makes her home with her son.

While Judge Sutter had a very limited oppor- tunity for gaining an education in the schools during his boyhood years, yet by his own arduous effort in later life he acquired a broad fund of general information. In youth he worked at any- thing he could find to do, and having a natural inclination for the law he determined to enter that profession. The task to which he set himself was not an easy one, as his schooling had been limited and his book learning meager, but he was deter- mined to make a success, and never despaired, no matter how discouraging the outlook might be. Very little opportunity for real study came to him until 1890, when after six months' reading he passed an excellent examination. In 1893 he was admitted to the bar and has since carried on a general and increasing practice.

The popularity of Judge Sutter among the peo- ple of College Point is attested by his election, out of twenty candidates, to the office of justice of the peace in April, 1895, a position he has since filled with sagacity and fidelity. He was elected on the Republican ticket, overcoming a

GEORGE O. DITMIS.

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usual Democratic majority of from four hundred to six hundred. In religious belief he is an Epis- copalian and takes a warm interest in the work of that denomination. He and his wife, formerly Miss Barbara Mayer, have a pleasant home in College Point and a host of friends among the people where they have always resided. Socially he is connected with the Improved Order of Red Men, the Order of Foresters and the Adelphi Social Club.

G EORGE O. DITMIS, who resided near the village of Queens from the age of twelve until his death in 1896, was born July 22, 1818, on a farm now occupied by a por- tion of the village of Hollis. When he was in his second year his parents moved to Manhasset, and thence at the age of twelve he came to the place where his after life was spent. His father, Dow I. Ditmis, was born in Jamaica South about 1795. During the War of 1812 he served as a soldier in the ranks, and among the battles in which he took part was the engagement fought at Ft. Green. A farmer by occupation, his last years were spent on the place afterward owned by our subject, and here he died in 1853. April 27, 1817, he married Catherine Onderdonk, of Cow Neck, Manhasset, a cousin of Henry Onder- donk, who for many years was a teacher in the schools of Jamaica. This lady, who was a repre- sentative of one of the old and honored families of the county, was born here in 1796 and died in 1880, at the age of eighty-four years.

The grandfather of our subject, John D. Dit- mis, was a native of Flatlands, now a part of Brooklyn. He served as a major in the Revolu- tionary War, and a number of years after peace was established and the colonists had obtained their freedom, he was elected surrogate of Queens County. Afterward he served as state senator, and during the years in which he met with this honored body he was the means of obtaining many favors for his constituents. The Ditmis family is of Holland-Dutch extraction, and originated in a place called Ditmarsen, whence their name was derived, but the spelling was afterward changed by our subject's grand- father, for what reason is not known.

The two brothers of our subject were named John and J. Adrian. The former, who died in 1893, was a well-to-do farmer; the latter is rep- resented elsewhere in this volume. George O.,

who was the eldest of the family, made his home on the same tract of land from the time he was twelve until his death. June 19, 1854, he mar- ried Phebe, daughter of George Johnson, who fought as a patriot during the War of 1812. Mrs. Ditmis had but one brother, Martin G. Johnson, a well known surveyor of Jamaica, who died March 23, 1887; her sister, Catherine, married Elias Hendrickson, a farmer, and died on the estate just west of our subject's farm. Mrs. Dit- mis died in 1866, leaving four children, namely: Catherine, who has never married, and who ten- derly cared for her father during his declining years; Georgiana, who married I. Cornell Rem- sen, a prominent farmer residing in Liberty Ave- nue, west of Jamaica, and they have two chil- dren, Richard and Martin; John D., who married Miss May Payntar, and makes his home on the old place; and Martin G. Johnson, who died Feb- ruary 18, 1878.

In the occupation of farming Mr. Ditmis was remarkably successful, accumulating a sufficient amount of this world's goods to enable him to spend his closing years in peace and comfort. Although he never sought office, he was called upon to represent his fellow-townsmen in various local positions, and on every occasion acquitted himself as an upright and honorable gentleman, who had the interests of the people at heart. He is a member of the Reformed Church at Queens, and during his younger years was connected with almost every department of church work, but late in life he was obliged to give up participa- tion in religious and business enterprises owing to the fact that he became almost wholly blind. His life was unostentatiously devoted to uphold- ing and promoting the best interests of his fellow- men. His death, which occurred February I, 1896, when he was seventy-seven years of age, was mourned as a public loss by the people among whom his upright and busy life had been passed. From the memorial tribute of Rev. An- drew Hageman, formerly pastor of the Reformed Church of Queens, we quote as follows:

"In the death of Mr. Ditmis the Reformed Church of Queens has lost another of its old and faithful friends. Since the organization of this church, in 1858, he has been an attendant and supporter and friend. For twenty years he was a member in its communion, and served in its eldership for a time. Although a serious affliction of almost total blindness kept him from the house of God and the assembly of the saints

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during the last ten years of his life, yet he never lost interest in the work and welfare of the church. Blessed of God, he was ever ready to use of his means to meet the demands and neces- sities of his church. Vigorous in mind to the very last, he kept himself informed thoroughly upon the world's work around him, and he was able to discuss intelligently almost every topic of interest in state and union. His advice and judg- ment were thorough and mature, and his neigh- bors and friends and family took pleasure in seeking and following it. Well preserved in body, he rounded out the years of his life in great physical comfort and happiness. He was ever cheerful in spite of the infirmity of lost sight. A son and two daughters remain to mourn his loss. In early years they were left without a mother's care, but he faithfully watched over and guarded them, and they in return have devoted them- selves to him in his declining years, one of the daughters giving up almost her entire time and self to his comfort. It is a pleasure to one who had the joy of receiving this father and his daughters at the same time into the communion of the Christian church on earth to bear this tes- timony concerning the one who has gone front us unto the heavens-only gone before us a little while. Though dead, he still speaks to us. Though absent, we yet love him."

R ALPH PAUL. During the long period in which Mr. Paul has been a resident of Long Island City he has built up a large and profitable trade and gained a reputation as an efficient, capable and enterprising business man. Opening a drug store here in 1874, he is now, in point of years of business activity, the oldest pharmacist in the city, and one of the most successful as well. His store is situated on the corner of Steinway Avenue and Shore Road, and contains a complete assortment of drugs and medicines as well as the various other articles to be found in a first-class drug establishment.

Prussia, Germany, where our subject was born in 1852, was likewise the birthplace of his par- ents, Dr. Casper and Josephine (Simon) Paul, the former of whom was a university graduate, and throughout his entire active life practiced medicine in a small village, Neustadt. The pater- nal grandfather was a forester, and the maternal grandfather, Judge Simon, an attorney, and for a time in government service. Our subject is one of

six children, of whom three are in the United States, the others having remained in Germany. He was reared in Germany, attending the com- mon schools until thirteen years of age, and after- ward carrying on his studies in the gymnasium until graduation.

At the age of fourteen Mr. Paul entered a drug store for the purpose of studying pharmacy, and after three years there he entered the Marburg School of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1870, with the degree of Ph. G. Meantime he had been employed, at intervals, as clerk in drug stores in France and Switzerland. After the war of 1872 he went to London, and six months later came to America and worked for Henry Casse- beer, a relative of Mr. Steinway. In 1874, hav- ing spent the two preceding years in New York, he came to Steinway, where he bought a small place, and later he settled here permanently. He has the only drug store in this suburb, as well as the finest in Long Island City. In 1887 he opened a pharmacy at Schuetzen Park, corner of Broad- way and Steinway, which he sold five years later.

In fraternal organizations Mr. Paul has taken an active interest, and is now connected with Advance Lodge, F. & A. M., at Astoria; also the American Legion of Honor, being secretary of the council. Since coming to this country he has become well informed regarding the great ques- tions before the people, and few of the native- born sons of America display a greater interest in its welfare than does he. Politically, while he has never displayed a partisan preference for any organization, yet he has allied himself firmly with the Republican party, believing that its prin- ciples, if carried into the policy of the govern- ment, would increase the prosperity of the coun- try and the welfare of its people.

C APT. J. W. DIXON is regarded as one of the most worthy and influential citizens of Long Island, and it is a pleasure to chronicle here his life of usefulness. Material wealth must not exclude the riches of character and ability in recounting the virtues which have been brought to this country by its citizens, and among its most precious treasures must be esti- mated the lives of those citizens who have, by their intelligence and their eminence in the higher walks of life, assisted in raising the standard of life and thought in the communities in which they make their home. No one has probably done

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more in this line than Capt. J. W. Dixon, who was born in Washington, D. C., February 9, 1846. He is the son of Hon. James and Elizabeth (Cogs- well) Dixon, both natives of Connecticut. The following, copied from Appleton's "Cyclopedia of American Biography," will sketch the career of Hon. James Dixon:

"Dixon, James, Senator, born in Enfield, Conn., August 5, 1814, died in Hartford, March 27, 1873. He was graduated at Williams, with distinction, in 1834, studied law in his father's office, and be- gan practice in Enfield, but soon rose to such eminence at the bar that he removed to Hartford, and there formed a partnership with Judge William M. Elsworth. Early combining his legal practice with an actual interest in public affairs, he was elected to the popular branch of the Con- necticut Legislature in 1837 and 1838 and again in 1844. In 1840 he married Elizabeth L., daugh- ter of Rev. Dr. Jonathan Cogswell, professor in the Connecticut Theological Institute.

"Mr. Dixon at an early date had become the recognized leader of the Whig party in the Hart- ford Congressional District and was chosen in 1845 a member of the United States House of Rep- resentatives. He was re-elected in 1847 and was distinguished, in that difficult arena, alike for his power as a debater and for an amenity of bearing that extorted the respect of practical opponents, even in the turbulent times following the Mexican War and the exasperations of the second debate precipitated by the 'Wilmot proviso.' Returning from Congress in 1849, he was that year elected from Hartford to a seat in the Connecticut Senate and, having been re-elected in 1854, was chosen president of that body, but declined the honor, because the floor seemed to offer a better field of usefulness.

"During the same year he was made president of the Whig state convention, and, having now reached a position of commanding influence, he was in 1857 elected United States Senator, and participated in all the parliamentary debates of the epoch that preceded the Civil War. He was remarkable among his colleagues in the Senate for the tenacity with which he adhered to his political principles, and for the close presage with which he grasped the drift of events. Six years afterward, in the midst of the Civil War, he was re-elected Senator with a majority that had no precedent in the annals of Connecticut.

"During his service in the Senate he was an active member of the committee on manufact-

ures, and during his last term was at one time ap- pointed chairman of three important committees. While making his residence in Washington, the seat of an elegant hospitality, he was remarkable for the assiduity with which he followed the public business of the Senate and for the eloquence that he brought to the discussion of grave public questions as they successively rose before, during and after the Civil War.

"Among his many notable speeches was one delivered June 25, 1862, on the constitutional states created by the so-called acts of secession- a speech that is known to have commanded the express admiration of President Lincoln, as em- bodying what he held to be the true theory of the war in the light of the constitution and of the public law. To the principles expounded in that speech, Mr. Dixon steadfastly adhered during the administration alike of President Lincoln and his successor. In the impeachment trial of President Johnson he was numbered among the Republican senators who voted against the efficiency of the articles, and from that date he participated no longer in the councils of the Republican party.

"Withdrawing from public life in 1869, he was urged by the President of the United States and . by his colleagues in the Senate to accept the mission of Prussia, but refused the honor, and, without returning to the practice of law, found occupation for his scholarly mind in European travel, in literary studies and in the society of congenial friends. From his early growth he had been a student lover of the world's best literature. Remarkable for the purity of his literary taste and for the abundance of his intellectual resources, he might have gained distinction as a prose writer and as a poet, if he had not been allured to the more exciting fields of law and politics.

"While yet a student at college he was the recognized poet of his class, and even his gradua- tion thesis was written in verse. His poems. struck off as the leisure hours of a busy life, occupy a conspicuous place in Everest's 'Poets of Connecticut,' while five of his sonnets, ex- quisite for refinement of thought and felicity of execution, are preserved side by side with those of Bryant, Percival and Lowell in Leigh Hunt's 'Book of the Sonnet.' He was also a frequent contributor to the 'New England Magazine' and the periodical press. Trinity College conferred upon him in 1862 the degree of LL.D. Deeply imbued with classical letters, versed in the prin- ciples and practice of law, widely read in history

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and possessing withal a logical mind, Mr. Dixon always preferred to discuss public questions in the light of a permanent political philosophy, instead of treating them with paramount reference to the dominant emotions of the hour."

Senator Dixon's married life was a most happy one and resulted in the birth of four children, two sons and two daughters. Socially he was a Mason, and in religion an Episcopalian, attend- ing Trinity Church, Hartford. Mrs. Dixon passed away in 1871. Mr. Dixon's father, Judge William Dixon, of Enfield, was an attorney of promi- nence. He married the daughter of Dr. Simon Field and they traced their origin back to Thomas Newbury, who was one of the earliest settlers of Dorchester, Mass., locating there in 1634.

Capt. J. W. Dixon, the eldest son born to his parents, grew to manhood in Hartford, attended the public and private schools, and completed his education in Gen. William H. Russell's Military School at New Haven, Conn. On the IIth of January, 1865, he enlisted in the army and was made first lieutenant in the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, by Governor Buckingham. Through the Appomattox campaign he was aide · on the staff of Maj .- Gen. H. G. Wright, com- manding the Sixth Army Corps, and was mus- tered out July 20, 1865. He re-entered the army as second lieutenant of the Third United States Cavalry and later was aide-de-camp to Maj .- Gen. Wright, in Texas, and for two years was aide-de- camp on the staff of Maj .- Gen. W. S. Hancock. He was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth and par- ticipated in the first campaign against the Sioux Indians and was with Custer for some time. In 1868 he was transferred to the Fourth United States Artillery.

Capt. Dixon's military career is as follows : first lieutenant of Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery January 14, 1865, and participated in the follow- ing engagements: siege of Petersburg, battle of Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher's Run and Sailors' Creek. Re-entering the army he was made second lieutenant of the Third United States Cavalry, May 7, 1866, and was first aide-de-camp to General Wright and then General Hancock. Later he was transferred to the Fourth United States Artillery, and in December, 1867, was made first lieutenant. He was stationed at Ft. Washing- ton and Ft. McHenry and remained with the regi- ment until August 15, 1870, when he resigned and was honorably discharged. He received his promotion as first lieutenant and captain by

brevet for "gallantry and meritorious conduct in the capture of Petersburg." Maj .- Gen. H. G. Wright, in the year of his retirement as chief of engineers of the United States Army, said: "Of the many staff officers of mine, while I com- manded the Sixth Army Corps, but few remain. You are one of them. Your service, owing to your youth, did not allow of your active participa- tion in the war till toward its close, but you joined me before the final attack on the rebel lines at Petersburg and took active and import- ant part in that conflict, when the Sixth Corps broke the strong lines of the enemy and put to rout the gallant and hardy troops of the rebel army of Virginia. You also participated in all the remaining battles up to the final surrender of Lee, and subsequently joined me as an aide-de- camp in Texas, where we went in the expectation of crossing into Mexico to drive out the French and Austrians, for which a force of more than two army corps and three divisions of cavalry were ready for service. This considerable service, often dangerous and always difficult, was per- formed by you to my satisfaction and I regretted the separation which became necessary on the final closing of hostilities and the muster out of the old war veterans."

On April 27, 1877, Maj .- Gen. W. S. Hancock wrote: "Brevet Capt. James W. Dixon served on my personal staff during the years 1866 and 1867, and was with me on the plains in the latter year in a campaign against hostile Indians."

After leaving the army Mr. Dixon entered ac- tively upon a business career and has been en- gaged in the newspaper business ever since in the Empire City, being at the present time reporter and correspondent of the "Brooklyn Times." He does much literary work and merits the praise that has fallen to his lot. For some time he made a specialty of sporting articles. Before he came to Flushing, in 1880, he resided in New York City for three years, and in this village he has made his home since. He was married in New York, in 1876, to Miss Frances Stilwell, daughter of Benjamin S. Stilwell, an attorney of New York City for many years, but who died in 1890. Mrs. Dixon was educated in France.

To Mr. and Mrs. Dixon have been born ten children, all living at the present time: James, a graduate of the high school, who entered college in 1896; Frances S., studying art and a member of the Art Students' League; Clement, Elizabeth Margaret, Florence, Adah Wyllys, Benjamin

J. E. MASTER.

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Stilwell, Catherine Hale, Wyllys, and Mary New- bury. Mr. Dixon was a member of the board of village trustees in 1883-'84 and chairman of the first police committee. In October, 1891, he was appointed a member of the board of health and has served in that capacity ever since. In religion he is a member of St. George's Episcopal Church, and in politics has been a Democrat since the Hancock campaign, but is not radical. He is a member of George Huntsman Post No. 50, G. A. R., of which he was adjutant for six years. He was also aide of grand marshals in the memorial day parade for four years, and is a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and of the Military Service In- stitution.

J EDWARDS MASTER. The present age is a great educator and affords room for the assertion that there are few depart- ments of manufacture or trade in which America has not gone far ahead of foreign competitors. Until within comparatively recent years the best watches were made in Switzerland, but now, thanks to American genius, this country's pro- ductions are the best in the world. In this con- nection prominence should be given to J. Ed- wards Master, who is engaged in the jewelry business in New York City and in Flushing. He is a graduate optician, and in addition is a thor- oughly experienced watchmaker, cleaning, re- pairing and adjusting the most delicately made watches with the greatest care and in the most satisfactory manner. The repairing of expensive and complicated watches and clocks, a line of work in which few are successful, is one of his specialties.

In Flushing, N. Y., where he now resides, Mr. Master was born August 30, 1862, being a son of David Master, of whom mention is made upon another page. He was given a good education in the high school and in 1877 began to learn the watchmaker's trade, acting upon the suggestion of Samuel Carpenter. For this work he was es -. pecially adapted, owing to the fact that he could use both hands with equal deftness and facility. After completing the trade he was employed in New York City, remaining for ten years with Wheeler, Parsons & Hays, now Hayden W. Wheeler & Co., one of the largest wholesale jew- elry houses in the city, Mr. Master having charge of the watch department for nine years of that

time. In 1888 he embarked in the retail jewelry business at No. 5 Maiden Lane, where he con- tinued successfully until 1893, and from that time until the spring of 1896 he occupied quarters in the Havemeyer Building, corner of Cortland, Church and Dey Streets. At this writing he has a commodious and well equipped establishment in the new Lorsch Building, Nos. 37-39 Maiden Lane. In Flushing he has a conveniently located establishment at No. 53 Main Street, where he carries a full line of the finest imported and do- mestic watches of the latest designs; also handles diamonds, jewelry, silverware and novelties. In repair work he is a specialist and handles the split second repeaters and chronographs. In ad- dition to his retail trade he has considerable wholesale business.

September 12, 1886, Mr. Master was united in marriage with Miss Fannie Andrews, who was born in Brooklyn, and they have one child, Ed- ward Andrews. Fraternally Mr. Master is con- nected with the Royal Arcanum. For a period of two years he held the office of collector. He is a man of great energy and executive ability, with the skill and courage to undertake and the tact to bring to a successful consummation en - terprises that result in financial success to him- self and material advantages to the community.

W ILLIAM H. PEER, M. D. Although still in the dawn of his professional career, Dr. Peer has already given abundant evidence of the ability that qualifies him for a high place in the medical world. Truly ambitious, and with an ambition whose aim is pure and unsullied, there seems no reason why his unquestioned ability should not find full scope in relieving the suffering to which the human race is heir. From his father he inherits those traits of mind and heart that eminently fit him for the successful practice of medicine and surgery, and without doubt the future holds many honors for him.

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Portrait and biographical record of Queens County (Long Island) New York, Part 130

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers Publication date: 1896 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1220

Author: Chapman, firm, publishers
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1220