USA > New York > Suffolk County > Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York, Pt. 1 > Part 32
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Our subject was sent to the district schools at first, and then went to the well known St. Peter's Hall at Cutchogne, where its typical "seliool-
inarm," with bustling compulsion, vitalized the bodies and minds alike of the bright and stupid boys and girls, with potent and impartial vigo :. Afterwards he was sent to East Hampton, thence to Phillip's Academy at Andover, from which he entered Yale College, spending three years there. Then followed a year at Harvard. He received his degree of Bachelor of Arts from the latter college in 1866, and that of Master of Arts in 1869. He also received the degree of LL. B. from Columbia Law School, in 1868.
Mr. Case was married at Riverdale, New York City, June 4, 1874, to Catharine A. Burling. of the old city family of that name. Our subject has always practiced law at Southold, some time as a member of the law firm of Wickham & Case. the senior member being the late William Wick- ham, of Cutchogue, who was for two terms Dis- trict Attorney and also a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1867. Mr. Wick- ham held a high position at the Bar by reason of his large legal requirements and skilled and suc- cessful practice. He has also had a considerable business as a land surveyor. For some years he was Town Clerk, for some time he has been Jus- tice of the Peace, and is usually counsel to the different town boards.
Many attempts have been made to connect the first Henry Case of Southold with the old Con- necticut and other families of that name, but they have been signal failures, and before that gentie- man's first recorded appearance in the town. in 1658, nothing of reliable information as to his history and antecedents has been obtained. Like the other settlers of the town, he was doubtless of English birth, and from him has followed through nearly two hundred and fifty years all of the long list of Cases, dead or now living, who have been so closely identified with the history of Southold. its early settlement and all of its after events. In politics our subject has always been a strong sup- porter of the principles of the Democratic party. and was for several years Treasurer of the County Committee.
As a family, the Cases have borne their fair share in the building and growth of the town, its burdens and toils, its material prosperity, and re-
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ligious, moral and intellectual progress. The following is an authentic history of the family:
First-Henry Case was granted a home lot on Town Street, near the present residence of Michael Furey, December 15, 1658, and in the last week of November, 1658, married Martha Curwin (or Corwin), daughter of Mathias. April 14, 1659, he bought of Thomas Mapes a dwelling- house, barn and home lot at the west end of Town Street, where he made his home. This is near the place where William H. Glover now lives. He had two children, Henry and Theophilus, the former of whour died about 1664.
Second-Henry, born about 1660, had the fol- lowing children: Henry, Samuel, Tabitha, Mary (who married Abiali or Gersham Terry), and Benjamin (who for his second wife married Me- hitable Homan). Henry Case died April 16, 1720, and Tabitha, his widow, died December 16, 1735. Henry, who was a weaver by trade, owned and lived on a farm where William A. Williams' store now stands.
Third-Samuel, born in 1687, and his wife, Zuriah, lived on a farm at the entrance to Hog Neck (now the farm of Henry M. Beebe), which he deeded to his son, Moses Case .. William mar- ried Anna Cleveland. Their eldest child was Samuel. An infant died unnamed. Joshua was united in marriage with Deliverance Wells. Israel married Eunice King. Moses is next in order. Elizabeth married Peter Hobart. Zevialı married Joseph Corwin. Bethia married Joel Bowditch. Mary married William Reeve. Reed married a Miss Clark, and Saralı married David Young. Samuel Case died May 10, 1755.
Fourth-Moses, born in 1723, married Mary, daughter of Col. Elijah Hutchinson, February 23, 1748. Tlreir son Luthier died when an infant. Gilbert married Susanna Horton. Betsey mar- ried Gershon Terry. Moses Luther is next in . order. Mattlrias married Juliana Moore. Moses Case lived where the late Capt. James Worth re- sided at Peconic. He was generally known as Lieutenant Case, from his service in one of the town militia companies, taking his commission as Captain November 27, 1775. He died Septem- ber 25, 1814, and his wife January. 21, 1783.
Fifth-Moses Luther, born December 13, 1763, married Mehitable Webb December 30, 1787; she died January 10, 1801. Their son Ebenezer W. was Town Clerk, Supervisor, Member of Assem- bly, Judge and Surrogate. January 12, 1802, Moses Luther married for his second wife Lydia Goldsmith, who was born August 24, 1774, the daughter of Rev. John Goldsmith, of Aquebogue, and Sarah Conklin, widow of Capt. Joseph Conk- lin and daughter of Joseph Wickham and Abigail Parker, the latter the daughter of Dr. John Park- er. Their children were Harriet, who married Salter S. Horton; Joseph Wickham; Betsey, who married Henry Jennings; Sarah Ann, who married Thomas J. Conklin; and Jerusha Wickham, who married Col. John Wickham. Moses Luther Case died November 21, 1828, and his wife, Lydia, died May 8, 1843. The former lived where Hor- ace King now resides at Peconic, and was the owner of large tracts of land.
Sixth-Joseph Wickham, born October 18, 1806, married Sarah Conkiin January 16, 1836. She was born March 21, 1812, and was the daugh- ter of Joseph C. and Phoebe Albertson. An in- fant son died umamed. Albertson was next in order.
J. W. Case died May 10, 1886, and his wife September 25, 1888. He was a Surveyor of large practice through the town, and a considerable por- tion of the village of Greenport now stands on the lots and streets laid out by him. For a long time he was Trustee of the first church of South- old, and was Highway Commissioner, Town Clerk, Surveyor, Justice of the Peace, Postmas- ter, Member of Assembly, County Clerk and Treasurer. He was a life-long Democrat, of the strictest belief and untiring devotion, and in his time was one of the party leaders in the county. His antiquarian and genealogical acquaintance with the history of the town and its old families was extensive, and his work in connection with the printing and editing of the old town record has left hin a reputation of painstaking and ac- curate work in that line. In fact, his explanatory notes furnish the only key to unlock many of the mysteries of the ancient town books.
Seventh-Albertson, our subject, was born
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July 9, 1843. June 4, 1874, he married Catharine A. Burling, who was born February 10, 1850, and who died April 6, 1895. Their children were Mary Burling, born February 22, 1876; and Sarah Albertson, born August 24, 1877.
G FORGE T. FANNING, M. D., is a young physician of Smithtown, but he possesses a genius for his calling, and for that reason has attained an enviable reputation among the citizens of Suffolk County, as well as his profes- sional brethren. In pursuing this very important and noble calling, he has met with a degree of success flattering in the extreme. He has not only shown that he is well posted in his profes- sion, but that he can practically apply his knowl- edge, and as a natural consequence his services have been greatly in demand. The Doctor is a native of Southampton, born March 20, 1851, a son of Franklin P. and Sarah J. (Luce) Fan- ning, both natives of Suffolk County. The ma- ternal grandfather, George O. Luce, was born in Southampton. His wife was also a native of this county.
The father of our subject has followed farming all his life, and is now a resident of Northville. Ilis father, Nathaniel Fanning, was also a farmer, and resided near Flanders for many years. He was an earnest member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and died in 1865, when eighty-eight years old. The Fanning family is of Scotch ori- gin, and the following is a verbatim copy from the monument of Capt. James Fanning:
"Capt. James Fammiing died in 1776, in the ninety-third year of his age. He was the great- grandson of Dominicius Fanning, who was Mayor of a city in Ireland under Charles I., and was taken prisoner at the battle of Drogheda, 1649, all the garrison except himself put to the sword. He was beheaded by Cromwell, his head stuck upon a pole at the principal gate of the city, his proper- ty confiscated because when Charles 1. made proc- lamation of peace, as member of the Irish Com-
cil he advised not to accept unless the British Government would secure to the Irish their re- ligion, their property and their lives. ("O'Con- ner's History.") His son Edmund was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, married Catherine, daughter of Hugh Hays, Earl of Connaught, and emigrated to this country with his family, consisting of his wife, Catherine; two sons, Thomas and William; and two servants, Lahorne and Orna. He settled in Stonington, Conn. William, in a battle with the Indians, was killed by King William, who split his head with a tomahawk. Thomas had a daughter, Catherine Page, and one son, James. This Capt. James Fanning served under Great Brit- ain, whose Government was at war with France. He married Hannah Smith, of Smithtown, and had five sous and four daughters, namely: Phineas, Thomas, Gilbert, Edmond, James, Cath- erine, Bethia, Sally and Nancy. Phineas had a son Phineas, who graduated at Yale College in 1768, two of whose sons are now living ( 1850), viz .: William Fanning, in New York City; and P. W. Fanning in Wilmington, N. C. His wife, Hannah, son Thomas, and daughter Catherine are buried beside their father. Gilbert settled in Stonington, Conn. Edmond became Lieutenant- Governor of Nova Scotia, where he held large estates. James settled on Long Island, and had two sons, Jolin and James. The latter was a merchant many years, and resided three miles east of Riverhead; he had five sons, four of whom are now living. The eldest, James, died at Moriches, I .. I., in 1848, when in his seventy-second year. Nathaniel resides in the town of Southampton. Manasseh and Israel reside in Riverhead Town; and the fifth son, Josiah Fanning, is a physician in Greenport, Southold Town. Sally Fanning married Capt. Josiah Lupton. Catherine be- came Mrs. Mulford. Bethia married a Mr. Terry : and Nancy married Maj. John Wickham."
The boyhood of Dr. Fanning was spent on the home farm and in attending the common schools, where he received a fair education. When eighteen years old he entered the Bridge- hampton Literary and Commercial Institute, re- maining there two years. From that he entered the State University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor,
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remained there one year, and in 1874 entered Bellevue Medical College of New York City, and graduated three years later, in 1877. The same year he commenced practicing his profession at Stony Brook, L. I., but as the most of his prac- tice was at Smitlitown, this county, he moved to the vicinity of this village in 1888, and has since continued to make liis home here. He is one of the enterprising and wide-awake men of the county, is exceptionally well versed in medical lore, keeps up with the times in his profession, and in his treatment of cases has been uniformly successful. An active and zealous worker in the cause of afflicted humanity, he is kept busy almost . day and night.
In politics the Doctor is liberal and independ- ent. He is of a decidedly practical turn of mind, enjoys a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and is very popular. He was married, on the Ist of September, 1881, to Miss Ella M. Gould, a na- tive of Brook Haven, and a daughter of J. N. and Clara (Williamson) Gould, both natives of Suffolk County. For many years Mr. Gould was a merchant of Stony Brook. To the Doctor and his wife there has been born one child, a son, George Harold, now at home.
216
ENRY H. HALE. Noted for its beautiful liomes, Smithtown has few more attractive rural abodes than the one owned and occu- pied by the subject of this sketch. It consists of sixty-five acres of land, with well kept lawns, commodious residence, and all the pleasing en- vironments that good taste can suggest or wealth purchase. In addition to this estate Mr. Hale owns valuable real estate, including some prop- erty in Kansas City. Prospered in his business affairs, he has for some time limited his attention to the oversight of his property interests.
Born in Troy, N. Y., December 31, 1832, the subject of these lines is a son of Zenus H. P. and Maria (Van Voorhes) Hale. His grandfather, Joseph Hale, was born in England, and, coming to America in youth, settled in Massachusetts,
where he continued to reside until death. At an early age our subject's father embarked in mer- cantile pursuits in the city of Troy, but after a time he turned his attention to railroad contract- ing, in which he was successful. Though taking an active part in politics as a Republican, he was not an office-seeker, preferring to devote himself to business matters. He was a personal friend of Henry Clay, whom our subject remembers. His death occurred in Troy in 1872, and his wife passed away there two years afterward.
In the family of eight sons and two daughters, our subject is the eldest. He was reared and educated in Troy, and was prepared for commer- cial life. At the age of twenty lie took a position with E. Thompson, Gale & Co., in Troy, and later for eight years was traveling salesman for the same hardware firm, which was subsequently known as Catlin & Sexton. For two years after- ward he was with Norton, Jewett & Busby, hard- ware merchants of New York City.
At the breaking out of the Civil War Mr. Hale responded to the first call for troops, and enlisted in the Second New York Cavalry as Regimental Quartermaster. After a time he was placed on the staff of Gen. Irenus M. Palmer. He had four own, and one adopted, brothers in the army. Erastus B. took a position in the United States navy, and at the close of the war he was on the flagship of the European Squadron. A younger brotlier, Owen, after the war was transferred to the regular army and served under General Custer, of whom he was a warm personal friend. At the time of the death of that famous general hie was on duty at the St. Louis arsenal.
On the expiration of his military service Mr. Hale went back to Troy, where lie engaged in the lumber and timber business, furnishing tim- ber on large contracts in various states, in which way he was employed about six years. The marriage of Mr. Hale took place May 10, 1865, having been postponed a few weeks on account of the assassination of President Lincoln. His wife, Katharine, was born in Charleston, S. C., and was a daughter of Charles G. Ketchum, who carried on a dry-goods business in New York and Charleston.
CAPT. ERNEST A. DES MARETS.
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
In 1887, having retired from business a number of years previous, Mr. Hale disposed of his inter- ests in Troy and bought the rural home where he and his wife have since resided. He is highly esteemed by. the people of Smithtown and is known as a cultured, refined gentleman. His political affiliations have always been with the Republican party, and he is one of the ardent champions of the great principles this political organization has given to the world. Success is not the result of genius, as some suppose, but the outcome of sound judgment, close application and unwearied perseverance, and these elements have brought to Mr. Hale his possessions, while his honorable life has gained him the confidence of all.
D APT. ERNEST A. DES MARETS was born in New Orleans, La., September 26, 1841, the son of Victor and Rose Norwood Des- Marets, natives of France, his father born in Par- is, and his mother in the south of France. The father of our subject came to this country when quite young, and, settling in the metropolis of the South, engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was a man of character and standing, and was at one time elected to the office of Librarian of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. About 1848 he died of cholera, and shortly afterward his wife, the mother of our subject, came North with her fam- ily, and placed Ernest in a boarding-school at Ravenswood, L. I., when he was eight years old, and there he remained for the next four years. When twelve years old he went to work for the firmi of Benjamin Pike & Sons in New York, op- ticians and manufacturers of philosophical and scientific instruments. There he remained for some nine years or more, being chief clerk when he had hardly passed sixteen, carrying the keys of the store, and virtually having control of the business. During the first four years of his stay with this firm, he lived with members of the firm, and after that lie was received into the home of Samuel J. Beebee, one of the leading spirits of :
Wall Street, who proved in the years to come to be indeed a father and mother to the young man.
Like many other young men, our subject had a great desire to follow a military life, and united with the Home Guard, an organization that aft- erward became the Thirty-seventh Regiment. Charles Rome, at that time President of the Man- hattan Gas Company, was the Colonel of the regiment, which was one of the finest military organizations of the whole country. In 1862 the guard was called into service, and our subject accompanied it to the seat of war, entering as Sergeant, and rising in two years to the rank of Captain. In the militia service of this state lie now holds the same position, although a super -. numerary officer, the commission being signed by Governor Seymour October 10, 1865.
When the war was over, our subject found a warm welcome in the office of O. D. Ashley & Co., who were engaged in an extensive stock- broking business. Mr. Ashley is the present President of the Wabash Railroad, and was then Lieutenant Colonel of the Thirty-seventh Regi- ment. In 1866 Mr. Des Marets was elected a men- ber of the Stock Exchange, and for twenty years carried on business in the same. He was still a member of that world-famous organization when he turned his attention to the electrical business, which occupied him until 1894, when he came to this village and leased the mill property and some surrounding land, with the intention of starting a manufacturing plant in the near future.
In 1889 our subject was engaged by Jolin D. Rockefeller to demonstrate the possibilities of the value of oil as a fuel, and the success attained in the few months following was largely due to the advanced ideas and plans drawn up by Mr. Des- Marets. In 1877 he became a member of St. Nicholas Lodge No. 321, F. & A. M., and in the same year was made Chaplain. In 1878 he was Junior Warden, the next year Senior Warden; in 1880 became Master of the lodge, being re-elected to that position in the following year, and he still retains membership in the same. He is also a member of Jerusalem Chapter No. S, and of Cœur de Lion Commandery, K. T.
The marriage of the Captain occurred April 26,
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1866, uniting him with Miss Marie Louise Mot- ley, of New York, but no children have come to bless this union. Politically the Captain is a Re- publican, and in matters of religion he is a men- ber of the Calvary Baptist Church of New York, which he served as Clerk for more than ten years. He is a life member of the Suffolk County Agri- cultural Association, and was delegate to the Re- publican Judicial Convention of the Second Dis- trict held in Brooklyn, September 30, 1895. He was also a delegate to the county convention that met at Patchogue September 11, 1895, and a delegate to the Congressional Convention at Riv- erhead, October 5, 1895. By the Board of High- .way Commissioners he was appointed Overseer of Roads of the Second District of the town of South- ampton for 1895-96.
OSIAH P. HOWELL, manager and proprie- tor of the Howell House at Quogue, was born July 27, 1843, to John H. and Nancy (Oakley) Howell, and belongs to one of the old- est and most esteemed families on the island. He is one of a family of ten children, seven of whom are now living. John H. was the son of Josiah P., who was the son of Josiah P., Sr. For many generations members of the Howell family have spent their lives in this village, and a full account of the family history appears in connection with the sketch of Mortimer D. Howell, to which the interested reader is referred for further particulars.
John H. Howell followed farming and also carried on a summer boarding-house. This place of summer entertainment, situated in such a charming spot and managed by such genial peo- ple, at once became very popular, and for years was thronged by visitors, who came to look upon its landlord and family as personal friends. Mr. Howell also held the position of Postmaster for many years, and his father also held it for twen- ty-five years before liin1.
Josialı P. Howell grew to manhood here under the wise care of his parents, and was educated in the village schools, finishing in Professor Hunt-
ting's school at Jamaica. At the age of eighteen he went to sea, and after two trips, lasting some six months each, he came back to this village and settled down to a life at home. December 22, 1864, he married Miss Mary S. Halsey, who has proved herself a woman of worth, and is highly appreciated, not only by her family, but also by the community in which she lives. To this mar- riage there have been born two children, Helen McElhone and Josiah Pierson, Jr.
At the death of John H. Howell, some ten years ago, the family homestead passed into the possession of the subject of this sketch, and he has since maintained the reputation of the Howell House at its former excellent standard. While he has always been a very public-spirited man, and has taken a deep interest in political affairs, he has never been an office-seeker, but is always to be found at the head of any movement that is calculated to further the interests of Quogue and its people. In his political affiliations lie is a sup- porter of the Republican party, and in religion is a member of the Presbyterian Churchi. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is also iden- tified with the Manhattan Club of New York City.
LLEN T. TERRELL, one of Riverhead's leading citizens, was born in New Haven, Conn., April 2, 1825. His father, Phineas, - - was a native of Stoughton, Mass., and early in life went to New Haven, where he died when our subject was a small child, so that little is known of the family history. The mother of our sub- ject, Saralı Worthington, was a native of Massa- chusetts, and a daughter of Eliphialet and Ame- letia (Packard) Worthington, the former a soldier of the Revolution and also a participant in thie War of 1812. The Long Island branch of the Worthington family trace their ancestry, throughi Ameletia Packard, back to William Bradford, who for twenty years was Governor of the Plymouth Plantation (now the state of Massachusetts), and who is buried in the old Trinity Churchyard, in
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New York City. Ameletia Packard was twice married, and by her first husband, Dr. Bliss, had a son, Alpheus Bliss, who married Sally Hull, and reared a large family of children, one of whom, William Bradford Bliss, became a member of the Connecticut Legislature.
The mother of our subject was first married to Stillman Morse, by whom she had one daughter, Hannah. Her second husband was Phineas Ter- rell, and after his death she was married to Will- iam Hutton, whom she accompanied to New York City, taking with her her two children, Hannah and Allen T. By her third union three children were born, William, George and Thomas, of whom the only survivor is George, a highily re- spected citizen of Manor. Mrs. Sarah Hutton died September 3, 1885.
The subject of this sketch passed the years of early boyhood with his mother and stepfather, but at the age of ten went to live with relatives in Berlin, Conn. One year was spent there, two years in New York, and then, at the age of thir- teen, lie came to Riverhead, and for three years worked on a farm in this town. For one year he also worked at Wading River, and the next was spent in Ulster County, N. V., in the mean time receiving but little schooling, though learning much in the school of experience. At the age of nineteen he went on a whaling voyage that lasted a little less than a year, and at its termina- tion he went into the country store of Jeremiah G. Wilbur, for whom he worked for three years.
April 11, 1847, Mr. Terrell married Miss Phoebe Ann, daughter of John Robinson, a farmer of Manor. Mrs. Terrell is a niece of Rev. Phineas Robinson and a granddaughter of Rev. Jonathan Robinson, members of one of the oldest families on the island, the original representatives of the name in this county having come over in the "Mayflower." After his marriage Mr. Terrell spent one year in the coasting business between New York and Baltimore, and another year be- tween New York and Providence, and then invest- ed his earnings in the purchase of a farm near Wading River. He was the first telegraph operator at Riverhead, and filled the various positions con . nected with the railroad office. The railroad
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