USA > New York > Suffolk County > Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York, Pt. 1 > Part 39
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L. Emory Terry and Miss Helen H. Halsey were united in marriage March 13, 1884. This lady was born in West Hampton, and by her union with our subject lias become the mother of two sons, J. Foster and Hampton, aged, respect- ively, seven and one. Mr. Terry is a stalwart Republican in politics, and is always found at his post in supporting the principles promulgated by
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his party. He has been a member of the Board of Education for a number of years, and during four years of this time was its President. He is a Director of the Rogers' Memorial Library Con- pany, and is througlily wide-awake and progress- ive in all that pertains to the welfare of the com- munity. In him the Methodist Episcopal Church finds one of its most consistent members and gen- erous supporters. He has been especially active in Sunday-school work, and for fourteen years was Superintendent.
ERBERT H. WELLS. This name is one of the oldest and most highly honored in Suf- folk County. The records show the grand- parents, Samuel and Permelia Wells, to have been well-to-do agriculturists, who did much for the early development of the county. Our sub- ject is the owner of thirty acres of valuable land, and is the worthy representative of his ancestors.
Our subject has spent his entire life in the town of Riverhead, where his birth occurred April 10, 1863. He was the only child born to his parents, David C. and Sophia J. ( Wells) Wells, the former of whom was born May 8, 1814, in Baiting Hollow, this town. The first eighteen years of his life were passed on his fa- ther's farm, alternating the work thereon for some time with attendance at the district school. He became well informed, and when ready to embark in life for himself entered a fulling-mill. There he learned every detail of the business, and after ten years began working in this line on his own account, owning and operating a fulling and dyeing mill. This he later abandoned in order to engage in stone-cutting, in which oc- cupation lie earned and saved quite a sum of money.
When ready to retire from this arduous labor, David Wells invested his capital in a farm near Jamesport, where lie remained for about eighteen years, after which lie removed to Stroudsburg, Pa., and passed the remainder of his life in peace and comfort, dying when seventy-six years of
age. Politically he always supported Republican principles, although he was never desirous of office-holding.
Mrs. Sophia J. Wells was born in Baiting Hollow, February 25, 1823, and is now living with her niece, Charlotte Leavens, in the city of Brooklyn. Herbert H., of this history, first at- tended the schools which were nearest home, and was afterward sent to Franklinville Academy. where he took up the higher branches of study.
November 5, 1884, Mr. Wells and Miss Lillie Skidmore were united in marriage. She was the daughter of Daniel W. and Elsie ( Hallock ) Skid- more, and by her union with our subject has be- come the mother of three children, viz .: David Skidmore, who was born October 12, 1885: Charlotte Elizabeth, April 18, 1889; and Elsie S. February 22, 1893.
The property which Mr. Wells resides upon is thirty acres in extent, and on it is located an at- tractive dwelling. By his strict adherence to his calling he is enabled to surround his family with all the comforts and conveniences of life. Al- though not a member of any religious body, he contributes liberally to the support of the Con- gregational Church, with which his wife is con- nected. Politically he supports the candidates of the Republican party.
APT. CHARLES F. KINNER is one of the most respected and venerable figures of the early life on the island that is familiar to the vision of the present generation. He was born in Port Jefferson in 1829, being the son of Caleb and Maria (Davis) Kinner, natives of this county, who spent their lives within its borders. His father, who was a seaman, fol- lowed that occupation until within five years of his death, which occurred in 1875. His wife died the year before his demise. Grandfather Jeremiah Kinner was born in this county, and died at the age of eighty-two.
Our subject liad but a limited education, and
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JOHN LYON GARDINER, M. D.
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went to sea while still a mere boy. But courage and persistence and a large measure of native . ability did their work, and he rose to the com- mand of a vessel before he had reached the age of twenty-one. From that time until to-day he has "sailed the waters blue." For the past thirty years he has been engaged in yachting, and is now master of the famous yacht "Nirvana." He has been twice married, first in 1852 to Miss Mary E. Sturtevant, who died in 1858, leaving one child, Sarah, now the wife of Capt. Daniel Smith, of this village. His second wife, Annie E. Homan, whom he married July 15, 1862, was a native of Bellport, and two children, Charles . and Joseph, blessed their union.
Captain Kinner is a member of the Masonic order, and for forty years has found much profit and delight in its broad and inspiring teaching. During his long and active life it is not too much to say that he has found its opportunities of brotherhood of vast value to his better life. For a number of years he was an Odd Fellow. The three links of the fraternity have signified strong elements in his character, and while the order has ยท been of value to him, he has also helped it.
OHN LYON GARDINER, M. D. The standing of every profession is marked by the character of the men who represent it. Deplorable as it is, it is nevertheless true, that the inducements offered by the medical profession for the gratification and the accomplishment of selfish ends have drawn into it men whose influence has been only to degrade the profession. When, therefore, we find a man of true worth and genuine ability giving his energies to the elevation of the profession, it is but just that he should receive the eulogies of men. Such a man is Dr. John Lyon Gardiner, whose reputation as a successful and popular physician stands second to none in the county.
The Doctor is a native of Long Island, born in East Hampton, May 6, 1823, and the son of Dr.
David Gardiner. The father received his educa- tion at Columbia College, New York, and for many years was Principal of Clinton Academy, East Hampton. He practiced medicine at Ches- ter, Meigs County, Ohio, for many years, but went to New York City, and was in the Custom House there for twenty-five years. Later he gave up his practice and was engaged in business at Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor until his death, February 25, 1880, when eighty-two years old. He married Miss Marietta Huntington, of East Hampton, and daughter of Dr. Abel Huntington, also of that place. Her sister, Cornelia Hunting- ton, was a noted poetess of Long Island. Mrs. Gar- diner died in 1882, when eighty-two years old. Dr. David Gardiner, who was the son of David Gardi- ner, was also the grandson of a David Gardiner, the original owner of Gardiner's Island, David Gardiner being the sixth proprietor of Gardiner's Island. In the parental family there were three children: Frances L., who was the wife of Rev. Carleton P. Maples, and died in Bridgehampton when sixty-nine years old; John L .; and Rev. Charles H. Gardiner, of Bridgehampton, Rector of St. Mary's of Shelter Island, and minister to St. Luke's of East Hampton. Dr. David Gardi- ner was an enthusiastic churchman in St. John's Church at Brooklyn, and was also a prominent physician.
Dr. John L. Gardiner was but five years old when his father moved to Brooklyn, N. Y., and he went to live at East Hampton, with his grand- father, Dr. Huntington. He naturally inherited a taste for the study of medicine, and when eighteen years old began reading with Dr. Isaac J. Rapalje, of Brooklyn, and Dr. Abram Gardiner Thompson, of New York. Later he entered the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons of New York City, and was graduated with the Class of '44. Immediately afterward he began practicing in Brooklyn, but in 1846 located at Bridgehampton, and has been in active practice here since, a period of over fifty years. At the present time he resides at "Dulce Domum" or "Sweet Home," and from that point he can see fifteen lighthouses in the Sound, and has a view of about fifty miles over the Atlantic. He can see all the vessels that pass the Sound,
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and Groton Monument, near New London, a dis- tance of thirty-five miles. The Doctor's home is a very pleasant one, and he has many old Indian relics. His old nurse, Tamar Wright, a Mon- tauk Indian, is still living, and would be queen of her tribe if she cared to return to it. She resides in Brooklyn.
Dr. Gardiner was first married, July 19, 1848, to Miss Mary E. Osborne, of East Hampton, a sister of Dr. E. Osborne, of that place. She died May 11, 1865, leaving no family. On the 12th of November, 1867, he married Miss Mary E. Jack- son, of Southampton, where she received her edu- cation. She is the daughter of Septer and Mehit- able (Bellows) Jackson .. The Doctor and his wife are members of Christ Church at Sag Har- bor, where for a time the former was a Vestryman.
The Doctor has ever been a gentleman of great steadfastness of purpose, and seldom fails to ac- complish what he undertakes, while his kindness and consideration in the sick room cannot fail to be appreciated. In politics he is a stanch Repub- lican, having formerly been a Whig and a Free- Soiler.
LIJAH RAYNOR, a resident of West Hamp- ton Beach, is not yet sixty -three years of age, but has had a wide and varied experi- ence, and has seen much of the world all along the east coast, and has now settled down in this quiet corner of earthi to enjoy the well deserved comfort and peace of an honored old age. Such men are living object-lessons to aspiring youth, teaching the great lessons of honor and wisdom and integrity, making and moulding a life so that it merits and receives the regard of all those upon whom itsinfluence falls.
Mr. Raynor was born at West Hampton, Oc- tober 21, 1833, and was the son of William and Harriet (Jagger) Raynor, being the only survi- vor of seven children, two sons and five daugh- ters. He was married, November 14, 1856, to Miss Harriet Goulder, a resident of Greenport, but a native of Newtown, L. I., and the daugli- ter of James and Mary Goulder. They have
seven children, all of whom are living. We give their names: Frank C., Charles, William S., Au- gu_tus H., Frederick W., Mitchell J. and Dwight. They give promise of having in their number somne very able members of the business and com- mercial world of the next generation.
Our subject began life for himself when he was eighteen, serving a three-years apprenticeship in the honorable business of ship-building. He be- came an adept in this line, and has had to do with some of the best and fastest ships of the last generation of American ocean-flyers, which, if it had not been for the misfortune of the Civil War, would doubtless have won before this the domina- tion of the seas. From Greenport, the scene of his initial experiences in ship-building, he went to Connecticut, where he worked for some eight months, and from there drifting to New York City, where he was engaged for some two years. He returned to Greenport, where he was at work for some three years or more, and then came back to West Hampton to locate on the old homestead, and in its cultivation he has occupied the intervening years up to the present time. He has also given much attention to contracting and building, and is recognized as authority on all matters relating to construction. He stands well in the community, and is highly esteemed in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is Trus- tee, and wliere he works hard and continuously for the common good.
JONATHAN BAKER, the efficient Superin- tendent of the Suffolk County Farm, was born in East Hampton, L. I., July 10, 1853, and is a son of Capt. Edward Mulford and Ros- alic (Miller) Baker, also natives of that place. The family has been long identified with the history of this section, the first of the name in America having been Thomas Baker, who was born at Maidstone, Kent County, England, in 1618, and died at East Hampton, L. I., April 30. 1700, aged ciglity-two. His wife. Alice, died February 4, 1708, at the age of eighty-eight.
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and was buried at Amagansett. Both had come from England in 1639, and they were married June 20, 1643. In 1649 they came from Milford, Conn., to East Hampton, where their remaining years were spent. They had four children, as follows: Hannah, who was born June 26, 1650; Thomas, July 26, 1654; Nathaniel, December 22, 1655; and Abigail.
Nathaniel, second son of Thomas, died Febru- ary 27, 1739, aged eighty-four. He and his wife, Catharine, were the parents of the following- named children: Jonathan, born February 12, 1679; Joanna, July 7, 1681; Abigail, March 15, 1682; Henry, April 16, 1686; Catherine, April 4, . 1687; Mary, November 21, 1689: Daniel, Au- gust 1, 1692; and Hannah, January 26, 1694. Jonathan, eldest son of Nathaniel, died March 4, 1748, aged sixty-nine. He and his wife, Han- nah, had three sons: David; Jonathan, born May 22, 1704; and Jacob. Of these sons, Jonathan, next in line of descent, married Mary Talmage, who was born December 22, 1706, and died June 4, 1781. His death occurred January 14, 1777, at the age of seventy-three. Their children were: David, born August 22, 1733, died November 3, 1786; Jonathan, born October 31, 1734; Mary, February 20, 1739: Hannah, July 27, 1740; Thomas, born July 24, 1742, died November 27, 1825; Temperance, born April 7, 1844; Willian, April 25, 1746; and Jacob, April 1, 1752.
David, eldest son of Jonathan, and great-grand- father of our subject, married Mary Conklin, and their children were as follows: Mary, born Tues- day, December 22, 1757; David, Monday, July 14, 1760; Jonathan, Thursday, February 6, 1766; Esther, Saturday, November 5, 1768; and Hamutal, Friday, April 8, 1774. The second son, Jonathan, our subject's grandfather, died December 23, 1853, aged eighty-seven years and ten months. His wife was Hannah, daughter of Capt. Ezekiel Mulford, and their children were Esther, who married E. C. Rogers, late of Sag Harbor; Maria, who married Harvey Conklin; David, who married Rebecca Osborn, and lived on his father's farm until he was killed by a run- away team, at the age of forty-six; Eleanor, wife of Henry Osborn; and Edward M., who married
Rosalie Miller. All five were noted for their longevity, some attaining the age of eighty and more years.
Capt. Ezekiel Mulford, before mentioned, gained his title by service in the militia. He was a large land-holder, owning property from Amys Lane to the ocean beach and extending toward the village. His home stood on the site now occupied by the residence of J. Henry Barnes. He married Fannie Rysom, and on a portion of his property their son Edward built, in 1819, the present Baker homestead, and there he died the following year, at the age of fifty-five. Their daughter Hannah was married to Jonathan Baker, of Amagansett, who settled opposite the present Baker homestead, and there remained until death.
At that place occurred the birth of Edward Mulford Baker, February 11, 1810. At the age of sixteen he left home to brave the perils of a sailor's life, and soon worked his way from be- fore the mast to the command of a ship. He went out on the "Daniel Webster" as first mate, but Captain Harlow was killed by a whale, and he filled out the voyage, after which he was given command of the vessel. He also com- manded the ship "St. Lawrence," which sailed front Gardiner's Bay, July 29, 1844, for the northwest coast, via the Cape of Good Hope, on a whaling voyage. Later he commanded the "Timor," which sailed November 13, 1849, to the north Pacific Ocean on a whaling voyage. In his experiences as captain he was very fortu- nate with his ship and men and also with his cargoes. In 1853 he retired from the sea, and three years later, November 22, 1856, he died, at the age of forty-six, his death resulting from an attack of pneumonia. He left two sons, Edward, who was born in 1849, and Jonathan, of this sketch.
The original Mulford property passed out of the hands of that family first into those of Cap- tain Parsons, and in 1837 it was purchased by Captain Baker, who moved there the following year, and it has since been the family residence. March 13, 1844, Captain Baker married Rosalie Miller, daughter of Gen. Jeremiah Miller, who
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was appointed Ensign by Hon. George Clinton, Governor of New York, April 6, 1803. Later he was successively promoted to the following ranks: Lieutenant, March 23, 1804; Captain, June 12, 1805; Major, April 29, 1811; Lieutenant-Colonel, December 30, 1816; Brevet Brigadier-General, September 7, 18IS; and Brigadier-General of the Thirty-third Brigade, March 30, 1819, by De- witt Clinton, Governor. At his own request he was honorably discharged, by order of the Com- mander-in-Chief, W. K. Fuller, Adjutant-Gen- eral. Three of his grandchildren are living: Jon- athan and Edward M. Baker, of East Hampton; .and Mrs. W. L. Tyson, of Washington, D. C .; also a great-grandchild, Mrs. Fannie Ferguson, of Bay Shore. General Miller was born January 30, 1777, and after his marriage moved to the new home, where he died January 6, 1839. He was a descendant of John Miller, who was born in Maidstone, England, and became one of the first settlers on Long Island.
General Miller married Pliebe, daughter of Thomas Baker, and a cousin of Captain Baker. She died June 29, 1870, aged exactly ninety-one years and six months. She was a woman of the olden time, at home alike amid household duties and in entertaining a social circle. She was famous for her housewifely accomplishments and excelled in all that pertained thereto. During her long life she was blessed with perfect health, with the exception of the loss of her eyesight, which was rendered less a calamity by the ten- der care of her daughter, Mrs. Rosalie Baker, who beguiled the hours with pleasant reading, in which her inother took the greatest delight. Mrs. Baker was the youngest of eight children, and was born July 18, 1823; she still survives and is in the enjoyment of fair health.
Jonathan Baker, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived his education in the East Hampton school. The intervals of his school life were passed on the farm, and after completing his education he spent two and one-half years as clerk in a store. The greater part of his time, however, has been spent in agricultural pursuits, and in April, 1887, lie was chosen Superintendent of the Suf- folk County Farm, which position he has since
filled. April 26, 1882, he married Miss Sarah J., daughter of William Peters, of Sag Harbor. They are members of the Presbyterian Church, and active workers in that denomination. Two children bless their union, Mary T. and Rosalie M. In politics Mr. Baker is a Republican, and for ten years was Supervisor of East Hampton.
2/16 WALLACE SMITH. He who is careful in small things, and who earns a reputation for honesty and reliability by strictly keeping the promises he has made, is already on the road to a successful and useful life. In this great age of architecture, when mammoth buildings almost grow to perfection in a single night, like the mush- room, these qualities are most essential, and he who possesses then is sure to find favor in the sight of those who require his services. One of the most successful contractors and builders of Long Island, and especially of Suffolk County, is I. Wallace Smith, who has devoted almost his lifetime to these occupations.
Mr. Smith was born in East Patchogue, in 1842, a son of C. Nelson and Cornelia ( Tuttle) Smith, both natives of Suffolk County, whose lives were spent in this section. The father learned house-carpentering in his early manhood, but later became a boat-builder, and still later de- voted considerable attention to agricultural pur- suits, which occupation was receiving his atten- tion at the time of his death, in 1866. His widow survived him eleven years, when she, too, passed away.
In the district schools I. Wallace Smith ac- quired a fair knowledge of the common branches, and when he had attained a suitable age began learning the trade of a builder, which he has thus far made his life work. From 1861 to 1862 he serv- ed his country faithfully. At the second battle of Bull Run he was captured, paroled and sent to Washington. Two years afterward he sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco, and after remaining there two years returned home, where lie has since resided. For several years past
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house-carpentering and contracting have received the greater part of his attention, and owing to the thorough knowledge he has of his work and the prompt manner in which he fulfills his obliga- tions, his time is fully employed and has become very profitable. He has been a resident of Port Jefferson since 1869, and during this time he has erected some of the finest and most substantial business blocks and residences of the village, which will stand as monuments to his skill and ability long after he shall have passed away.
The same year that he located in Port Jeffer- son he was united in marriage with Miss E. Josephine Parker, daughter of Andrew J. Parker, of that village. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith four children have been given: Ernest E., Henry W., Effie J. and Mattie E. Politically Mr. Smith has always espoused Republican principles, but has never been an office-seeker, as his tastes and in- clinations do not tend in that direction. He is essentially a business man and attends strictly to business, allowing no outside interest to detract from this. His neighbors are his friends, which fact speaks eloquently in his favor, and shows him to be a man of worth."
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UBBARD CORWIN, whose venerable figure lias long been familiar to all the residents of Riverhead, was born in the village of Mat- tituck, in the town of Southold, March 3, 1822, and is a representative of one of the oldest fami- lies on the island. The Corwin family is not only one of the oldest and most munerous in this region, but is very widely extended throughout the country, and has its representatives in almost every state and territory of the Union. A com- plete history of its various branches and members has been written, and can be found in many of the island homes.
hotel belonging to his brother John. In 1840 he engaged to drive a stage to Port Jefferson, to con- nect with the boats at that place arriving from New York. For four years he was employed in this way, when the railroad was extended to Riverhead and his stage became a thing of the past. The young stage-driver was next in charge of the express business between Greenport and New York for five years. A second period of five years was devoted to clerking in a dry-goods and grocery store in this village, which was fol- lowed by a third period of five years given to the fishing business, having a fish-oil factory on Shel- ter Island. Then our subject formed a partner- ship with his brother, Charles L. Corwin, in the tin and hardware business in this village, and he has continued in this establishment up to the present time.
Mr. Corwin has served this town as a Collec- tor five years, and has been a member of the Board of Supervisors for two years, being elected as a Democrat in a strong Republican region on account of his personal popularity, as well as his recognized business ability. His domestic destinies were united with those of Miss Emeline Aldrich, who became his wife in 1842. She is a native of Franklinville and a daughter of Timothy Aldrich. a carpenter and builder of that village. They have been the parents of ten children, of whom eight are now living. Alice V. is the wife of Benjamin F. Howell, a coal merchiant of Riverliead, and ex-Postmaster of the place. James H. is a bach- elor and keeps a drug store in this village. Eve- lina B. is the widow of Waldo Wells, who died some years ago, and is now living in this vil- lage. Cora E. is at home. Kate L. is the wife of Charles M. Blydenburgh, one of the leading Riverhead business men, whose sketch will be found elsewhere. Maud E. died in young woman- hood, while hier sister Leah is single and lives at home. Fannie H. is also at home. Frederick G. died when a young inan. Carrie May is a graduate of tlie normal school at Oswego, and has been for many years one of the most popular teachers of the Riverliead public schools.
. Mr. Corwin had but a common-school education, and started out in life working on a farm for his board and clotlies until he was sixteen years of Mr. Corwin has a farm of some thirty acres on age, when he came to this village to work in a , the outskirts of the town, on which his beautiful
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