USA > New York > Suffolk County > Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York, Pt. 2 > Part 47
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In November, 1885, Mr. Post was united in marriage with Miss Anna Grace Foster, of Hones- dale, Pa., of which place her father, Isaac MI. Fos- ter, was an honored citizen. In religious views they are Presbyterians and hold membership in the church of that denomination at Quogue, Mr. Post being a Trustee. He has been a Director of the Southampton Bank since its organization in 1888.
W ILLIAM Y. FITHIAN, Clerk of the town of Southold, Suffolk County, was born one mile north of Greenport, in the town of Southold, his natal day being January 23, 1828. His father, Samuel Fithian, was born in the town of East Hampton, and when a young man he went to Greenport and was engaged as a sailor, surveyor and school teacher. He was a scholar above the average, and a superior naviga- tor. ITis death occurred in Greenport thirty-seven years ago. The Fithian family was an old one on Long Island, and the progenitor of William Fith- ian came from Southampton, England.
Our subject's mother, formerly Cynthia Mehita- ble Tuthill, was one of an old and well known family, and her birth occurred in Orient. She lived to be eighty-six years of age, and was an ac- complished and much esteemed woman in the community. William Fithian was one of nine children born to his parents, three of whom died in infancy. Of those who grew to maturity we men- tion the following: Harriet A. married W. Terry and lives at Greenport; Roxana married Capt. Fyra B. Terry, both of whom lived at Greenport until the time of their decease. Maria Jane married Jeim Fournier, a sea captain, who was lost at sea
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during a storm, and she still lives at Orient with a daughter; Cynthia A. married Charles Wiggins and is now a widow; Esther T. married George W. Young and lives in Greenport.
William Y., the fourth in order of birth in his father's family, and the only son, was educated in Greenport and at Southold Academy. For many years he engaged in the mercantile business and was quite successful, but reverses came in later years and he lost much that he had accumulated. He is now occupied on his small farm, and devotes himself to stock-raising. Mr. Fithian was Post- master of Southold during Harrison's administra- tion and is now serving his second term as Town Clerk.
The subject of this sketch was married to Sarah A. Brower, in 1851. She was born in New York City and was the daughter of James Brower, a shoemaker and dealer. Mr. Fithian and his wife llave three children, there being two daughters and one son. The latter, Herbert N., is an en- gineer in New York City; Anna H. is the wife of Charles A. Jackson, Jr., the only son of Charles A. Jackson, the well known boat-builder, with whom he is in business; Belle B. married Robert L. Hadley, who is interested with Mr. Fithian in business.
C HARLES A. DAVIS, a man well known to the people of the town of Brook Ha- ven, was born in the village of Mt. Sinai, November 23, 1831. His parents, Isaac and Catharine (Woodhull) Davis, were married in 1818, and his mother is still living at the very ad- vanced age of ninety-six years, in the enjoyment of what must be pronounced very good health for that great age. He was one of seven children and it is quite remarkable that all are living. all are married, and all are residents of Long Island.
The wedding day of Charles A. Davis was De- cember 17, 1863, when Miss Sarah A. Tooker became his wife, and a wife in the best and truest sense of the word she has proved to be. To them have been born seven children, whose names and destinies are recorded as far as possible by
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the faithful historian. Mary C., the oldest, is the wife of Robert W. Wheeler; Nellie is deceased; Harry is with a merchant in Port Jefferson; Hat- tie, Sadie A., Beteena M., and Grace are at home or in school.
Mr. Davis continued on the old homestead until the time of his marriage, and the year fol- lowing purchased the property where he now re- sides. He took charge of a large farm, which he ran for many years with much satisfaction to the owner and profit to himself. He owns somne forty acres in the farm which he is now operat- ing, and has besides not a little property in his native town, so that he is fairly well off, and can feel that his lifelong struggle with the plow has not been in vain. Farming has been his only vocation, and in his sturdy and successful man- hood he is a living lesson as to the value of agri- culture as a business. The death of his wife in 1888 was a great blow to him, the severity of which only those can appreciate who have been called to pass through these same deep waters.
Our subject is a man of character and standing in his own community, a fact which is evident from his repeated election as Justice of the Peace for sixteen years, and also from his election as Trustee of the school district for ten years. He attended the district school a short time only and has had to make his own way in the world, and is regarded as a man of knowledge and judg- ment, whose education has largely been han- mered out on the anvil of experience. He is a Democrat, and is highly regarded by those of that party as a man worthy of honor and capable of administering affairs.
H AROLD W. PERKINS, M. D., a resident and medical practitioner at Smithtown Branch, was born in the city of Baltimore August 28, 1859, and is a son of Aaron and Mary E. (Wentworth) Perkins. The latter was a cou- sin of "Long John" Wentworth. The father of our subject was born at Bridgewater, Mass., and carly in life, or at the age of twenty-two, entered
the Baptist ministry. His first location was in Massachusetts, thence he came to New York, his first church being in Poughkeepsie. He was instrumental in the building of the Berean Church at New York City and was connected with the Baptist Theological University that is located at Hamilton, N. Y. During the war he was sent by- the Baptist Association as a home missionary and was located at Atchison, Kan., where he re- mained for four years. During his residence there the sister of our subject was born.
After returning from the West. Dr. Perkins' father located at Sing Sing, where his wife estab- lished a private school for young ladies, which she conducted for six years in a highly creditable manner. Rev. Mr. Perkins died at Red Bank, N. J., while temporarily away from home, Octo- ber 1, 1881, at the age of ninety years. He was one of seven sons, all of whom lived to be over eighty years of age.
Our subject's boyhood was spent in the differ- ent places where his father was located in his ministerial life. He was early sent to the public schools and later entered Mt. Pleasant Military Academy at Sing Sing, where he was fitted for college, but upon the death of his father gave up his studies, which he had pursued most credit- ably for two years at Bowdoin College. He then began teaching in order to add to the family ex- chequer, and devoted four years to that work in New Jersey. In 1885 our subject took up his studies at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.
After receiving his degree Dr. Perkins began active practice, first at Kittery Point, where he remained a year, and then joined his mother at Red Bank, where they made their home together for a year At the end of that time he accepted a position under the Government at the Nez Pe- lum Reservation, which is located at Spokane Falls. After remaining there two years he re- turned to Red Bank and was united in marriage with Margaret A. Covert, daughter of Josepli Covert, a, native of New Jersey, their marriage being solemnized in 1890 at New York City. Dr. Perkins had only obtained a leave of absence from the reservation, but as his wife's relatives and friends were strenuously opposed to the
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young couple's location in the West he did not return to his position but embarked in the drug business at Red Bank.
Our subject was obliged to give up his drug business, as the confinement in-doors affected his health, and in consequence he took a position with a New York drug company and traveled throughout the State of Pennsylvania for one and a half years. He located in Smithtown Branch in May of 1894 and has since that time acquired a large proportion of the practice of the locality. He gives special attention to and is very success- iul in pulmonary diseases. In politics Dr. Per- kins is a Republican and is an ardent worker in local and national affairs. Both our subject and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During his residence in Red Bank he was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and filled all the chairs. One child has been born to this young couple, a daughter named Carrie C.
O LIVER K. BUCKLEY. It is the men of broad and comprehensive views who give life to communities-men who have foresight and energy, pluck and push to forward their interests and still retain an untarnished rep -. utation through it all. Such a man is Oliver K. Buckley, the retired builder, of Greenport. He was born in the City of New York, December 29. 1810, to Burr Buckley, who was born in the state of Connecticut, July 24, 1777. He was a shoe- maker by trade, and when a young man removed to New York, where he forined the acquaintance of Jonas Ketcham, a merchant of Huntington, and through him made the acquaintance of Miss Saralı Conklin, a sister of Mr. Ketcham's wife. She was born in Huntington, March 28, 1783, and was a member of one of the oldest and most highly honored families of that place. After their marriage they removed to Syosset, Queens County, where the father died, October 2, 1828. The mother died at the home of a daughter in Brooklyn, February 17, 1867, a worthy member
of the Presbyterian Church of Huntington. Mr. Buckley was an Episcopalian.
Of the children born to this worthy couple we mention the following: Amelia, born February 20, 1809, was married in New York to George Alvoid, who was a hatter by trade; Elizabeth, born January 6, 1814, married a Mr. Chandler, who died soon after, and she passed from life Sep- tember 6, 1843; Abel C., born January 12, 1817, was a tanner by trade, and died in Brooklyn, al- though he had been in business in Sag Harbor and Riverhead previous to his location in Brook- iyn; William, born April 2, 1820, was a hatter by trade; he became blind, but through a successful operation has recovered the sight of one eye, and is now living with a daughter in Columbus, Ohio; Sarah A., born June 20, 1823, married a MIr. Starkweather, a traveling salesman for a hardware house of New York City. He started out on one of his trips and was never afterward heard from. His widow lives in Orange, N. J.
The subject of this sketch was the second of this family. In his early manhood he learned the cabinetmaker's trade and the undertaking busi- ness, near Hicksville, and this occupation he fol- lowed at Riverhead for several years, but owing to failing health he abandoned it and went on the water and continued as a sailor for four years. At the end of this time he settled in Greenport and took up the carpenter's trade, which he fol- lowed for more than half a century, but for a few years past he has not been actively engaged in any pursuit, although he still owns his shop and enjoys doing odd jobs as a pastime. He has erected many of the buildings in the beautiful lit- tle village in which he lives, and in other ways has helped to build up the place, for he has always been very public-spirited.
January 6, 1835, Frances M. Penny, of Red Creek, became his wife. She died, July 8, 1892, of apoplexy, after a married life of over fifty- seven years. Of the children of this union we make the following mention: Oliver K., Jr., born March 11, 1836, is an architect aud contractor of Brooklyn; George P., born July 31, 1837, went on the water when a lad and became master of a vessel before he was twenty-one; he was Captain
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of the ship "William Hale," plying between New York and Cape Town, and when near the latter place, while lie and his wife were peacefully sleep- ing in their cabin, they were both murdered by a Chinese cook, on the night of August 26, 1892. The motive for this brutal deed was never known. When the murder was discovered, to escape the consequences of his crime, the Chinaman threw himself overboard and was drowned, taking with him the secret of the terrible crime. Alonzo C., born April 19, 1839, is a builder of Brooklyn; Sarah E. married John L. Terry, a ship-builder of Greenport; she died March 17, 1873; William J., born October 16, 1843, was in the postoffice of Brooklyn and died July 12, 1893; Henry Burr, born July 7, 1846, died in infancy; Gertrude J., born July 11, 1848, married Jesse Horton and died in Greenport, October 3, 1895; Ruth C. is single and lives with her father, and Kate, born August 19, 1856, married William B. Stark- weather, a son of Sarah, youngest sister of Mr. Buckley. He is an expert bookkeeper of New York.
Mr. Buckley is now living in the home he built more than half a century ago. He was Overseer of the Poor for three years, and has long been an active member of the Presbyterian Church. Po- litically he is a Republican. For a man who has reached the age of eighty-five years, he is re- markably active and intelligent. When in his pleasant home he usually occupies a chair that was in the possession of his wife's family for more than two hundred years. He has many friends and lias the respect of all who know him.
S TERRY HUDSON, a resident of River- head, who has gained a national reputa- tion through his inventions, was born in Northville, N. Y., November 24, 1843. The family has been identified with the history of Suffolk County for several generations, and its members have been found on the right side of public ques- tions and worthy in civic life. His grandfather, Daniel Hudson, a native of this county, spent his
life principally on the farm where our subject was born. He took an active part in the War of 1812, and many cannon-balls that were fired from Brit- ish men-of-war have been plowed up on the old homestead, our subject having found a number of these while plowing the same soil in later years. Grandfather Hudson died when almost one hun- dred years of age.
Samuel Hudson, our subject's father, was born on the old home farm in this county, and was an agriculturist by occupation. A man of influence in his community, he filled a number of town of- fices and was prominently connected with the founding of the Northiville Academy. For years he was a Deacon in the Congregational Church. His death occurred in 1882. His wife, Angeline, was born in Northville, her father having at one time been a prominent merchant of that place, and later of Aquebogue.
The only child of his parents, our subject spent his early life on the home farm, receiving an excel- lent education in the academies at Northville and Franklinville. Until the death of his parents he engaged in farm pursuits, after which he started a small factory at Aquebogue for the manufacture of agricultural implements of his own invention. One of his early inventions was a very successful machine for stripping the leaves from sorghum. In 1885 his plant at Aquebogue was burned down, and two years later he established l:is present concern, which is larger. Among the many machines he has invented is a leading potato dig- ger, for which he has found an extensive sale. Besides, he is the inventor of a road machine hav- ing much merit, also harrows, potato planters and many other valuable implements. But the one that has attracted the most attention and has been sold throughout the United States is liis bicycle cultivator, one of the most effective farm machines ever constructed. He has quite an ex- tensive plant in Riverhead, but his bicycle culti- vator is manufactured largely by others on a royalty, and is a source of considerable revenue.
In 1861 Mr. Hudson married Miss Mary, daughter of J. Edward Wells, whose sketch ap- pears in this work. They have three children. Edward G. married Sadie, daughter of James
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Reeve, of Mattituck, and has two children, Bertha and Russell; he is a member of the wholesale pro- duce firm of Wells & Hudson, his grandfather, J. Edward Wells, being the senior partner. Ada R., elder daughter of our subject, married J. Addison Young, an attorney of New Rochelle, N. Y., and son of J. Halsey Young, of Aquebogue; they have two children, Walter and Nellie. Alice, Mr. Hud- son's younger daughter, married Henry G. Di- mon, who is one of the managing civil engineers of the Groton (N. Y.) Bridge Company ; she died January 2, 1895, leaving three children, Henry, Agatha and Alice.
Interested in other matters than those directly connected with his business, Mr. Hudson has been a leading member of the Patrons of Husbandry, was one of the incorporators of the State Grange, and at one time was State Lecturer of the order, establishing the majority of the granges in this county. He was prominently identified with the organization of the Riverhead Town Agricultural Society, in which he was a worker for twenty years. His wife is a member of the Congrega- tional Church and is interested in religious and benevolent enterprises. In politics he is a Repub- lican, but has never sought official honors, pre- ferring to give his attention to his business affairs. He was one of the stockholders in the company that started the summer resort known as the "Point of Woods," and here he spends some of the summer months in a private cottage. A man of large enterprise and mature judgment, his finan- cial success has come to him gradually, as a result of his thoughtful judgment and the exercise of a studious inventive ability.
J OHN MITCHELL STEVENS, a well known and highly respected resident of West Hampton Beach, was born June 25, 1840, and his children make the fifth generation of the family that have been born where he now lives. The son of Abraham and Hannah (Ray- nor) Stevens, he was one of six children, of whom three are now living. Nancy is the widow of
Jesse W. Pelletreau and has one child. Hubert F. is married and is the father of ten children.
Abraham Stevens was born May 7, 1805, in the residence which our subject now employs as his summer home, and here he attained manhood and spent the subsequent years of his life as a farmer, dying July 3, 1883. His father, Charles Stevens, was also born in the old homestead and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed as the business of his life. His father, the great- grandfather of our subject, built the homestead in which the fifth generation is now living. Will- iam was the son of Thomas Stevens, who was the first of the family heard of on these shores, having come from England at an early day and settled in Southampton.
The subject of this sketch acquired his educa- tion in the country schools, and on arriving at the age of manhood began farming, which has been the employment of all his mature years. He married Miss Laura Hawkins in 1868, and to this union there have been born two children, both of whom are now living, the son, Abram H., learning the carpenter's trade, and the daughter, Mabel B., still at home. Mrs. Stevens is the daughter of William Sidney Hawkins, of Mor- iches, and is a representative of one of the old and honored families on the island.
In 1884 Mr. Stevens erected a handsome twen- ty-room cottage, and for some years made a busi- ness of accommodating summer boarders, of whom nunibers have sought his care, both on ac- count of the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the pleasant and agreeable character of the landlord of such a charming summer home, and the kindly and amiable spirit with which his wife also cared for them. He continued this business for some five years and then, receiving a very ad- vantageous offer for its use, rented it to a private party, and it has been used in this way every sum- mer since. The family would retire to the old homestead until the cooler weather came and the flock of, summer saunterers would fly back to the city.
In politics our subject has generally acted with the Democratic party, but has held himself above office-seeking and party manipulation, and has
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thought it his first duty to consider the ends of right and justice and honesty in political action. He is well thought of in all the surrounding neighborhood, and can look back on the years of a long and active life with much satisfaction.
J ABNER SMITH was born in the town of Huntington, at what is now called West Hills, October 10, 1835. His father, Solo- mon S. Smith, who was also a native of this town, born here in 1806, was a farmer throughout his entire life, and was a member of the Melville Presbyterian Church, in which he served as Trustee. He died at the place where he had al- ways lived, in August, 1888. His brother, Ezra Smith, was for many years an Alderman in the city of New York, where he filled many other places of trust, being in the contracting business and standing high in the estimation of the public.
The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Jacob Smith, who was also a native of this town, born in 1763, and was a farmer all his days. He was at one time Sheriff of the county, and was looked upon as a representative public-spir- ited man of his day. He was an Elder in the church, and for a long time served as Justice of the Peace. His father, whose name was Micah, came from England, and with three brothers set- tled on Long Island, at what is now Smithtown, where he gained possession of a large tract of land, and it was from him that the Smithtown branch of the family started. The mother of our subject, Abigail Ketcham, was born in the town of Huntington, and was the daughter of Timothy Ketcham, also a native of Huntington. She had one brother, Platt Ketcham.
The subject of this sketch was one of eight chil- dren, four of whom died in infancy. Sidney K., a graduate of Middleton College, and a Meth- odist minister for thirty years, is now at Marl- boro, Mass. Martha married Jolin Beaty, and they are living in this village. Adeline married Jackson M. Jarvis, and lives on the old liome- stead in this town.
Our subject grew to manhood on the farm, re- ceived a common-school education, and when he became old enough to plan for himself as to what his life work should be, followed farming until he was thirty. He then came to the village and embarked in the butcher business, in which he has been engaged for twenty-eight years. He is a member of the Board of Education, a Deacon of the Second Presbyterian Church, and a mem- ber of the American Legion of Honor, of which he has been Vice-President. Politically he is a Republican. In 1858 he married Charity, daugli- ter of David Jarvis, of Melville. She died in 1873, leaving two children, of whom Solomon died in infancy, and Phoebe Ella is now with her father. He married again in 1875, taking as his wife, Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Stephen Brown, of New York. They had three children, of vhom one died quite young. Eva is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary, and is a young lady of many accomplishments. Russell is now being educated at Huntington.
J I AMES E. BAYLES, a prominent citizen of Port Jefferson, was born here May 8, 1841, a son of James M. and Desire A. (Hawkins) Bayles, both natives of Port Jefferson, which was their home throughout life. Our subject has been prominently connected with ship building inter- ests in the United States, and is probably the best known ship-builder in the Empire State.
As Mr. Bayles is most correctly estimated as a citizen by those who have been most closely as- sociated with him we will quote largely from local papers concerning his career. This from the "Times," October 13, 1883: "The Bayles family have been identified with the town of Brook Haven and the village of Port Jefferson for gen- crations, and no small part of the material wealth of Port Jefferson today is due to the energy and perseverance of 'Boss Jim,' as he is familiarly called. The name of the village is said to owe its origin to Elisha Bayles, father of James M., who, being a stanch Democrat and an ardent ad-
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mirer of Jefferson, when the subject of changing the name, 'Drown Meadow,' was suggested, pre- sented the title, Port Jefferson.
"Elishia Bayles settled in Port Jefferson in 1809, having moved thence from Mt. Sinai, and com- menced business as a merchant. At that time Port Jefferson (Drown Meadow) was a straggling liamlet of barely a dozen houses. He had four sons and a daughter, all of whom are still living. James M., the father of our subject, was born January 18, 1815, on 'Cookey Hill,' in the resi- dence on Main Street, at present occupied by his youngest brother, Capt. Joseph Bayles. At the age of twenty-three he was married at Setauket. In 1836 he commenced ship building in a small way, the business coming naturally to him. He liad served no apprenticeship, but was self-edu- cated in the mysteries of modeling and shaping the timbers. He was so exact and painstaking in lis methods of building, always objecting to poor work, that he soon established a reputation as a master ship-builder, and was identified with the building of ninety-five vessels. Among some of tlie barks built by him may be mentioned the 'Carib,' built for Capt. John Moore, to run to St. Croix. This boat cost over $45,000, and at the time was considered the finest vessel in America. Her cabins were fitted and furnished regardless of expense. 'Boss' Bayles always superintended the work in progress in the yards and even after 1862, when he had associated with himself in the business his son, James E., he was always on hand.
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