USA > New York > Suffolk County > Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York, Pt. 2 > Part 51
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(T. G. Thomas.)
H ORATIO G. SAYRE was born in the vil- lage of Bridgehampton, April o, 1825. and is the son of Capt. Uriah and Nancy G. (Topping) Sayre. He was one of four children, of whom Mary A. is the widow of Edward Gray. who died in this town. John R. is also dead. Louisa was the younger daughter. The father was born in 1792, and went to sea at the early age of fourteen. He began on a whaling vessel as cabin boy, being regularly apprenticed to the work, and made his way up all the rounds of the ladder of fortune. He trod the deck as Captain and commander where he had first begun as cabin boy. For a number of years he was chief officer. and on two different voyages he was chosen Cap- tain. In his seafaring he went around the globe and saw the strange and curious quarters of the
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world with observant eyes. As a sailor he was very successful. During the War of 1812 he drove the mail stage from Sag Harbor to Brook- lyn, taking four days to make the trip along the south shore. For a time he carried the entire Long Island mail from Jamaica to New York. After leaving the sea he located on the farm where our subjeet was born, and where he died at the age of eighty-three. His remains lie in the old Bridgehampton Cemetery. His wife survived him for a period of ten years.
Mr. Sayre remained with his father during his boyhood and youth, and when he became a young man his father eould not spare him, so he made his home on the old place all his days. In 1859 Miss Jerusha Pierson became his wife. They are the parents of two children. Edward G. as- sists his father, and Grace is the wife of Abraham C. Hageman. When his father died Mr. Sayre took charge of the farm of some forty acres, and has carried it on very successfully. He stands well in the community. His education was gleaned in the district school, and he has made good use of it. In early life he was a Whig, and followed the movements of the greater part of that organization into the ranks of the Republican party when it came to the front in the years im- mediately preceding the Civil War. He is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and is much in- terested in all good work that is being done in the community.
S AMUEL DARE. Among the well-known citizens of Selden is numbered the subject of this sketch. He was born in the town in which he resides October 7, 1847. and is a son of Charles William F. and Mary Ann (Hall) Dare, the former of whom was born in Lancashire, Eng- land. He remained in his native place until eigh- teen years of age, when he came to America. Previous to coming to this country he had learned the shoemaker's trade and followed that for a liv- ing for some time after locating here. He subse- quently engaged in gardening, which was his
principal occupation up to the time of his death. At one time he served as a policeman in New York City, and was also a Lieutenant in the Mi- litia in an early day. While engaged in the boot and shoe business in Maiden Lane, New York City, he was burned out in the great fire of 1835. He died in 1888, respected by all who knew him. His wife, who was born in New York City, has reached the good old age of eighty-four years, and enjoys good health.
Our subject was one of twelve children born to his parents. As a boy he attended the district schools but had a limited opportunity for acquir- ing an education. The tocsin of war sounded when young Samuel was still a boy, but he an- swered his country's call, enlisting at the age of sixteen and a-half years, in the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth New York Zonaves. He joined his regiment at Franklin, La. While in Banks' Red River Expedition, it was still two days less than two months after leaving home that he fell into the hands of the enemy and was incarcerated in the prison at Camp Ford, Texas. Three and a half months later, during which time he received some pretty rough treatment, he was paroled and exchanged, and a month later he joined Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. After that he was in active service until the close of the war, and . was mustered out at Ft. Sumter in the fall of 1865.
After the war Mr. Dare returned to his home, where he has since resided. He has one hundred acres of land which he devotes to truck garden- ing, making a specialty of strawberries, melons, tomatoes, sweet corn, ete. February 1. 1871, he was married to Miss Henrietta Wicks, daughter of Joel and Sarah Jane (Ruland) Wicks, old and worthy families of Suffolk County. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Dare has been blessed by the ad- vent of nine children into the family, five of whom are still living, Fred. Laura May, Clarence E., John Logan, and Pauline H. All are still at home and make a merry group in the family resi- dence. Mrs. Dare is a devoted member of the Methodist Church, as also are Fred and Laura May. Fraternally Mr. Dare is a member of Rich- ard J. Clark Post No. 210, G. A. R., of Patchogue.
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In politics he is a stanch Republican and has abiding faith in the purity of the teachings of his party. He has served his fellow-citizens for sev- eral years as Trustee of the town and is at the present time of writing the efficient Chairman of that body. As a man he is a fond husband, an indulgent father, a kind neighbor, and a wor- thy, intelligent citizen. He earns the respect of all who know him by his square and honorable methods both in business and in everyday life.
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R EV. JOHN H. STANSBURY is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who is residing in a pleasant home in the village of Northport. He was born October 16, 1827, at Flushing, the oldest child in a family of six children born to Lorenzo D. and Sarah (Valen- tine) Stansbury, at that time residents of Flush- ing. Theodore, the second son, is a builder in Jamaica. Rachel is the widow of William Smith, and is a resident of Monroe, Orange County. Cor- nelia is the wife of Sanford Berdell, of Brooklyn; James died at the age of forty-five. Maria is the widow of Jacob Cook, and makes her home in Brooklyn.
The father of our subject was also born in Flushing, where he was reared and where he fol- lowed the trade of a carpenter and builder. When he had reached middle life he removed to West- chester County, where he worked at his trade for several years, and then settled at Brooklyn, where he died at the early age of forty-five. He was the son of John and Rachel (Powell) Stans- bury, the former of whom was born in Baltimore. There he was reared, going to Flushing when quite a young man, and there he was married. The family trace their ancestry back to the set- tlement of Baltimore, the first Stansbury coming over with Lord Baltimore. Rachel Powell was a native of Flushing.
Sarah Valentine, the mother of our subject, was born in Little Neck, and her death occurred after she had passed her eighty-second birthday. Her long and active life was devoted to the Methodist
Church, of which she was a most earnest meniber. She was blessed with a good voice, and it was always heard in the service of song. Her father, John Valentine, was a native of Long Island, and had memorable experiences in the Revolutionary War. He was captured by the British, and was compelled to serve two years in their lines. \t the end of that time he managed to escape, and. reaching the Continental lines, was taken before Washington himself, and sworn into the Revoin- tionary service, serving as an active soldier in the cause of American independence for five years. He participated in several battles, among theni being Little York, White Plains, and Bunker Hill. He was wounded on the right hand.
The subject of this article remained at home at Peekskill until he was about fifteen, and attendled school until twelve, when he went to work with his father at the carpenter's trade, going to Brook- lyn to follow this work until he was twenty-seven. At this age he began to take contracts for himself. and was a builder in that city until he had reached the age of thirty-five. In the meantime his thoughts had been turning towards the ministry. and he had been making preparations for preach- ing. He now joined the New York Conference. and, passing a successful examination was li- censed, in due time was ordained a preacher in New York, and joined the New York Eastern Conference. His first charge was at Newtown, where he was stationed for three years, and this was followed by three years at Smithtown. three years at Patchogue, and two years at Huntington. Then for three years he was pastor of Reed Ave- nue Church, Brooklyn; two years at Tompkins Avenue in the same city; and a third church in that city was preceded by six years in New York. three each at the Willett Street and Allen Street Churches. At Cedar Street Church, Brooklyn. he served two years, was four years at Northport. one year at Bay Shore, and then returned to Willett Street, New York, his second pastorate continuing for three years. At this time he fe- tired from the active pastorate on account of fail- ing health, and is now supplying at Centreport until conference.
Our subject was married October 24, 1848, to
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Mary Jane Barber of Brooklyn, daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Smith) Barber, and by this mar- riage five children were born, of whom the oldest, Theodore, died in infancy. John H. is now a pros- perous merchant in this village, and Joseph L. is in the wholesale grocery business in New York; Robert P. is traveling for the Hornby Oats Com- pany, of New York, and Cecelia is the wife of Milton Burr, a Northport druggist. Mr. Stans- bury is a stanch Republican, having taken an active part in several campaigns, and at the pres- ent time is President of the Board of Health. Several years ago he bought fourteen acres of land within the present village limits, and, sub- dividing a part of it, disposed of it as village lots very advantageously. He is truly a self-made man, and has been able to do much good, and rise to considerable prominence solely by his own heart and mind. He attended school but three months in the winter, for three years, and that before he was twelve. What he has accom- plished, therefore, has been done by hard work, pluck and persistence.
H ON. HENRY A. REEVES. There is nothing more interesting to a student of human nature than to trace the career of a man who, endowed with energy and ambition, enters boldly into the struggle of life, and makes for himself a high place in the busy world. Cir- cumstances over which he had no control caused the subject of this sketch, Henry A. Reeves, to take up an altogether different calling from what he intended. His choice of a profession fell upon the law, but circumstances caused him to become engaged in editorial work. Thus what the ranks of one profession lost, the other was the gainer thereby. Born at Sag Harbor, December 7. 1832, his early life was spent in his native village and there his scholastic education began.
From three until he was nine or ten years of age, Henry A. attended a private school, after which he pursued his studies in a select school at Sag Harbor, and in the Academy of Southamp-
ton, where lie was fitted for college, and then entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. at which time he was but fourteen years of age. He remained in that institution three years, then went to Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., where he passed the senior year under President Nott, and was graduated in the Class of '52. He then decided to make the practice of law his life- work and for this purpose he began reading Blackstone and the works of other legal authori- ties. After being admitted to the Bar he decided to open an office in Wisconsin, but the death of his worthy father changed all his plans and in- stead, in 1858, he bought the "Republican Watch- man" of Greenport, L. I., removed thither and has owned and edited this paper ever since.
As a journalist, Mr. Reeves' career has been characterized by strong convictions courageously expressed, by a comprehensive know ledge of pub- lie affairs and a clear recognition of pub-
lic sentiment, by keen sympathy with all forms of progress in the various departments of the world's work, by originality and independence of thought, by an industry and a capacity for work which have never flagged through a long career of editorial labor. Not alone has he attained prominence in this respect, but he is also among the foremost political leaders of Long Island and has ever proved a formidable opponent even when pitted against men of great mental attainments. In 1868 lie was nominated for Congress by the Democrats of the First Congressional District, comprising Suffolk, Queens and Richmond Coun- ties, and was elected over Col. Alfred M. Wood by about fourteen hundred majority. Ever since 1873 he has been elected Supervisor in a town that has always had a Republican majority and in each and every case his opponents have been men of undoubted ability and mental discernment. He usually attends the Presbyterian Church. With the exception of two Greek letter societies. in college, he has never joined any secret order.
Mr. Reeves is one of three surviving members (two sons and one daughter) of a family of five children: Henry A .. Edward L., Mary C .. Charles O., and Walter L., born to Lemuel W. : and Hannah Ann (Jacobs) Reeves, who were
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born in Southampton and Huntington, L. I., in 1799 and 1801 respectively. Lemuel W. Reeves was a cooper by trade and after a useful and well spent life, died at Sag Harbor, at the age of fifty- eight years, after a wedded life of twenty-six years.
At present Mr. Reeves is one of the three mem- bers of the New York State Commission in Lu- nacy, having been appointed as the lay member of that body at its constitution in May, 1889, for a term of two years, and re-appointed in 1891 for a full term of six years. This commission has under its jurisdiction nearly twenty thousand committed insane persons, and controls a dis- bursement from the state treasury of over $4,000,000.
G EORGE THEODORE LYMAN, a re- tired business man and one of the pub- lic-spirited citizens of Bellport, though of original New England stock, was born in Paris, December 23, 1821. His parents were George Williams and Elizabeth Gray (Otis) Lyman, the former of whom was born in Maine, but who passed the greater part of his life in the city of Boston, Mass. He was a well known and success- ful business man and, with Messrs. Lowell, Moody, Boott, Jackson and the Lawrences, was one of the originators of the manufacture of cot- 'un goods at Lowell, Mass. He died in 1881, at " age of ninety-five. The mother of our sub- ject was the daughter of Harrison Gray Otis, of Boston, Mass. The latter was very prominent in liis day in the political life of his state and the Nation, and was often called upon to serve in public positions of responsibility and honor.
George Theodore, of this history, received his preliminary education in the schools of Boston, Mass., after which he entered Harvard College. There he pursued the entire course and in 1842 was graduated therefrom with high honors. From the time of leaving college until 1869 he was en- gaged in business in Boston and New York. That year, however, he decided to retire from business, wid, finding a suitable location in Suffolk County,
came hither and has ever since made his home on his beautiful estate in Bellport. He has lived quietly since coming here, although he has aimed to do what he could to benefit his fellowmen, and has been conscientious and intelligent in carrying out his convictions of duty.
. Mr. Lyman was married in 1845 to Sally, daughter of James W. Otis, a well known resident and business man of New York City. Of their six children, three now survive, namely: Charles. engaged in business in the metropolis: Alice, the wife of William P. Pepper, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Elizabeth Gray, now Mrs. Albert Meredith, of Milton, Mass. Mrs. Lyman died in 1894, great- ly mourned by relatives and friends. In his relig- ious views our subject is a Unitarian. He was identified with the Republican party until 1884. but since that time has been independent in his views, and casts his vote with the party he con- siders puts up the best candidates. He does not believe in putting into practice the old saying that "to the victor belongs the spoils," but advocates letting fitness and fidelity decide the fate of candi- dates for office. He was one of those who, under the lead of George William Curtis, were the first subscribers towards the Civil Service Reform Association, and was also one of the first to join in organizing the Reform Club of New York City.
The widow of George Gray Lyman, the eld- est son of our subject. was formerly Miss Millie Parker, a native of Springfield, Mass. She has four sons, George Parker, Francis Marion, Har- rison Gray and James Otis, and makes her home with our subject.
O LIVER S. CARLL. a farmer in the town of Huntington, was born October 12. 1824, on the farm which he now owns. and was the fourth in a family of nine children born to Gilbert and Fannie (Carll) Carll. The father was also born here. and here he spent his entire life, living to reach the age of ninety-four years. He was a stanch Democrat, and hield
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about all the town offices, from Supervisor down. In his long and busy career he was quite suc- cessful, reaching as it did well on to a century. He was the son of Jacob Carll, who was also a native of Long Island, and who died in middle age. The mother of our subject was also a native of the county, and died at the age of seventy-six.
Our subject attended the district school and progressed as he could in the acquirement of an education until he became of age. Then he went to Brooklyn and engaged in the livery business, and in this he continued for some thirty years, or up to 1879, when he was called home by the death of his father. The old home farm fell to him by inheritance, and he has made it his home up to the present time.
Mr. Carll was united in marriage to Miss Julia M. Conklin, of Brooklyn, in the year 1856, and to this couple there were born five children. Fan- nie, the oldest, died at the age of twenty; Ada- line C. is the wife of William Beaty, of Brook- lyn; Gilbert is on the farm with his father; Hattie E. is still at home, while Augusta, the youngest, is the wife of T. Place, of West Hills. Our sub- ject is a Democrat on all national matters, but takes a broad and liberal view of all local politics. While he is interested in party movements, he would never consent to be a candidate for any elective position. He now owns a fine farm of some six hundred acres of the old homestead that has been in the hands of the family for more than one hundred years.
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C HARLES J. RANDALL. A wide-awake citizen and upright and enterprising busi- ness man of Brook Haven is Charles J. Randall, who has spent the greater part of his life thus far in agricultural pursuits, but who, in con- nection, is also engaged in the real estate busi- ness. He was born here February 8, 1837, a son of Horace G. and Sabry (Davis) Randall, natives of Brook Haven, and for many years prominent citizens here. The father was prominently identi- fied with agricultural pursuits during his life and was also a merchant from 1849 until his death, in ; years or more,
1878. He was a man of upright, honorable char- acter and one who held the respect of all. His wife died in 1848.
The youthful days of our subject were passed in assisting his father on the farm and in attending the district schools, where he secured a fair edu- cation. At an early age he selected farming as his chosen occupation in life, and has continued to till the soil for the most part ever since. Dur- ing the years between 1849 and '54 he assisted his father in the store. Also, in connection with farming, he handles and sells cord wood, and about 1892 he embarked in the real estate busi- ness. He handles a great deal of land and at the present time has quite a good deal of Long Island property for sale. He is pushing and enterpris- ing and is meeting with success in his last under- taking.
Mr. Randall selected his wife in the person of Miss Helen C. Overton, daughter of Lewis R. and Elizabeth (Davis) Overton, old and worthy citizens of Suffolk County. Mr. and Mrs. Ran- dall became the parents of eight children, four of whom are living. Nellie Josephine married Dan- iel R. Davis, a prominent citizen of the town of Brook Haven; Ada Ophelia, a teacher of Suffolk County, graduated at Oneonta Normal School in June, 1895; Cora E. is a graduate of Albany Busi- ness College; and Blanche R. completes the fam- ily.
Mr. and Mrs. Randall hold membership in the Presbyterian Church and he is an Elder in the same. In politics Mr. Randall is a stanch Repub- lican and gives his hearty support to the best in- terests of liis party. While not caring to hold of- fice, he has served most creditably and to the sat- isfaction of his fellow citizens as Collector for two terms, and Assessor six years. The last time while running for Collector he received a majority of three hundred and seventy-five, and the town was largely Democratie, thus showing his popu- larity in the section where he was reared. The Randall family is a well known and highly re- spected one on the island. having resided here for many generations, and eight of the older mem- bers of this family lived to the ripe age of seventy
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C APT. JOSEPH T. BUNCE. Among thie retired seamen who reside at Cold Spring Harbor is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was born January 28, 1838, and is a son of Capt. Joseph T. and Sarah C. (Coles) Bunce, being one of ten children. Of these seven are still living, a percentage that shows the stock to be of the best and sturdiest nature.
Capt. Joseph T. Bunce, Sr., was born in 1798, in the town of Northport, L. I. He was a son of Eliphalet, of the same nativity, who moved to Cold Spring Harbor, with his family, when our subject's father was in his infancy. Here the lat- ter grew to manhood and learned the carpenter's trade; but this proved not to his liking, and early in life lie became a seafaring man, and from that time devoted himself to the life of a mariner. He owned the sloops "Independence." "James Mor- gan," and later "Export." His decease took place in September of 1879.
The subject of this sketch attained years of manhood under the parental roof and acquired his education in the common schools of the town. At the age of twelve years he went to sea on board his father's sloop, "Export," and from that time up to 1887 he followed the sea. At the age of nineteen he was given charge of the sloop "Golden Rule," and after commanding this boat for some time he purchased a controlling interest in the sloop "Denmark," sailing as her captain for nine years. At the expiration of that time he disposed of his interest in that vessel and built for himself the schooner "William L. Peck," which he commanded during the following twenty years. She was a handsome craft, and the speed- iest of hier size afloat in her waters. She became the pride of his seafaring life, and one of the treas- ures of his cozy home is a handsome painting of this vessel in her race with the schooner "Racor."
For the past eight years Captain Bunce has been a landsman, and during that time he has been occupied as agent for the firm of H. A. Peck & Co., of New York, who deal in fertilizers. It has become an extensive business and requires much of his attention. He has been twice mar- riedl. The maiden name of his first wife was Miss
Rosanna McElvary, of Brooklyn. Their marriage took place January 28, 1861. She died March 21. 1867. The present Mrs. Bunce was Miss Alma Gardner, whom he married September 14, 1868. Captain Bunce became the father of one child by his first wife, a son, William P., who is married and the father of four children. Six children were born of his second marriage. Five of these now survive. They are: Elwood M., who is married and has one child; Eliphalet, Percy R., Grace E., and Mildred E. In his political leanings Captain Bunce is a Republican, although, as natural for a man who spent so little time on land, and having so little concern with municipal interests, lie is not strongly held by party or faction.
J JOSEPH H. CADOO, one of the energetic and rising young contractors of Northport. has been engaged in this business since 1893, and has been in Northport since July, 188). He is a son of Allen Cadoo, a retired citizen of this place, who, after a busy and useful life, is now, at the age of eighty years, enjoying the fruits of his labor in the possession of a compe- tence. By his marriage to Mrs. Sarah Moore five children were born who attained years of mia- turity, namely: Belle, wife of Joim Bohm, of Northport; Maggie, who lives in Brooklyn; Jo- sephi H., Emily, and John, who are residents of Northport.
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