The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 109

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114

USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I > Part 109

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Constant exposure to the abnormal conditions existing in the caisson, finally broke down Col. Roebling's health ; but, even from his sick room. his oversight of the work did not flag, except for six months in 1873, which he spent at Wies- baden, in Germany, by the advice of his physician.

It has been often said that Col. Roebling simply copied bis father's plans. His assistants, better informed, agree that there is scarcely a feature in the whole work that has not presented new and untried problems, which have owed their solution to him. The methods used to get the material out of the caissons; the plan of lighting the caissons and furnishing them with a supply shaft, the machinery for rais- ing the stone on the towers, so that the top course was laid at the same price as the bottom course, were all of his de- sign. He made the anchor plates much larger than his father had intended. Steel cables were never before used, and all previous cables had been made of seven strands. The cables for the East River Bridge were so large that they had to be made in nineteen strands. This involved new problems in regulating-a task most difficult under any cir- cumstances. The unusual number of strands rendered neces- sary the construction of two tiers of anchor chains, which had never before been attempted. It was only by this device that it became possible to attach the strands in their proper order of sequence. The use of an elevated foot-bridge over the top of the towers was an entirely new feature, as all other suspension bridges had foot-bridges nearly on the same level as the main bridge. The splice which had for- merly been used for iron wire was not adapted for steel wire, and a new one had to be devised that would retain as nearly as possible the full strength of the wire. .

His return from Wiesbaden was followed by acute pros- tration, his ailment being an elaboration of the caisson disease, which puzzled the physicians. Despite his physical condition, his mind possesses its pristine vigor, but any pro- tracted exertion either in talking or listening is impossible. He liad an easy chair at the window of the top story of the bay-window extension of his house, which commanded a view of nearly the whole structure, and thus was kept familiar with the minutest details of the bridge making.

The Engineering Staff .- Few engineers in charge of an important publie work have ever been so fortun- ate in the personnel of their staff, as has Col. Roebling. Until many years have passed, passengers over the river span will not fail to associate with the name of Roeb- ling, those of Martin, Paine, McNulty, Collingwood and Probasco. It is fitting, therefore, that a short aecount of their careers should be given herewith.

C. C. MARTIN was, like Col. Roebling, a native of Pennsyl- vania, was born in 1831, and spent his early life on a frontier

farm, graduated with high honor at the Polytechnic Insti- tnte, at Troy; commenced as a rodman on the Brooklyn Water Works, and worked his way up to the possition of Assistant Engineer, having charge of the construction of three of the great reservoirs. Afterwards he was employed in locomotive building and in bridge work, and during the war was in charge of Government experiments on tubular boilers, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. After the war, he laid the 48-inch water main through Atlantic Avenue, and was subsequently appointed as chief engineer on Prospect Park, where the road ways and admirable drainage system attest his great skill as a civil engineer.

COL. W. H. PAINE is another to whom great praise is due, for his part in the construction of the bridge. He is a native of New Hampshire, and after completing his education, spent several years as surveyor and mining engineer in the West. In 1861, he went to the front with a Wisconsin Regiment, bnt was soon appointed Captain of Engineers, and attached to the staff of the ranking Major-General of the army. After the war, he was employed in preparing maps and drawings for several histories of the War. He has been connected with the bridge since its inception; was engaged in the origi- nal surveys, and afterwards in inspecting and testing tlie wire, in which department he won the highest encomiums from the trustees and from his chief.

GEO. W. MCNULTY was born in New York city, and is the youngest of the bridge staff, being but 32 years of age, thongh a ripe scholar, and an enthusiast in his profession. Previons to his engagement on the bridge, he had done but little except surveying. His career in this enterprise has in- elnded some very difficult branches of the work, and his suc- cess has gained him the nnqualified approbation, not alone of his associates and superiors, but of the trustees and all those who have had opportunity to become familiar with his work.

FRANCIS COLLINGWOOD, of the engineering staff, is also a New Yorker ; was for some years a watchmaker's apprentice, but saved money enough to enter, at the age of 19, the Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated at the head of his class in 1855. Was engaged for some time in railroad surveys, and then (while conducting a jewelry busi- ness), at Elmira, N. Y., was City Surveyor of that city. In- vited by Col. Roebling, in 1869, to take part, for a month, in the final surveys of the bridge, h's month was lengthened into a term of fonrteen years' service. He has taken a prom- inent and active part in all the work of the bridge, especi- ally of the New York approach, including the Franklin Square bridge.

The Directorate .- No sketeh of this, the greatest triumph of engineering seience of this or any other age, would be at all complete without special mention of those who have stood behind all others, and, by their patient oversight and careful management, have rendered possible the suecess which has been aeliieved, in the face of difficulties and opposition, such as have seldom been met with in such an enterprise. They brought to this, a public work, the personal probity, energy, and experience which has distinguished them in private life and in the walks of business; and the Bridge to-day is no less a monument to their fidelity than to the mechanical skill of its engineers.

As we have heretofore shown (page 451) the bridge

461

THE EAST RIVER BRIDGE.

was originally a private enterprise; but, under legisla- tion obtained in 1874 and 1875, the New York Bridge Company was dissolved, and the management and supervision of the work devolved upon the Trustees of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. The Board of Trustees was arranged to consist of twenty meinbers, eight to be appointed by the Mayor and Controller and President of the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York, and eight to be appointed by the Mayor, Controller and Auditor of the City of Brooklyn. The Mayors and Controllers of both cities made ex-officio members of the board. The terms of office of the Trustees were fixed at two years, and this arrangement of the power of control has since been maintained. The Trustees chosen (for Brooklyn) were as follows:

In 1875-Mayor John W. Hunter, Controller S. S. Powell, William C. Kingsley, Henry C. Murphy, Thomas Carroll, William Marshall, Henry W. Slocum, Isaac Van Anden, Wil- liam B. Leonard, James S. T. Stranahan.

In 1877-Mayor Frederick A. Schroeder, Controller Wmn. Bur- rell, Henry C. Murphy, Thomas Kinsella, William C. King- sley, Henry W. Slocum, James S. T. Stranahan, Thomas Carroll, William B. Leonard, William Marshall.

In 1879-Mayor James Howell, Controller G. Steinmetz, James S. T. Stranahan, William Taylor, William C. King- sley, A. W. Humphreys, Henry W. Slocum, Alfred C. Barnes, William Marshall, Henry C. Murphy.

In 1881-Mayor James Howell, Controller Ludwig Semler, Henry C. Murphy, William C. Kingsley, Henry W. Slocum, James S. T. Stranahan, Alfred C. Barnes, Alden S. Swan, Otto Witte, William Marshall.

The Board as at present constituted consists of the gentlemen named under the appointments of 1881, with a few exceptions. Mayor Low succeeded Mayor Howell, who in turn returned to the Board to fill the vacancy caused by the decease of the Hon. Henry C. Murphy. Controller Brinkerhoff succeeded Controller Semler. From the formation of the New York Bridge Company, up to the time of his death, Mr. Murphy was president of the Boards of Directors and Trustees, with the ex- ception of two years of which he passed in Europe. During his absence abroad, Mr. Jeremiah P. Robinson was president. In 1879, when Controller Steinmetz and Auditor Ammerman constituted a majority of the appointing board, they were largely influenced by par- tisan considerations in naming the Trustees. They displaced Mr. Murphy from the directorate. The ex- Senator felt the slight keenly, there was considerable public criticism of the action of the appointing power, and a demand for Mr. Murphy's reappointment. The matter was finally settled when General Benjamin F. Tracy, who had been appointed a Trustee, declined to accept, and Mr. Murphy was returned to the place in the Board left vacant by the General's declination.

While our space will not permit us to give individual mention to all the Brooklyn members of these Boards, (and the New York members would not properly ap- pear in a history of Kings County), sketches of some of

the more prominent ones will be found in other parts of this work.

To no one man was the inception of the Bridge so far due, as to

WM. C. KINGSLEY, a native of New York State, who came to Brooklyn about 25 years ago. His early labors in this vi- cinity were in connection with the construction of the Ridgewood Water Works; and subsequently, in partnership with A. C. Keeney, he was largely engaged in building sewers (of which 65 miles are credited to this firm in Brook- lyn alone) and in the construction of the Wallabout Improve- ment. It was to Mr. Kingsley that Col. Adams submitted his first plans, and through his far-sightedness and public spirit, and his generous expenditure of a considerable sum of money, that these plans were enabled to be elaborated, and to become not only the basis of the first legislation in favor of the projects, but also the foundation for the plans which the structure was eventually built. He was continually in the Board of Directors and its Vice-President, and by virtue of that office has been acting President since the death of Hon. Henry C. Murphy.

Of the others we cannot give extended mention, but the names of Thomas Carroll, Wm. Marshall, Wm. B. Leonard, and Wm. Taylor, are sufficient guarantee to all Brooklynites that an enterprise confided to their care and direction would surely be managed for the best interests of the city.

The Old and New Penny Bridges, Newtown Creek .- We are indebted to our antiquarian friend, Town Clerk WM. O'GORMAN, of Newtown, Queens County, for the subjoined facts :

Penny Bridge was built in 1836 by the Newtown and Bush- wick Bridge Company. A turnpike road from Bushwick (commonly called the "Shell road") to Newtown village, was part of it. Thomas H. Betts was the surveyor. It all now belongs to Newtown and Brooklyn. Near the bridge, the road cut through the Alsop farm, west of the old Alsop House. This bridge superseded the use of the " Old Penny Bridge," which crossed the creek a few yards east of the Alsop House, and portions of whose foundation piles are yet to be seen. That old bridge approach, on Kings County side, ran directly in front of the old Duryea House. It was the first bridge built over Newtown Creek, at least over the main creek to Maspeth. It was not built until a quarter of a century, or more, after the Revolutionary war. It also gave name to an old road that ran, and yet runs, from Newtown village, winding up and down towards the old Alsop House. "The Penny Bridge Road " is yet known to the (very) old people. It is now the Calamus road. The toll on the old bridge was a penny, and was col- lected at the side or end next the Duryea House.

The original bridge was built all on piles, whereas the one built in 1836 had stone piers, for which reason many old people called it the "Stun " bridge. However, both the bridges are now gone, and the present new iron "Penny Bridge" oc- cupies the place of the bridge built by Thomas H. Betts, in 1836-7. This structure is about 150 feet long, and swings on a central pier, leaving a channel on each side of 60 feet in width. No toll is now charged.

The immediate point at the old Alsop House had been, from the most remote times, a crossing point by ferry boat or otherwise. Here Humphrey Clay moored his ferry boat in times long anterior to the Revolution. During that period,

462

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

the British man-of-war boats were constantly on duty between that point and New York for despatches between Newtown and the city head-quarters.

Even as late as 1812, it seems that Newtown Creek was free from any bridge between Maspeth Landing and East River. This is stated on the authority of old George J. Rapelye. Mrs. Eliza Leaird, daughter of Thomas Alsop, stated that the American gun boats used to patrol the entire length of the creek during that war. She mentioned the young officers Decatur, Nicholson and Perry, who shortly after became

famous, as being constantly the guests of John Alsop. Mrs. Leaird died two years since, at a very advanced age. She is buried in the old ground inside of Calvary Cemetry. Views of the old and new Penny bridges are preserved in the rooms of the Long Island Historical Society.

Gowanus Creek Bridge .- A bridge across the Gowanus creek, or canal, at, or about, Ninth street, was also known in times past as "Penny Bridge," and for a time gave its name to the district in its neighborhood, extending even to the flats below Hamilton avenue.

VIEW IN REMSEN STREET (LOOKING WESTWARD).

W. C. Kingsley

463ª

BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM C. KINGSLEY.

WILLIAM C. KINGSLEY.

For the past quarter of a century, and more, William C. Kingsley has been not only a resident but an important element in the life of Brooklyn. By nature inclined to large affairs, he found in this city a field admirably fitted in many ways to call his genius for the management of men and the administra- tion of great material undertakings into full activity.

Twenty-five years ago Brooklyn had still many of its village days' characteristics; there was nothing so big in the place as its population. The system of boulevards which now link the city to the sea was then unprojected; Prospect Park was an affair in the future; not a few of our now finest avenues were more cow paths; the sewer system, which has in so marked a degrec contributed to the health of the population, was little more than outlined, and the bridge-which in its giant embrace, makes the two cities one, towers, the noblest object in our landscape, and has increased the honor of the American name throughout the world-then existed not cven as a dream,

For the transformation in these and kindred respects effected, William C. Kingsley is in an eminent degrec responsible. That they would have been in time ac- complished had he never come to Brooklyn is possible; but that without him they would have been delayed, even his most grudging critics will allow; and that the bridge at least would not to-day stand a completed work, had he not been here, no one familiar with the inception and progress of that splendid achievement will deny.

To outline briefly the story of this remarkable man's career is all that shall be attempted in this sketch; but the time must come when it shall be the task of a biographer to lay before an interested public a picture of his mind, and an account of the influences which went to its formation.

Mr. Kingsley was born in 1832, in Franklin county, New York, where his father was a farmer. His tastes, however, did not lie in the furrow or the dairy ; although, until his eighteenth year, he re- mained at the homestead helping his father on the farm during the summer months, and studying with might and main in the winter season. Having in this way equipped himself for life in the outer world, he slipped his cable, as sailors would say, and gave his canvas to the breeze; or, to be more exact, lie began his active career by accepting the superintendency of a little school in Westmoreland county, Penn .; a position in which, it is worthy of remark, he had been preceded by a young man subsequently known to fame as Gov. Geary of Pennsylvania, who in his turn had taken up

the ferule laid down by Edgar Cowan, subsequently United States Senator.

But school teaching was as little to young Kings- ley's desires as farming. He valued it as a stepping stone and left it behind him when the stream had bcen crossed. School teaching gave place to book-keeping in the employment of a contractor engaged in building a canal along the banks of the Susquehanna. At this point, his career, as he has come to fill a place in the public mind, may be said to begin. He was now, so to speak, entered as a cadct in the army of constructive industry for which nature had designed him. The construction of the canal was fraught with many diffi- culties, not the least of which were the frequent and violent outbreaks of insubordination among the work- men. In the prolonged absence of the superintendent, Kingsley assumed command; and, by his indomitable will and courage, combined with a love of strict and impartial justice, soon had the mutinous laborers com- pletely under control.

After the completion of this work, Kingsley was in- duced to go West, when he constructed fifty miles of railroad in Illinois, after which he returned to Penn- sylvania. He had now attained his twenty-fifth year, and had developed a peculiar fitness for the manage- ment of men and the administration of great ma- terial undertakings, as well as an enviable repu- tation for integrity and honor. Added to these qualifications an intellect rendered stronger and clearer by experience and observation, a faculty of looking far into the future, and calculating results with almost un- crring accuracy, and it was plainly to be seen that fame and fortune awaited the possessor.

In 1857, he became a resident of Brooklyn, which then had no system of water supply; but its intro- duction into the city had been decided upon, and Mr. Kingsley contracted to build a large part of the water and sewerage works.

Subsequently, he constructed what is known as the Wallabout Improvement, and several other equally important works.

After all these years of experience in engineering, Mr. Kingsley brought his vigorous intellect and practical skill to the problem of bridging the East River, which had previously been a mere plan upon paper, a theory hardly dcemed feasible in actual practice. After fre- quent consultations with eminent engineers, Mr. Kings- ley, becoming more and more certain of the success of the enterprise, determined to make an effort to obtain from the Legislature a charter, which he succeeded in doing, in 1867; not, however, without meeting many

464ª

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

obstacles and much opposition, which his untiring energy and perseverance overcame.

Moncy was necessary to defray the preliminary ex- penses, but, as yet, not a dollar had been subscribed by either city. Mr. Kingsley, with characteristic liberality, and as a farther guarantee of his faith in the final triumph, advanced large sums from his private fortune; and the first five millions, necessary for the early stages of the work, were raised by Mr. Kingsley's per- sonal efforts.

In 1869, all the plans, &c., being perfected, it was thought prudent, in order to avoid the possibility of future litigation, to obtain further legislation before commencing actual work. Mr. Kingsley, in the face of apathy and opposition, obtained the passage of a bill which empowered the company to commence operations and to make the bridge a post route.

The eminent engineer, John A. Roebling, having been chosen to conduct the work, there was now no barrier, and operations were begun at once, with an earnestness of purpose that could bring nothing but success.

Mr. Kingsley's practical knowledge was invaluable in overcoming the difficulties that constantly arose in an undertaking so vast and before untried. In the fall of 1869, he was appointed general superin- tendent, and, with the exception of a brief interval, when illness compelled him to seek a change of climate, personally supervised the construction of what he hoped would be the chef d'œuvre of his professional career. His close application several times caused him to be seriously ill; and, in April, 1873, it was thought impos- sible for him to rally from one of these attacks; but a more than ordinarily robust constitution served him well, and passing safely through the ordeal, he applied himself, with renewed zeal, to the accomplishment of his pet enterprise. He watched its progress with the greatest interest and most thorough compre- hension; engineering thcories found their support and backing in his practical knowledge and large experience; and, for this reason, he was wont to sup- plement others' calculations with his own methods of execution.

When, at last, the noble structure was finished, Mr. Kingsley, as President of the Trustees, at the formal opening, presented it to the two municipalities which had united to build it, and from his appropriate words we quote the following: "I am not here as the spokes-

man of my associates in the Board of Trustees. They are well content to let this great structure speak for them, and to speak more fittingly and eloquently yet for the skillful, faithful and daring men who have given so many years of their lives-and, in several in- stances, even their lives-to the end that the natural barrier to the union, growth and greatness of this great commercial centre should be removed, and that a vast scientific conception should be matched in the skill and courage and endurance upon which it depended for its realization. *

* * It remains for me to say, in conclusion, that the two citics rose at all times to the level of the spirit of our time and country. Their citi- zens staked millions on what seemed to many to be an experiment-a structure, it was often said, that, at its best, would not be of any practical use. How solid it is; how far removed from all sense of apprehension; how severely practical it is in all its relations; and how great a factor in the corporative lives of these cities it is destined to be, we all now realize. This bridge has cost many millions of dollars, and it has taken many years to build it. May I say on this occasion that the people of these two cities would not part with the bridge to-day, for even twice or thrice its cost ? And I may remind those who, not unnaturally, perhaps, have been disappointed and irritated by delays in the past, that those who enter a race with time for a com- petitor, have an antagonist that makes no mistake, is subject to no interference, and liable to no accident."

Mr. Kingsley's private life has been uneventful, passed amid family and friends, who prize his worth, his manliness, his integrity and affection. His time, out of business hours, is passed at his home in Washing- ton Park, or at his club, the Brooklyn, of which he has long been an honored member. He is fond of reading, especially in connection with scientific subjects, and has accumulated a library which reveals its owner's tastes, being useful and practical, without literary rubbish.

In politics, Mr. Kingsley has acted with the Demo- cratic party of late years, although his busy life has prevented his active participation in public life, even had he been inclined thereto. In fine, William C. Kingsley is a typical American, keen, energetic and enterprising. Quiet and unassuming, he allows actions to speak for him instead of words. He is one whose innate activity impels him to new labors, and whose success in life is unmistakably due to his own force of character.

HISTORY

OF THE

SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE POOR

FOR THE

COUNTY OF KINGS.

Blevator EsQ.

S UPERINTENDENTS OF THE POOR .-

No county in the State has made more generous provision for its poor, and its indigent lunatics, than the County of Kings. The history of her public charities is one of which she may well be proud. Her various public institutions, unsurpassed by those of any other county in the State, bespeak her beneficence more eloquently than words.

Previous to the year 1824, each town, in all the counties of the State, supported its own poor, under statutes enacted by the Legislature; but which, how- ever humane and liberal, were still, in a measure, im- perfect. The county itself contributed to a certain class of paupers; there were no county poor-houses, and the office of County Superintendent of the Poor was unknown. By an Act of the Legislature, passed November 27th, 1824, the Supervisors of the County of Kings, and several other counties in the State, were empowered to purchase one or more tracts of land, not exceeding two hundred acres, upon which to build for the accommodation, employment and use of the said county, one or more suitable buildings, to be denomi- nated the Poor-House of the county, at an expense not exceeding $7,000, which sum was to be assessed and collected in the same manner as other county charges.

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The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 109

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1114

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114