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 49
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Early in the spring of 1861, the government despatched the trains to Fort Belknap, Texas ; whence they were or- dered to Fort Colorado. Here the different infantry and cavalry companies were gathered together, and from this place they proceeded to Fort Mason.
The civil war had broken out, and Texas Rangers gathered ominously about them ; these, in turn, were followed by the Indians, who, at a safe distance in the rear, were laying the country waste. From Fort Mason, the Unionists retreated to San Antonio ; from thence to Green Lake, the Rangers following. Green Lake is but a few miles from Powder Horn, from which those who remained faithful to the union cause (among whom was Engeman) took ship for New York, touching at Key West and Cuba on the way. Arrived at New York, Engeman and most of the party proceeded to Washington. Here he was tendered the position of Colonel of the first regiment raised there, by General Holt, to protect the capital. This offer was made on the representations of General Palmer, who had had ample opportunities of know- ing our hero's eminent qualifications for such a position. But Engeman refused the offer. Too much of his life had been passed on the frontier to render the tendered position such a one as suited his temperament. With some of his Western comrades, he wished again to go to the frontier. Railroad travel, however, had been so impeded that leaving Washing- ton was not an easy matter. The first attempt the party made was, via the Relay House (between Baltimore and Washington), whence they proposed going to St. Louis. Before reaching the Relay House, however, they were surrounded and captured by the guards, who imagined
them to be rebels engaged in tearing up the railroad tracks.
Their protestations were of no avail, and they were marched back to Washington ; and, on Pennsylvania avenue, were in imminent danger of being lynched by a mob. At the critical moment, some of General Palmer's cavalry chanced to be passing, and recognizing their old Texan comrades, saved their lives, and restored them to liberty. So great, however, was the exasperation of the mob, that Engeman and his associates had to be taken to the jail to save them from the fury of the populace. After a few days, when the excitement had somewhat subsided, Engeman and his associates quietly- left Washington ; and, via Harper's Ferry, proceeded toward St. Louis ; narrowly escaping cap- ture, this time by the Confederates, on suspicion of being spies. At St. Louis the party separated, and Mr. Engeman went to Leavenworth, Kansas, and engaged to take govern- ment trains to St. Louis, transporting ammunition from the arsenals there to the different armies and steamboats. He was sent from St. Louis to Rolla, Mo., with army wagons to get ready for the battle of Springfield, where the Union forces were beaten, and driven back to Rolla with the loss of Gen. Lyon. From Rolla they were ordered to Sedalia, Mo .; thence to Leavenworth, with all transportation by land. On their way to Leavenworth, at a place called Lone Jack, they were surrounded by guerillas and detained two or three days. Measles broke out among the Union troops, it was snowing furiously, and the only protection for the sick were the gov- ernment wagons. On the approach of the Irish Brigade from Sedalia, the guerillas left and the brigade escorted the sick and enfeebled remnants of the army to Leavenworth. At Leaven- worth, Engeman had charge of all the government wagons during the winter. The following spring he hauled a battery of artillery from Leavenworth to Fort Union, New Mexico, which he left there, and took a large number of government wagons to Denver, Colorado. At Denver, he was offered the entire charge of the government works and corrals, but de- clined the position and returned to Leavenworth, by way of the Platte River, only one man accompanying him in the dreary ride in an old wagon, through the homes of the Sioux Nation, who, through the scarcity of buffalo meat, had been compelled to use dog's flesh as daily diet. Arriving at Leav- enworth, and finding business slack, Engeman proceeded to St. Louis, where he met Mr. George Bell, an old friend, who had charge of all the government corrals at that port, and with whom he engaged as assistant. After being with Mr. Bell a year, the latter went home, leaving Engemen in entire charge and command of all the corrals and animals ; the reception, inspection and shipping of all horses and mules purchased for the government at St. Louis for the use of the different Union armies. So varied and onerous were Engeman's duties of inspection here, that five horses, daily, were tired out in succession in carrying him from place to place as his business called him. During his term there Engeman bought and inspected for the govern- ment over one million of horses and mules, a larger number, it is believed, than was handled by any other one man. With the close of the war in 1865 this business, of course, ceased. Had Engeman so wished he could readily and honestly have left the government employ a millionaire. But a love for money has never been one of his characteris- tics, as all who know him will testify.
Domestic difficulties interrupted his enjoyment of life, and made him desirous of seclusion and quiet, after the toils he had undergone. In visiting New York and Brooklyn, he came to Coney Island, and at once was enamored with its beauty, healthfulness and eminent fitness as a place
William S' Engeme
207
BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM A. ENGEMAN.
suited to his taste and feeling. Enquiries, made of those who would be likely to know, showed him the tract now known as the Race Track, the Ocean Hotel property, and the Hotel Brighton property ; these, together, forming one of the orig- inal divisions of Coney Island, known as the Middle Division. This property was purchased from the two or three hundred persons who had, by continued succession of inheritance, come to be the owners ; a hotel was erected as a family home and the coveted boon of quiet seemed at last to have been secured by Mr. Engeman. But his mind, used to activity, refused the rest he had laid out for himself ; and, a year or two later, we find him purchasing the unexpired term of a lease on Coney Island, fronting on the ocean. As an instance of his energy, it should be stated, that the first ocean pier was erected here by him ; that the idea was conceived on the 29th day of June, and the pier completed, opened for visitors, and doing business on the 4th of July thereafter, although one of the intervening days was Sunday. The building of the Bathing Pavilion well serves to illustrate the indomita- ble energy, and determination to carry out his plans, once matured, so eminently characteristic of Mr. Engeman. When the Hotel Brighton was about being located, and the prem- ises whereon it stands were purchased from Mr. Engeman, an arrangement was made that he should have the exclusive right to erect baths, he paying a percentage on receipts, as an equivalent to the company, therefor.
To accommodate this custom Mr. Engeman erected a two- story and basement bathing pavilion-four hundred feet long, fifty feet wide, two stories high above the basement, with an upper piazza of thirty and a lower piazza of fifty feet wide, extending along the entire front. The basement was divided into kitchen, ice-house, dormitories for em- ployees and several hundred bath-houses, to be used when exigencies required. The main floor was occupied by a spa- cious dining-hall, bar-room, billiard-room and the various offices necessary. The second floor was devoted to bathers, and contained about one thousand bath-rooms; the entrance to the bathing department on the second floor being by means of a spacious staircase from the main hallway below; and the exit for bathers to the water being by means of a wide bridge whose spacious arch spanned the distance from the front of the second story to the water's edge. The idea of the bath-houses on the second or upper story was novel, and-as the sequel proved-successful.
The building was commenced on the 9th day of May, 1878, on which day the first of the piles on which the building rested was driven. One of the chief difficulties was encoun- tered almost at the outset of the undertaking, when it was ascertained that to have the large structure completed, fur- nished and equipped in season, would necessitate the getting of lumber and timber on the ground very much more rapidly
than could be accomplished by any then used method of transportation. But the fertile mind of Mr. Engeman soon overcame this obstacle, and in a most novel method. Aware of the fact that, at certain times of tide, any floating object in the water near the shore would assuredly be thrown up by the waves, he conceived the idea of purchasing worn-out canal-boats, lading them, securing the cargo with hawsers lashed around the entire hull and cargo, and then towing the entire vessel and cargo out of Gowanus Canal, through the Narrows, around Coney Island Point, and fairly out to sea to a point in front of the location of the proposed build- ing; there coming in shore as close as possible, let go of the canal-boat, the tug proceeding homeward and the canal-boat striking the shore, would go to pieces; the lumber and timber drifting on shore at the precise spot needed. Nine times in succession was this unprecedented feat repeated; save that the last canal-boat was beached and unloaded three succes- sive times before it was broken up. It was by the aid of such appliances as these that Mr. Engeman was enabled to complete his building, put in steam-drying apparatus to dry the used bathing dresses, immense ranges in the kitchen, furnish the entire place with not only bath-suits, but with bar and restaurant supplies and furniture-all by the 18th of June, or less than seven weeks from the time of commenc- ing work, a feat certainly unparalleled in the history of the county.
For years the attention of Mr. Engeman had been turned toward making a race-track by the sea; and, in the Spring of 1879, his aspirations were realized. With his accustomed en- ergy he had the land surveyed, the track laid out and built on the marsh which formed the rear part of his Coney Island property, with dirt and loam carted from the city's hills- the lumber drawn to the ground by the horse-cars from the city-the grand-stand, field-stand, sheds, paddocks, bars and offices, judges' and timers' stands, and all the equipments of a well-equipped race-course completed for use in an in- credibly short time-viz., between the first week in May and the middle of June. In this, as well as the former enterprise, amid every discouragement, his brain conceived and his un- tiring energy pushed these works forward to completion.
The innumerable privations endured in early life have left their impression on Mr. Engeman's mind and naturally generous and open-hearted character, and have made him very tender toward the weaker sex and toward youth, who can always find in him a sympathizing friend and an earnest adviser. Warm in his friendships, and, by no means implacable in his resentments, he is ever more ready to for- give than to punish. While his liberality has made him hosts of friends, his qualities of mind and heart serve to keep these friends warm and steadfast to his great and varied interests.
208
HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.
MANHATTAN BEACH HOTEL, CONEY ISLAND.
The Eastern section of Coney Island lying between the Ocean and Sheepshead Bay, known in old times as "Sedge Bank," and now as "Manhattan Beach," is reached by the Marine Railway, running from the Hotel Brighton-and built on piles the whole distance, thus allowing ingress and egress of the waves, and making travel possible in all weathers.
Manhattan Beach has a sea-front of over two miles, fringed with a fine sandy beach, and presenting an un- paralleled view of the Ocean. This section of the Island, (as we have already mentioned on page 195), owes its present splendid improvements to the foresight and energy of Austin Corbin, Esq., the well-known banker and railroad magnate. The "MANHATTAN BEACH HOTEL," and the " ORIENTAL HOTEL " (built in 1880, with a view to the especial needs of families as permanent guests), are both unique and imposing struc-
tures-and, from the rear of the latter, the N. Y. and Manhattan Beach R. R. connects, by means of its vari- ous ramifications (viz .: L. I. R. R., to Flatbush avenue ; to Greenpoint and Long Island City, Brooklyn ; and to Thirty-fourth street, and foot of Whitehall and Pine streets, New York City), with the cities of New York and Brooklyn. The Excursion and Picnic Pavilion, the mammoth Bathing Pavilion, Music -Stands, etc., which form the necessary adjuncts of these two large hotels, surrounded as they are with extensive walks, lawns and flower-beds, laid out in the most exquisite style of the landscape gardener's art, form-with the ocean view, and the inland view, beyond Sheepshead Bay-a tout- ensemble of most surpassing attractiveness.
The railroad facilities for reaching Coney Island will be found fully described in our chapter on Railroads and Travel in Kings County.
ORIENTAL HOTEL, MANHATTAN BEACH, CONEY ISLAND.
٠
John I clickune
209
BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN Y. McKANE.
JOHN Y. MCKANE .- It is certainly fortunate for the town of Gravesend, beset as it is, on all sides, by grasping monopolies ; and flooded on all days of the week, during four months of the year, by the population of the neighbor- ing cities, that its principal town-officer is "to the manor- born," conversant with all its wants and mindful of all its vested interests ; and that he is a man of nerve, of tact and of honesty. Such a man is Supervisor McKane. He is of that excellent North-of-Ireland (Scotch-Irish) stock, which for the two past centuries has furnished so valuable an ele- ment to our American population. He was born August 10, 1841, in the County Antrim, Ireland; and, when fifteen months' old, was brought by his mother to Gravesend, where his father had preceded them by a few months. His earliest education was at the Gravesend district-schools ; and, from the age of eight to sixteen years, he was occupied in working in the garden, digging clams, and all the employments which usually make up a country-boy's life. When sixteen years of age, he commenced to learn the carpenter's trade with Abraham J. Van Dyke, of Flatbush, remaining with him for a year until Mr. Van Dyke went West. He then went to work with William Vause, builder, of Flatbush, for another year, when his old " boss" returned, and John resumed his apprenticeship with him, remaining with him four or five years. Then, in 1866, he commenced on his own account as carpenter and builder in the village of Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend. His first public office was that of Constable, which he held for one year. Then he was elected one of the Commissioners of Common Lands for a term of seven years. Then he was chosen Supervisor of the town, of which he is now serving his third, two-year, term. Since its present organization, in 1883, he has been President of the County Board of Supervisors. The confidence which the people of Gravesend repose in Mr. McKane is evidenced by the number and varied character of the offices of public trust with which they have invested him. He is a Police Commissioner ; President of the Town Board; President of the Board of Health ; President of the Police Board, and President of the Water Board. He is also, by election of the Police Board, the Chief of Police, having under his control 150 police, 20 of whom are regular town police, the balance being specials, during the "Coney Island season."
In addition to these public duties, he carries on an extensive business as a builder, having built (with the exception of the Manhattan Beach, Oriental and Brighton) nearly all the hotels, and two-thirds of all the other buildings on Coney Island, as well as in the town of Gravesend. He has long been a consistent member and supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church of Sheepshead Bay; and has been, for seventeen years, the faithful Superintendent of its Sabbath- school. He is a member of Franklin Lodge, I. O. O. F., and has held all the offices within its gift. He is also a member of the Mutual Benefit Society, Odd Fellows.
Mr. McKane was married, in 1865, to Fanny, daughter of Capt. Cornelius B. and Maria (Coles) Nostrand, of Gravesend, by whom he has a pleasant little family of three boys and a daughter. His venerable parents reside in Sheepshead Bay, happy in the respect and confidence which they see reposed in their son by their fellow-citizens.
Despite the number of official honors enjoyed by Super- visor McKane, he is no politician. A democrat by prefer- ence, he has never felt himself bound by, nor has he ever been elected on, strict party-lines. A friend, who has known him long and well, writes to us of him, thus :
"The life of Supervisor McKane, the struggles through which he has passed, and the difficulties which he has over-
come in order to reach his present position of honor and influence, are well calculated to bring out, in strong relief, those sterling qualities of character which have brought him into such worthy prominence among his fellow-citizens.
One marked characteristic of Mr. McKane is his thorough honesty of purpose. This is conceded by persons of every political faith, if they give an lionest expression of opinion.
As the highest officer of the town, he has ever seemed most anxious that all his public acts should tell for the benefit of his constituents ; and we believe the man is yet to be found who can justly point his finger at a single instance wherein he has stained, or in any way compromised, his official integrity. While his public position and influence would give him abundant opportunity to enrich himself, if he so desired, by winking at the violation of law, and by other questionable means, yet we do not believe he ever added to his possessions one dollar of unlawful gain.
Those who have known Mr. McKane longest and best can- not fail to notice that courage and perseverance are also marked traits of his character. When once convinced that a certain course of action is right and in the line of duty, he does not hesitate to advance on that line in spite of politi- cal opposition, and the probability of making political ene- mies. We can say of him what we wish could be said of every public man, he is not afraid to do right. We fully believe him incapable of political intrigue, bribery or fraud.
He has nipped in the bud many a conspiracy to violate the law, and has spoiled many a little scheme of the gambling fraternity at Coney Island, which, if he had been willing to pass unnoticed, would have brought him no small gain. But he would spurn wealth that must be gained in this way, at the expense of his honor. His physical courage is as marked as his moral; no threats of political destruction or physical violence deter him, for a moment, as chief of po- lice, from bringing the strong hand of the law to bear upon every form of iniquity which is properly brought to his no- tice. He also generally accomplishes what he undertakes. His perseverance is such as to overcome all obstacles in his way. To this is owing, in no small degree, his rapid rise from the humble position of his childhood, to the highest honors in the gift of his fellow-townsmen.
But above all else, stands the modesty and grace of a Christian character. The demands which his position make upon him every day in the week, render it specially difficult to live in strict observance of all religious duties, as would be most congenial to him if he were master of his own time; but, in all his busy life as a master builder, he has made it a point never to yield to the many solicitations to do business on the Sabbath. That day, he has said, should be reserved for his own personal duties, and as a day of rest.
He is also tender-hearted, and generous to a fault. We venture to say that he fills to-day more official positions than any other man in Kings Co. The present County Board of Supervisors have proved their confidence in him by electing him president pro tem. of their honorable body; and, indeed, he seems to have been the only man in the Board upon whom both political parties were willing to unite.
His official life has been untarnished, and his private life above reproach. We do not for a moment suppose him to be above all the mistakes and frailties of human nature. That he has done some things in public and private life which he regrets we have no doubt, but, as a public man, we believe him to be honestly striving to do his duty; and in his most trying position we believe no man could do bet- ter, or more wisely administer the responsible trust con- ferred upon him by his fellow-citizens."
210
HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.
EDWARD RIDLEY .- The life and carecr of Mr. Rid- lcy is an example of what may be attained by a well- balanced, vigorous mind, united with enterprise, en- ergy, industry and integrity ; characteristics which form the character of a successful merchant, and which, if possessed by a young man in the beginning of his business career, are equivalent to wealth, for they arc sure to bring wealth. A discriminating writer has said, "Love of business, and capacity to conduct business, stand next to affluence."
These qualities entered largely into the character of Mr. Ridley-a character which needs no eulogistic lan- guage to array it for publication; for it is its own eulo- gist, speaking from a conspicuous position founded on a well-spent life. It would, therefore, be injured by any words of adulation.
But a virtuous life demands our reverence; public and private worth, our admiration; long and practical usefulness, our gratitude; therefore, in referring to one whose life fairly elicits these sentiments, it is an act of justice to conscientiously and honestly speak of him as those who knew him best would and do speak. If he possessed rarc, commendable, or even brilliant endow- ments, it is not adulation or undue eulogy, in writing his memoir, to give him all the credit they deserve; it is but speaking the language of truth and soberness.
This leads us to say that Mr. Ridley's character as disclosed in the record of his life, may be described as follows, and we believe all who knew him will say it is a true mental portrait of him.
His moral and intellectual qualities were in harmony; his principles commanded the respect of the great com- mercial community in which he lived; his private vir- tues attracted the affection and regard of his friends. He was modest, claimed no merit, assumed no import- ance and never alluded to the wealth he had acquired. He was charitable, not impulsively bestowing his means without discrimination, but with judicious selection, and from a sense of duty. His economy was exact, but liberal; the recipients of his bounty were numerous. He had a high sense of justice, and the claims of hu- manity. His religion was a part of his being, and dis- played itself in the uniform tenor of his life. He acted under the habitual conviction of accountability; his feelings were always under the control of his will, hence he was never guilty of those extravagances of conduct which too often mar the career of men in conspicuous positions.
He was tenacious in his friendships-equally so, we believe, in his enmities. Having once had good cause to doubt a man's sincerity or integrity, he never after fully trusted him. His disposition was. cheerful-his conversation instructive and entertaining. Whatever were his faults-for he was human and, of course, pos- sessed the weaknesses and frailties of human nature- they were overshadowed by his virtues.
Few men ever assimilated themselves so easily and
naturally to the detail of business as he did ; few men were more evenly balanced or self-controlled under the sudden emergencies and vicissitudes of the commercial world than he; if the tide was against him, he breasted it courageously and hopefully ; if in his favor, he was calm and complaisant.
Such we believe to be the characteristics of Edward Ridley; given without embellishment, with rigid adhe- rence to truth. It will now be our pleasant duty to briefly trace his life and career from its beginning to the time when summoned by death to the unseen world.
He was born in Leicester, England, in the year 1816, and was a lineal descendant of Bishop Ridley, who, with his brother-martyr Latimer, suffered at the stake for his inflexible adherence to those principles which his conscience assured him were right.
Mr. Ridley's father was James Mosley Ridley, gen- tleman; held in high esteem for those inbred qualities that qualified him for the respectable position he held in the place of his nativity, that of an accomplished English gentleman. Among his most intimate friends was Sir Edward Wilde, so well known in the English history of that day.
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