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 II, Part 50

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co
Number of Pages: 1345

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 II > Part 50

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In politics, Mr. Anderson has always been a Democrat, but never a very ardent partisan; never an office-seeker; never troubling others with his political views. If he has ever failed to vote the whole ticket of his party it was be- cause he believed in so doing he was sustaining the best men, and thereby securing the best interests of society. On the whole, he is a highly respected citizen; noted for his sound sense, general intelligence, well balanced judgment, his skill and success in his avocation, and for that geniality which renders him a pleasing companion.

GEORGE W. BROWN .- Brooklyn's extraordinary growth may be attributed, in great measure, to the enterprise of her builders, that class of shrewd, far-seeing men, who, with faith in the city's future, invested their means in real estate, erecting houses and business places for the people, even in advance of the actual demand. Their buying and building has determined the lines of the city's expansion, and the

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

class of their buildings has largely influenced the character of the incoming population.

In the foremost rank of builders stands Mr. George W. Brown. Like the majority of those who have been success- ful business men in the city, he was born and bred in the country. He is a native of Columbia, Lancaster county, Pa., born September 18th, 1825. On the maternal side, he is de- scended from the Minnich family, who were noted in that region for their superior qualities. His mother was a woman of remarkable spirit, energy, perseverance and thrift, with more than ordinary intellect and common sense. Her child- ren inherited her characteristics largely, but none to a greater degree than the subject of this sketch. When a boy, he at- tended school until he was twelve, when he took a clerkship in Halderman's, a well-known store in those parts. Though he performed his duties faithfully, they were irksome to him. He desired a more stirring, out-of-door life, with larger oppor- tunities for gain. Accordingly, he left the store at the end of two years, and set up in business for himself as a news- dealer, being the first to introduce into his native place the Philadelphia Public Ledger and other papers of the day. He was a natural money-getter, and never without money in his pocket.

Ambitious for a wider field, in 1842, he came to Brooklyn, where an elder brother had established himself as a builder, and was apprenticed to him. After serving his time, he first secured a contract for putting up the fronts of buildings; then erected houses for sale on lots bought of John Tread well, who had great confidence in him, and assisted him in various ways.

He built the first houses on Fulton avenue in 1849, at the corner of Hanover Place. By assiduous labor and shrewd enterprise he steadily pushed his fortunes, succeeding where others failed. He has erected 100 houses on Fulton avenue alone, and one-fourth of a mile of dwellings on Lafayette avenue, besides numbers in other good parts of the city. He, like many others, in earlier days invested largely in vacant lots, owning, up to the year 1857, about 600, in different parts of the city. The crisis of that year swept away his accumu- lations, and left him almost penniless. Nothing daunted, he commenced again with renewed energy and zeal, opening a real estate office for a few years, and carrying on the bugi- ness of building in a small way as he was able. His added years and experience contributed to his success, and he steadily acquired a fortune the second time.

Mr. Brown was the first to introduce into Brooklyn the present system of building in flats, of which he has erected a large number, and on some of the best streets, Clinton and Washington avenues, Joralemon and other streets. In later years he has extended his operations, until he can now count over 800 houses in the city of Brooklyn of his own building; while, it is said, his name is attached to more con- veyances of real estate than that of any other man in Kings county. In the way of exchange for Brooklyn property, he has acquired large landed interests in New Jersey, Virginia and the West. He owns the Braddock House in Alexandria, Va., built in 1733 of material brought from Europe, famous as the head-quarters of General Braddock, when George Wash- ington was his aid; also where the thirteen colonial governors met to concert measures for the support of the Braddock campaign. The Riverside Hotel, in Chicago, has also come into his possession.

Mr. Brown is a very active business man, keeping a watch- ful eye and firm hand over all his diversified interests; his success is largely due to his directness of purpose and his self-reliance, pressing on in the course which his own judg- ment dictated, without seeking the advice of others; and, in

most cases, he met with better results than divided counsels or faltering steps could have secured.

Mr. Brown is a great lover of horses, of which he has owned and driven many during the last 35 years, among them some notable trotters. He now knows of but two men who drive on our pleasure roads who commenced when he did.

In person Mr. Brown is rather below the medium height, and spare; but his keen eye and quick movements indicate more than ordinary ability and mental force.

He has been twice married: in 1849, to Miss Dickinson, who lived but a few years; again, in 1860, to a Miss Wehb, of Brooklyn. His family consists of a son and two daughters. His home is one of the most elegant in the city, a triumph of the builders' art. The family are attendants of St. James' Protestant Episcopal Church.

To politics Mr. Brown devotes little time; in former days he was a Henry Clay Whig, and now votes with the Demo- cratic party. As a man, Mr. Brown is genial, progressive and charitable ; as a citizen, he is public-spirited, and has contributed much to the development and improvement of the city; while in business circles he is well liked and re- spected.

O. DAVIS THOMPSON, 339 Madison street, architect and builder; established at Strafford Co., N. H., 1858; came to Brooklyn in 1868, and soon located at 375 Gates avenue, building 9 substantial dwelling-houses on the block, and many others on the neighboring streets and avenues ; located at 339 Madison street, in 1880. E. N. DAY, 151 State street, established about 30 years ago, on Douglass, near Smith street. GEORGE DAMAN, 88 Luqueer street, established, 1864, on Atlantic avenue; among other works, he built the large wooden building and tower, put up by J. L. Haigh, William, corner Imlay streets, wherein all the wire for the Brooklyn Bridge cables was made. JOHN GUILFOYLE & SON, 180 High street, mason and builder ; established, 1854, in Brooklyn ; among the many buildings erected by this firm are the Kings County Alms-house and the Inebriates' Home.

JOHN LEE, JAMES CAMPBELL, GEORGE W. BRANDT, JOSEPH W. CAMPBELL, JAMES RODWELL, JOHN M. FAR- RELL, WILLIAM H. TUNISON, P. F. O'BRIEN, H. BE- DELL, WILLIAM TAYLOR, THOMAS B. RUTAN, JAMES ASHFIELD & SON, MICHAEL J. MCLAUGHLIN, GEORGE F. CHAPMAN, and many others, have won a high rep- utation for skill and integrity in the erection of pub- lic buildings, warehouses, and private dwellings.

JOHN LEE .- Among the many builders of Brooklyn, John Lee is conspicuous both for the quality and quantity of work he has executed. He was born in Ireland, October 18th, 1834, and is an American citizen by adoption, having come to the United States, when a mere lad, with his father's family. His father was Daniel Lee, and the maiden name of his mother, who is still living at the advanced age of eighty-seven, was Lucy Murray. She is passing her declin- ing years as an inmate of the house of her daughter.

In 1850, Mr. Lee began to serve an apprenticeship to the carpenters' trade with the once well-known builders, T. V. and J. V. Porter, who were located at No. 9 Hoyt street.

A.LITTLE

Jurgen/ grands

James Rodwell

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ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.

Mr. Elbert Snedeker was also an apprentice with this firm during the greater portion of Mr. Lee's term of service, and the two youths formed a friendship which has remained un- broken to the present time. Mr. Lee completed his appren- ticeship at the age of twenty-one, and until 1860 was employed by the Messrs. Porter and others, from time to time undertaking contracts in connection with Mr. Snedeker, with which they were so successful, and about which they were in such good accord, that they mutually determined to enter into a formal partnership and begin business as builders on their own account. In 1861, the firm of Snedeker & Lee was formed, and existed until 1875, during which period they were very successful, and gained a reputation among the business men of Brooklyn which has been of great value to each of them since. Since the date last mentioned, Mr. Lee has continued building with such success that his standing among the builders of Brooklyn is first-class, erecting numerous important buildings for business purposes, and many elegant residences in the city and elsewhere. At present he is engaged in extensive building operations at Utica, N. Y., for the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad Company.

In 1857, Mr. Lee married Miss Jane M., daughter of William Griswold Watrous. Three sons have been born to them, named William Griswold Lee, Charles Henry Lee and John Lee, Jr. The latter died March 30th, 1882, aged ten years.

William Griswold Lee, the elder of the two sons living, assists his father in his business, and his younger brother, Charles Henry Lee, is a young architect who promises to make his mark in his profession at no distant day.

GEORGE W. BRANDT, a well-known contractor and builder, residing and having his office at 164 Fifty-fifth street, is a son of Henry D. and Elizabeth (Kellam) Brandt. His father, still living at an advanced age, is a book-binder, and for many years prior to his removal to Brooklyn plied his trade in New York.

Mr. Brandt was born in New York, April 22, 1849, received the foundation of his practical education in the public schools of that city; and, at the age of fourteen, became a clerk in a gentlemen's furnishing goods store, where he was . employed until the age of seventeen, when he apprenticed himself to learn the builders' trade with Manee & Gifford, once prominent builders of Brooklyn. Three years later he became a journeyman carpenter, and was employed as such till 1875, when he began business for himself as a contractor and builder, at his present location.

In the winter of 1876 and 1877, Mr. Brandt built the east- ern entrance to Greenwood Cemetery, and the Sunday-school building of Christ Episcopal Church, at Third avenue and Sixty-eighth street. He later built the moveable platform in the receiving vault at Greenwood, and repaired and re- modeled nearly all of the old buildings at the cemetery. He has also erected many fine residences, some of the most at- tractive of which he designed.

A skillful workman, and a practical, pushing man of busi- ness, Mr. Brandt has combined the elements necessary to success in any field of enterprise, and built up a business and obtained a reputation second to those of no other contrac- tor and builder in his section of the city. A resident of Brooklyn since the age of sixteen, he has become widely known and respected. His marked success he attributes in no small degree to his proficiency as a designer and his apti- tude in grasping the ideas of those wishing special or fine designs,

October 26, 1871, Mr. Brandt married Miss Maria Gill, a native of Woodlawn, Ireland, then a resident of New York, who has borne him three sons and two daughters, one of whom is dead. A Republican politically, Mr. Brandt has not been an active politician, devoting his time to the hard study which has enabled him to achieve that degree of suc- cess which has been vouchsafed him.

JAMES RODWELL, mason and builder and real estate oper- ator, whose office is at No. 45 Broadway, and his residence at No. 89 Division avenue, is one of the oldest and best, as well as most favorably known, residents of the Eastern District, where he has lived since boyhood, and with the interest of which he has long been prominently identified. He is a son of John and Frances (Hall) Rodwell, and was born near London, England, January 5th, 1823, and accom- panied his parents to America in 1831, locating in New York, where his father, who was a builder, pursued his avocation until 1834, in which year the family removed to the then village of Williamsburgh.

Mr. Rodwell attended a public school in New York for a short time, his educational advantages having been limited to a lamentable degree. From the time he was ten years of age until he was twenty he worked with his father, assisting him more and more as he advanced in strength, judgment and a knowledge of the trade. For two years more be was employed on "journey work " by different parties, and, while thus engaged, was married to Elizabeth D. Woodward, a native of New Jersey, in October, 1844. Not long after this event, he engaged in business as a builder on his own account, and has continued without interruption to the pres- ent time, operating more and more extensively from year to year as he grew in favor with the public. He has built three extensive sugar refineries; St. Mary's Catholic Church, at the corner of Remsen and Leonard streets; the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, on North Sixth street, near Fourth street; All Souls Universalist Church, on South Ninth street, near Fourth street; the office of the Williamsburgh Gas Company, on South Second street, near Fourth street; tbe Catholic Female Asylum for Orphans, at the corner of Gates and Willoughby avenues; St. John's College, at the corner of Willoughby and Lewis avenues; a large oil storehouse at Hunter's Point for W. H. Schieffelin & Co., of New York; and many other large buildings, besides hundreds of stores, offices and dwellings in Brooklyn and elsewhere, and is now erecting the Forty-seventh Regiment Armory, at the corner of Marcy avenue and Lynch street. In connection with his building operations he deals largely in real estate.

The confidence with which Mr. Rodwell is regarded may be best expressed by the statement that he is a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank, of the Kings County Savings Bank, and of the Williamsburgh Fire Insurance Company, all commercial institutions of high standing. He is also Vice-President of the Cypress Hills Cemetery Asso- ciation, and is prominently identified with other well-known institutions. From 1874 to 1877 he held the office of Fire Commissioner of the city of Brooklyn. Politically, Mr. Rodwell is a Democrat, and he has always been a deeply interested but not conspicuous participant in political events as they have passed. He is noted for his unostentatious friendliness to true men of all classes, irrespective of wealth or social position, and lives in the calm and sensible enjoy- ment of the proceeds of a busy life. His first wife died in November, 1877, leaving two daughters. He was married to Miss Caroline E. White, formerly of Connecticut, April 30th, 1883. He and his family are members of Christ Church (Episcopal) of Williamsburgh.

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

ALITTLE

JMcampbell

JOSEPH W. CAMPBELL .- Prominent among the many men of Brooklyn who have attained to positions of honor through their own unaided efforts, is Mr. Joseph W. Campbell, of No 315 Carlton avenue. His parents were Aaron T. and Phebe (Mitchell) Campbell, and he was born at Morristown, New Jersey, August 11, 1819, and removed to Brooklyn, with his father's family, in 1826. He learned the builders' trade when young, and since 1840 has been prominently identified with the building interests of Brooklyn.

PATRICK F. O'BRIEN was born in the year 1839, near Manor Hamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland. His parents dying when he was quite young, he was brought up by his grandparents, and received his education at the parish school, and learned his trade in his native place.

He came to America in 1848, locating in Brooklyn, and first obtained work on the City Hall, which was then in the course of erection, as a journeyman carpenter, with Mr. Leonard Cooper, the contractor, with whom he remained in that capacity for three years, when, on the death of Mr. Cooper's foreman, he was offered the position, which he filled two years. At this time, having purchased some lots, he engaged in business for himself in a small way, building three cot- tages of his own. At that time there were scarcely any houses in the vicinity of Skillman street at its junction with Myrtle avenue, and people in that neighborhood were obliged to go to and from the ferry in stages, no car lines having been built in the city. From this beginning, having secured shops, Mr. O'Brien began to do a general contracting business, building public institutions, churches, schools, residences,

manufactories and many dwellings. Among the many churches built by him may be mentioned the Church of the Holy Redeemer, St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, West- minster Presbyterian Church, St. Agnes' Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of the Holy Family, in Brooklyn, besides many in New York, including the Church of the Transfiguration and St. James' Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of the Sacred Heart at West Point. He also built the beautiful convent and other buildings of the Sisters of Mercy in Brooklyn, and the chapel and convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph at Flushing, Queens county, and a large number of public school buildings, including those of Brock- lyn Schools Nos. 3, 7, 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 28, 41, 42 and 43, be- sides many wings and alterations to such structures. St. Patrick's Academy and St. Anne's Schools are buildings put up by Mr. O'Brien, as were also the Cochrane building. and many others of the fine business houses which ornament the city; many expensive residences on Columbia Heights, and in other parts of the city; and some beautiful residences on Long Island, among them those of Hon. R. O'Gorman, Cornelius Dever and John W. Harper, at Sands' Point, where, for many years, Mr. O'Brien had a summer residence.

Mr. O'Brien lias dealt heavily in real estate, and built some fine buildings as an individual investment on Bedford and Clermont avenues, and on Hewes and other of the best streets in the city. He continues in business with unabated energy, being of such an active temperament that it would be next to impossible for him to remain idle for any length of time. He was one of the organizers, and for many years president of the Globe Marble Mills Company of this city, which, at one time, practically controlled the marble busi-

Tho Britan

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ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.

ness of Brooklyn. His connection with the Nassau National and East Brooklyn Banks is well known to those acquainted with the history of the commercial interests of the city.

In 1877, Mr. O'Brien made a trip to Rome with the Irish- American Pilgrimage, in the steamship City of Brussels, which, owing to a broken shaft, consumed 39 days in the passage from New York to Queenstown, and was, for a time, by many thought to have been lost at sea. This event was a source of great anxiety to Mr. O'Brien's family and friends, until intelligence of his safety reached them. Leaving his fellow pilgrims at Rome, Mr. O'Brien made an extended tour on the Continent, and visited his old home in Ireland.

Mr. O'Brien was married, in 1856, to Miss Anne Hughes, daughter of an old and respected resident of Brooklyn, and the marriage was blessed with four children, two sons and two daughters. Mrs. O'Brien promises to live to a ripe old age, in the enjoyment of the comforts and luxuries of the beautiful home her husband has provided for her.

In religion, Mr. O'Brien is a Roman Catholic, and has long bsen connected with charitable objects in the city. He was one of the founders, and for many years the treasurer, of St. Mary's Hospital, and has been a trustee of St. Patrick's Church since its foundation. Though a staunch Democrat, and often asked to accept public positions, he never mingled in politics nor held any office. He is a man of wide acquaint- ance, and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. A noted patron of education, he has given his children fine educational advantages, of which he was himself deprived when young. He is known as a kind and indulgent husband and father, a true friend, and a man of public spirit and gen- erous impulses; and those near and dear to him rejoice that his robust health and fine physique indicate that many more years of usefulness have been allotted to him.

THOMAS B. RUTAN was born in Newark, N. J., February 10th, 1837, and is a son of Henry A. and Harriet (Burnet) Rutan. He removed to Brooklyn, with his parents, in 1845, and his father, a builder, carried on his business there until his retirement, and died, at the age of sixty-three, July 1st, 1873.

Mr. Rutan was educated in the public schools of Brooklyn, and, at the age of fourteen, began to learn the trade of builder with his father, serving an apprenticeship of five years. From its expiration until 1862, he worked as a jour- neyman carpenter and builder. In September, 1862, he en- listed in Company A, 139th New York Volunteers, was mastered in as a sergeant and served as such till, in the fall of 1864, he was detailed as a sharpshooter and served as one until mustered out of service at the close of the war.

Returning north, Mr. Rutan went to Bridgeport, Conn., and worked at his trade about nine months, again tak- ing up his residence in Brooklyn at the expiration of that time and engaging in business as a builder on his own ac- count, in which he has continued very prosperously to the present time, being among the prominent men of the city in his line, and having erected some of the largest buildings in Brooklyn.

Mr. Rutan is a staunch Democrat, and has long been an active politican, but never an office-seeker, or an office- holder.

JOHN J. FROST, 574 Franklin avenue, builder and contractor ; established 1866. EDWARD FREEL, 484 Lafayette avenue, builder and contractor ; es- tablished 1859.

EDWARD FREEL .- This well-known gentleman, one of the most prominent of the contractors of Brooklyn, is a son of Edward and Elizabeth Freel, and was born in Ireland in 1829. When he was about ten years old, with his mother and others of his family, he came to America, his father having preceded them by a few months, to found for them a home in the new world. The family lived in East Brooklyn some years, and then moved to Eighteenth street, in the section of the city known as Gowanus. Young Freel attended the pub- lic schools during his boyhood, and at the early age of four- teen was apprenticed to the once well-known Stephen Haynes, to learn the trade of bricklayer, attending night schools as opportunity afforded. After acquiring his trade, he worked as a journeyman mason in New York and Brook- lyn and vicinity, rising after a few years to the position of foreman, and as such he found employment in different places, until he began to take small contracts on his own ac- count. In 1859, he was appointed to be one of the inspectors of the Brooklyn Water Works, serving in that capacity till sometime in 1860, when he relinquished the position to en- gage more largely in contracting than he had done before. Since that date he has done an extensive and increasing busi- ness, and has erected many large buildings in and about New York and Brooklyn, both private and public, among them the Kings County Jail, D. Appleton & Co.'s printing house and bindery on First street, and numerous elegant residences and business blocks. He has also constructed much sewerage, and performed other important public contracts in New York and Brooklyn, and is now constructing the water-works of the town of New Lots. He has opened and improved several streets in the city, and done much toward the public im- provement in many quarters, and is the owner of much real estate in many advantageous localities.

In 1859, Mr. Freel married Miss Catharine Murray, of New York. They have two sons and a daughter. Edward F. Freel, the eldest son, is regularly employed in his father's business; and the younger son, Francis J. Freel, though yet in school, renders valuable assistance therein. In a quiet way, Mr. Freel, who is a staunch Democrat, is interested in politics, but though he has repeatedly been proffered places of honor and trust, he has refused to accept them, partly be- cause his tastes do not incline him to active participation in political affairs, and partly because he has thought best, in the days of his prosperity, to give to his business the same undivided time and attention which contributed so largely to establishing it, and increasing it to its present enviable proportions. Mr. Freel, with his family, are identified with the Roman Catholic Church, of which he has ever been a willing and a liberal supporter.

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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 II, Part 50

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co Number of Pages: 1345

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co
Number of Pages: 1345