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 52
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Williamsburg, where Mr. Higgins had long had a branch shop.
Mr. Thomas continued in business very successfully until the spring of 1877, when he retired from active life, and has since been carrying on a desultory and speculative trade in houses and lots in his section of the city, until within the past two years, during which he has taken a prominent part in the management of the educational affairs of the city, having heen appointed a member of the Board of Education of the city of Brooklyn, in 1882, for a term of three years. Politically, he was formerly a Whig and is now a Republican. With his family, he is identified with the South Fourth street Presby- terian church. In 1847, he was married to Judith Maujer, a niece of Daniel Maujer's, who died in May, 1851, leaving a daughter, who is now Mrs. Albert Weaver. In 1856, he was married a second time, to Miss Hannah Arnot, of Orange county, N. Y., by whom he has one daughter. Hs is often pointed out as one of the numerous men in Brooklyn who have successfully waged the battle of life against many disheartening disadvantages.
BENJAMIN T. LYNCH .- Andrew Lynch ssttled where Pater- son, New Jersey, now is, in 1798, and for many years after- ward was the proprietor of a cotton mill on the Passaic River. He and his wife both died during the years 1814 and 1815, and one of their sons, Thomas Lynch, then a mere youth, came to Brooklyn in 1820, and for a time was em- ployed in a rope-walk bounded by Bridge, Tillary, Pearl and Concord streets. In 1825, he opened a grocery at the corner of Bridge and Tillary streets, and for forty years carried on a successful business there, which for many years before he
ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
851
LITTLE
Demich
relinquished it, was one of the most extensive in the city. He gradually engaged in real estate transactions, and became one of the heaviest operators in the city. During his busi- ness career and his retirement, which dated from 1865, he was the friend and associate of the most prominent Brook- lynites of his time. He died in 1873, the death of his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Lynch, having occurred in 1852.
Two of the sons of Thomas Lynch are among the best known business men of the Brooklyn of to-day. David T. Lynch, the younger of the two, is a popular lawyer and merchant, being the proprietor of the business of the White- house Shos Company, and is widely known and respected in business circles.
The other, Benjamin T. Lynch, an extensive real estate operator, was born in Brooklyn, February 7th, 1841; was ed- ucated at private schools, and learned the real estate busi- ness in the office of his father, where he was employed from an early age. At the death of their father, Benjamin T. and David T. Lynch became the owners of his real estate in Brooklya and vicinity, and to the valuable interests involved
in its management, Benjamin T. Lynch has since given his attention.
Fearless and independent politically, Mr. Lynch has long had the best interests of the growing city at heart, and has given a cordial support to many measures looking toward its development and improvement. He is a director and the secretary of the Brooklyn Underground Railway Company, and a stockholder in several commercial institutions of a high character.
To the Masonic fraternity he is well known, being a mem- ber of United States Lodge, No. 207, F. and A. M .; Nassau Chapter, No. 109, R. A. M., and Clinton Commandery, No. 14, K. T., and he is also identified with several other so- cieties.
We have already explained the methods usually adopted in erecting buildings " on speculation." The results generally were, that the houses first erected by a builder, were, as a rule well built, but if the sales were dull, or there was strong competition, and a con-
852
HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.
sequent yielding of prices, the builder usually lost money, or made very little, on his first houses ; but this did not, as a rule, deter him from continuing to build "speculation houses." There was an excitement akin to that of gambling about the business, which led to further ventures, and in these, by economizing here and there, using poorer lumber or inferior bricks, or poorer quality of the brown stone, where these would be out of sight, making the party walls lighter and less perfect, cutting down upon the plumbing, using inferior mortar and cement, lighter timber, and the cheap factory-made doors, sash and blinds, they generally succeeded in making a moderate and sometimes a large profit. The houses, once off their hands, gave them no further concern. But this triumph of fraud and greed was after all generally short-lived. The intensity of the competition in these buildings led constantly to new improvements, which, when once introduced, were always insisted upon by the wide-awake buyer, whose wits were sharpened by the points he gathered in his travels among the builders who had houses for sale ; whatever was the novelty just then in vogue it must be had in every new house ; whether it were hard wood doors, stairs and wainscoting, three stationary washtubs instead of two, bronze door and window trimmings, cedar closets, massive window guards and iron storm doors, mansard roofs, with or without gilt railings, extra finishing in the dining rooms, superb bath rooms, deadened walls or sanitary plumbing, it must be had. As these things constantly enhance the price, the shrewder builders managed to make some money, as there were still chances for slighting the work where the frauds would not be readily discovered. But very many of the weaker men in the business went to the wall, and it was mainly from among these that the short-lived cry for cheaper houses of narrow width, two stories in front and three in rear, or of cheap brick and mastic fronts, was started. The rage for these did not last.
The erection of "flats" or apartment houses was, for the most part, begun and promoted by the real estate dealers and agents. It required a larger amount of capital than most of the builders had at command, as the flats were usually put up in large blocks, and in those best constructed, with an inner court, or at least a lighted central stairway and ele- vator shaft. They were not built to be sold, but to be rented, and hence it was desirable, especially in the best class, that they should be well and substantially built.
That this business has been overdone, we fully be- lieve. It was inevitable in the nature of things; for, when fierce competition and a large amount of capital seeking profitable investment were factors in the un- dertaking, over-production could not but follow. Still, so rapid is the growth of our city, and so great the demand for dwellings of respectable appearance, that
it will, probably, be some time before the unwisdom of much of this style of building will be fully manifest. Of course the cheaper classes of flats will depreciate most rapidly.
Of the apartment houses of Brooklyn, that of Mr. FOUGERA, on the corner of Clinton and Atlantic streets, is perhaps in point of convenience, finish, etc., the best example.
A still more interesting development in this class of dwelling is that of improved workingmen's homes, a form of building investment which has for its basis the philanthropic object of providing homes cheap and healthful and convenient, in every economic and sani- tary feature, for those of very moderate means. The houses erected with this design in London by the Pea- body Fund, by Sir Sydney Waterlow, the London Im- provement Co., etc., have proved a great success in elevating the home-life of the laboring classes. We are glad to know that Brooklyn has in Mr. White's enterprise (a description of which we give from the April, 1884, number of Harper's Magazine), similar houses in very respect, both of construction and suc- cess, worthy to be compared with these English enter- prises.
Mr. Alfred T. White commenced his work in 1876, and in some respects his experiments have been even more successful than any in London. The first "Home Buildings," with forty dwellings and five stores, on Hicks street, Brooklyn, five minutes' walk from South Ferry, were opened February, 1877, and were immediately filled. A second adjoining block, facing on Baltic street, without any stores, was opened Octo- ber, 1877. Three "Tower Buildings," on the next block, very much finer in appearance than their neighbors, were opened in 1878 and 1879, the five aggregating 218 dwell- ings (1 of 6, 25 of 5, 147 of 4, 45 of 3 rooms), and 15 stores, housing about 1,000 people. Each of these dwell- ings has living-room and scullery as well as bed-rooms, it being a cardinal principle (as in the Waterlow build- ings in London) that each family shall have every requisite within its own private domain. Each family has also a storage bin for coal, etc., in the basement.
The floors are planned alike from bottom to top, which permits a considerable saving by the duplication of materials. The buildings are of plain red brick ; slate stairways wind up a shaftway, inclosed in a solid wall, opening out-of-doors upon balconies, where each tenant has a separate entrance, and they terminate on a flat, gravelled roof for clothes drying and for play. In the "Tower Building," three sbaftings constitute the tower by which means an element of beauty is intro- duced which the " Home Buildings " lack.
The cost of the first "Home Building" is given at about $7,000 for the four lots of land, and $30,000 for the building itself. The average price of dwellings throughout the buildings is $1.93 per week for four, and $1.48 for three room dwelling; the lowest prices,
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ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
$1.50 and $1.30, these last being on the top floor, whence ten cents is added each floor downward.
Each tenant is given an account card for the year, with the rules and space for his weekly payments. Of these prices there is a discount of ten cents per week to those who pay four weeks rent at a time in advance, which one-fourth of the tenants have done regularly, and there is a second rebate of ten per cent. to tenants who, by remaining the full year, from 1st of May to Ist of May, save to the building the wear and tear of removals.
The buildings have nevertheless earned a gross rev- enue of thirteen per cent., of which in round numbers two per cent. goes for taxes, two per cent. for repairs, one per cent. for expenses, while the net eight per cent. has been used-two per cent. for improvement and ex- tension, and six per cent. for dividends. Here is a prospect for wise capitalists.
Among the features of these buildings are a free reading-room and lending library, and free baths; the home-sense of the tenants is also encouraged by per- mitting each to choose his own wall-paper within cer- tain limits of cost. No rooms remain unlet. There is always a long list of applicants in advance for any va- cancy.
The remarkable feature of Mr. White's miniature city is, however, the two blocks of dwelling-houses known as " Warren Place."
On a plot of land, 112 feet frontage on Warren and Baltic streets and running through 200 feet from street to street, this private way, with a tiny green its whole length, has been laid out, and on either side thirty-four little brick houses of two and three stories have been built.
A cartway for ash-carts, grocery wagons, etc., runs in the rear of each set.
The two-story and basement houses are 112x32 feet, and have six rooms each.
They cost but $1,100 each, exclusive of land, and they rent for $18 per month. They are pretty and have every convenience.
By this experiment, Mr. White has shown that even on city lots costing $4,000 for 25x100 feet, such dwell- ing can be profitably rented for about $250 a year. It is not yet, however, the pre-millennial age, and capital still prefers the drifting sands of Wall street to this building on a rock.
Among the best known builders of the city we may mention the following :
Abram Allen
146 Pierrepont street.
Jno. D. Anderson 225 Raymond street. James Ashfield. 244 Grand avenue.
Adams & Donaldson 178 So. Portland avenue.
Lewis Acor.
Richard C. Addy 374 Tompkins avenue.
S. F. Bartlett .592 Willoughby avenue.
.209 Clymer street.
W. C. Booth . 253 Carleton avenne.
J. W. Booth
121 Freeman street.
Henry J. Brown 1378 Fulton avenue.
P. F. Burns.
624 Grand avenue.
Geo. W. Brown
728 Fulton street.
Stephen J. Burrows 236 Ainslie street.
H. B. Banta 27 Bergen street.
E. H. Burnett . 58 Poplar street.
Chester Bedell . 337 Smith street.
Daniel Brown.
Fulton & Portland avenues.
O. J. Buckley, Jr . 404 Bridge street.
Jno. K. Bulmer
213 Adelphi street.
A. K. Buckley
180 Kosciusko street.
Elbert Brush 38 North Oxford street.
Hiram Bush 847 Gates avenue.
Geo. W. Brandt 164 55th street.
Jno. J. Brennan
151 Lee avenue.
Alex. Barnie, Jr
.377 Gold street.
Patrick F. Burns
. 624 Grand avenue.
Beard & Kingsland Hamilton ave. n. Clinton st.
Marvin Croas . 41 Bedford avenue.
Jno. Clarke 1119 Greene avenue.
Geo. B. Colyer 359 16th street.
Wm. Corrigan
223 11th street.
Thos. Corrigan
310 10th street.
John Cregier 709 Greene avenue.
Francis Curran 21 St. Felix street.
C. Cameron
135 Washington avenue.
P. J. Carlin.
.549 Clinton avenue.
Parmenas Castner
.162 Prince street.
Peter Concannon
156 Wythe avenue.
Geo. Cook
201 Ft. Greene place.
J. W. Campbell.
. 315 Carleton avenue.
Coles & Goodfellow Gravesend.
P. Carlin & Sons
440 Van Buren street.
Chas. H. Cardwell
15 Lawton street.
Geo. Damen . 88 Luqueer street.
Jas. J. Doig, Jr
. 24 Franklin street.
T. S. Denike
829 Herkimer street.
Gilbert De Revere .663 Greene avenue.
J. Demott 270 Schermerhorn.
C. Dietrich 27 Boerum place.
Thos. Donlon
157 Pierrepont street.
Jas. W. Dearing.
434 Henry street.
John Denithorne 843 Dean street.
E. H. Day 151 State street.
James Duffy
284 16th street.
C. M. Detlefsen 165 Van Dyke street.
Jesse M. Folk 205 Nassau street.
Wm. Flannagan 46 Berkeley place.
John S. Frost
. 574 Franklin avenne.
D. H. Fowler .
360 Waverly avenue.
Maurice Freeman's Sons. . 286 Warren street.
A. A. Fardon 119 Carleton avenue.
Edw'd Freel
484 La Fayette avenue.
John Guilfoyle
180 High street.
B. Gallagher
.217 South 9th street.
Thos. Green.
195 6th avenue.
854
HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.
John Gordon
248 Cumberland street.
Thos. Gibbons
90 Clymer street.
Wm. J. Gillmore
234 Division avenue.
Henry P. Gerst
. 276 South 9th street.
Wm. Green.
506 Clinton street.
Thos. E. Greenland 2542 Kosciusko street.
H. Grasman
.807 Willoughby avenue.
Fred. Herr
778 Broadway.
W. H. Hazzard.
211 Schermerhorn street.
Wm. E. Hart 300 Navy street.
Henry Harteau.
554 Washington avenue.
President Metropolitan Plate Glass Insurance Co .; es- tablished 1873, in Brooklyn; Member of the Board of Education in 1840; Alderman for the 11th Ward in 1852 -'3; Originator of the Wallabout Improvement, and the extension of Washington avenue; re-elected as Member of the Board of Education, in 1871; First President of Mechanics' and Traders' Exchange.
Richard H. Heasman. 904 Madison street.
Mansfield Hunt 137 South 5th street.
Jacob Hart
T. B. Jackson.
424 Clinton avenue.
C. A. Jackson
34 Halsey street.
W. E. Jackson
34 Halsey street.
C. L. Johnson
158 Bedford avenne.
W. J. Kerigan
258 Pearl street.
J. P. Kinney .
418 3d street.
Jos. I. Kirby
73 Gates avenue.
F. J. Kelly
138 Dean street.
William Kohlmeyer. 318 South 1st street.
John Lee
216 State street.
James Lennox
128 23d street.
Benj. Linikin
216 Greene avenue.
Chas. Long.
.383 11th street.
Long & Barnes
114 Clermont avenue.
James Lock.
666 Willoughby.
Thos. Lamb, Jr. 234 Rodney street.
James R. Lawrence 236 Park place.
Leonard Bros ..
735 Bergen street.
D. W. L. Moore 131 Colyer street.
John Monas
92 Park place.
D. T. McFarlan 662 Gates avenue.
Morris & Seelover.
39 DeKalb avenue.
Martin & Lee.
440 Clermont avenue.
Henry MeQuilkin
162 Walworth street.
Peter Modest
.387 Marion street.
John Magilligan
.56 Berkeley place.
John J. Mills 496 Gates avenue.
Andrew Miller
1527 Pacific street.
James P. Miller 299 Summer avenue.
Wm. H. Maxwell . 591 Carroll street.
E. H. Moubray . 317 7th street.
P. Mulledy .576 Quincy street.
John McNamee
477 Kent avenue.
M. Myers 888 DeKalb avenue.
Jas. H. Mason 277 Carlton avenue.
Thos. J. Nash 89 Butler street.
Daniel B. Norris.
259 Clifton place.
P. F. O'Brien
164 Bedford avenue.
John H. O'Rourke
119 38th street.
George Phillipps
177 Hancock street.
George Perkins.
. 264 DeGraw street.
Robert Payne.
.340 Willoughby avenue.
Charles B. Piper
88 North Oxford street.
Herman Phillips
289 Jefferson street.
Samuel J. Peden
399 Marcy avenue.
John V. Porter
184 Park place.
John J. Quin.
469 Macon street.
S. M. Randall
571 Lorimer street.
John Rome
334 Schermerhorn street.
Daniel Ryan
733 Third avenue.
James Roper.
109 Halsey street.
Myron C. Rush
329 Franklin avenue.
William J. Ryder
128 Quincy street.
T. A. Remsen .
913 Atlantic avenue.
F. B. Rutan ..
175 Monroe street.
James Rodwell
. 89 Division avenue.
John F. Ryan.
187 Hewes street.
John C. Rustin
79} Clermont avenue.
T. W. Rollins.
35 South Oxford street.
A. Rutan (Mason)
.957 Putnam avenue.
John Ruger
258 Moore street.
John Rawson
219 Clymer street.
W. C. Russell
58 Hancock street.
Elbert Snedeker
391 Greene avenue.
Howard J. Smith
478 Clermont avenue.
J. N. Smith
371 LaFayette avenne.
John Stafford
53 Dean street.
J. E. & J. H. Stevenson
. 14 Hoyt street.
C. L. Smith
157 South 8th street.
C. P. Skelton, Sr.
1011 DeKalb avenue.
Jos. Simms
201 Fort Greene place.
L. W. Seaman, Jr.
2 Fort Greene place.
Thomas Stone
471 State street.
W. Schepper
126 Carleton avenue.
John Smith
178 Chauncey street.
F. Sloat.
349 Tompkins avenue.
James Shannon
87 Clermont avenue.
Stillman Soule.
. 427 Gates avenue.
Peter Sullivan
389 Lewis avenue.
John C. Sawkins
Flatbush.
C. B. Sheldon
362 5th street.
Matthew Smith.
248 Lorimer street.
J. P. Seeley
130 LaFayette avenue.
Wm. M. Thomas
.362 9th street.
Jas. A. Thompson
300 Lexington avenue.
Jas. H. Townsend.
60 Putnam avenue.
Arthur Taylor.
164 Lewis avenue.
Rulof Van Brunt.
.134} 11th street.
J. M. Van Wicklen.
217 South 4th street.
Peter W. Voorhees
460 Carlton avenue.
S. C. Whitehead
196 Halsey street.
Wm. V. Williamson
.380 Dean street.
Wm. S. Wright
233 Cumberland street.
Wm. Lamb.
200 Rodney street.
Chapter Belle
Ble Miller
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ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
Smith Wood 698 Gates avenue.
James Williamson 626 Gates avenue.
David Weild. .358 Gates avenue.
C. W. Williams 557 Broadway, E. D.
BENJAMIN C. MILLER .- A farm-house in the township of Somers, Westchester county, N. Y., was Mr. Miller's birth- place. He was born May 10th, 1832, the fourth in a family of eight, of whom five are still living. His father, Joseph Miller, now eighty years of age, is as erect in stature and firm in step as is Mr. Miller himself to-day. His mother died many years ago.
The little red school-house in which Mr. Miller, with the other youth of the neighborhood, received what was then deemed ample instruction for a farmer's son, stood, until very recently, about a mile from the old homestead, but has now been replaced by a more pretentious building.
At the age of seventeen, having until then employed his time in farming, Mr. Miller went to New York to begin life for himself. There he engaged in different kinds of employ- ment, raising himself step by step from one position to another, and gradually accumulating a little capital. He came to Brooklyn in January, 1861, and two months later joined his father and uncle, R. & J. Miller, in their business of raising and moving houses. Under his management the business has had uninterrupted prosperity, having succeeded his father and uncle as sole proprietor in 1867. His son is now associated with him as partner.
Mr. Miller has been engaged in some large undertakings, . both in this city and elsewhere. Noteworthy were the rais- ing of blocks of houses on Flatbush avenue when the street grade was elevated twelve feet at Fifth avenue; also the moving of blocks of buildings when Fourth avenue was widened and graded. At Yonkers, N. Y., he was sent for to assist in widening several streets, and his services have been in request at Baltimore, Md., and other cities in a similar way. In the spring ef 1883, the Bathing Pavilion at Brigh- ton Beach, Coney Island, a building 450 feet long, three stories in height, and built on piles, had to be moved 200 feet back from the beach, on account of the encroachment which the tides had made upon it during a long and stormy winter. The surf was continually beating among the piles on which the structure rested, a constant menace to its sta- bility and to the workmen who might be employed in re- moving it. Mr. Miller received the contract for the difficult undertaking in preference to all others, although his estimate of its cost was much higher than that of any competitor. His well-known skill and integrity were an assurance of suc- cess, impossible as the removal was pronounced to be by many who were even more experienced than he. The pa- vilion now stands on its new foundations, illustrating his ingenuity and daring enterprise.
In person, Mr. Miller is of commanding height, with a finely proportioned muscular frame. His blue eye is keen and frank like that of ene who
"Looks the whole world in the face, For he fears not any man."
His clear complexion denotes the man of perfect health, and, with his light-brown hair, bespeak his Saxon origin.
Liks his parents, Mr. Miller is a member of the Society of Friends, and his life has been a fair exponent of the firm- ness of principle and uncompromising straightforwardness, which are the Quakers' characteristics. As is well known, this is the oldest temperance society in the world. Its prin- ciples have had no strenger advocate than Mr. Miller, who by voice and example has dene continuous service for the
cause of reform. Possessing a character of bonhomie, and fond of social enjoyment, the temptation has often been strong in him to join in the convivial intoxication to which as a man of the world, he has been often bidden, but he has never swerved from the path of absolute temperance. In order to induce others to espouse the same cause, he entered, some years ago, the Order of the Good Templars, and has since held the highest positions within the society with honor and credit.
To the work of reforms he has brought the same enthu- siasms and energy, which have distinguished all his under- takings, and he has always been a trusted counselor of his fellow laborers.
In his twenty-third year, Mr. Miller married Miss Laura F. Marshall. Five children were born to them, of whom three are living.
Notwithstanding a press of business cares, Mr. Miller keeps himself well informed on the current events of the day. As a Republican he takes an active interest in political affairs, though never seeking office.
In short, Mr. Miller is one of the many self-made men of whom our country furnishes so many notable examples. His present position and acquirements are due entirely to his own efforts. His aptness and quickness have enabled him to cope successfully with difficulties, while his energy, courage and perseverance have given him the victory over all obstacles, and made him one of the prominent business men of the day.
CHESTER BEDELL was born near Morristown, N. J., August 6, 1814. His father and grandfather were both natives of Morristown. The latter, Isaac Bedell, served the American cause as a soldier during the Revolutionary struggle, receiv- ing two serious wounds, one of which was so peculiar as to be of interest to the general reader. Mr. Bedell received a ball between the bones of his leg just below the knee. The wound was of such a nature that the missile could not be extracted, and it remained embedded in the sufferer's leg for fifty years, but gradually, though he was not aware of it, working down. One day a horse kicked Mr. Bedell's leg, just above the ankle, and, through an opening thus made in the flesh, the ball came out having traversed nearly the whole length of the leg below the knee. It was given by Mr. Bedell to his son, John K. Bedell, father of Chester Bedell, and by him to Chester Bedell, his eldest son, who, some years ago, deposited it, with its curious history, in the corner- stone of the Carroll Park Methodist-Episcopal Church, in Brooklyn.
John K. Bedell was a farmer and school teacher at Morris- town, N. J. He married Anna Jones, who is living with her son, William J. Bedell, at Morristown, having reached the advanced age of eighty-nine in August, 1883. Her husband died at Morristown more than twenty years ago. Chester Bedell lived on his father's farm until he was about seventeen years old, when he was apprenticed to J. S. Frost, of Morris- town, to learn the trade of stone-mason, bricklayer and plasterer. He removed to Brooklyn in 1833, and was em- ployed as a journeyman at his trade for about two years. In 1835, he began business on his own account as a builder, in which he has continued successfully to the present time, having erected about 1,500 buildings in Brooklyn and New York, and elsewhere, among them the Pearl street House, in New York, the Arcade Building, in Elizabeth, N. J., a large number of stores on Atlantic Dock, and some large build. ings in Charleston, S. C. His office is at 337 Smith street, where he carries on a limited real estate business in connec- tion with his building operations.
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