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 53

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 53

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

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In 1838, Mr. Bedell was married to Miss Amy S. North, a Long Island lady, who has borne him seven children, three of whom are dead. One son, William Forrest Bedell, M.D., of 265 Sackett street, and three daughters are living. Mr. Bedell and members of his family are identified with the Carroll Park Methodist-Episcopal church, the house of wor- ship of which was erected by Mr. Bedell, more than one-half the expense having been borne by him, and the balance by Mr. Henry DuBois and William J. Bedell, of Morristown, N. J., a farmer and former builder, who learned his trade in Brooklyn with his brother, Chester. In politics, Mr. Bedell, formerly a "Clay Whig," has long espoused the cause of the Republican party, though he is not, nor has he been active as a polititian. He is, in the best sense of the term, a self- made man. His life has been a busy and a useful one. He is a gentleman of genial presence and agreeable manners, and many there are who are proud to call him friend. In all of the best interests of humanity he takes a lively interest, and his helpful charity has made itself practically manifest on many occasions when, in time of need, he has shown himself "a friend indeed." At the age of almost three- score and ten, he appears much younger, and preserves all of his mental and most of his physical vigor.

EDWIN H. BURNETT .- The family of Burnett in America is both an old and an honorable one. Thomas Burnett, of Lynn, Mass., is the earliest of the name from whom Edwin H. Burnett is able to trace his descent. He removed to South- ampton, L. I., about 1643, and had sons named John, Aaron, Lot, Joel, Dan, Mordecai, and Matthias. Mordecai removed at an early date from Southampton, L. I., to Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He was the son of Thomas Burnett by his second wife, Mary Pierson, and was horn while his father was yet a resident of Lynn, Mass., where he married her in 1663. It is thought that he became a resident of Nsw Jersey about 1690, as subsequent to that date he soon be- came prominent in local affairs.

Dr. Ichabod Burnett, son of Dan, was born at Southamp- ton, L. I., about 1684, and removed with his father to Eliza- bethtown, N. J., about 1690. He had two sons, William and Ichabod, both of whom became physicians. The latter died in his twenty-fourth year. Dr. William Burnett removed to Newark and distinguished himself as a patriot during the Revolution. He was the father of Judge Jacob Burnett of Cincinnati. Dr. Ichabod Burnett died at Elizabethtown, N. J., at the age of ninety, in 1774.

ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS.

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@ LITTLE PHILA

Edwin H. Burnett's father, John O. Burnett, and his mother, Julia Ann (Higgins) Burnett, were both natives of Lyons' Farms, N. J. They removed to Brooklyn not long after their marriage, where their son was born February 25th, 1829. He was educated partially in the public and partially in private schools in Brooklyn, and at the age of sixteen became a clerk in a grocery store; but having a taste for his father's trade, that of carpenter, he two years later devoted himself to its acquisition, studying architec- tural drawing at the old Apprentices' Library on Washing- ton street. He passed some years in his father's service, and at the age of about twenty-five became hie partner. A few years afterward his father retired, and Mr. Burnett has since been conducting an extensive and growing business, during the period of which he did the carpenter work for Dr. Squibb's residence and laboratory, on Columbia Heights, and was the architect and builder of the Nottingham Lace Works, at the corner of Hall street and Park avenue, be- sides erecting numerous fine residences and business struc- tures of various kinds, his residence and shops being located at Nos. 58 and 60 Poplar street. Formerly an old line Whig, Mr. Burnett is now a Democrat, but not an active participant in political affairs. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed Church of Flatbush, L. I.

In 1851, he married Catharine H. McChesney, of Mon- mouth county, N. J., and has two daughters, named respec- tively, Virginia Lee, and Ella Stewart Burnett.

LINDSAY JAMES WELLS, the subject of this sketch, was born in Dublin, Ireland, December 22, 1822. His father, James Wells, was a native of England, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Holmes, was born in Scot- land. Their family consisted of four sons and two daughters. Young Wells, having received a liberal academical education, entered the Royal Irish Academy, where he studied two years; and, having received the highest prize for architec- tural drawing (which drawing is still in his possession), he entered the office of Mr. Isaac B. Farrell, an architect and civil engineer of high standing in the city of Dublin, where he served a five years' apprenticeship. He then became assistant to Mr. James B. Farrell, a prominent civil engineer in the West of Ireland, who was engaged in improving Wex- ford Harbor and other large engineering works, remaining with him two years. He then decided to join his eldest brother, also a civil engineer, believing that America would offer a better field for the beginning of an active life than his native country. He therefore crossed the Atlantic, and located in Brooklyn early in May, 1848. His professional ability was soon remarked, so that, in the following Novem- ber, he was tendered the position of Civil Engineer to the Trustees of Green-Wood Cemetery, which he accepted, and has filled for nearly forty years with honor to himself and satisfaction to the corporation. To his instrumentality largely are due the beauties that have made Green-Wood world-renowned. His judgment and skill helped to originate

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and elaborate the plan of laying out the grounds ; his good taste assisted in preserving and enhancing its natural beau- ties ; his science aided in forming the wonderful system of walks and drives, glades and lakes, that make Green-Wood a terrestrial paradise, a triumph of landscape engineering. Mr. Wells has shown the highest art to conceal art, so that difficulties have been overcome, obstacles removed, and natural advantages improved, to produce charming effects, yet without artificiality.

Aside from his busy professional career, Mr. Wells has also done much work in connection with benevolent and religions enterprises. He has been instrumental in founding four churches in Brooklyn, viz .: the First Place M. E. Church, the Warren Street M. E. Church, the Park Congregational Church, and the Church of the Covenant. He is now an active member of the Park Congregational. He was a charter member and is now a director and the treasurer of the " Prospect Heights Dispensary."

Mr. Wells married Miss Eleanor Bridges, of Brooklyn, May 25, 1852, and the issue of that marriage was two sons, James L. and Charles B., and two daughters, Mary Eleanor (Scott) and Emma L. After many years of domestic happi- ness, Mrs. Wells died, February 7, 1877. Mr. Wells again married, in 1883, Miss Susan H. Pierce, of Massachusetts.

A large circle of friends hold Mr. Wells in the highest es- teem for his manliness and worth.

Real Estate Dealers and Agents. - It re- mains that we speak of the real estate dealers and agents, who have become so numerous as almost to form a distinct guild in our city. In the period of its village life, Brooklyn had no need of real estate agents. If a man built or bought a house which, for any cause, he desired to sell, the natural purchaser was either some neighbor or new-comer, who was desirous of buy- ing, and the transaction was between man and man, without the intervention of a middle-man. If land was to be sold for building purposes, the seller was either a farmer who saw profit in disposing of a part of his farm, and who offered it at a price which, in most cases, speedily brought purchasers. In the very begin- ning of the present century there seems to have been but one man in the town of Brooklyn who engaged in what might be called a real estate business. This was John Jackson, who engineered the purchase of the site of the present United States Navy Yard, and who put up a number of small houses in its vicinity for workmen and persons of small means. Thirty years later, after the city organization in 1834, some enterprising men of wealth, who had earlier purchased considerable tracts for country seats, foreseeing dimly that Brooklyn was to be some day a great city, laid out streets through their estates and offered building lots for sale, generally under certain conditions or covenants. Among the earliest of these were Mr. HEZEKIAH B. PIERREPONT, whose services in building up and improving the city are elsewhere recorded in this work ; the brothers, Au- GUSTUS and JOHN B. GRAHAM, JOSHUA SANDS, Major FANNING C. TUCKER and his son, R. SANDS TUCKER, JEREMIAH JOHNSON, several members of the POLHEMUS and RAPELYE families, Mr. PACKER, and later, Mr.

JOHN H. PRENTISS. Some of the original holders of farms eame reluctantly into this movement, which has brought large fortunes to their descendants. Among these were the Polhemus, Joralemon, Remsen, Lefferts, Johnson, Jackson and other families. These proper- ties are now very thoroughly distributed, and among those most active in their distribution have been Gen. JEREMIAH JOHNSON, Jr., Hon. J. CARSON BREVOORT, who married into one of the Lefferts families, Mr. THEODORE POLHEMUS, and other parties connected by birth or marriage with these old families. Of course, this laying out of streets and offering of build- ing lots for sale, or erecting buildings on them, were real estate transactions on a large scale; but the men who did this business were the owners of the lands they offered, and did not act in any respect as middle-men. A real estate dealer or agent to-day may own the buildings or lots he offers for sale ; though, as a rule, he does not, but acts as agent for the owners. He may -and in the ease of the flats or apartment houses, as we have explained, he often does-own the houses he offers to rent; but it is not necessary to his calling that he should own any of them. He does very often, if he has capital, or can command the capital of others, make building loans to builders and take mortgages on the buildings they are erecting as his security. But it is of the nature of his business that in most cases he should act, directly or indirectly, as the agent of others, and thus be a middle-man. We have been unable to ascertain who, in the sense we have defined, was the first real estate agent in Brooklyn. Whoever he was, he had his office probably either near Fulton Ferry, or in the young and growing village of the Wallabout, in the vicinity of the United States Navy Yard, and his or. their business-for there may have been four or five engaged in the vocation-must have been limited with- in very narrow bounds.

In 1849, Mr. SYLVESTER HONDLOW, a native of Mon- treal, and at that time forty-one years of age, removed to Brooklyn, and commenced business as a real estate agent. He was enterprising and honest. Very soon, probably in 1850, he removed his office to Montague street, and thenceforward transacted his business there until his death, in February, 1878. When he made this removal, Mr. H. B. Pierrepont-who, as we have seen, was himself one of the most enterprising and hopeful of the citizens of Brooklyn-said to him: "Mr. Hond- low, are you crazy ? There certainly can never be any hope of building up a good real estate business so far from the center of business !" But Mr. Hondlow thought differently, and the events proved the sound- ness of his judgment. Within ten years Holy Trinity Church was finished, the Academy of Music was built; borse railroads were running in all directions-south, south-east, east, north-east and north ; the new Court- house was projected, the great Atlantic and Erie ba- sins were under way, churches and schools were erected

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in great numbers one, two, three and four miles to the east, and Brooklyn had more than doubled its popula- tion. Mr. Hondlow was in a position to take advan- tage of this rapid growth, and a full tide of fortune poured in upon him. Of course there were numerous competitors for this business. Among them were Mr. JULIUS DAVENPORT, Messrs. D. & M. CHAUNCEY, and a little later, NICHOLAS COOPER, whose son, like Mr. Davenport's, is nowassociated with him; MARTIN BRIEN; Mr. H. MACOMBER, now deceased, whose son continues his business; Rev. H. A. SPAFORD; WILLIAM MORGAN, now deceased, whose son continues his father's busi- ness; Mr. WILLIAM O. SUMNER; Mr. W. KNOWLTON, deceased, whose son continues the business, and many others. Later, others came into the business, some of them with large capital or indomitable enterprise, and these have generally succeeded, though many who have attempted the business with insufficient knowl- edge, influence or capital have failed. Among the most enterprising of the later men are Mr. LEONARD MOODY, whose biography is found elsewhere in these pages, Mr. JAMES C. EADIE, Mr. PAUL C. GRENING, the younger DAVENPORTS, Messrs. MACOMBER & RICH- ARDSON, Mr. CHARLES W. KNOWLTON, Messrs. CHARLES A. SEYMOUR & CO., WILLIAM MORGAN'S SON, WYCKOFF BROS., Messrs. N. H. & H. T. FROST, T. W. SWENSON & Son, and a host of others. There are, as we have already said, three hundred and twenty-five real estate agents in the city. A considerable number of the most eminent of the real estate dealers are among the citizens whom Brooklyn has cause to honor, and whose portraits and biographies adorn our pages.

JACOB RAPELYE .- Mr. James Riker, in his Annals of New- town, says, with regard to the RAPELYE family, that "they seemed to have retained the characteristic gaiety, tact and intelligence of their French origin, combined with the good sense, economy and neatness of their Dutch progenitors." It is certain that this observation is strictly true as applied to the subject of our sketch, JACOB RAPELYE, who was born Sept. 19, 1788.

After having received such limited education as was af- forded at that time by the country schools near his father's residence, in Newtown, Long Island, Jacob became a clerk in the city of New York at the age of sixteen, and, accord- ing to the custom of the time, was hound as an apprentice to serve his time as such. During the period of his clerk- ship, keenly sensible of the necessity of a better education, he applied himself closely to study, and endeavored to fit himself for higher walks in life. At the age of twenty-one, he was appointed to a desk in the United States Bank, but he found the position distasteful; and, upon the declaration of the war of 1812, he obtained, from Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, a commission as First Lieutenant of Artillery. Under it he did active duty with his fellow citizens in the defence of New York City. Upon the 12th of December, 1812, James Madison, President of the United States, ap- pointed him First Lieutenant of the United States Volun- teers. In this capacity, he served in New York City, at Sandy Hook, and upon the Canada line. He was Adjutant to General Izard; the general and regimental order books

kept by him are still extant, and bear witness to the neatness and systematic habits which formed part of his character.

Soon after the close of the war, Mr. Rapelye removed to Charleston, South Carolina, and entered into business there. In July, 1816, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of State of the State of South Carolina. On the 9th of September, 1818, he married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Gilbert Van Mater. Mr. Van Mater lived near what is now known as No. 21 Fulton street, Brooklyn, and held a lease from the corporation of the city of New York for the ferry between that city and Brooklyn.

In 1819, Mr. Rapelye became a member of a co-partner- ship, to which a hrother of Governor Bennet, of South Caro- lina, also belonged. The firm name was Napier, Rapelye & Bennet, and the firm carried on a very extensive and suc- cessful business. During his residence in Charleston, Mr. Rapelye was placed, by the Governor of the State, upon a committee appointed to investigate the negro insurrection which was then in progress, and report upon its causes, ex- tent, and purposes. The insurrection had obtained formida- ble proportions, and according to a writer of the day, an entire people was never more thoroughly alarmed than were the people of Charleston. The committee's report showed that from six to nine thousand negroes were engaged in a plot to seize the arsenals, fire the city in several places, and make a universal massacre of the white inhabitants. The report, however, was drawn up in such a manner as to pro- duce a powerful effect in allaying the excitement which pre- vailed in Charleston.

About the year 1825, Mr. Rapelye returned to Brooklyn, and soon after entered into business with Mr. Charles Hoyt. He labored for the widening and improvement of Atlantic avenue, and for the establishment of the ferry from the foot of that avenne to New York. In 1837, he contrived a ma- chine, which was intended for sweeping the streets of New York. Upon its trial, he was glad to escape under cover of the dust raised by his own machine, from the hands of an infuriated mob, who, believing that its use would take the bread out of their mouths, destroyed it. Afterwards, in connection with Mr. Cornelius J. Bergen and Alexander Bergen, Mr. Rapelye took an active part in the opening and improvement of that part of South Brooklyn which is in the neighborhood of Carroll Park. In 1853, he purchased a farm of 96 acres in Newtown, L. I., and gave it the name of Laurel Hill ; he erected a house and resided in it until his . death, which occurred August 21, 1867, in the 79th year of his age. He left surviving him a widow, five daughters and two sons. Of the latter, the eldest, Gilbert Van Mater Rapelye, is a resident of Staatsburg, Dutchess county, and the youngest, Augustus Rapelye, resides in this city.

While Mr. Rapelye displayed great energy, and a bold and enterprising spirit in all his business undertakings, he had much refinement of taste and fondness for simple pleasures, his sense of humor was keen, his repartee was quick, and he loved mirth and drollery. His kindly disposition made him charitable and benevolent, and he was noted for his social qualities and hospitality. As a kind, gentle and loving father, he is endeared to the memory of his children. As a staunch Episcopalian, he did much to promote the building of St. Luke's, and the first St. John's and Emmanuel churches of this city; his religlous views were, nevertheless, broad and liberal.

LEONARD MOODY was born September 28, 1839, in the vil- lage of East Pittston, which nestles among the mountains of Maine, within sight of the Kennebec river, and on the banks of the Eastern river. He stayed on his father's farm until

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he was 12 years of age, when he went to sea, and, after four years of life before the mast, he returned to East Pittston and purchased a farm, which still remains in his possession. In 1857, he went to Virginia to deal in white oak timber, for use in building ships, and, after remaining there two years in pursuit of his business, he once more repaired to Maine, on the Penobscot river, near Canada, and stayed there until the first call for volunteers for the defense of the Union, when he hurried to Fortress Monroe.

After Mcclellan made his famous retreat, Mr. Moody helped to raise the 21st Maine Regiment, and with them came to New York on the way to the front. He was discharged in 1863 on account of fever contracted in the Virginia swamps.

Subsequently, he met Miss Marianna Henrietta Quantin, a lady of French descent, the daughter of Henri Quantin, an importer of French commodities, and was united in mar- riage with her, in New York city, in 1864. He visited his native State on his bridal tour, and concluded to settle there on his farm. In January, 1869, desiring a larger field of action, he returned to New York, and, seeing that Brooklyn was to be the great place in the future, he engaged in the real estate business, opening an office in Flatbush avenue.

After years of toil and attention to business, he is now able to stand as the most successful real estate operator in the city, leasing houses to over one thousand of the citizens of Brooklyn. Under his supervision was built the largest apartment house in the city, called "The Fougera," which brings in an annual rental of over $60,000.

Mr. Moody also selected the site for the Federal Building, in Brooklyn, which has been accepted by the commissioners appointed by the United States government.

Although refusing to accept any gift of a political charac- ter from his adopted city, he is known as a power in the Re- publican party, and takes an active part in political councils and in the performance of his duty as a citizen.

JAMES C. EADIE .- A distinctive feature of Brooklyn, and one of which her citizens are justly proud, is the high char- acter, as a rule, of the men who constitute her business circles. No city is richer in men of education, save Boston, perhaps, and none, without exception, numbers more busi- ness men of refinement, social standing and character. No city can show a more happy union of employment and cul- ture, or a larger proportion of men who are " fervent in busi- neas" and at the same time, social and refined, cultivating the amenities of life. An excellent representative of the Brook- lyn men of affairs and of society is he whose name heads this sketch. No gentleman is a better man of business, and no business-man is a more thorough gentleman in all his rela- tions; and as such, no man is more widely or favorably known in his section of the city than he.

Mr. Eadie is a native of Scotland, born in Hogganfield Cot- tage, near Glasgow, in the year 1841. He comes of good ancestry, and those of his family still residing in Glasgow and its vicinity, occupy high positions in social circles. His father was a man of ability, by trade a bleacher, the old bleachery being still in existence; but he died when his son was five months old. The latter received his educatiou in the Collegiate School of Glasgow, and on arriving at a suitable age, was placed as a boy in the Bank of Scotland in that city.

By the death of his mother, in 1856, he was left alone with "all the world before him where to choose." Ambitious for his future and hoping for a more active and enterprising career in the New World, he embarked for the Dominion of Canada, in April, 1858, locating at Clinton, with Geo. Brown, for a couple of years. The far-reaching influence of the

metropolis drew him, as it has drawn so many other young men, and there he sought a beginning for his life-work, which was then an uncertain, untried experiment. His first situation was with Samuel Sneden, a ship-builder, at Green- point ; a year later, he went into the tobacco brokerage business, for a time, and did well. Foreseeing that the rapid growth of Brooklyn made it a desirable field for the real estate business, he opened an office at 43 Broadway, E. D., in 1869.

As yet unacquainted with the details of the business, much spirit, determination and energy were requisite to enable him to gain a foot-hold. But these essential qualities he had in large measure, united with a kindly manner which would not permit him to treat anyone except with courtesy; in con- sequence, he soon became known and liked, prospering in a financial way, and held in yet greater esteem for his many good qualities. In 1873, his office was removed to 45 Broadway, which has since become as well known a location as any in the city. It is elegantly and tastefully fitted up, and is the scene not only of large real estate transactions but also of many pleasant reunions of the Burns Asso- ciation, and of other social gatherings at which Mr. Eadie has entertained his friends. Among these guests have been several Mayors of the city; William Cullen Bryant, Bayard Taylor, John G. Saxe, and other literary men; Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, and other eminent divines; the foremost in the professions; notable people from abroad, as well as local celebrities. Mr. Eadie also has a large number of letters of friendship from distinguished men in Great Britain and America, very interesting in themselves and in the associa- tions connected with them.

Mr. Eadie has always been loyal to the land of his birth. Years ago he was a prime mover in organizing the "Burns Association," at first an organization for the purpose of caring for worthy and needy Scotchmen in this city, and helping them to employment, as well as with the object of preserving the traditions and national honor of "Auld Scotia." It is still most flourishing, under the presidency of Mr. Eadie, who has occupied that office for twenty years, and annually celebrates the birthday of Robert Burns, with a "feast of reason (and of the old Scottish dishes) and a flow of soul." Mr. Eadie was also one of the originators of the Empire Club, so well known in the eastern part of the city. He was likewise one of the foremost in organizing, and the first and only Treasurer of the Long Island Life Saving Association, whose beneficent work is mentioned elsewhere.

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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 53

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