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 76

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 76

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Geo. W. Fraim

THE PROFESSION OF DENTISTRY.

947

ALITTLE

Palmaro Skinner

evident pride, that in no country is dentistry on so high a plane as in the United States, especially as regards its litera- ture and mechanical appliances, and useful and important discoveries.

In 1863, Dr. Fraim married Miss Mary Leviness, who died within a year thereafter. He was again married, in 1864, to Miss Helen Spencer, who died in November, 1877, leaving one son, who is still living.

Kindly and generous in his impulses, Dr. Fraim is liberal and charitable in his estimate of his fellow-men, willing to recognize truth in whatever guise it may come, and hating hypocrisy and shams of all kinds with a hatred that amounts to an abomination. In politics, he is what may be aptly termed a conservative Democrat. There is no question worthy the notice of any thoughtful citizen, involving the welfare and prosperity of the Union and the world at large, that does not receive his studious consideration ; but he is not, as men are usually styled, a politician. He has never had any desire for public office, and the demands upon him of his profession have been so exacting as to leave him no time to mingle in other men's scrambles for place; and, even had his life been one of leisure, the inclination to so engage would still have been wanting. His career has been, and, so long as his life is spared, will be, a busy one, profitable not alone to him, but to his fellows, and wholly devoted to the profession he has so long adorned.

The following from the Brooklyn Sunday Eagle, of Octo- her 23, 1881, is a most fitting life sketch of Dr. SALMON SKINNER :

here, died Wednesday, the 12th inst., in the house on the south-west corner of Henry and Montague streets. He was a man of strong character, remarkable natural ability, and fine literary attainments; and all who knew the late Dr. Salmon Skinner in his prime, were impressed with the con- viction that he possessed no small share of that indescribable and indefinable gift generally designated as genius. He was always an originator, never an imitator; and disregarding beaten tracks, old plans of action and well-woru lines of thought, would always strike out fresh trails, that, in practi- cal mechanics alone, resulted in many brilliant successes. He was born, March 6, 1818, in Coeymans, Albany county, this state, and, while young, received a thorough education in the common schools.

"When quite a young boy, his health not being robust, he was obliged to leave school, and, at the early age of 14, he shipped on board a whaler, and went on a voyage round Cape Horn, to cruise in search of oil and bone in the Pacific Ocean. On his return, his health was so much improved that he decided to give up a sea-faring life; and, while wait- ing to find an opening in life, he made the acquaintance of President Martin Van Buren, who ever afterward remained his warm and steadfast friend. Young Skinner's adoption of the profession of a dentist was the result of a casual sug- gestion made by a female relative. He had saved up $250 from the pay he received on board the whaler, and with that money he proceeded to Philadelphia and paid it over to the then leading dentist of that city, in order to be instructed in the mysteries of the profession he had decided to adopt. At that time, nearly half a century ago, the science of dent- istry was in its infancy. The merits of vulcanized rubber

"An old resident of this city, and one who was entitled to be designated as a pioneer Brooklynite, though not born | as material for plates, were unknown. The only substance

948

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

DR. SALMON SKINNER'S RESIDENCE, CORNER HENRY AND MONTAGUE STREETS, Erected 1843, and occupied by him in 1846.

then used for that purpose was gold, and the instruments used were exceedingly clumsy contrivances, when compared with those of the present day. The pupil soon acquired all the knowledge his instruction was able to impart, and he had not been in Philadelphia many months before he was able to give, instead of receive, instruction; for the reason that his remarkable mechanical and inventive genius then developed itself. He returned to the city of Hudson, in this state, where he opened an office and commenced the practice of his profession. His success was so immediate and great that before he reached his twenty-first year, he had made enough money to pay for the building of two houses; and had also accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to remove to Brooklyn. He came to this city forty years ago, and located in a house on the corner of Hicks and Cranberry streets. Brooklyn at that time was merely a village. The lady who rented the house to Dr. Skinner said she desired to leave it because it was too much in the city, and she wanted to move out into the suburbs. She moved out to the corner of John- son and Fulton streets, which was a portion of the suburbs of Brooklyn in those days. Dr. Skinner's Brooklyn friends and patrons at that time were such men as Rev. Dr. Broad- head, Rev. Dr. Bethune, Rev. Dr. Cox, James Freeland, Henry Sheldon, Peter Hoffman, and others whose names will always be remembered in connection with the rise and progress of the city. Dr. Skinner did not remain for any great length of time on the corner of Hicks and Cranberry streets ; but, like his landlady, moved out into the suburbs and commenced to practice his profession in the house on the corner of Montague and Henry streets, then called Montague place. That, and the two adjoining houses, were the only buildings then erected there. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher was just beginning his wonderfully successful career, and preached in a small, white frame building, supported on brick pillars, and located about two hundred yards away from the house where Dr. Skinner had hung his shingle out.

"The Wall Street Ferry had not then been established. Montague, and other streets in that neighborhood, were little better than common dirt roads, and the majority of the people of Brooklyn lived almost within shouting distance of the Fulton Ferry.

" Dr. Skinner experienced no difficulty in building up a good practice, and his reputation as a skillful dentist spread so fast and far, that be had not been settled in Brooklyn many months before he had rendered professional services to almost every prominent man in the county. They ever afterward remained his warm friends, and, for the next twenty-five years, no man in the county had a wider or more influential circle of friends. He was then a constant attendant at the church of his friend, Rev. Dr. Bethune; and when the project was first entertained of building the Reformed Church, on the Heights, Dr. Skinner was one of the first and most liberal supporters of the enterprise.

"His practice increased so rapidly, that he was obliged to employ a number of assistants, and had often as many as eight students under his care. Many of the most prominent and successful dentists in this and other cities graduated from his office. Dr. Skinner was often called upon to testify as an expert, and, on one such occasion, when asked, 'are you a graduate of any college?' he replied, with considera- ble warmth: 'why, the colleges graduated from me.' After many years' close and hard work, the doctor's health became impaired, and he was ordered to the island of Cuba to re- cuperate. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the founder of the New York Herald, who was a warm personal friend of Dr. Skinner, engaged him to act as the special correspondent of that journal, and his letters from Cuba, over the nom de plume of 'Amigo,' attracted wide attention, not only on ac- count of the great literary ability displayed, but also by reason of the intelligent and comprehensive manner in which the affairs of that portion of the Spanish possessions were treated. His friendly relations with Mr. Bennett were maintained up to the time of that gentleman's death, and his son, the present proprietor of the Herald, was one of the doctor's most steadfast adherents. In politics, the late, Dr. Skinner was a Democrat of the most pronounced type, and year in and year out, for nearly a quarter of a century, he was always elected a delegate to the different National and State conventions. His last active participation in political affairs was at the Charleston Convention, in 1860. Dr. Skin- ner was the inventor of a fire-escape, which is now in use in many of the large cities in the eastern states; and all who have been in the habit of visiting the American Institute Fair, will doubtless remember seeing a gas cooking-stove of his invention, the burners of which, unlike other stoves, are on the top instead of underneath. It was while engaged in exhibiting his stove, and explaining its merits, that he con- tracted the cold which resulted in his death.

"One of the enterprises with which the name of the de- ceased will always be connected, is the Cypress Hills Ceme- tery, of which he was one of the originators, and it is there that he was buried."

Dr. DAVID SALMON SKINNER .- It is a fallacious thought that the death of one of intrinsic worth is an irreparable loss. As in nature, annihilation is impossible, so it is of the mental outcome of a truly original man. His thought will find embodiment. Often years pass before this is proven; the good seems to have been extinguished with the death; but Dr. Salmon Skinner left one in whom the speedy realization of the aspirations of his better nature was obtained.

Dr. David Salmon Skinner, the subject of this biographi- cal sketch was born in Brooklyn, on the corner of Hicks and Cranberry streets, on the 20th of October, 1844, and has re- sided in Brooklyn almost continuously ever since. His educa- tion was received from such well-known instructors as Lyman Cobb, of spelling-book fame; James Monteith, the compiler of

THE PROFESSION OF DENTISTRY.

949

A LITTLE

various school worke; and Professor Sedgwick, the eminent "astronomer; and the attention he then gave to his studies has been of great value ever since, for his culture and refinement, joined to most genial manners, have always been the " Open Sesame" to the friendship and admission of the charmed circles of the best society. At the breaking out of the Rebel- lion, although a comparatively young man, he took an active interest in all military affaire, and was for a short time asso- ciated with the lamented Ellsworth. He assisted in raising a company for the New York Legion, U. S. V., and then served in the Quartermaster's Department in the Shenandoah Valley for a short time. Dr. Skinner joined the famous Seventh Regiment, N. G., S. N. Y., in 1863, and served with them in the Draft, Election and Orange Riots, being complimented by a letter from his company for his services in the last-named and most bloody encounter with the mob. He was elected a life member of the Veteran Association, and still takes a deep interest in all the public and private affairs of the active regi- ment.

When 21 years old he joined the order of Free and Accepted Masons, and has, with characteristic thoroughness, attained the highest rank, but lately entering the thirty-third degree; and in a few months will be elected to life membership in his lodge, as he will then be a veteran in that institution. The confidence reposed in his integrity and good judgment has been manifested by his election to various high offices, at dif- ferent times, by companies and associations with which he was connected; and, although proffered nominations for polit-

ical offices, he has always declined the honor, preferring to re- main in private life, and give that attention to the profession of dentistry that his large and influential practice requires. The Doctor, at an early age, evinced decided journalistic abil- ity, and for many years has edited the society and dramatic departments of some of our leading papers, his articles being notable for their crispness, pungency and analytical acumen. As a dentist, he takes the highest rank, it being his constant effort to do the best work in his profession; and his patrons, among our most cultured and wealthy people, have secured to him a fine competence.

In private life, he is truly an enjoyable man, fond of all re- fining enjoyments; a steady patron of the music and arts, and one with whom conversation is both a pleasure and profit.

Among the prominent dentists of Brooklyn we may mention the following:

Charles W. Harreys, 108 4th street, E. D.

Established 1867, 86 4th street. In 1877, removed to present address, 110 4th street.

C. A. Marvin, D.D.S., 169 Clinton street.

Established 1853 ; president of various local Dental Societies ; was Member District Board of Censors ; Pres. State Dental Society; Professor of Mechanical Dentistry in New York College of Dentists, four years ; and con- nected with N. Y. Odontological Society from its organ- ization.

THE HISTORY

OF HIGHER EDUCATION, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, ETC. IN

BROOKLYN.

E ARLIER PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN KINGS COUNTY .- The earlier begin- nings of Education, both in its public and pri- vate form, in Brooklyn and Williamsburgh, have been already sufficiently stated in our chapter on the History of Education in Kings County (pages 409 to 418), and in the History of the Department of Public Education, by Hon. T. G. BERGEN, Esq. (pages 609 to 618); as well as in the histories of the several county towns presented in this volume.

In dealing, however, with the private schools which, since the beginning of the present century, have flour- ished within the limits of the present city of Brooklyn, we have a larger subject than we are able to compass within the space allowed to us. Their number has been extraordinary; their merits and demerits we do not feel competent to discuss.

A few names stand clearly out in the memories and approval of the oldest inhabitants. Foremost among them was JOHN BEYNON, whose school was located on Nassau street, near the northwest corner of that street and Washington street-then a pleasant tree- shaded neighborhood of dwellings. Beynon is char- acterized as "a freethinker, a great admirer of Thomas Paine, but an excellent scholar and good teacher, al- though he possessed a hot temper and not much suavity of manner." He was considered as an estimable citizen; was a member of the Society for the Prevention and Suppression of Vice in the town of Brooklyn, formed in 1815; and it was at his school-house that the meeting was called by Messrs. Snow, Mercein, Herbert and others, in 1816, which resulted in the establishment of the Brooklyn Sunday School Union ; so that, despite his "freethinking" tendencies, we must consider Beynon to have been one of the solid, law-abiding citizens, and respected by the best men of the village.

He was succeeded, at his death, by the Rev. SAMUEL SEABURY, formerly his assistant, and who patched up an old meeting-house (which originally belonged to the "Independents," afterwards to the Episcopa-

lians), which adjoined the northerly side of the burial ground of St. Ann's Episcopal Church (and which is now covered by the block of stores called "St. Ann's Buildings), and used it as a school-room. Here he kept a classical and English school of great excellence, in which many of our oldest citizens received their edu- cation. Mr. Seabury was a fine scholar, a strict dis- ciplinarian, and a thorough teacher. He was widely esteemed for his scholastic, theological and editorial abilities. JOHN SWINBURNE, his assistant, was also a conscientious, methodical teacher, and an excellent dis- ciplinarian. He afterwards conducted a classical sem- inary of high reputation, at White Plains, N. Y.

Of a later date (1840-60 ?) was Mr. B. W. DWIGHT, who kept a school on the south side of Livingston street, between Sidney place and Clinton street. About 1846, it was the principal school of the city, and Mr. D. is characterized by Gen. A. C. Barnes "as well remem- bered for his brisk ways, his lectures to the boys on the practical subjects of life, and for his long, lithe bamboo stick, tipped with a button, for thumping the crania of inattentive or mischievous pupils in the remote corners of the school-room. He had, also, a trick of seizing of- fending youth by the hair, gently twitching it at first, and inquiring if the process hurt. Repeating the act with gradually increasing force, until tears of agony stood in the victim's eyes, he would assure him that the teacher was a still greater sufferer from the high crimes committed by those under his charge. Prof. Dwight made classical study a prominent feature of his curri- culum. Prof. D. P. Holbrook was his first assistant, and greatly endeared himself to the boys by his gentle manners and patient faithfulness as a teacher."

JULIUS R. POMEROY for several years kept a private school for boys, at 65. Henry street. He was succeeded by his brother Daniel, and the school was removed to a small building in Willow street, near Pierrepont. A. B. MOREHOUSE's school for young ladies in Clin- ton street, near Sackett, was very popular for many years in South Brooklyn.

951

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

Among other private schools, which will occur to the minds of many Brooklynites of recent generations, were the Lawrence Institute for young ladies in John- son street, kept by the Misses LAWRENCE; and Prof. J. C. OVERHISER's school, in the Hamilton Building, which was chiefly a fitting school for college for young men.

The Packer Collegiate Institute .- The first en- dowed institution for female education, in the State of New York, was the Albany Female Academy. It was founded by Chancellor Kent, John V. Henry, Gideon Hawley and others, in 1811, and incorporated in 1821. A similar institution was subsequently founded in the metropolis, under the name of Rutgers Female Insti- tute-now Rutgers College.

attendance of pupils six hundred. On January 1st of that year the school building, with its library, ehemi- cal and astronomical apparatus, natural history collec- tions, etc., was destroyed by fire. Before the flames were extinguished, the use of rooms in the Brooklyn Institute was tendered and accepted, and the school was not interrupted for an hour. Within three days, and while the smoke from the ruins was still aseending, Mrs. Harriet L. Packer addressed a communication to the trustees, stating that her late husband, William S. Packer, had desired to found an educational institu- tion, and that she, as his representative, proposed to carry out his wishes. She therefore offered to re-estab- lish the institution on a more permanent and solid basis; and dedicate it for all time to the advancement of fe-

PACKER COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, JORALEMON STREET, BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N. Y.

In 1844 the Brooklyn Female Academy was founded | male education in the higher branches of Art and Sci- by a number of the citizens of this city, and ineorpo- rated by an Act of the Legislature during the same year. It was modelled on a plan similar to the others; and A. Crittenden, A. M., who had been during twenty years at the head of the Albany Female Academy, became ite first principal.

Two brick buildings were erected on Joralemon street, between Court and Clinton; the main one, in which were all the school apartments, was 75 by 100 feet and four stories in height; the other, a boarding house, was 50 feet square and also four stories high. The Acad- emy was formally opened May 4th, 1846. Its career was prosperous until 1853, when its revenue from tui- tion alone had reached $20,000 per annum, and its daily

ence, on condition that the stockholders would transfer their ownership in the Brooklyn Female Academy, to found a similar institution for the education of young men. She wrote: "What I contemplate in this is to apply $65,000 of Mr. Packer's property to the erection of an institution for the education of my own sex in the higher branches of literature, in lieu of that now known as the Brooklyn Female Academy." The condition which she imposed was accepted by the trustees; and the corporators consented to transfer their interest to a school for boys, under the title of the Brooklyn Col- legiate and Polytechnic Institute.

The Institution was chartered by the Legislature, under the name of the Packer Collegiate Institute. In

952

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

a subsequent letter, Mrs. Packer expressed her thanks for the honor conferred on the memory of her husband, in giving his name to the institution, and proposed to add $20,000 to her former donation, to further aid the trustees in the erection of a building which should be a token of the refined and elevated influences to be found within its walls. This sum of $20,000 was never called for.

The erection of the present building, on the site of the one destroyed, was at once commenced; and it was formally opened on the 9th of November, 1854. It exceeds the former one in size by one-third, and, with the grounds, has an estimated value of $200,000. This edifice, in the beauty of its architectural design, and in the convenience of its arrangements, is not surpassed by any college edifice in the country. It has a tower for the support of a telescope, resting on a deep foun- dation, and surmounted by a revolving dome. Its chapel is of the early English style of Gothic architec- ture, and has a seating capacity of 1,000. It has a lec- ture room, laboratory, cabinet, library, gymnasium, etc., etc.

The endowment of this school by its liberal patron was made on the express condition that all profits aris- ing therefrom should be faithfully applied to its further improvement, and for enlarging and improving its facil- ities for instruction.

There are ten Packer scholarships, determined by the faculty; eight endowed scholarships, and ten grammar- school scholarships, the incumbents of which are se- lected, by competitive examination, from among the graduates of the Central Grammar School of Brooklyn. In 1882, gratuitous instruction was given, which, at regular tuition rates, would have amounted to more than $3,000.

Aid has been received by this institution, from the State of New York, to the amount of more than $30,000. The present endowment is about $42,500.

The Presidents of the Board of Trustees have been: John Skillman, George Wood, Seth Low, G. G. Van Wagener, and the present President, A. A. Low, who has held the position since 1858.

ALONZO CRITTENDEN, A. M., Ph. D., was President of the Institute from its beginning until his death, January 23, 1883. He was born in Richmond, Berk- shire county, Mass., April 7, 1801. At an early age he entered Union College, and was noted for the assid- uity and devotion with which he pursued his studies. He graduated in the class of 1824, and went to fill a responsible position in the Albany Female Academy. Subsequently appointed principal of that institution, he remained until 1845, when he took charge of the Brooklyn Female Academy, which was burned Janu- ary 1, 1850. Through Prof. Crittenden's promptness the school was re-established almost immediately. The growth, prosperity and advancement of "Packer" engrossed Prof. Crittenden's time and attention, and

was the principal study of his life. Nearly twenty thousand pupils from all parts of the Union have there been educated. Some idea may be formed of the vast influence of such an institution and such a man. He attained the highest rank and distinc- tion as an upright, skillful educator and adminis- trator. Alert, punctual, judicious and firm in his headship, he directed numerous and accomplished teachers, kindled the studious zeal, and won the affec- tionate confidence and regard of his pupils. He also found time to assist struggling genius and to encour- age talent. Many a young man owes to his thought- fulness and generosity the word which has helped him on to success. Prof. Crittenden was a member of the Church of the Pilgrims, and as an educator, citizen and man, was respected and esteemed wherever known.

Professor DARWIN G. EATON was chosen Presi- dent of the Faculty in place of Professor Alonzo Crittenden, deceased, but was compelled to decline be- cause of poor health. Prof. Eaton has been connected with the Packer Institute since 1851, or a period of thirty-one years, and has occupied the chair of higher mathematics and natural sciences with peculiar ability. His ripe scholarship and excellent financial knowledge, as well as his reputation as a scientist and chemist, are known all over the Union; and his laboratory is said to be one of the most complete in existence. His lectures and researches in astronomy have also been delightful contributions to both scientific and general knowledge, and have won the commendation of the most eminent specialists.

Prof. TRUMAN J. BACKUS, LL. D., the present Pres- ident, was graduated from Rochester University in 1864, and held the chair of English Literature and Belles-lettres in Vassar College for the first sixteen years of its existence. He also re-wrote Shaw's Man- ual of English Literature, the well-known text-book. He is one of the leading educators of the day, and prominent in the lecture field.

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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 76

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