USA > New York > Suffolk County > Yaphank > Yaphank as it is, and was, and will be. Containing biographical sketches of all its prominent men, the characteristic proclivities of its "funny" people, its business and business "monarchs," its facilities for enterprise and improvement, > Part 5
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The pillow of death will be softened, and the agonies al- layed. by the sweet voice of a tranquil conscience.
Tranquil, because his palmy days are o'er, and no cloud bedims their glory ; peaceful. because he ever drank the gall himself, and gave the sweetened honey. No thorns will be gathered with his harvest of roses, and no troubled conscience will mar the long, long sleep.
Soon the bitter words of foes will be forgotten, and the taunts of enemies will cease over the grave. With me, the little world of Yaphank will ever speak with reverence of the man who was too good to be rich, too great to be in au- thority, and too learned to be fully appreciated.
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XIX.
NATHANIEL TUTHILL.
MR. TUTHILL'S BUSINESS-HIS BENEVOLENCE.
Nathaniel Tuthill was born at West Wading River, Brookhaven Town, January 22, 1797.
He is the fourth child and second son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Tuthill. His mother's maiden name was Skid- more. She was an ambitious woman, and inculcated upon Nathaniel's mind much that has been of service to him.
From his boyhood everything was regarded secondary by Nathaniel, but money. When a lad he would play tru- ant from the district school to earn a few dimes by doing chores and cutting wood in the forests that surrounded his early home. Those principles became habitual, and were indelibly stamped upon his mind, and he grew to be a man with the determination to be rich.
He worked upon his father's farm until twenty-two years old ; he then went to what is now Baiting Hollow. There he and his brother Benjamin labored ; they inherited a fer- tile farm, and the well-known Conumgum Mills.
In the Spring of the year 1819 he exchanged the farm with his brother for the old mills, and by the operation made one thousand dollars.
During the same year he sold part of the mills to John Buckingham, and the remaining portion to Richard Tuthill, his cousin, in 1820.
During the Summer of 1820 he wandered about, like Mr. Micawber, " waiting for something to turn up." The busi- ness " turn up" was not accommodatingly profitable, and
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he returned to Baiting Hollow in that Fall and purchased back the farm from his brother.
As usual, he made money by the operation, and as in business, so in love, he was remarkably successful.
He married in the year 1828, and came to live and die in Yaphank.
Mr. Tuthill is about seventy-seven years old, above mid- dle height, and a good type of the solid old men of his time.
Ile has the large bone and rather loosely-knit frame of the Long Island farmer. A narrow, small. but intellectual face. refined away from its ruggeder prototype, and that cleanly shaven face and powerful frame peculiar to that class of men who believe in race and brawn. He is a rapid talker. and one that comprehends the mighty power of words.
There is no idealism in Mr. Tuthill : and no poetical or romantic sentiment ever reflected in his composition.
He may see the blue sky, the majestic mountain, the flashing cascade, the tender flower blooming upon the in- hospitable hillside, but he strives not to fathom the great and mysterious lesson they teach. He will perceive more beauty in a gold dollar, or a fine herd of cattle, than ran be reflected from all the tender flowers and flashing cascades in Christendom.
Mr. Tuthill is an old man, and the sands of his eventful life are fast running out. It would not be startling if it were soon said that he were dead.
Ilis wealth is signally identified with his life, but may the gold that is tried in the fire be identified with his death !
He is reputed to be worth nearly seventy-five thonsind.
Years of practical experience with the world have sharp- ened his shrewd, keen intellect, and made him a wealthy man.
He is a bland, pleasing man, seldom losing that aggra- vating equilibrium of mind and purpose that make men successful in the trafficking world.
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While others are plunged into chaos, he retains a stolid indifference. Soft words of honeyed sweetness fall from his well-oiled tongne, thus paving a facile entrance into all hearts.
If a man has a bargain to give away he knows he can find a "taker" in Nat. Tuthill. Men who are " cramped " in business, and want money, and who are willing to grant a liberal bonns, interview Mr. Tuthill.
He is a far-seeing business man. He knows that men enter into undertakings that are too much for them. He watches their movements, he marks the rocks in the channel, and when the crisis comes he blandly offers aid.
Bankruptcy, disgrace and abuse loom up before their bright dreams ; they accept his proffered kindness, and are fast within his toils.
A young man just launching his frail bark in life re- ceives little encouragement from Nat. Tuthill. He points to his own record, and smilingly advises " To root or die." He little thinks that deep down in some hearts is written the secret of his success. Men look upon his hoary head and bent form and exclaim, " There goes the shrewdest man in Brookhaven Town." It is music in his ears ; he delights to be known as cunning in trade, and as "a rich man."
He has confidence in his own ability. In his own lan- gnage, he "lays his plans, and makes them work."
Those who deal with him seldom request a compromise. His ways are not obvious, and a mist hovers over his whole life.
A gentleman soliciting alms for a religious purpose came to Mr. Tuthill for aid. He subscribed twenty-five cents, and a laborer in his employ gave one dollar. Twenty-five cents is, apparently, his fixed charitable donation.
Nat. Tuthill is the poorest rich man in Yaphank. If he creates odium by his actions, he smiles upon the wound, and vanishes hatred by odoriferous words.
Everywhere he is regarded as the same comprehensive and penetrating man ; possessing astute and sagacious judgment.
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During the religious revival of February, 1870, Mr. Tut- hill became deeply impressed. He bowed before the altar among a chaotic crowd, and mingled his tears with the young converts.
April 16, 1870, he joined the Presbyterian Church, and his sins were washed away (!) Four years have elapsed, and that great showering of the Divine Spirit is still fresh in the memory of our people. Thirty professed to have bidden farewell to the vain things of earth, and donned the robes of Christianity. Where is the wheat of that beautiful har- vest ? Why are the supplications that rang in '70 dying in '74? "Tis one of the unexplained mysteries of Yaphank.
MR. TUTHILL'S BUSINESS.
He has been a farmer all his life, and by close attention to business, has acquired wealth amounting to many thou- sand dollars. Mr. Tuthill is a popular veterinary surgeon. and has made more money at that branch of his business than on his farm.
" Uncle Nat." is acknowledged authority on all the mys- teries pertaining to the agricultural art, and his counsel is eagerly sought. He takes delight in fine stock, and reiter- ates with pleasure the remarkable weights his animals have attained.
When he married his wife he married a fine farm and considerable property annexed.
In the old farm-house where he lives, lived and died the lamented Isaac Mills. Mr. Mills was his father-in-law, and complained much of Nathaniel's severity to him.
Although the broad, rich fields were " Unele Isaac's," and although he reared the roof above his head, he enjoyed little fruit of his labor. In the person of his son-in-law came a dictator, and when his daughter was led to the altar " Uncle Isaac's " happiness was blighted upon the bunch of matrimonial sweets.
As a veterinary surgeon, Mr. Tuthill has realized some success, but any success at all grants a premium to ignor-
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ance. How a man with no theoretical knowledge of an art, and meagre education to achieve success, practically, can succeed is a scientific enigma.
HIS BENEVOLENCE.
Like his wealthy neighbors, Mr. Tuthill is not public- spirited, and he bestows as much upon religious advance- ment as upon other enterprises where his personal interest is not concerned.
While conversing with a friend he remarked that, if it were possible for him to "step back" thirty years, and still retain his knowledge of money-getting, that he could rear a colossal fortune.
How inexorable is the law of Nature ! How blessed it is that the rich and the, poor, the triumphant and the op- pressed, must all take equal chances in the lottery of life ! The rich man must finally bid adieu to the land of gold and lie down as low as the plebeian. Wealth may make one famous, but a great man must be good. The emoluments earned in life will fade from the tablet of memory, but honor and principle will endure forever.
ALEXANDER SMITH
is a colored compeer of Frederic Douglas, in Mr. Tuthill's employ at the present writing.
How true the words of a popular writer, " That in many unknown graves lie the mouldering mortality of men who could have startled the world, had the blessed ways and means been proffered them."
How many great minds are living in obscurity to-day. who require only the little accident to burst open the bud of their latent talents.
How many men -- black and white-have loomed up amid the stately hills of New England, and made their names way-marks in the world. How many sturdy lads have left the plow, the lap-stone, and the anvil, to cross swords in
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martial glory, and to dictate the laws of the land in their walks and talks with men.
Frederick Douglas' youthful attainments were no more promising than the colored subject of this sketch. Those who are acquainted with the character I have the boldness to present, will probably laugh at the variety of my com- position of this work. but must acknowledge the moral superiority of my subject to others who possess whiter ex- teriors.
There is no regal road to fame, and no royal covering to budding greatness.
Alexander Smith was born at Coram, Long Island, Dec. 15th, 1849. He came to Mr. Tuthill's when but five years old. He has a brother and sister living. There is not a family in all Yaphank but welcome him as a friend. The people honor and countenance him because of his uncom- monly excellent disposition and character, Although the slave of one of the most exacting men in Brookhaven Town, he stands upon a whiter reputation than my preceding subject.
He has wonderful inventive faculties, and he offered to wager that he could properly adjust all the complicated and complete parts of a steam engine, however distributed.
Ile is a working member of the Presbyterian Church, and is respected everywhere as an upright and honorable man.
It is not presumptuous in predicting for him a brighter future than usually falls to the luminaries of his dark race.
XX.
AUGUSTUS FLOYD, EsQ.
TIIE DESCENDANT OF A NOBLE FAMILY-IIIS PERSONAL AP. PEARANCE-HIS ECCENTRIC AND RETIRED LIFE-A BRIEF SKETCH.
Familiar and cherished is the ancient family name of Floyd. From Gen. William Floyd, one of the revolution- ary heroes, down to the present period. the name has been prominently before the people of Long Island, and espe- cially of Suffolk County.
The Floyds are a dignified and noble family, and their lineage bears connection with a proud and haughty people, who flourished during the reign of the warlike George.
Back, far back in the past of old England, the same aris- tocratic blood coursed through veins of men whose illus- trions names have been swallowed up in the vortex of time.
Augustus is a peculiar looking man. One might travel from Maine to Texas and never meet a face that would closely resemble his. In his face are the fading lineaments of departed nobility. In the Houses of Lords and Com- mons he would easily appear as a dignitary who had passed from the excitements of parliamentary life into the gold and silver seclusion of an English nobleman's retirement.
Mr. Floyd makes a confidante of but few, and he greets strangers with jealous coldness. His connections with the outside world are through reliable agents, and men whose family relationship secure his confidence.
He was long an honorable practitioner at the New York bar, and a conspienous luminary among his legal associates.
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His chronic deafness forced him to exchange the bright prospects of his profession for the quiet sweets of a village delitescency. For many years he was slightly "hard of ยท hearing." but the disease gradually assumed a more aggra- vating form, and finally culminated in his abandonment of a remunerative and popular profession.
Mr. Floyd was born at Mastic, in this town, in 1795, and came to Yaphank in 1849.
Mastic is, and was, the country home of some of the first men of the country. There Gens. Nathaniel Woodhull and William Floyd-prominent in revolutionary time- erected homes, and commuted the grim excitements of the great struggle for independence, for the rustic enjoyments furnished by the shores of the Great South Bay. There lived Col. Floyd, and there grew up around him a talented and successful family. Among them the Hon. David G. Floyd, a brother of Augustus, and the popular Judge, John Floyd, another brother.
David G. Floyd and the Hon. William Sidney Smith, of Longwood, were the representatives from Suffold Co., in the Assembly, in 1856, and old Suffolk was never better represented.
Mr. Floyd lives a very retired life in Yaphank, and it is seldom that the footsteps of a stranger break the routine of his privacy.
It is difficult to gain any information from him regarding the ups and downs of his life, and his physical misfortune places him uncongenially with the villagers.
Men. like Mr. Floyd, who have figured much in the bust ling world, always have interesting histories : but, of all men, they are generally the most difficult to approach upon matters connected with their lives, and never endeavor to conceal their hereditary abhorrence of informing the public about their concerns. Their stolid exteriors veil the trials and triumphs of busy intercourse with the world, and the humble and honored are ever minus their experience in the field of enterprise.
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Richard M. Baylis, in his elaborate sketches of Suffolk County, dwells interestingly, in a semi-biographical sketch, upon the lives of Mr. Floyd's most illustrious progenitors. Indeed, it would be apprising my readers of what they must already know, to say that Augustus Floyd is highly connected, and bears a family name that leads limpid and untarnished to an ancestor who lived and died in the palmy days of England's great men.
He never participates in our village undertakings, never appears at public gatherings, and is seldom seen upon the street.
His circle of acquaintances and friends is limited to the members of a few families in highest standing, and he con- verses freely with but few.
To the "gentle ones" I would say that Mr. Floyd has never borne Hymen's galling chains, and his days are whiled in "single blessedness." What will establish him more charmingly in their estimation, is the extent of his wealth. What he is actually worth I have not the author- ity to declare, and even a hazarding estimation could not be received as satisfactory. It is generally known that his possessions consist principally in money investments, but it is as absolutely unknown to what extent and where in- vested.
In person he is tall, spare, and decidedly unpreposses- sing. He dresses carelessly, and without artistic taste. He walks with a sweeping gait, looks down at the ground, and pays but little attention to what is transpiring around him.
With his books and correspondence he spends the princi- pal portion of his time, and he sups and dines when nature prompts him, be it at midnight or otherwise.
He gives but little to charity, and his subscriptions to local institutions are seldom marked for their munificence.
Mr. Floyd is far down the shady side of life, and for nearly four score years has experienced the alternate clouds and sunshine which form the wormwood and honey of a life.
GEORGE FRANKLIN THOMPSON.
XXI.
GEORGE FRANKLIN THOMPSON.
HUIS QUALIFICATIONS AS A BUSINESS MAN-A WORD TO THE GENTLE ONES-HIS DECIDED STEPS.
This gentleman was born in Hempstead. Queens Co .. September 19th, 1852.
Although but twenty-two years of age. he has had a liberal experience in the world, and has acquired an accu- rate understanding of what men must undergo to enjoy success.
When but a lad he was apprenticed to Thomas Calister, of Brushville, Queens Co., a carriage manufacturer, where he became an excellent painter, and garnered many ideas of business life.
Of a family composed of eleven children-three of which are dead-George is the eighth child and third son.
His parents are good. substantial. every-day people, and rejoice in a family of stirring, energetic children.
HIS QUALIFICATIONS AS A BUSINESS MAN.
George has a ready intellect, and a quick perception that is reliable and peculiarly adapted to his profession. He is attentive and civil in his dealings with men, and "knows how to make money." The public is a contributor to his pocketbook, and he is determined to please.
When beginning in life. he made the resolutions to be in dustrious, and to never gamble or drink liquor.
He went steadily to work to learn a trade for himself. Was frugal, industrious, and attentive. He has good
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health, good prospects, and an inflexible purpose to bear him onward. Such a man need never fear the frowns of the world, or the cold billows that beat and dash the best.
His good mother is a christian educator to her children, and their good standing in the world is sacred to her heart.
A WORD TO THE GENTLE ONES.
Mr. Thompson is a young man. unmarried, with pleasing manners and address. Although very young, he is a repre- sentative man. The best society in Yaphank is pleased to welcome him, and he is regarded as a young man of un- questionable character and standing, with a prosperous future before hin.
As yet, Mr. Thompson is without the all-important rib, and is a magnet of unusual value. He is considered quite a " ladies' man," and they are undeniably earnest in their declarations of his being " real nice."
He seems indifferent, however, about the absorbing sub- ject of matrimony, and is apparently more enthusiastic over fortunate speculations than the beauty and virtue of wo- men and their paraphernial fixtures.
HIS DECIDED STEP.
When Samuel Smith died, his shop and business was idle, and the .. stand " was a prosperous and much coveted one. Mr. Thompson saw the excellent opportunity, and purchased the shop and all connected therewith.
He makes his own money, minds his own business, and is polite, cheerful, and honorable. People patronize him because he and his work can be relied upon. Mr. Smith gave much satisfaction, but Mr. Thompson gives more.
The flattery of the world never confirms his belief that he is altogether bad, nor does he heed abuse.
Some of his happiest hours are passed with his gun and dog. He is a splendid marksman, and a true appreciator of athletic humanity.
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Although very young, he is a representative man. The best society in Yaphank is pleased to welcome him, and he is regarded as a young man of unquestionable good charac- ter, with a prosperous future before him.
Panies may shake the country to its business centre, the reverses may throw the business men into chaos, but there will always be an opportunity for such as Mr. Thompson. He keeps his own counsel, is driving. far-seeing and stir- ring.
It is but natural that one should picture a pleasing future for Mr. Thompson. A loving wife and a pleasant home are the double portion he deserves.
XXII.
ALFRED REID. SR.
AN ORPHAN'S STRUGGLE-BEGINS BUSINESS-A FINANCIAL CRASH-PERSONAL.
Mr. Reid was born, June 25th, 1822.
His parents. James and Sarah Reid. were steady, indus- trions people, but death separated him from their kind, parental attention when he was very young.
AN ORPHAN'S STRUGGLE.
When three years of age, he was deprived of a kind moth- er's care, and to his indulgent father he turned in his youth- ful grief. But the fates were plotting against him, and in October of 1834 his father died.
Without a cheering word to buoy his anguished heart, he plunged lonely and inexperienced into the angry sea of ad- versity and affliction.
But few stopped to soothe the orphan's trials, and he earned his bread at various callings until the close of the year 1835, when he became an indentured apprentice to the upholstering business.
At that he served three years and a half, when the firm became bankrupt from the effects of the great panic and business revulsions of 1837 ; at which time he bought his indentures for the balance of the term he was bound to serve.
Being well advanced in his trade, he labored at journey work-earning from three to seven dollars per day-until the year 1840, when he engaged for one year with a Mr. Charles Irving, to take instructions at the bench as cabinet maker.
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BEGINS BUSINESS.
At the expiration of that time, he admitted his brother as partner, and they began manufacturing sofas for old Tom Bell, the great auctioneer of Fulton street, at that time.
They continued that branch one year, when they opened a wareroom in Bleecker street, New York City. Business not prospering to Alfred's satisfaction, and for other causes of a private nature, he withdrew from the firm.
He again began at his trade, working for Mr. Abial W. Swift, packing his work by contract, and hiring his own assistants.
He continued in Mr. Swift's employ until that gentleman sold his interest to John Meads, of Albany, when he en- gaged to Mr. Meads for two years.
By that time he had accumulated about five thousand dollars, and he immediately established a wholesale furni- ture house at 36 Essex street, in April, 1853.
In 1846 he had married a daughter of Nathaniel H. Van Winkle, with whom he has ever lived happily.
He continued his business at 36 Essex street until the year 1857, when he sold out, and bought property at 53 Bowery, where he remained in the furniture business until the breaking out of the Great Rebellion.
A FINANCIAL CRASII.
When the bombardment of Fort Sumpter began, Mr. Reid left his elegant home in the morning, a wealthy man, and came back at night penniless. Over sixty thousand dollars he lost in the period of twenty-four hours. War severed all concurrent or reciprocal action with his debtors in the South, and to this day he has not received the small- est percentage of his dues.
He groaned under the cruel load for a short time, but at last tottered and fell ; went down again to his small begin- ning ; went down as many strong men have gone, without hope of recovery.
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He returned to his trade as a journeyman, exchanged his colossal home and beautiful furniture, in a fashionable part of the city, for a humble home and humble fare in Tremont, Westchester County.
That house he soon exchanged for his pleasant home in Yaphank, where he now resides.
Reverses came upon Mr. Reid like thunderbolts from a cloudless sky. His health grew precarious, and life be- came blacker and blacker to him. A fortune lost in a day ! A home among the elite to-day, and a humble cottage out of town to-morrow, all are features of business reverses in New York.
PERSONAL.
Trouble and ill-health have broken him down; his hair is grey, his constitution shattered, and his cheerful laughter seldom heard.
He is a superior conversationalist, and always has a pleasing fund of anecdote, humor and intercourse with the busy world.
JAMES HUGGINS WEEKS.
XXIII. JAMES HUGGINS WEEKS.
HIS EARLY HISTORY-AS A RAILROAD MAN-PERSONAL- 1115 EARLY HISTORY.
Mr. Weeks was born in the city of New York, July 28th, 1798. He was the son of James Weeks, a merchant in that city.
At an early age he began attending select school in that city, and although educational advantages were more prim- itive, and classical privileges less extensive than now, he began the study that culminated in a sound business education .
In 1808, his parents moved from New York to Oyster Bay, Long Island, and took up their residence upon the old paternal farm. There young James continued his studies in the Oyster Bay Academy, then under the supervision of Rev. Marmaduke Earle.
In 1818 he married Susan Maria, the second daughter of Major William Jones, of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. residing principally in Oyster Bay until the year 1827. At the expiration of that year, he moved to Yaphank, having previously purchased a large tract of land-a portion of Col. Smith's patent. In 1836, in conjunction with William Sidney Smith and Robert H. Gerard, he purchased the old Homan Mills, and erected a new and commodious one upon the site of the old one.
Mr. Weeks' land estate is extensive. His farm is produe- tive and valuable, and his acres of thrifty timber-land are many. He has suffered much from repeated fires, and the damage he sustained is considerable.
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