Monday, December 27, 2010

Fifty Years Ago, the South Haven Presbyterian Church moved to Brookhaven Hamlet


On December 29, 1960, under the leadership of the Rev. Charles Kellogg, the historic South Haven Church building was moved from its original location at the "goin' over" of the Carman's River at South Haven, to its present location in Brookhaven. As part of this move, the church also acquired and renovated the Post Carriage House (built about 1900) which became their Parish Hall, and built the "gallery" addition at the rear of the church.

The church building original stood on the south side of Montauk highway, a few hundred feet west of the Carman's River. The old church grave yard is still located there.

The church was moved by Davis Brothers Engineering, the same building movers who raised the Carriage House as part of its recent renovation.

The route of travel was east on Montauk highway to Arthur avenue, to Beaver Dam road, to the present site. There it sat for several months while the new foundation was built and allowed to cure. The church was moved with the steeple and interior plaster intact. The move necessitated the cooperation of the then Patchogue Lighting Company, the then New York Telephone Company, Western Union, the Long Island Rail Road and state, county and town highway departments. The utilities dropped their wires, perhaps as many as 150, and ramps were laid, to permit the church to roll over them. It was estimated that it took some 50 people to move the building the four miles.


Earliest known picture of the church in South Haven, thought to be about 1900.


Church ready to be moved.


Moving down Montauk Highway.


Overhead wires dropped and ramps put in place, at intersection of Montauk Highway and Arthur Avenue


Turning the corner from Arthur Avenue onto Beaver Dam Road


The church building at its new home. Notice the Post Carriage House in the background

Photographs of the move courtesy of Catherine Kellogg.

Monday, December 13, 2010

George Washington Lodge

Purchase of Washington Lodge Estate Approved by Suffolk County

Beaver Dam Creek Partnership of the Post Morrow Foundation, Brookhaven Town, and Suffolk County, NY, To Jointly Purchase Environmentally Sensitive Property

 

Suffolk County has joined with the Post Morrow Foundation and the Town of Brookhaven and approved the purchase 9.6 acres of the old George Comfort Washington estate near the western edge of Brookhaven Hamlet.  The estate, also known as the Washington Lodge, has in recent years been owned by the Marist Brothers of Schools, Inc., and used as a retreat and summer residence.  It is one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels of land in the Beaver Dam Creek watershed area.

Front: Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Connie Kepert; Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browning; Marty Van Lith, Brookhaven Village Association historian; Anita Cohen; Jen Puleston Clement.
Back: Ron Kinsella;  Ken Budny, Facilities Manager, Post-Morrow Foundation; Bruce Wallace, President, Post-Morrow Foundation; Tom Williams, Vice-president, Post-Morrow Foundation; Patricia Trainor, proprietor, Bellport Restaurant and preservation advocate

County legislator Kate Browning, Town councilwoman Connie Kepert, Post-Morrow Foundation president Bruce Wallace and vice-president Tom Williams, along with members of the Brookhaven and Bellport. NY, communities gathered Monday, December 13, 2010, at the site of the acquisition to announce approval of the partnership, which was passed at the Suffolk County Legislature's meeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2010.

Under the agreement the Post-Morrow Foundation will acquire 2 acres with the Town of Brookhaven.  The Foundation will be required to manage and maintain the property going forward, and plans to demolish the Washington Lodge estate house.  Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town will take ownership of 7.6 acres and will begin the process of creating public access to the site for passive park use.

The 7.6 acre site will be acquired by Suffolk County, which is paying 70 of the $653,780 purchase price while the Town of Brookhaven is covering the remaining 30 percent.  Brookhaven Town is also paying 62 per cent on the 2 acre parcel while the Post Morrow Foundation the remaining 38 percent for a total of $262,050.  Together the 9.6 acres will be purchased for $916,810.

Proposals for purchasing the site have been under development for over two years.  Another section of the estate to the north, of approximately 27 acres, was sold a few years ago to developers, but remains undeveloped.  Proposals have been put forward to purchase this parcel as public preservation land.  A planning steps resolution was approved by the County for the parcel earlier this year.

Legislator Kate Browning and Marty Van Lith

Legislator Kate Browning
and Marty Van Lith

"The Post-Morrow Foundation has worked tirelessly to preserve this important watershed," stated legislator Browning.  "The organization approached me two years ago about executing a public-private partnership and I knew it was a win-win proposal.  I am thrilled we were able to get the deal done so that we can preserve this important watershed for future generations."

"When the members of the community and the Post-Morrow Foundation came to me with their plans for the parcel, the benefits for the community and environment were clear," stated councilwoman Kepert.  "When I learned the purchase of the property would be a collaborative effort between my office and Legislator Browning's office, I had no doubt that this was an excellent use of the Town's preservation funds."

Bruce Wallace, President, Post-Morrow Foundation

Bruce Wallace, President,
Post-Morrow Foundation

"The Foundation applauds the assistance of the County and Town with the preservation of this site from future development as it continues to protect the rural character of Brookhaven Hamlet," said Bruce Wallace of the Post Morrow Foundation.  "Directly north of South Country Road and in close proximity to the Dennis Puleston preserve and Deer Run Farm to the south, both of which were also county assisted preservation projects, this acquisition in which the the land is protected solidifies the rural country-like character of the hamlet."

“The Post-Morrow foundation is very pleased that Suffolk County has been able to purchase the Marist Brothers property here in Brookhaven Hamlet,” stated Thomas Williams Vice-president of the Post Morrow Foundation. “For many years we have felt this property was an important piece to be protected. It is part of the Beaver Dam Creek watershed and acts as a gateway to the Hamlet.  Protection of the Marist Brothers property serves as further insurance that the Creek and important open space in this environmentally sensitive area will be forever preserved.  We thank the County for partnering with the Town and the Foundation to make this important acquisition of land a reality.”

“The environmental significance of this week's joint acquisition of the 9-acre Marist Brothers property, by Suffolk County, Brookhaven Town and the Post Morrow Foundation is well understood,” stated Martin Van Lith, Brookhaven Village Assoc. Historian. “But few may be aware that this land is also significant in terms of historical preservation.   In 1678, nearly 100 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Dayton, the first English settler in this area between Bellport and Brookhaven, built his house on this very piece of land. Then, as now, it was a choice piece of land. Congratulations and thank you for this wonderful Christmas present.”

Most consider George Constant Louis Washington (1871-1946) to have been the inventor of instant coffee, or at least to have made it a commercially viable product.  He established the Brookhaven estate principally as a summer residence about 1915, and was a notable fixture in the Brookhaven-Bellport communities.  He is remembered for the menagerie and small zoo he maintained on the estate.  When plans to build his coffee factory near the Long Island Rail Road at the north end of his estate did not come to fruition, he relocated to Morris County, New Jersey, about 1926.  He also had a large mansion in Brooklyn.  He continued to own the property well into the 1930s.

(More on George C. L. Washington.)
(More on the Washington Lodge estate and its history)

Marist Property south 2 acres, 2010

Marist Brothers Property, south 2 acres.  Fall, 2010.
North left.  South Country road to right.

 

 

 

Sunday, November 28, 2010

USGS Survey of 1952: Carman's River

Originally distrubuted by Richard Thomas, 22 Nov 2010. This report provides a historical benchmark of the ground water in the vicinity of Brookhaven National Laboratory. Most important to this site is the information provided on the Carmans River watershed. In addition to the reference posted at the end of this commentary, a link to a copy of the report may be found at http://brookhavensouthhaven.org/history/HistoricSitesLinks.asp?InventoryCode=SH01.1-S.


I just discovered a report of the US Geological Service, that is over 400 pages long, that has detailed information on the Carmans River basin.

It's from 1952!

Guess who hired the USGS to do this exhaustive study of the hydrology of this middle part of Suffolk County.

It was the Atomic Energy Commission. They wanted the study done because of "the construction and operation of atomic research facilities at the Brookhaven National Laboratory."

Actually, the War Department made the first request of the USGS to get involved in determining water-supply at Upton in the fall of 1946.

The 1952 report was based on work that began in March 1948.

The USGS drilled many "shallow test wells" of 100 to 200 feet deep and also drilled two deep test wells 1,600 feet deep to determine how the water flowed.

The most interesting chapter is Chapter C that covers things like the "rate of movement of ground water" in the area and the direction of movement.

There is a section on the Carmans River and the relation of its flow to ground water levels and to the "ground water contributing area" (p. C-110).

It has lots of graphs and figures, but some of the larger maps are fold-out pages, and Google didn't bother to unfold them.

What I found interesting was how much a very heavy rainfall increased the flow of the Carmans River.

When there is exceptionally high rainfall in a short period, the water doesn't flow directly into the ground, but instead flows to culverts, ditches, and streams, and directly to the Carmans, Forge, and Peconic Rivers. They call this "overland runoff." See attached.

The USGS has had a gaging station was at the Long Island Rail Road track at Yaphank since 1942.

The report says that the "overland runoff" that increased the flow of the Carmans River came from a 71 square mile drainage area above the gage.

They did measurements on the sandy soil and computed the rate of the "downward travel of ground water" as a function of saturation and the size of a "spill." It could be as high as 140 feet/day for saturated soil and large spills or as low as 1 to 3 feet/day for small leaks.
From the western 40 percent of the Laboratory area, most of the ground water moves underground toward the Carmans River, reaching it somewhere between the railroad crossing at Yaphank and Route 27.
The USGS made actual ground-water velocity measurements to determine the rate of flow using "ammonium chloride tracer solutions," but explained that the results were good only over very short distances because of "many complications" of using tracers to measure the direction and rate of ground-water flow.

So they used "test-pumping" wells to determine the "coefficient of transmissibility" of the soil instead, which allows flow rate and direction to be computed.

They measured the flow of the Carmans River at South Haven, but the flow there was "difficult to measure because the flow here is affected by the tides."

The discussion on the contributing area to the discharge of the Carmans River begins on page C98.

STREAMFLOW
INTRODUCTION

The three principal rivers in the Upton area, the Carmans, the Forge, and the Peconic, are fed a]most entirely by ground water; that is, they receive very little direct overland runoff [except during very heavy rainfalls -- RT]. For this reason, and because the apparent topographic drainage areas of these streams do not correspond with the ground-water contributing areas, the flow of these streams bears little relation to the area apparently drained by their valleys. Instead it is determined by the configuration of the water table. The differences between apparent topographic drainage areas and the actual ground-water drainage areas are shown in plate 8.

Plate 5 shows profiles of Carmans River from Route 25 to Bellport Bay. Plate 6 shows profiles of channel bottom, stream level, and water table for the Peconic River. Figure 37 shows topographic drainage areas for streams in the Upton area. Plate 7 shows water-table contours, ground-water flow lines, and areas contributing ground-water flow to selected gaging stations. The maps on plate 8 show a comparison of topographic and ground-water drainage area for the Carmans, Forge, and Peconic Rivers.

The valleys of both the Carmans and Forge Rivers may be divided into upper, middle, and lower sections. In the upper sections the streambeds are normally dry because they are above the water table; they carry water only on rare occasions when heavy rain has fallen on soaked or frozen ground. All other precipitation not lost by evapotranspiration soaks into the ground to join the water table. The ground-water flow in these areas may be in quite a different direction from the slopes of the streambeds, as in the upper valley of the Carmans River where the ground water flows north although the valley slopes to the south. Because the water table stands high above sea level in these areas, some of the ground water moves downward to recharge the deep aquifers in the Magothy (?) and the Lloyd.

In the middle and lower sections of the Carmans and Forge Rivers and in the lower half of the Peconic, the flow is perennial and is fed by ground water that moves in laterally and also upward from the lower part of the upper Pleistocene aquifer. The relation of ground-water flow to streamflow was used to calculate the transmissibility of the upper Pleistocene aquifer adjacent to the middle section of the Carmans River.

In the lower sections of the three rivers, streamflow is sluggish and is periodically slowed or even reversed by tidal fluctuations in the bays. In these areas the ground-water inflow from the water-table aquifer is augmented by water moving upward form the deeper artesian aquifers. Because of these complexities, quantitative streamflow measurements in the lower reaches of the streams are difficult to make and difficult to interpret and were attempted only for the Carmans River. In the following sections, the Carmans, Forge, and Peconic Rivers are described with the aid of maps (fig. 37 and plls. 7-9), profiles (plls. 5,6) and tables of streamflow measurements.

CARMANS RIVER
DISCHARGE

The topographic drainage area of the Carmans River is about 100 square miles, but this figure is deceptive because only about half this area contributes water to the river. Some 34 square miles of the apparent drainage area lies north of the ground-water divide, and precipitation falling in this area infiltrates to the water table and then flows north to Long Island Sound. South of the ground-water divide on the west, there is a second area of some 15 square miles that contributes ground-water flow, not to the Carmans River, but to several small south-flowing streams which lie to the west of the river. If the terrain of Long Island were not so very permeable, there would be surface runoff from these areas to the Carmans River, but under the existing circumstances they are drained entirely by ground-water flow. The total area contributing to the flow of the Carmans River is, in fact, only 48 square miles, about one half its apparent drainage area.

Pereimial flow of the Carmans begins at Artist Lake, where the river is crossed by Route 25, 3 miles west of the north entrance to the Laboratory, and ends 8 miles to the south at Bellport Bay. The distance, some 12 miles in length as the stream flows, will be divided into three main segments for the purposes of this discussion (plls. 5, 7).

The first section, roughly that part of the river valley which lies north of and which traverses the Ronkonkoma moraine, extends from an indefinite point north of Artist Lake to Bartlett Road. After a series of wet years, resulting in a high water table, the flow of the river probably begins in a small lake just north of Artist Lake, but after several dry years the flow in late fall, when the water table is low, probably begins near Bartlett Road, more than a mile and a half to the south. Five and a half miles south of Artist Lake at Yaphank, where the river is crossed by the Greenport Division of the Long Island Rail Road, a stream-gaging station has been operated by the U.S. Geological Survey since July 1942. Monthly and yearly records of streamflow for this station from 1942 to 1953 are listed in table 11, and more recent records are available in the publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. The flow of the river at this point is in some measure controlled by the two small artificial ponds upstream. The ground-water contributing area upstream from the gaging station is 21.5 square miles, and the average flow for the period of record at the station is 21.76 second-feet, or about 1 second-foot per square mile, which represents an average annual recharge of 13.5 inches. For other points on the stream there are only scattered measurements (table 12).

The second section of the stream lies between Bartlett Road and the dam just above Route 27, 6.2 miles downstream, on the outwash plain south of the Ronkonkoma moraine, which it has slightly dissected. The streamflow at Route 27, just below the dam, was measured on July 29,1952, at a time when the flow was probably close to average. At this point the stage and flow of the stream are somewhat affected by the tides in Bellport Bay, and corrections for this and other factors were required. From 9:13 a.m. to 10:34 a.m., when the stage was falling because of the falling tide in the bay, the discharge was 52.8 cfs. From 12:54 p.m. until 2:13 p.m., when the stage was rising, the discharge was 36.5 cfs (fig. 38). After corrections for changes in pond and bank storage, the average discharge during this period of normal streamflow was computed to be 47.8 cfs. Partial measurements on one or two other occasions tended to confirm this figure.

The apparent gain in streamflow between the gaging station at Yaphank and the bridge on Route 27 is, therefore, the difference between 47.8 and 21.76 cfs, or about 26 cfs, but two small corrections must be made. About 6.1 cfs was being diverted through the Carmans River Duck Farm upstream from the highway bridge, and the rising change in stage of several small ponds in the Suffolk County Game Preserve represented the holding back of about 0.55 cfs, a total ungaged flow of about 6.65 cfs. The corrected flow at the bridge, therefore, is about 54.5 cfs, and the gain in flow in the 2% miles of river upstream is between 32 and 34 cfs.

The third section of the river, from the highway bridge to the mouth of the river at Sandy Point, a distance of about 3.15 miles, crosses the outwash plain south of the Ronkonkoma moraine. In this section, however, the river is a tidal estuary; it has been aggrading its bottom and its small flood plain. Tidal fluctuations in Bellport Bay and Great South Bay are the main cause of variations in stage of this part of the river which, at the bridge on Route 27, varies from a maximum of 3.82 feet above sea level, to a minimum of 0.34 foot above sea level. The average daily range at this point is 0.83 foot.

The discharge of the stream at its mouth could not be measured, but the flow at this point has been estimated to be 72 cfs.

RELATION OF STREAMFLOW TO GROUND-WATER CONTRIBUTING AREA

The average discharge of the Carmans River at the gaging station in Yaphank for the period of record through September 1953 is 21.8 cfs, and the area contributing ground water to the stream, as determined from the water-table map, is 21.5 square miles. The average runoff thus is the equivalent of 13.5 inches of water. During these years the rainfall averaged 43.5 inches; because about 22 inches was lost by evapotranspiration, the recharge to the water table must have averaged 21.5 inches. The difference between this recharge and the 13.5 inches of streamflow, or about 8 inches, probably represents recharge to the deeper aquifers, the Magothy(?) Formation and the Lloyd Sand Member of the Raritan Formation.

The measured discharge of the river at the bridge at Route 27, at a time of probable near average flow, was between 54 and 55 cfs. The water-table map shows a contributing area of 36.5 square miles, which represents an average annual runoff of about 20 inches, or 6.5 inches more than at Yaphank, and an amount only slightly less than the average annual recharge. The increase in flow in the 2.75 miles of stream between Yaphank and the bridge is 32 cfs and the contributing area is about 15 square miles; runoff for this area is therefore about 30 inches, or somewhat more than the recharge. The excess over the recharge is due to upward leakage from the aquifers below the Gardiners Clay, but, because the average flow for the total area of some 36.5 square miles contributing to the flow at the highway bridge is only about 20 inches, it is apparent that not all the deeper recharge has come back to the water-table aquifer at this point. There must be considerable additional upward leakage into the area south of Route 27, and the estimated discharge of 72 cfs for the mouth of the Carmans River at Sandy Point is based on the estimate that the 48 square miles of area furnishing this flow contributes an average 22 inches of runoff.

RELATION OF STREAMFLOW TO GROUND-WATER LEVELS

Because the streams are almost entirely supplied by ground water discharge, a close correlation exists between the height and slope of

the water table and streamflow (pl. 7). The relation is, however, not always simple or direct, and the seasonal high or low in a particular observation well may come earlier than, at the same time as, or later than the seasonal high or low discharge at a point on a neighboring stream. The more important factors influencing this relation are (1) the depth to the water table at the well site, (2) the position of the well in the pattern of ground-water flow, (3) the distance of the well from the stream, (4) the hydrologic characteristics of the aquifer in question, (5) the hydraulic gradient, and (6) the variations in the amount of water in storage in the aquifer.

Well S3533 (pl. 1) is about 1 mile east of the nearest point on the Carmans River, and about 3.2 miles N. 16° W. of a point on the river at Bartlett Road, on the ground-water flow line passing through the well. By trial and error a good correlation was found between the water-level stage in this observation well and the flow of the river at the gaging station in Yaphank, although the high and low stages in the well lag about 6 weeks behind the corresponding high and low flow in the river. This relation is shown in figure 39, and is used in figure 40 to calculate streamflow from the well hydrograph.

The derived value for streamflow is within a few percent of the gaged value, except for periods such as August 1947 and November 1952 when there was long, intense rainfall. A somewhat similar empirical relation can be worked out between streamflow and the water level in almost any nearby observation well, whether it is in the area contributing ground-water flow to the stream or not, because both are strongly influenced or even controlled by the cumulative recharge to the water table. For example, the water level in well S3532, about 3.5 miles northeast of Artist Lake and 0.5 mile north of the groundwater divide, can be closely correlated to the flow of the Carmans River, although in this case the stage of the well lags about 2.5 months behind the streamflow.

You can download the entire report as a PDF file.

Unfortunately, only the online version at Google Books is searchable.

Richard

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The incorporators of The Suffolk Club, aka the Suffolk County Society

In this email from researcher Dr. Richard Thomas, brief biographical research notes on the incorporators of the Suffolk Club is given.


From: Richard Thomas
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 2:15 AM
To: Van Lith, Marty; Deitz, John
Subject: The incorporators of The Suffolk Club, aka the Suffolk County Society

The incorporators and first directors of The Suffolk Club, as shown in the act of 11 Apr 1860, were:

Jones Rogers,
Isaac M. Wright,
Henry A. Coit,
J. Anthony Constant, and
Daniel H. Tompkins.
Jones Rogers
According to passport records, a Jones Rogers was born 08 Dec 1823 in New York City and was still living on 03 Mar 1869, the date the passport was issued. At age 45, he was 5 feet 9 inches tall, had a medium forehead, gray eyes, an ordinary nose, a medium mouth, round chin, brown hair, florid complexion, and oval face.
According to the census, a Jones Rogers lived at Castleton, Staten Island, in 1850. According to the 1864 IRS tax assessment list, he and Frances Rogers resided at 246 5th Ave. Frances's income was $6,709, and the income for Jones Rogers was $2,326.
In 1864, Jones Rogers was taxed $2 for one carriage, and Frances was taxed $4.62 for 154 ounces of silver.
In 1865, Jones Rogers was taxed on income of $4,400 at 5% ($220) and on income of $376 at 10% ($37.60) plus $1 on the first carriage and $2 on the second carriage, and $2 on one watch.
In 1866, he was taxed 5% on income of $4,136, $2 each on his two carriages, and $2 on his watch.
According to the census, another Jones Rogers born about 1803 and lived in the Town of Southampton in 1860 and 1870 and on Fishers Island, at age 77, in 1880. During the Civil War, this Jones Rogers living in Bridgehampton in the Town of Southampton was taxed for on his hogs.
Isaac Merritt Wright
Isaac Merritt Wright's father, William M. Wright, was known as the "Quaker merchant;" he and his grandfather, also Isaac Wright, were the founders of a line of packet ships, famous in the first half of the last century [1800-1850]. The grandfather was born 02 May 1760 (some say in Flushing, some say Long Island City) and died of cholera at age 72 on 09 Aug 1832.
William Wright was born 06 Dec 1787 and died 26 Feb 1850.
Isaac M. Wright, son of William, was born 07 Jun 1812. He was for some years the official representative of the United States at Vienna, Austria. Isaac Merritt married Mary Bedford, and they resided in Hempstead, Long Island, and New York City.
Isaac Wright, like Joseph Grafton, married well. His wife, Mary Bedford, was the heir to two fortunes from the Bedford estate of the late Lord Beresford.
He was also the part-owner of the line of Liverpool packet ships, the Black Ball Line. His brother, John D. Wright, was the founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
He was interred in the Bedford vault (no. 37) in the New York City Marble Cemetery, a small cemetery in the East Village. There is a neighboring cemetery with a similar name, New York Marble Cemetery, but otherwise not connected with this one. There is no interment date listed, but there is a removal date of 13 Jun 1869, the same removal date as for Henrietta A. Bedford (d. 16 Feb 1845).
Another Isaac M. Wright is listed in vault 163, interred 12 Nov 1868.
Aliza A. Bedford, Charles C. Bedford (d. 03 May 1866), Gunning S. Bedford (d. 07 Sep 1870), Henry Moore Bedford (d. 23 Aug 1880), and Jane M. Bedford (d. 31 Aug 1890), who were also interred in vault 37, all have a removal date of 12 Apr 1893.
The Old Merchants of New York, 2d Series, Chapter 25.
Up to 1815 there were nothing but transient ships. Then was first commenced that regular line of packets, such as the world had never before seen. The merchants of the city of New York led off in this undertaking. In 1815 a line of Liverpool packets was established. The ships were to leave New York and Liverpool on the first day of every month. Isaac Wright & Son and Francis Thompson were the proprietors of that line, and they ran it with such success, that after seven years' trial they determined to run a second line, starting from Liverpool and New York simultaneously on the 16th of each month. Additional ships were added, and they were all of the first class, in mercantile observation.
New York Evening Post, 1835.
NOTICE is hereby given, that the Copartnership heretofore existing, under the firm of ROSKELL, OGDEN & CO. at Liverpool, and WRIGHT & CO. at New York, will expire by its own limitation on the 31st instant,
JAS. D. P. OGDEN,
WM. WRIGHT.
The undersigned will continue as usual, under the firm of
ROSKELL, OGDEN & CO. at Liverpool, and
JAMES D. P. OGDEN & CO. at New York.
JAS. D. P. OGDEN.
NICHOLAS ROSKELL.
THE firm of WRIGHT & CO. will be continued, composed of Isaac M. Wright, Daniel H. Tompkins, and William Wright, for a limited term.
And Notice is hereby further given, pursuant to the provisions of the Revised Statutes of this State, that the two former are the general partners and the latter a special partner, who has contributed this day to the Capital Stock of said firm Fifty Thousand Dollars in Cash, which partnership will commence on the 1st January, 1835, and continue until the 1st January, 1838.
ISAAC M. WRIGHT.
DANIEL H. TOMPKINS.
WM. WRIGHT
New York, 20th December, 1834.
Henry A. Coit
Henry A. Coit was a New York City importer and merchant. He was born in New London, Connecticut. In 1815 he began business on South street as a shipping merchant. He was a director of the Union National Bank and served as it's Vice President for a time. He also served on the board of directors and as a trustee of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company. He was married in 1822 to Miss Talman, a sister of a man who later became Vice President of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company.
He died 19 May 1876, probably the oldest merchant in New York at that time, according to the Times.
J. Anthony Constant
J. [Joseph] Anthony Constant was a conservative Democrat. He graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York, in 1826 and was a lawyer. He was appointed a judge by the governor before 1844, and he served in the New York State Assembly in 1845 as a representative of Westchester County. He married Eliza Sinclair, daughter of William Sinclair of the U. S. Navy. In 1828 he built a house on a 30-acre estate at Hastings-on-Hudson, which he to Robert Minturn, the owner of the world's fastest clipper ship, in 1850.
He died before his daughter's marriage in 1868 (Eliza Ackley Constant to James C. Kempton, Esq. of Philadelphia). The Union University alumni journal, says that when he entered the college in 1826 he lived in Peekskill and is in agreement with the New York Times in giving his death as 1860 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Times gives a date of 18 Mar 1860 when he was 54, even though that would have been the month before the New York State legislature passed the act of incorporation. He owned parcels of land at the south end of Manhattan (19 Barclay St. and 24 Park Place) which were conveyed by his executors, Eliza S. Constant and William S. Constant, to his daughter, Eliza A. Kempton for $250,000, on 21 Oct 1872.
CONSTANT. -- At Louisville, Ky., on Sunday, March 18, JOSEPH ANTHONY CONSTANT, Esq., in the 55th year of his age. The friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral, on Friday, at 1 o'clock P.M., from Trinity Church. [N Y Times, 23 Mar 1860.]
Daniel Hyatt Tompkins
Daniel Hyatt Tompkins was the son of Daniel D. Tompkins.
Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825) was the son of Jonathan Tompkins and Sarah Ann Hyatt. He was a Democratic governor of the state of New York from 1807-17, and the youngest governor in New York state history. He was the Vice-President of the United States during the two terms of the James Monroe administration from 04 Mar 1817 to 03 Mar 1825. He died three months and eight days after the end of his term on 11 Jun 1825 on Staten Island. He was said to be exceptionally handsome and to have "a face of singular masculine beauty."
Tompkinsville on Staten Island, Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan, and Tompkins County are named for him.
His son, Daniel H. Tompkins, was born 17 Mar 1810 in White Plains (some say Somers), New York, and died 2 Sep 1875. He had a residence at 331 E. 14th St. in NYC.
Daniel H. Tompkins married Elizabeth Wright, the sister of Isaac M. Wright, above.
He was involved in a legal dispute with Alexander Bell over the ownership of a lot of land in New York City that had been owned by William Wright (father of Isaac M. and Elizabeth Wright). In that dispute, his name appears as "Thompkins" instead of "Tompkins."
He was a representative of New York and a speaker at the first Republican National Convention in 1856 (also spelled "Thompkins" here).
His second wife was Tamar Oakley.
In 1866, Daniel H. Tompkins served on the board of managers of the New York Institution for the Blind, on the Committee on Finance. Joseph Grafton also served on the board of managers of this institution in 1866.
He was appointed Deputy Collector of the New York Custom-House in November 1869.
Of the incorporators, only the name of Jones Rogers is known to have purchased property at South Haven, but searches have not been made on the other names above.
None of those above are listed as members of The Suffolk Club in articles in the New York Times.
Richard

The Suffolk Club, the act of incorporation, 11 Apr 1860


The Suffolk Club was incorporated by an act of the New York State legislature on 11 April 1860. This email contains notes by researcher Dr. Richard Thomas on its incorporation. Included is a link to the actual act of incorporation.


From: Richard Thomas
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 5:30 PM
To: Van Lith, Marty; Deitz, John
Subject: The Suffolk Club, the act of incorporation, 11 Apr 1860

Attachments: SuffolkClubIncorporation.pdf

Even though I found the act of incorporation of The Suffolk Club in an index of laws passed by the State of New York last month, I didn't realize I had found it, so I didn't look up the act indicated by the item in the index.

Today I searched for it in a different way.

Ever since you sent me the copy of the renewal of the lease I have been trying to find out who Jones Rogers was.

I knew Joseph Grafton (husband of Elizabeth Remsen) had been the President of the Suffolk Club for much of its life, but I had never heard of Jones Rogers.

The 04 November 1872 Lease Renewal between the Suffolk Club and Henry W. Carman, states that the 15-year renewal is being done under the "covenants and agreements" contained in the lease of 01 Jan 1858 between Samuel Carman and Jones Rogers.

That implied Jones Rogers had been an important person in The Suffolk Club before it was incorporated, perhaps a president or treasure or secretary of the association.

I have come to the conclusion that Google Search learns from your searches and which results you click on which results you are most likely to be interested in and moves those closer to the top.

Last week I googled "Jones Rogers" and came up with very little.

So I decided to go to Riverhead.

184645154 Charles Cook and othersJones RogersSuffolk Clubdeed has not been examined, may not be for Suffolk Club
Dec 185810256 Samuel Carman and wifeJones RogersSuffolk Club
15 Nov 1864129122 Charles V. B. Homan and wifeJoseph GraftonSuffolk Clubbetween Carman's River on north and River Road on south
15 Nov 1864129126 Charles V. B. Homan and wifeJoseph GraftonSuffolk Club
Jun 1865131518 John Shirley, SheriffJoseph GraftonSuffolk Club
Jun 1865131520 Jones RogersJoseph GraftonSuffolk Clubappears to be an exchange of properties, deed not yet examined
Jun 1865131522 Joseph GraftonJones RogersSuffolk Clubappears to be an exchange of properties, deed not yet examined
Feb 1866135522 Sarah NicollJones RogersSuffolk Clubdeed has not been examined, may not be for Suffolk Club
Jun 1866138418 Samuel CarmanJones RogersSuffolk Club
Jun 1866138420 Samuel CarmanJones RogersSuffolk Club15-year lease
Jun 1866138425 Joseph GraftonSuffolk Club and assorted othersSuffolk Club
Jun 1866138488 James B. Johnston and wifeJones Rogers and othersSuffolk Club
Nov 186815486 Sylvester Homan and wifeJoseph GraftonSuffolk ClubThis may be a private purchase rather than one for the Suffolk Club
Jun 1870170133 Denning DuerSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
01 Jan 1875214121 Joseph Grafton and wifeSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club$10, between Carman's River on north and River Road on south
01 Jan 1875214122 Henry W. Carman and wifeSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club$20,000, 305 acres - descriptive of dam and plume
25 Jun 1875216472 James N. PlattSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club$10, farm formerly occupied by Gilbert B. Miller, ~4.25 acres, south of South Country Rd
May 1877228243 John M. Bowers and Susan B. D., his wifeFrederick Schuchardt and the Suffolk ClubSuffolk Clubnorth South Country, east of Gerard
May 1888310480 James N. PlattSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Oct 1888313327 James N. PlattSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Oct 18934021 Nathaniel Miller and another, executorsSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Jan 1896431558 Wm. E. T. Smith and othersSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Aug 190151061 Frederick A. SchermerhornSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Nov 1901511575 Frederick A. SchermerhornSuffolk ClubSuffolk Club
Sep 1908657576 Wm. H. Eagleson and wifeSuffolk ClubSuffolk ClubGuardian of Charles Gerard sold property to W. H. Eagleson
Nov 1910745520 Charles E. GerardSuffolk ClubSuffolk ClubSame as Eagleson property, to insure title, Charles Gerard now of age

When I googled on "Jones Rogers" today, Google must have been ruminating on the results I preferred from my searches of last week and produced exactly what I had been looking for, the law that incorporated The Suffolk Club.

However, it wasn't incorporated as the Suffolk Club!

It was incorporated as the Suffolk County Society. (This is really a very unfortunate name, since articles about the Suffolk County Agricultural Society often leave out "agricultural" when the name of the group is repeated in an article.)

They may have chosen that form of the name because of the way New York corporation law allowed another type of volunteer association, a congregation, to incorporate. A congregation in New York incorporated as "a religious society."

The "Suffolk County Society" was incorporated by an act of the New York State legislature on 11 Apr 1860.

(Eight days after a horseback rider started off from St. Joseph, Missouri, on the first mail delivery of the Pony Express and three days before the mail arrived in Sacramento, California; and one year and one day before South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter.)

The act states that the corporation is to have five directors, and the first five directors are to be:
Jones Rogers,
Isaac M. Wright,
Henry A. Coit,
J. Anthony Constant, and
Daniel H. Tompkins.

The only name I recognize is Jones Rogers.

Richard