Old Carman Homestead Razed

Carman Homestead Razed

Patchogue Advance, 31 July 1936, p. 9

In some cases, links are provided to individuals in the Hamlet People database. Because of ambiguities in some of the names, I am not always certain that the link is to the correct person.

Razing of Old Carman Homestead Brings Notes of Ancient Ways

By Helen M. Ewin

When a house has stood for several generations is torn down, it is like the turning of a page in the book of time. That which was an actuality becomes a memory. It recedes into the past—quickly for some people, slowly for others, depending upon the vividness of its image, in their minds.

Almost a century and a half ago a house was built in South Haven, overlooking a mill pond in the Connecticut river. Nearby there was a saw mill, a grist mill and a fulling mill (where cloth was made) and all of them were kept busy. The house was owned and occupied by Samuel Carman, who is thought to have come from Hempstead about 1780. Whether he built the house or whether it was there when he came, cannot be determined, but apparently the original structure was added to at different times. The western end of the house was three stories high, but the eastern wing was only two, and gives evidence of being of a later date. An old mill stone served as a doorstep to the old part.

Samuel Carman’s wife was Theodosia Homan note and their marriage was recorded in the Presbyterian church at Setauket, as she may have been a native of that village. (The Presbyterian parish of South Haven dates back to 1740 but the church, which is opposite the Carman house, was not built until 1827 and dedicated on New Year’s day, 1828.)

Mills and Mails There

The Carman house was a busy place, for as well as being near the mills (which Samuel Carman also owned), it was a mail distributing center. Moreover, the pond and river abounded in fish and was a Mecca for anglers. Gentlemen from New York came out to enjoy the sport and were undoubtedly put up at “the most estimable hostelry,” as the place was once called. Martin and John Van Buren frequently stopped there and a receipt for lodging, signed by Daniel Webster, is said to be still in existence.

Another thing still in existence which antedates Webster’s time and sheds considerable light on this community as it was 140-odd years ago, is a day-book found in the attic of the Carman house a few weeks ago when Charles E. Robinson, the present owner, was having the larger part of the house demolished.

This book, about 13 inches long by 8 inches wide, is made by hand of heavy, imported rag paper which bears the watermark of the crown and the letters G. R. (Georgius Rex, or King George). Several thicknesses of paper, sewn together, are used for the covers and the whole is fastened together with coarse thread. The outside is yellowed and soiled, but one can easily distinguish the words, “Book No. 4 CARMAN & REED, Septr 20th 1789.”

Prices in Pounds, Shillings

Within there are entries of articles sold and the names of the buyers. The names indicate that the transactions presumably took place at the hostelry, or one of the mills, as they are indigenous to this locality and represent such villages as Mastic, Yaphank, Center and East Moriches, Patchogue and East Patchogue, Manorville, Blue Point, Coram and Middle Island. The prices are in pounds, shillings and pence, which was Yorkshire currency, or half the value of the present English money. This was legal tender in this country before the Revolution and continued in use, especially in rural communities, until about 1820.

The hand-writing, which is in ink now turned brown, shows two distinct types of penmanship. One is full and fine, while the other is cramped, and apparently written byan older man as he used more antiquated forms of spelling and chifography. No doubt both gentlemen would they have known that their account book, which was a familiar and everyday article to them, would one day be looked upon as a curio and relic of the past. One of them, evidently trying his quill pen, wrote inside the cover of the book, “Money makes the mare go.”

Each page has the word, “Brookhaven” and the date, written across the top. Evidently they used the name of the town, for the name South Haven had been adopted by public vote in 1757, meaning “South Brookhaven” (Town). Brookhaven village was known as Fireplace until 1871. The Town map of 1797 designates the mills at South Haven as “Fire Place Mills,” but neither these village names appears in this book. According to Osborn Shaw, local historian, it was customary to mark deeds and legal papers with the town name, rather than that of the village, until about 1850.

The most frequent items sold were molasses, rum, papers of tobacco, powder and shot. A typical page follows:

Stephen Overton Esq. Son
1 pr Shoe Buckles …. 0-2-6
1 yd black Ribbon …. 0-0-6
Joseph Raynor Junr.
Credit by Clover seed …. 0-6-2
David Hallack Dr.
To Balance of Tallow …. 0-1-0
Morris Homan, Dr.
To 1¼ yds. blue sarge …. 0-10-0
To ½ yd. Baize …. 0-3-0
John C. Benz Dr.
To ¼ lb. Snuff …. 0-2-0
Nathan R. Burto Cr. ….
12½ lbs. Flax …. 0-7-3
Dr. to ½ lb. Tobacco …. 0-0-9

Boats Brought Freight

Other entries which attract one’s attention and stir the imagination are as follows:

“20th Octr. 1798. Barnabas Rider, Dr. to 1 lb. wool. Lent him bag.” “16th Nov. 1789. Sloop Dolphin. To 5 qts. Rum.” This sloop apparently sailed up the winding river, at least part way, and sent its rowboat the rest of the way. It is known that the gentlemen who later formed the Suffolk club (now out of existence) and bought 75 acres of land from Samuel Carman, including the pond and grist-mill, owned a sloop which moored at Black Grass dock, part way up the river. There were no bridges at that time. The ford (where the remains of an old wooden bridge can still be seen) was called “the goin’over.” “Zach’s Landing,” named after Zachariah Hawkins of Revolutionary fame, was used by the Long Island railroad company as the foundation of the eastern abutment of the railroad crossing when the line was put through.

“29th Oct. Mordecai Homan, Dr. to ½ gall. Molasses.” He was the father of Mordacai Homan of Yaphank who became town clerk.

“24th Nov. Wm. Smith, Judge, Dr. to 1 lb. pepper, 1 lb allspice.” This was the Smith who was in exile from his property and hiding from the British from 1776 to 1783. He was the father of General John Smith, United States senator. He in turn, was the father of William Smith who was called colloquially, “Billy Pint” (William on the Point). “Billy Pint” was father of Egbert Tangier Smith and grandfather of the present Miss Eugenia Smith of the manor of St. George.

Another customer was John Rose, “Dr. to ¼ lb powder, 1 lb shot.” He became State senator and his trips from here to Albany on horseback used to take two weeks each.

William Floyd of Mastic, signer of the Declaration of Independence, is entered as follows: “Dec. 15th 1789, Wm Floyd To his Order in favor of Isaac Hannible …. 16 shilling.” Hannible is known to have been a negro and was probably a slave owned by the Floyd family.

Mary Jayne Bought Snuff

One of the few women customers was “Mary Jayne, Dr. to 2 oz. Snuff …. sixpence.” Another was Mary Coree, Dr. to 1 pr black Mitts …. 3 shillings, sixpence.” Nancy Brown bought “fustian,” a linen and and cotton material, and also “one stick of mohare”—a yard, no doubt.

On May 2nd, 1790, Nathaniel Brewster purchased one spelling book. One wonders if he were the school teacher, or a pupil.

Hugh Smith was charged 9 shillings for “Dressing 2 dear Skins.” “To sawing for Richard Robinson, 2 logs for lath, 390 feet of inch boards,” is another entry. Also, “1797, John Post, Dr. To sawing 11870 feet of inch boards. Cr. to 1 bushel of wheat.” Evidently the services performed at the mill were many and varied.

In the back of the book there are memoranda of articles which evidently were left at the establishment to be sold, as, for instance, “Dec 17th, 1792, Left with Mr. Carman 2 pare of men’s Shoes at 10/. 4 pare of women’s at 7/6 …. Mathew Howell.” Howell was evidently a cordwainer, or shoemaker, who distributed his goods in that way.

There is also a list of garments including such items as, “1 green Coat …. 2 pare of Velvet Breeches …. 2 pare of Nan Keen (nankeen, a brownish, cotton cloth) Breeches …. 1 Nan Keen Vest.”

The name Samuel Carman appears frequently in the day-book as, for instance, “Dr. to a Balance Due on Goods bought in New York for him Nov 6th, 1789 to Jan 1st, 1790 …. 4 pounds, seven shillings, fourpence.” Also, “Samuel Carman, Dr. to Sundry Freight …. 1 barrell & Saddles of Venison …. To weighing Saddles of Venison …. To Bbl Rum. 1 Bushel Flaxseed …. To carting Bbl Rum & Flaxseed.”

Samuel Carman had a son named Samuel also and he, in turn, was proprietor of the tavern. He is said to have had 12 children, and one of his sons, Henry, inherited the homestead. Another son, Robert, owned the property recently known as Hunters’ inn. The Connecticut river became known as Carman’s river and is still called by that name.

The mill pond and the gray-shingled grist mill which is part of the late Anson Hard’s estate (formerly the Suffolk club) lies just back of the site of the Carman house and is perhaps th only part which is undisturbed by the march of time. The water is deep and cold by the mill, but shallow and clear around the edges of the peaceful pond. Though the mill has long since ben stilled, it remains a picturesque reminder of other times, other customs.

Who Were the Men Lost in the Calamity

A contemporary account of the 1813 disaster

1813 Calamity

The following is a contemporary account of the 1813 disaster:

MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE—Rarely, indeed, has it been our painful duty to record a more melancholy occurrence than one which recently took place in that part of Brooklin [sic, Brookhaven] called Fire Place. On the evening of Friday, the 5th instant, eleven men, belonging to that village, went to the South Shore with a seine for fishing, viz: William Rose, Isaac Woodruff, Lewis Parshall, Benjamin Brown, Nehemiah Hand, James Horner, Charles Ellison, James Prior, Daniel Parshall, Harry Horner and John Hulse. On Saturday morning the affecting discovery was made that they were all drowned. It is supposed the whole party embarked in one boat, and went out to the outer bar, a distance of two miles from the shore, and which at low water is in some places bare, but that by some accident the boat was stove or sunk, and the whole party left to perish by the rising of the tide, which, at high water, is eight or ten feet on the bar. The boat came on shore in pieces, and also eight bodies. The six first named have left families. Long will a whole neighborhood lament this overwhelming affliction, and the tears of the widow and orphan flow for their husband, father and friend.

From Long Island Star (Brooklyn, NY) 17 November 1813, as quoted in: Parshall, James Clark. The History of the Parshall Family from the Conquest of England by William of Normandy, A.D. 1066, to the Close of the 19th Century. Syracuse: Crist, Park and Parshall, Cooperstown, NY, 1903.

Who Were The Men Lost in the 1813 Calamity

The following is the results of the research so far conducted.

Benjamin Brown: Benjamin Brown was twenty-nine when he died. He was married to Mary Ann Leek, and left a five year old son, Alfred Benjamin. Mary Ann did not remarry. Alfred lived to be 87, and had seven daughters and four sons. Many of his descendants continue to reside in the Brookhaven, Bellport, and Patchogue region.
Charles Ellison: Charles Ellison was age 36 at the time of the tragedy. He was a younger brother of Robert Ellison, and son of Thomas and Letitia Homan Ellison. In 1785, Thomas and Letitia had a quarter interest in the South Haven Mills, which they sold to Samuel Carman, Sr. In 1805, Charles’ brother Robert bought two substantial plots in Fire Place — one was the “Pasnage Living” or manse lands owned by the South Haven Presbyterian Church parish roughly bound by modern Montauk Highway, Old Stump Road, the Long Island Railroad and South Country Road, the other parcel was along both sides of Beaver Dam Creek from the “upper going over” (modern South Country Road) north to approximately modern Montauk Highway (except for certain plots which remained public). Robert, along with his wife Elizabeth Hulse established the general store that would become known as the Brook Store. On 6 Apr 1810, Robert, his brother Charles, and Robert’s wife Elizabeth sold most of this land to Robert Hawkins, retaining a parcel at the south end for the family homestead and store. Robert Ellison died October 23, 1813, and Charles drowned thirteen days later, leaving Robert’s young son, infant daughter, and the responsibility for running the store to Elizabeth. The son was later known as “Big Tom” Ellison who became prominent in Town of Brookhaven politics. Elizabeth came to be known affectionately as Aunt Betsey. Charles and Robert are said to have been buried in the old Burying Ground in Hempstead.
Nehemiah Hand: Nehemiah Hand of South Haven, NY, was the son of Ezekiel Hand, also of South Haven. He was age 41 at the time of his drowning. The Hand family was originally from East Hampton, NY. Nehemiah was buried (or a memorial stone erected) in the South Haven Presbyterian Church cemetery where his gravestone may still be found. His wife, the former Mary Mapes, was left with a family of five young children, the youngest, Nehemiah, was born after his father’s death. She soon remarried, to Thomas Wood Rowland also of South Haven. They eventually relocated to Setauket, NY. On her second husband’s death, she again remarried , to David DeForrest, and survived him, living to be 87 years of age. Nehemiah was a farmer and a bayman. Of his four sons, three became shipwrights and one a boatman. Son Nehemiah, often referred to as “Boss” Hand, started a successful shipbuilding business in Setauket and became prominent in the trade. At least two of his siblings and his step-father Thomas were also associated with the business.
Henry Homan:
James Homan:
John Hulse:
Daniel Parshall:
Lewis Parshall:
James Prior:
William Rose: William Rose was likely the son of Lt. Thomas and Deborah Rose of Fire Place. William was age 41 at the time of his death. His father Thomas, along with his uncle Capt. Nathan Rose, were Revolutionary War soldiers. Both were buried in the “old” Rose family cemetery off Jarad’s Path, Brookhaven Hamlet. William married Catherine Brewster, daughter of Charles Jeffrey Brewster and Temperance Smith, of what is now modern Bellport. William was probably originally interred (or a memorial stone erected) in a “new” Rose family cemetery originally located near the Brookhaven Free Library. This burying ground was later relocated to the Oaklawn Cemetery in Brookhaven Hamlet, where William’s gravestone now may be found. William and Catherine appear to have had only one child, Deborah Ann Rose, born in January of 1807, and who died later the same year. On Charles Jeffrey Brewster’s death in 1820, Catherine received the middle third of his large estate in what would become Bellport, NY. She soon sold here inheritance, much of which would eventually become the property of Thomas Bell, after whom Bellport was named. By 1850, she was living with the Daniel Ruland family, whose farmstead was on South Country Road near to the intersection of Beaver Dam Road. Catherine, who was fourteen years older than William, died in 1852; here gravestone may be found next to her husband’s. She apparently never remarried.
Isaac Woodruff:

Brookhaven Village Association History

♦ BVA History in a Nutshell – Marty Van Lith

♦ BVA Minutes 1906-1918 (images*)

♦ BVA Minutes 1918-1924 (images*)

♦ BVA Minutes 1932-1938 (images*)

♦ BVA Minutes 1960-2006 (images*)

* Minutes scanned by Marty Van Lith and archived with the Post Morrow Foundation Heritage Collection.

BVA’s Squassux Marina by Thurston Gwynne

Marty Van Lith made a presentation on the history of the Brookhaven Village Association, Brookhaven, NY on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary, June 22, 2006. The Brookhaven Village Association is the oldest civic organization in continuous existence within the Town of Brookhaven, L.I., NY.

View Slide Show

Brook House – C. Oliver Wellington

C. Oliver Wellington – Brook House

The Brook House

This article originally appeared in The Barn News, The Newsletter of the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, Bellport, New York 11713. Volume 11 Number 2 (June 2009). Used by permission.

The article was compiled by Ginny Waterman from interviews with Nancy Wellington Lee and others.

The Brook House

There is a one-story stone building at 405 South Country Road, Brookhaven on the right side of the road if you are going toward Bellport, or the left if you are heading into Brookhaven Hamlet built on a very historic site.

Today it is the home of L. K. McLean Associates, but the real point of interest is, not what the property was historically or what the building is today, but when it was the Brook House during the late ‘30s to the early ‘50s, “a tearoom and restaurant of great charm and serving delicious food.”

Nancy Lee Remembers the Brook House

Curious to know more about the restaurant, I sat with Mrs. Nancy Lee, daughter of C. Oliver Wellington, to talk about the Brook House.

For the beginning of the story, Ms. Lee stated that she “was remembering through the eyes of a 6-year old.” But believe me, this “6-year old” remembered a lot!

“In the nineteen thirties, my father, C. Oliver Wellington, came down with a fever. He was quite ill. All he could think of during this time was if only he could have some fresh home-made ice cream. He already had a small herd of Jersey cows on his property in Brookhaven. Why not make his own ice cream!! And so began the Brook House, a place for ice cream and high tea. Of course, this did not happen as quickly as he would have liked. One had to find the land to build on, the architect to design the building, hire a manager and the help, etc. Some of the original waitresses were local girls such as Connie Bohn Borntraeger and Betty Brown Bossler.

“The tea house-ice cream parlor was a big success, but a year later it was decided to turn this place into a real dining experience with very good food and New York restaurateurs to man it.

“Of course it could only be in operation during the summer because there was no heat in the building. The restaurant had been conceived as a summer attraction with all pipes from it going under the brook and up the hill behind it. Therefore, all discharge would freeze.

“A screened-in porch was built over the brook, greatly adding to the room for tables and chairs. Attractive decor added to the ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace, the main focus to the right as you walked into the main dining room. There were two antique wood settles facing each other in font of the fireplace; tavern chairs with caned seats [I still have some of the original chairs (shown left?)], colorful blue chintz drapes, and green chair cushions. I remember white walls and gray French mural panels over the fireplaces at each end of the long room.

New Tea-house Opens at Brookhaven Soon

“Brook House,” the new and beautiful tea-house designed by Aymar Embury and build by Mr. And Mrs. C. Oliver Wellington… will be open to the public Saturday, June 19.

The Advance, June 4, 1937

“Fresh flower arrangements were always there, originally done by my mother, Lucile Wellington until this became too large a task; the flowers were from her garden. She also was the decorator, and the main dining room was filled with beautiful antiques. There were maple trestle tables, an antique corner cupboard, dresser, and those settles; all were museum quality.”

“The building, still standing and in use today, was built in three sections. Facing the building, the wing to the left was the portion that held the ladies and men rooms.

“The center, larger area was the original restaurant with the main entrance flanked by two large paned glass windows. Inside the paned windows was a built-in seat and table and chairs. I remember large carriage lamps that were originally on our home that were moved to the Brook House and hung on either side of the main entrance. The main dining room had French doors that opened onto the back terrace (the small pebbles used as a base were difficult to walk on), tables with yellow and white umbrellas, and the screened-in porch.

“The right wing contained the enormous kitchen. The parking lot was to the right of this. Hurricane lamps were placed along the walks, and in the driveways there were street lights of black wrought iron and glass.

“My Aunt, Ruth Pierce, painted a sign which was an oil of a fisherman with a rod; it hung outside on a post in the front near the road for all to see.

“Meanwhile World War II (1941-1945) intervened and the Brook House was closed for the duration. Afterwards all returned. There was an added plus. The help (chefs, waiters, etc.) could all board across the street at Mrs. Nelson’s house. Therefore the entire crew were always handy and could give excellent service to their patrons at the Brook House. People stopped to eat there on their way to and from the Hamptons. All this was, of course, not cheap, but one didn’t have to go all the way to New York City for fine dining. It could be right near home at the Brook House.”

The “Brook House” is Unique

In an unpretentious village like Brookhaven, it is surprising to learn that one can obtain a meal comparable to that served in any of the finer restaurants or clubs in this country or abroad…. For Brook House, which open last year as a tea-house, is now a full-fledged restaurant where quality food stuffs are transformed into dishes to delight the epicure and where meals may be accompanied by the right choice of cocktails, wines, and liquors…. But dining after dark is the real thrill, for then the flood-lights turn the terrace into a place of enchantment….”

The Suffolk County News, July 15, 1938

Fresh Brook Trout

John Tuthill, Bellport, N.Y. remembers,

“…those patrons who desired brook trout on the menu were given the opportunity to catch their own fish. A fishing pole was offered and all the patron had to do was to walk outside and catch a brook trout in the stream which only took minutes. As soon as the fish was caught, a waiter took it off the hook and transported it immediately to the chef….”

It Was Special

And Bob Duckworth, East Patchogue, N.Y., sums it up quite succinctly,
“It was elegant and very special. I don’t think we realized at the time, how very special it was.”

Photo courtesy of Roger U. Wellington, Jr.

Brookhaven Bellport Bath, Bottle and Boating Society

The Brookhaven Bellport Bath Bottle and Boating Society was a “faux” yacht club for Sunfish sailors of the 1960s and 1970s in the Bellport and Brookhaven, NY area.

One member commented: “I recall that it was more bottle than boating.” If you have every sailed a Sunfish in moderate wind, you may appreciate the “bath” part of the group’s name.

Left: Commemorative Plate, frontbr>Above: Commemorative Plate, back

At some point in their existence, the group issued a commemorative plate.

Versions of the Story

Retelling of the story of 1813 Calamity by Osborn Shaw

1813 Calamity

Melancholy Occurrence.

The following contemporary account is to be contrasted with modern retelling of the story by Osborn Shaw and others, and the embellishments which have occurred over nearly two hundred years.

From Long Island Star (Brooklyn, NY) 17 November 1813, as quoted in: Parshall, James Clark. The History of the Parshall Family from the Conquest of England by William of Normandy, A.D. 1066, to the Close of the 19th Century. Syracuse: Crist, Park and Parshall, Cooperstown, NY, 1903.

Osborne Shaw in his History of Fire Place

Of the terrible calamity that befell this community, there is not an old family in this section but knows about it. On Friday night, the 5th of November 1813, eleven men from this vicinity went as a fishing crew over to the South Beach. Just what happened will never be definitely known, but from what was printed in the “Long Island Star” of 10 Nov. 1813 and from what my late grandmother and father and the late Capt. Chas. E. Hulse have related to me, the men went through “Old Inlet” and hauled their boat on the “dry shoal” in the ocean opposite the inlet. The shoal was bare at low water but covered at high tide. While busily engaged in shaking out their net, they did not notice that the tide was rising under their boat and it being not properly secured, it floated away in the swift current running through the inlet. When the realized their predicament, they began calling for help, and set up such a howling that their cries were heard over here in Fire Place, it being a clam moon-light night. One woman here, went to a neighbor’s and remarked that something must be wrong over on the beach, as she was sure she recognized her husband’s voice. It is told that another rival crew was at the time, also on the Beach, and that they were fiddling and drinking and some of their members were drunk. Some one of them heard the cries of the imperiled men and suggested going to their aid. He was greeted with the remark: “Damn ’em, let ’em drownd” from another member and the eleven men were left on “dry shoal” with the tide gradually rising over them. Every man was drowned and there were six or seven women left as widows here the next morning. The names of the men were: William Rose, Isaac Woodruff, Lewis Parshall, Daniel Parshall, Benjamin Brown, Nehemiah Hand, James Homan, Henry Homan, Charles Ellison, James Prior and John Hulse. The boat came on shore in pieces and eight of the bodies were recovered. I have located the tombstones of some of them. William Rose was buried on the ground on which this building stands, but was removed some few years ago to the present village cemetery; Isaac Woodruff’s stone is in St. John’s Cemetery in Oakdale; the two Parshall boys have a stone in the old Patchogue Cemetery on Waverly Avenue; Benjamin Brown’s body and stone were removed to the Bellport Cemetery; Nehemiah Hand’s stone is in the Presbyterian Cemetery in South Haven. If the other five have stones, I have failed in finding them.

Borthwick:

· … eleven men, namely, William Rose, Isaac Woodruff, Henry Homan, Charles Ellison, James Prior, John Hulse, Daniel and Lewis Parshall, Enjamin Brown, Nehemiah Hand, and James Homan went off South Beach in their small boat to fish. According to the tradition, the men landed on the sand bar several hundred yards off shore, which at low tide is above water, to shake the sea-weed out of their nets, and hauled their boat upon the sand. They carelessly failed to anchor it, with the result that in the darkness they did not see that the rising tide was washing around it and lifting it, until finally a wave carried it off the bar. When they made the discovery that their boat was gone, and felt the tide rising about their feet, they began to shout so loudly that they were heard across the Beach and Great South Bay by people on the mainland at Brookhaven. It was a beautiful, calm night. One woman went to her neighbor’s and remarked that she thought that something was wrong at the Beach as she was sure she had heard her husband’s voice. It has always been a mystery why a rival fishing crew, which that night was in a house on the Beach, did not hear the men’s cries and rescue them. One tradition declares that a man who had heard the shouting of the stranded fishermen, broke into the house to ask them to get the men. They evidently had been drinking, for one man drunkenly replied in answer to the intruder’s plea: “Damn’em, let ’em drown.” All eleven were drowned, and the next morning there were eight widows in the parish of South Haven.

Rev. George Borthwick.The Church at the South: A History of the South Haven Church. p. 180. Manuscript about 1938. Published 1989. Amereon Ltd., Mattituck, NY.

Bigelow:

A major tragedy that affected the people of Fireplace occurred on Friday, November 5, 1813. A crew of eleven fishermen went through Smith’s Inlet [Old Inlet] to fish from a “dry shoal” several hundred yards out in the ocean. While busy with their nets they did not notice that their boat was insecure and had floated away. It had been caught in the current running through the inlet as the tide began to change. As the water deepened over the sandbar, the men called for help, but none heard or came, and all were drowned. Six widows were left. One had said she was sure she had recognized her husband’s voice shouting for help, but no one had believed her. The men were William Rose, Isaac Woodruff, Daniel and Lewis Pearshall (sic), Benjamin Brown, Nehemiah Hand, James and Henry Homan, Charles Ellison, James Prior and John Hulse.

Stephanie Bigelow. Bellport and Brookhaven: A Saga of the Sibling Hamlets of the Old Purchase South. Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society. 1968.

Fatal Fire, 31 May 1947

1947 Fatal Fire

On 31 May 1947 a fire destroyed a house on the northwest corner of Beaver Dam and Old Stump Roads. All four members of the Donald Barry family were killed. Residents of the east wing of the house escaped.

The lot on which the house stood remains vacant to the present time.

Donald J. Barry was a son of William and Lillian Velzora Murdock Barry. His wife was Dorothy Allen Swezey, a daughter of Everett and Lila Swezey. Dorothy’s first husband was Lawrence Costa, who was killed in action on 12 June 1944 during WW II.

This article is a transcript of the account in the Patchogue Advance, 5 June 1947.

Patchogue Advance, 5 June 1947. Page 1.

Family of Four Claimed by Fire; 3 Others Escape

Heater Thought to be Cause of Brookhaven Tragedy; Vet, Wife, 2 Children Die.

Flaming death claimed a family of four, trapped in their burning rooms in a 4:15 a. m. fire Saturday at Beaver Dam road and Yaphank avenue [now known as Old Stump Road], Brookhaven. Three members of another family escaped, but lost all their possessions excepting a baby carriage. The fire was believed to have been caused by a poorly-regulated kerosene water heater.

Victims of the fire are: Donald Barry, aged 28; his wife Dorothy, aged 26; and her two children by a former marriage, Lawrence Costa, aged 6, and Thomas Costa, aged 3.

Awakened by Daughter

Awakened by the cries of their infant daughter, Denise, aged 10 months, Ernest Leger, aged 41, and his wife Jacqueline, aged 25, managed to escape the burning house. A son, John, aged 4, was staying with his grandmother in Yaphank.

After calling the Fire department, Mr. Leger rescued his wife and baby from their smoke-filled room in the east section of the two-story frame building.

Although he could hear Mr. Barry’s frantic calls for help, Mr. Leger’s attempts to enter the Barry’s section were useless. Flame and smoke repeatedly prevented their rescue, driving him back repeatedly from the door and from windows which he smashed with an axe.

Flames enveloped the house when Brookhaven Fire department, let by Chief Paul Robinson, arrived at 4:30. It was impossible to enter the blazing building. A call to the Bellport Fire department brought a pumper and hook and ladder immediately under the direction of Chief Donald Shaw.

The house collapsed shortly after the firemen’s arrival. Water drawn from the nearby Carman river failed to check the fire.

Two loud explosions, believed to be of kerosene tanks, awakened a neighbor, Mrs. Alan Baker, at about 4:15 a. m. She aroused her husband, thinking the noises were shots. From their window they could see the burning house. Dressing hastily they arrived as Mr. Leger was attempting unsuccessfully to enter the Barry quarters.

Badly burned, the four bodies of the Barry family members were identifiable only by size and by rings worn. Mr. Barry was found bent over one child on the bedroom floor. The other child was in the bathtub, where his mother had apparently placed him in an attempt to save his life.

After Coroner Grover A. Silliman arrived, the bodies were taken to the C. W. Ruland Sons funeral home in Patchogue.

Chief Edward N. Bridge of the Brookhaven Town police; Investigator John L. Barry of the district attorney’s office; Lt. Arthur Waldron of the Brookhaven Town police; and two cars of patrolmen, investigated the fire.

The Barry’s kerosene hot water heater, which police believe was the cause of the blaze, was found with both burners turned to the “Light” position. Because it was left at this position, the gravity-fed flow of oil seeped from the burner, ignited, and caused the fire. If the heater had had a safety valve, or if the burners had been adjusted after they were lit, the disastrous fire might not have occurred.

Neighbors Offer Aid

Sympathetic neighbors immediately came to the relief of Ernest Leger and his family after they lost their entire possessions in Saturday morning’s tragic fire in Brookhaven. The Brookhaven Red Cross chapter has offered assistance and a fund has been collected for the Ledgers by Thomas Lyons and Alex Kosenkranius. Mr. Kosenkranius is Mr. Leger’s employer. Wearing apparel is also being collected.

At midnight, according to Ledger, Barry made coffee on the stove and invited him over for a cup. He accepted and later on said, “Good night,” and returned to his side of the house where he retired. It is believed the Mr. Barry forgot to turn the valves down which caused the oil to flood the burners.

Mr. Barry was a well-liked employee of the Brook Store, operated by Thomas Lyons on the South Country road, Brookhaven. An Army pilot during the war, he won the Distinguished Flying Cross. He is survived by his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. William Barry of Brookhaven, and his brother, William Barry, of Bay Shore. Mrs. Barry is survived by her mother, Mrs. Everett Swezey of Locust avenue, Brookhaven.

Services for the Barrys were held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Brookhaven Presbyterian church, the Rev. R. B. Gamewell officiating. Interment of the four fire victims was at Woodland cemetery in Bellport.

1938 Hurricane

Much has been written about the 21 September 1938 Hurricane and its impact on Long Island. The major damage on Long Island was more easterly, beginning about Westhampton and Westhampton Beach and on to Montauk Point. Brookhaven hamlet was on the westerly edge of the hurricane’s landfall on Long Island. While the storm was dramatic in Brookhaven hamlet, there was no loss of life (their was one death in Bellport), and property damage was minimal.

Below is an article in the Patchogue Advance which recounts specific damage in Brookhaven Hamlet.

Sources which provide more on the hurricane’s effects on Long Island may be found here:

The Long Island Express—the 1938 Hurricane by Scott A. Mandia, Professor – Physical Sciences – Suffolk County Community College.
The 1938 Hurricane – Wikipedia.com
Patchogue Advance, 23 September 1938 (page images reporting on the area)

How the Big Storm Damaged Brookhaven In Its Awful Sweep

Patchogue Advance, 23 September 1938, page 5.

Countless trees are down all over the village—some uprooted, and some snapped off at various heights.

George Miller estimates a loss of at least 100 trees including two large evergreens in the family burying ground.

The wind seems to have hit the corner of South Country road and Beaver Dam road with particular force and flattened a whole row of trees on the property of Mrs. James H. Post.

The trees on the property of Herbert Burnett were severely damaged.

Frank Huston reports that the change of wind from the east to west drove a wall of water against their house (at the foot of Hawkins lane) and flooded it to a depth of 22 inches.

The fire department was called to the foot of Bay road during the early part of the storm and took several people from their houses by rowboat. The Grover Bishop family, Mrs. A. C. Bishop, Miss McGovern and other were rescued in this fashion. The William Anderson house on Bay road is said to be badly damaged by water.

George A. Soper house following 1938 Hurricane.
This is a picture of the Soper house (a.k.a. William Brewster Rose house) following the hurricane. According to Sally Soper Neenan, who was age one at the time of the storm, a corner of her bedroom was destroyed.

The roof on the shed of the truck garage on the Walter E. Corrigan property was blown down on top of the trucks. Mrs. Lottie Zukowski’s barn on Montauk highway was blown down.

In comparison to the number of trees down, very few houses or buildings were hit.

Mrs. Alfred Brown was alone at Smith Point beach, it is reported, when her husband and Harold Bohn came to the mainland for supplies. They were unable to return and did not get to her until yesterday morning. The main part of the pavilion was washed away but she took refuge in the western portion.

George A. Soper, Jr. lost almost all his trees—the two evergreens immediately in front of his home and several of the large maples along the footpath.

The chimney was knocked from Jesse E. Johnson’s house.

Beaver Dam road was closed over the creek as the roadbed, with the exception of the concrete paving in the middle, was washed away.

The locust grove on Mrs. Thomas I. Morrow’s is completely destroyed and the oak grove around Louis Blume’s house is in ruins.