The
following was researched and prepared by Richard Thomas, 23 February 2010:
The Still Farm came into existence when D.
Benjamin Still and his wife Eva A. purchased land from James H. and Louisa
Wells Post on March 29, 1923.
The deed appears below.
Three dollars in I.R.S. stamps were purchased for
the deed, so the cash value of what was paid must have been between $1,000 and
$1,500. If there was a mortgage, however, the value of the premises may have
been greater, since stamps weren't needed for the mortgaged amount.
In March 1923, Library Lane did not yet exist, it
was a "proposed 50 ft. public highway."
Since the description of the property begins 250
feet north of the intersection of Library Lane and Beaver Dam Road, the
southernmost Kinsella property (Lot 6 on the Tax Map) appears not to have been
part of the parcel that was purchased. [Since 03/14/2007 Lot 6 has been
owned by Ron and Alan Kinsella and, by calculation, consists of 0.56197
acres.]
The Still property consisted of about seven acres.
A Google map of the approximate boundary of the
Still Farm is attached. Since the description of the property in the deed
gives neither lengths nor angles, the boundaries shown are a guess. I do not
know whether the Stills called their farm "Still Woods" or whether the street
name was a later creation. The County computer systems shows some of the
residents of Stillwood Road as living on Stillwoods and others as living on
Stillwood, so one needs to search for both to bring up all the properties.
The deed indicates that the Stills were already
living in Brookhaven in March 1923.
Liber 1069 Page
158
James H. Post and
Louisa Wells Post, his wife, to D.
Benjamin Still and Eva A. Still, his wife
29 March 1923
($3.00 U.S. I.R.S. CAN.)
THIS INDENTURE, made the 29th
day of March nineteen hundred and twenty-three,
BETWEEN
JAMES H. POST and LOUISA
WELLS POST, his wife, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, parties of the
first part,
and
D. BENJAMIN STILL and EVA
A. STILL, his wife, residing at Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York,
parties of the second part,
WITNESSETH, that the parties
of the first part, in consideration of One ($1.00) dollar, lawful money of
the United States, paid by the parties of the second part, do hereby grant
and release unto the parties of the second part, their heirs and assigns
forever:
ALL that piece or parcel of
land, situate in the Village of Brookhaven, County of Suffolk and State of
New York, briefly described as follows:
Beginning at a point 250 feet
north of a concrete monument set in a boundary at the intersection of Beaver
Dam Road, and a proposed 50 ft. public highway as shown per map of the
"Swezey Farm", now owned by James H. Post,
then at right angles with east
line of said highway, easterly to the southern boundary line of said farm
and following said boundary easterly to the land of George Miller’s;
thence northerly and westerly
by the land of George Miller to the east line of said public highway;
thence southerly to point of
beginning.
TOGETHER with the
appurtenances and all the estate and rights of the parties of the first part
in and to said premises:
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the
premises herein granted unto the parties of the second part their heirs and
assigns forever.
AND said James H. Post and
Louisa Wells Post, covenant as follows:
FIRST. That said James H.
Post and Louisa Wells Post, — seized of the said premises in fee simple,
and have good right to convey the same;
SECOND. That the parties of
the second part shall quietly enjoy the said premises;
THIRD. That the said
premises are free from incumbrances;
FOURTH. That the parties of
the first part will execute or procure any further necessary assurance of
the title to said premises;
FIFTH. That said James H.
Post, one of the parties of the first part will forever WARRANT the title
to the said premises.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
parties have the first part have hereunto set their hands and seals the day
and year first above written.
In presence of JAMES
HOWELL POST L.S.
—— LOUISA WELLS POST L.S.
State of New York, County of
New York SS: On the 30th day of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-three
before me came James H. Post and Louisa Wells Post, his wife, to me known to
be the individuals described in, and who executed, the foregoing instrument,
and acknowledged that they executed the same.
L.S. Walter J. Vreeland Notary
Public, Nassau County, Certificate filed New York Co.
Recorded 11th April 1923 @ 9
A.M.
D. Benjamin Still never used his first name,
"David," even in legal documents, and he usually didn't use the "D." either.
He was a farmer and was active in the Democratic
Party.
He was elected one of the five Town assessors in
1909 and was re-elected to the office in the following elections, serving a
total of eight years in that post. The Democrats appeared to have fared
well during this era. He later ran for Brookhaven Town Highway Supervisor
on at least one occasion, but lost.
At the time the Stills purchased the
property, Benjamin Still was 57 years old.
He was born on the family farm in Coram in about
1871. He was the brother of George Wickham Still and the son of Lorenzo
Smith Still and Ann Maria Terry Still.
Eva Still was the daughter of William and Martha
Ruland Hammond of Patchogue. Benjamin and Eva Still had two children, a
son, Philip, and a daughter, Alice.
Philip Grayson Still married Miss Modjeska Sarah
Holmes on 03 July 1916. Philip was a machinist at the time of the
marriage. In May 1941, Phillip Still was residing in Sag Harbor.
Alice R. Still married Frederick Abrams of Blue
Point.
Benjamin Still had served on the Coram school
board. After moving to Brookhaven, he served on the Brookhaven school board
also.
In January 1932, Benjamin Still was appointed as
Deputy Superintendent of Highways for the Town of Brookhaven for a two-year
term at a salary of $7 per day. He was re-appointed in 1934, but when it
came time for his re-appointment in January 1936, he could receive only a
one-year appointment since NYS law prohibited him from serving past the age
of 70. His retirement in January 1937 was celebrated with a large party in
Patchogue.
Benjamin and Eva Still continued to reside on
Library Lane for the remainder of their lives.
Eva Augusta Still died at the home on November
12, 1940, at age 77. She was a member of St. James Episcopal Church.
D. Benjamin Still died six months later on May
7, 1941, at age 75, at the home of his daughter in Blue Point after an
extended illness.
Both Benjamin and Eva were buried in the Coram
Methodist Cemetery.
The son and daughter inherited the Still farm in
equal shares. Alice purchased her brother's share, and on June 7, 1947, she
executed a deed from herself to herself and her husband to put the land in
both of their names (Liber 2714 Page 173, Alice R. Abrams of Blue Point to
Frederick E. Abrams and Alice R. Abrams of Blue Point.) There was also a
"confirming deed," Liber 2815 Page 75, executed on March 31, 1948.
At some point a property on the north side of
Beaver Dam Road and south of the Still farm was sold to the Blumes. The
parcel, consisting of about three acres, was located between the land of
James H. Post on the west and the land of Elizabeth Morrow on the east.
Melita Blume was an artist and, in 1936, she was the president of the
Association of Long Island Artists.
The southern boundary of the Still farm is
called the "D. Road" in the Town assessor's description, but this road is
not mentioned in the 1923 deed. It is instead called the southern boundary
of the Swezey farm.
By Zoning