Five Towns Local History: Cedarhurst

Showing posts with label Cedarhurst. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Cedarhurst Soldiers' Memorial

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day–a common misunderstanding, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans–living or dead–but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime. -- History Channel web site

The ceremonies held at Andrew Parise Park on Veteran's Day 2015 evoked the memory another ceremony at the park (then Cedarhurst Park) in November of 1923. Then, the newly formed Lawrence-Cedarhurst American Legion Post 339 erected a memorial to nine local veterans of World War I who had died in service. They found themselves at the center of controversy the local Ku Klux Klan attempted to lay a wreath at the Thanksgiving dedication ceremony.

New York Times, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 1

As the attached articles recount, the ceremony was about to begin when three members of the Klan - who did not wear their traditional robes or hoods on this occasion -- brought a wreath to the ceremony and desired to place it on the memorial. The family of Lawrence Wood, one of the deceased servicemen, wanted the Klansmen to place their wreath. The Legionnaires opposed them and the situation deteriorated, with fist fights breaking out. The agitated crowd of about 1500 was eventually calmed by the efforts of Col. Wickersham, the Legion post commander and by Rabbi Isaac Landman's impassioned speech in which he stated that the men that they honored that day did not die so "that America should be torn by racial hatred and religious conflict." New York Times, 11/30/1923, p. 3). The situation did not resolve itself until the police came and the Klan members retreated.

In researching this story, this author found that, as the participants feared, the ceremony overshadowed the reason for the memorial -- the nine young men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. It seems appropriate, almost one hundred years later, to offer the names and stories of the men honored on the granite monument in Parise Park.

SGT. Harry P. Bruhn lived at "Fair Oaks" on Pacific Avenue in Cedarhurst
Born on April 6, 1895, the son of a Danish immigrant carpenter, Sgt. Bruhn was a machine gunner with the 7th New York Infantry. He died September 24, 1918 of wounds received in action and is buried at Saint Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France. (Obituary: The Sun, October 18, 1918, p. 12.)

CPL. John R. Lantry , Jr. lived on Washington Avenue in Cedarhurst.
He was born July 30, 1891, and when he went into the Army he was 5'6" of a medium build with blue eyes and black hair. John Lantry was single and worked with his father as a mason before he went into the Army. He served in the 305th Infantry, Company M and died of lobar pneumonia on December 30, 1917 at Camp Upton, before ever seeing combat. He is buried in St. Mary's Star of the Sea Cemetery in Lawrence.

2nd LT. John Edward Mitchell lived on Pearsall Avenue in Cedarhurst.
He was born October 6, 1895 and on his draft registration, he is described as tall and slender with blue eyes and light hair. Before the war he was single and worked as a clerk for Hard and Rand in New York City. He served in the 23rd Infantry, Company F and died of disease on his birthday in 1918 at the age of 23. Lt. Mitchell is buried in Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France.

1st LT. Gordon L. Rand was born on September 3, 1892, the youngest of six children.

He graduated from Yale University in 1912 and went into business with his father's coffee-importing firm, Hard and Rand. He enlisted in the Army in 1915 and served with the Cavalry on the Mexican Border in 1916. When his unit was recalled in 1917, Rand enlisted in the American Ambulance Corps. He was wounded the chest and side from artillery fire and was discharged because of his wounds. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government for penetrating a zone of fire to deliver medical supplies to men who desperately needed them. Although he was himself wounded, he completed the task and helped evacuate the men before seeking treatment. When he recovered, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Air Service Signal Corps, a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. Lt. Rand died from wounds received in action on February 5, 1918. There is a headstone memorial at Trinity-St. John's Church in Hewlett, but Lt. Rand is buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial. An article in the Buffalo Evening Courier chronicles an event witnessed by Rand while he was in his plane and his efforts to create a memorial for the French soldiers lost in that skirmish.

1st LT Philip Newbold Rhinelander was in Harvard University's Class of 1918 when the war broke out. Born in 1895, he came from a patrician family and was educated at preparatory schools in Newport, RI and California. Philip Rhinelander left Harvard to join the American Field Service in July 1916 and in 1917 enlisted as an aviator. Attached to the 20th Day Bombing Squadron. Lt. Rhinelander was shot down during aerial combat over France, falling to his death on September 26, 1918 at Murville, over the German lines. He is buried at Murville, Meurthe-et-Moselle in France. There is an extensive and personal tribute to Philip Rhinelander at findagrave.com

Because James Laurence Scanlan had red hair, his nickname was "Red".

Born August 10, 1892, his enlistment application of September 1918 lists his hair color, blue eyes, medium build and his mother's name and his address: Cedarhurst Avenue in Cedarhurst. At the time of enlistment he was working for the Remington Arms Company in Hoboken, NJ. This information omitted the fact that was already a war hero. He had joined the French Foreign Legion in 1914. A battle-related leg injury in 1915 ended his infantry career and left him with one leg shorter than the other. After a lengthy recovery, he registered for the Lafayette Escadrille (an all-American squadron fighting the Germans during the time before America officially entered the war). "Red" Scanlan had a colorful career in the Lafayette Escadrille, resulting in several dramatic crashes, before he retired in 1917. The movies Flyboys (2006) and The Lafayette Escadrille (1958) portray some of the exploits of these American heroes. Although Scanlan later registered for the draft in the U.S., his war wounds continued to plague him and he died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Far Rockaway on November 25, 1921 at the age of 28. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 11/29/1921, p. 26.) He is buried in St. Mary's Star of the Sea Cemetery in Lawrence.

PFC. John J. Sullivan was from Cedarhurst.
He served in Company C of the 106th Infantry. He died of wounds November 17, 1918.

PVT. Ralph B. Watts served with Company B of the 102nd Infantry. He enlisted at Hartford, Connecticut in 1916 and during the summer of that year, served on the Mexican border. Deployed to France, he died April 1, 1918 and is buried at Saint Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France. (The Daily Long Island Farmer, April 12, 1918, p. 1)

Apprentice Seaman (US Navy) Lawrence Lockharte Wood was born in January 1896 and lived at the corner of Oak and Center Streets in Cedarhurst. He enlisted in the Navy in 1916 and died of pneumonia while at the Naval Training School at Newport, RI on, June 6, 1917. Lawrence Wood was the first young man from the Rockaways to die in service in World War I (South Side Observer, March 1,1918, p. 1)

In addition to the nine men listed on the memorial, the
World War I Roll of Honor: Nassau County, New York June 1, 1922

also lists the following servicemen from the Branch communities who were lost in World

War I, the war to end all wars:

Artuse, Bruno        Mott St., Inwood, L. I. N. Y.        Pvt., Co. I., 28th Inf.        Died of wounds, November 13, 1918

Batta, Alfred M.        Henry St. Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., 1st cl., Co. I., 308th Inf.        Killed in action, October 6, 1918

Carmen, Timothy E.        Woodmere, N. Y.        Sgt., Co. G., 306th Inf.        Died of wounds, September 3, 1918

De Mott, Thomas S.        West Broadway, Woodmere, N. Y.        Pvt., 1st cl., Btry. C., 311th F. A.        Died of broncho pneumonia, February 28, 1919

De Ponso, Lidovico        Lawrence Ave., Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., Btry., F. 301st F. A.        Died of broncho pneumonia, October 14, 1918

Desimore, Generino        Henry St., Inwood, N. Y.        Pvt., Co. B., 305th Inf.        Died of wounds, September 27, 1918

Dramis, Theodore        Henry St., Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., 1st cl., Co. M., 113th Inf.        Died of wounds, October 11, 1918

Harigel, John        Lawrence, L. I., N. Y.        Pvt., Co. C., 83rd, Inf.        Died of influenza, October 14, 1918

Hirsch, Ike        Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., Co. F., 325th Inf.        Died of pneumonia, October 9, 1918

Kalley, Nelson        Jeannette Ave., Inwood, L. I., N. Y.        Pvt., 1st cl., Co. C. 106th Inf.        Killed in action, September 27, 1918

McGinn, Frank J.        52 Red Wood Ave., Inwood, L. I., N. Y.        Pvt., Hdqrs. Co. 57th Arty.        Killed in action, October 31, 1918

Monaghan, Edward        Ocean Ave., Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., 1st cl., Co. M., 113th Inf.        Killed in action, October 10, 1918

Sullivan, John        Central Ave., Lawrence, N. Y.        Pvt., Co. M. Ord. Dept., U. S. A.        Died of broncho pneumonia, October 19, 1918  (not the same as John J. Sullivan from Cedarhurst)

Listed in Haulsee, et al. Soldiers of the Great War In Three Volumes (Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920)

Hicks, Charles Reeves, Jr. Cedarhurst Died of Disease Sgt. [born November 21, 1890]

Additional Information:

Incident at Cedarhurst Park, November 29, 1923

Veterans' Day and Those Who Served

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Fathers of the Five Towns: Isaac D. Levy

Roselle Manor in Cedarhurst, built in the style of an English Renaissance manor house, was the summer home of Isaac D. Levy and his family. Levy, president of Oppenheim, Collins and Co., a women's specialty department store, lived in the home for over 20 years.

When it was built in the early 1900s, the mansion was surrounded by five and a half acres at Cedarhurst Avenue and West Broadway. The $300,000 mansion was designed by the architects Buchman and Fox, and was landscaped by the firm of Lord and Burnham, who also designed the attached conservatory. According to Long Island Country Houses and their Architects, 1860-1940:

the sedate mansion incorporated curved gables, mullioned windows and other motifs of English Renaissance manor houses. (p.86)

Rosetta and Isaac D. Levy (c1920)

Born in London, Isaac Levy's family came to the United States in 1880. After a brief stay in New York, they settled in Chicago, where Isaac got a position as a cash boy for $2 a week in the cloak department of The Fair, a popular retail store. He learned quickly, and by 1891 was a cloak and suit buyer for another large retail establishment. His experience and innovation earned him a transfer from Chicago to New York. It was shortly after this that Levy approached Charles J. Oppenheim of Oppenheim Collins with the idea of opening a retail store. For a business which had formerly catered only to the wholesale trade, this was a major endeavor, but Oppenheim backed Levy's vision and a store on 21st Street and Broadway was quickly replaced by a larger emporium at 35 West 34th Street.


Oppenheim & Collins' 34th St. store, c1955 (Library of Congress)

In 1902, the "prominent young business man of New York" married "one of the belles in Jewish society circles of the city [Boston]." The "strikingly handsome" Miss Rosetta Davis and Isaac Levy were wed in a ceremony which was detailed in the Boston Globe (June 10, 1902, p.8)

Manhattan changed rapidly during the next few years years and 34th Street, which had not been a fashionable shopping area, was developing thanks to the efforts of John Howes Burton (another Branch resident) and the Save New York Committee. The area became second only to Fifth Avenue as a shopping center.

Levy's career took off and their country home was built to accommodate their growing family. The 1915 New York State census lists the Isaac and Rosetta Levy in Cedarhurst with their daughters, Miriam and Kathleen and a son, Robert. Another child, Dorothy, had died. An estate the size of Roselle Manor required a staff of eleven living on the property.

While maintaining their Manhattan apartment, the Levy's summered in Cedarhurst for at least twenty years. But by 1925, they had decided to sell Roselle Manor. A legal dispute arose between the Levys and their agents, resulting in a 1927 compromise in which Roselle Manor was donated to St. Joseph's Hospital in Far Rockaway as a memorial for Dorothy. The house was to be used as a convalescent home for children. It was eventually turned over to five trustees to sell and use the proceeds to build a maternity and children's wing for the hospital. The house was eventually demolished in the 1960s.

After leaving Cedarhurst, the Levys relocated to Deal, New Jersey, where Isaac Levy died in 1934, after a brief illness. Over 700 people attended the funeral of the man the Brooklyn Daily Eagle called "the prince of merchant princes in the realm of ready-to-wear" Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, a close friend, eulogized Mr. Levy as

an outstanding and revealing personality. ...What he believed he said and what he said he believed. He spoke the truth, for he loved the truth and he hated a lie. He loathed anything that was unfair. He rose from obscurity to a place of power and distinction in the world of affairs. His business meant much to him, and he gave unwearyingly [sic] of his time to it, not for his own sake but for the sake of those close to him and for the reputation of his business. - (The New York Times, September 12, 1934, p. 23)

J.J. Schmidt, whose great-grandmother, Annie Turner (Wallace) worked at Roselle Manor, has allowed us to use some images from his collection, which show the mansion in its glory days.

Further Information: (Some links may require HWPL library card login)
"Isaac D. Levy Dies, head of Big Store," The New York Times, September 16, 1934, p. 17.
"Isaac D. Levy, merchant, dies at Home," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 10, 1934, p. 7.
"Suit is Turned into $200,000 Hospital Gift, as Litigants Transfer Estate as Memorial," The New York Times, February 22, 1927, p. 21.
"Levy-Davis: Members of Jewish Society of Boston, New York and Philadelphia unite in Celebrating the Event." Boston Daily Globe, June 10, 1902, p. 8.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Local Street Names

Every village has a main street. Some are actually called Main Street, some Broadway, others are completely different. According to the U.S. Postal Service (MailPro -- November/December 2010), the top five most common street names are Main, Maple, 2nd, Oak, and Park.

Residential builders commonly used names of trees or flowers, states, political figures and even family members as inspiration for the vast number of street names required to create communities. Many of the streets in the Five Towns were named for early residents of the communities which they helped to establish. Here are a few of the street names and their origins:

Albro Lane - The Albro Farm appears on the 1891 Wolverton map between the Rockaway Hunting Club and Woodsburgh. George Albro listed his profession as "Oysterman" in the 1880 census. His son Eugene is listed as an ice man on the 1900 census.
Auerbach Lane - Joseph Auerbach, (1855-1944) attorney for the Hewlett Bay Company and original owner of Seawane, now the clubhouse of the Seawane Club.
Brower Road, Brower's Point Branch - There were so many Browers in the mid-1800's that the area was known as "Brower's Point."
Burton Avenue - Robert L. Burton made his fortune in textiles. In 1901, he purchased the entire village of Woodsburgh from the estate of Samuel Wood and began the development of his planned community of Woodmere. He and his brother, John Howes Burton, were both members of the Rockaway Hunting Club and lived in Cedarhurst (later Lawrence).
Combs Avenue - The Combs Family has a long history in the area. Alexander Combs is a major property owner on the 1906 Belcher-Hyde map of Woodmere.
Conklin Avenue - Joseph Conklin's property is listed on the 1873 and 1891 maps of Woodsburgh.
Everit Avenue - Cousin and financial advisor of Carleton Macy, V. Everit Macy was a philanthropist and President of the Westchester Park Commission. He owned a home in Hewlett Bay Park.
Elinor Road - probably named for Elinor Stewart, wife of John Stewart, a Rockaway Hunting Club member and Hewlett Bay Park resident.
Finucane Place - Matthew Finucan owned the land on the 1873 Beers, Comstock and Cline map of Woodsburgh. Thomas Finucan owned local hotels at the turn-of-the century. He was a colorful character. Contemporary newspaper articles trace his numerous lawsuits and assault bookings.
Frost Lane - The Frost family owned land throughout the Branch. C (Carman) Frost, a bayman, is listed in the 1873 Beers, Comstock and Cline map of Hewletts as owning property on Broadway.
William Gibson lent his own name to the residential area that he started building in 1925. He named a series of streets after well-known liquor brands: Haig Road, Dubonnet Road, Carstairs Road, Gordon Road and Wilson Road.
Harris Avenue - Tracy Hyde Harris (c1864-1933), an attorney, lived in Hewlett Bay Park.
Grant Park - a residential area developed after the Civil War. Features streets named for Civil War Generals: Hancock Street, Slocum Street, Sheridan Avenue.
Hartwell Place - Dr. John D. Hartwell (d.1902) was a respected physician. He owned property next to Trinity Church on Broadway.
Ike Place - C. (Charles) Ike, a Woodsburgh property owner on the 1873 and 1891 maps, was a bayman, as were generations of his descendants.
Johnson Place - Abraham Johnson, a carpenter and his son,Thomas Johnson, had a farm on the site of the current Woodmere Educational Complex. Abraham Johnson helped to build the current Trinity-St. John's Church building. Both are buried in the churchyard.
Keene Lane - James Keene and his son, Foxhall, were stock brokers and members of the Rockaway Hunting Club. Foxhall Keene was an accomplished all-around sportsman.
Lefferts Road - named for Carleton Macy's wife, Helen Lefferts Macy.
Longworth Avenue - The Longworth Family have lived in the community for generations and had large amounts of land around Broadway in Hewlett at the turn of the 20th century. Daniel Longworth donated the land for the site of the first St. Joseph's Church.
Macy Drive - Carleton Macy was the President of the Queens Borough Gas and Electric Company, and later was the President of the Hewlett Bay Company, which developed Hewlett Bay Park. George's Creek (named for George Hewlett) was dredged to create Macy Channel in the hope of creating a direct waterway between Hewlett and Long Beach, deep enough to float large freighters." (Rockaway News, May 1910)
Meadowview Avenue - actually overlooked the meadows owned by the Hewlett family prior to the construction of the Hewlett Bay Company homes.
Neptune Avenue - The 1873 Beers, Comstock and; Cline map of Hewletts shows Neptune Avenue intersecting Broadway at the site of the Neptune Hotel.
Paine Road - led to the estate of Edward Paine, an investment banker and member of the Rockaway Hunting Club.
Porter Place - H. Hobart Porter (1866-1947), mining engineer. His large Tudor-style home, Lauderdale, still stands in Lawrence.
Sage Lane - led to the property of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Sage in back Lawrence.
Stevenson Road - Richard W. Stevenson was an attorney and developer of Hewlett Bay Park, He was a partner of Joseph Auerbach in the purchase of the Hewlett family lands and their transfer to the Hewlett Bay Company.
Veeder Lane - led to the estate of Paul Lansing Veeder (c1885-1942) Yale football star and coach.
Voss Avenue - William Voss, a stockbroker built his home, Merriefield, in Hewlett Bay Park. His sons were real estate brokers. Franklin Voss was also an artist, specializing in equestrian scenes, while his sister, Jessie Voss Lewis, was a portrait painter. The road to the homestead is now called Pleasant Place.
Ward Place -The 1906 Belcher-Hyde map of Woodmere shows Thomas Ward's property bordering the estate of Dr. Hartwell and the property belonging to Trinity Church.
White Lane- The White family made their fortune in recycling the carcasses of dead livestock from the streets of Brooklyn and transporting them to Barren Island for processing. They owned large tracts of property throughout Cedarhurst and Lawrence, but White Lane was the site of the family home.
Wood Lane - Samuel Wood (c1795-1878) grew up on his father's farm in what would become Woodsburgh. He and his brothers were liquor importers; four bachelors who each left their property to their remaining brothers. Samuel, the last remaining brother, used the money to buy up neighboring farms and build two hotels, the Woodsburgh Pavilion and the Neptune Hotel, and to establish the village of Woodsburgh as a resort community.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Cedarhurst at 100!

One hundred years ago, "The Branch" was a resort and entertainment center which attracted vacationers from all over the country. The newly formed Nassau County (est. 1899) provided some services in an area formerly part of Queens County, but some communities wanted local control of their civic development. Lawrence became an incorporated village in 1897 and, maintained it's own police and fire departments for many years. Cedarhurst followed in 1910 and Woodsburgh incorporated in 1912.

In the early years of the 20th century, Cedarhurst consisted of a hotel, three saloons, a blacksmith shop, two butcher shops, a barbershop, a couple of grocery stores, a funeral parlor, an insurance office -- and not much else. Cedarhurst's first major public works project was the paving of Central Avenue.

Developers created neighborhoods of wide, tree-lined streets where they situated homes in naturalistic settings, far from the noise and pollution of New York City.

The Long Island Rail Road, which had already existed for almost 80 years, made comfortable commutation to the City possible in under an hour.

Early Village Officers (Courtesy Nassau County DPRM)

Cedarhurst's first mayor, Horatio P. Vandewater, died after only one year in office. He was replaced by David Weyant. Village Trustees and officers shown above are: (From left to right) front row: Arthur M. Lockhart, Wavid H. Weyant and John McNicoll. second row: William D. Reilly, George W. Craft, Albert T. Moon, Lewis M. Raisig and Fred L. Gilbert.

As it developed, Cedarhurst attracted some of the most fashionable stores in the area and became the commercial center of the Five Towns. Even this 1915 view of Central Avenue at Cedarhurst Avenue shows the boutiques lining the main business intersection of town. By 1941, 200 stores were located in the business district's one-square-mile area.

Five Towns Local History