Category Archives: Gravesend characters

January 15, 2015 · 12:01 am

Gravesend Characters Past: Ebenezer Waters, D.V.S. (1834-1908)

Continuing the challenge posed by my fellow members of the Society for One-Place Studies that we blog about 52 residents of our respective places in as many weeks, here is a profile of Gravesend veterinarian Ebenezer Waters transcribed from Peter Ross, A History of Long Island From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, vol. 3 (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1902), 324-325:

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Ebenezer Waters (1834-1908)

Ebenezer Waters is a veteran veterinarian of Brooklyn and is one of the native residents of Long Island, his birth having occurred in Gravesend, Kings county, on the 2d of September, 1834. His parents were Dr. Robert and Doellinor (Lancaster) Waters, natives of London, England. The father, who was a veterinary surgeon of his native country, came to America in 1828, located at Flatlands, where he remained for two years. In 1830 he removed to Gravesend and twenty years later to New Utrecht, where he died in 1862, at the age of fifty-six years. His widow died in 1891, at the age of eighty-four years, and her mother was ninety-eight years and eleven months old at the time of her demise. In their family were nine children.

The father owned a farm of sixty acres, on what is known as Dyker Heights, and there his sons as young men were employed, but the Doctor’s time was chiefly given to assisting his father in the practice of veterinary surgery. He became his successor in business and for some time was the only veterinarian between Fort Hamilton and Jamaica. In 1871 he purchased a stable at No. 113 Ashland Place, where he has since conducted his veterinary hospital.

In 1855 Dr. Waters was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Van Pelt of New Utrecht. By this union there were two children, who died in infancy, and the mother died in 1861. In 1864 the Doctor wedded Miss Jane Maria Van Sicklin [sic], of Coney Island, who died in 1869. They had three children, the two eldest being twins, one of whom died at the age of eight and the other at fourteen months. The surviving child is Roberta L. The Doctor was married a third time, in 1871, when Miss Mary Elizabeth Bennett, of New Utrecht, became his wife. She was a descendant of an old Long Island family, and died in September, 1896. The Doctor holds membership relations with Fortitude Lodge No. 19, F. & A. M. [Free & Accepted Masons]; Nassau Chapter, No. 109, R. A. M. [Royal Arch Masons]; and Clinton Commandery, No. 14, K. T. [Knights Templar]. He was formerly a member of the Prospect Driving Club and the Atlantic Yacht Club. In politics he has always been a stanch [sic] supporter of Democracy.

Copyright © 2015 by Joseph Ditta (webmaster@gravesendgazette.com)

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January 8, 2015 · 12:01 am

Gravesend Characters Past: Gilbert Hicks (1832-1903)

Continuing the challenge posed by my fellow members of the Society for One-Place Studies that we blog about 52 residents of our respective places in as many weeks, here is a profile of Gilbert Hicks, one of Gravesend’s early postmasters, from Peter Ross, LL. D., A History of Long Island From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, vol. 2 (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1902), 142:

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Gilbert Hicks (1832-1903). Portrait accompanying his obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Monday 9 March 1903, p. 3, col. 4.

Gilbert Hicks, of Flatbush, was born at Norton’s Point, Coney Island, on the 6th of March, 1832, in the only house located on the island at that time. He represents a family that has long been widely known in this section of the Empire state. One of its representatives was Elias Hicks, a noted divine. Thomas Hicks, the father of our subject, was born at Newtown, Long Island, and was a son of GIlbert Hicks, Sr. The former came to Coney Island about 1828 and served as commissioner of common lands of Gravesend. He was a deacon and leader in the Dutch Refomed church at that place and was a leading and influential citizen whose active connection with public affairs proved of great benefit to the community. He married Cornelia Van Sicklen, a daughter of Abraham Van Sicklen, one of the early settlers of Gravesend. His death occurred in 1890. Four of his nine children still survive him, namely: Gilbert; Annie; Mary, widow of Abraham Voorhies, of Flatbush; and John B., who is also living in Flatbush.

Gilbert Hicks attended the local schools in Gravesend and entered upon his business career as a clerk in a store on Staten Island. He afterward occupied a similar position in Gravesend and later was appointed storekeeper at the county building, entering upon the duties of that position in 1857. He served in that capacity for thirty years, a fact which indicates his fidelity and trustworthiness.

Mr. Hicks was united in marriage to Miss Emma Abrahams, of Linnbrook [Lynbrook?], Long Island, a daughter of Zachariah Abrahams. Their marriage was blessed with four children, of whom three are now living, as follows: Nettie L., wife of Arthur Hatch, of Flatbush; Fannie, wife of Lewis Vernal, of Brooklyn; and Adelaide. In 1857 Mr. Hicks took up his residence in Flatbush and has been a promoter of many of its interests that have proved of public benefit. He is a Democrat in politics, and at one time was quite active in the work of the party. For many years he has been a Mason and has long served as an elder and deacon in the Dutch Reformed church at Flatbush, of which he is an esteemed and valued member.

Letter from Gilbert Hicks to Elias Hicks, postmarked Gravesend, 2 August 1855 (Collection of Joseph Ditta)

Letter from Gilbert Hicks, as postmaster of Gravesend, to his uncle, Elias Hicks, postmarked, 2 August 1855. (Collection of Joseph Ditta)

Copyright © 2015 by Joseph Ditta (webmaster@gravesendgazette.com)

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January 1, 2015 · 1:00 am

Gravesend Characters Past: Abraham Emmens Stillwell (1832-1905)

Happy New Year! In response to a challenge posed by my fellow members of the Society for One-Place Studies that we blog about 52 residents of our respective places in as many weeks, I will attempt to profile some of Gravesend’s many historical “characters” by posting images and biographical excerpts here. While they might seem old hat to me, they just might be new to Gravesend’s voracious reading public. Whether or not I manage to put up something new each week remains to be seen, but consider this a start.

The Eagle and Brooklyn: The Record of the Progress of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Issued in Commemoration of its Semi-Centennial and Occupancy of its New Building; Together With the History of the City of Brooklyn From its Settlement to the Present Time, edited by Henry W. B. Howard (Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1893), vol. 2,1147-1148:

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Abraham Emmens Stillwell (1832-1905)

The Stillwell family is an honored one in Gravesend, where some of its members have resided ever since the first settlement of the town; and all of them in some manner or other, have been identified with the progress and well-being of the place. ABRAHAM EMMENS STILLWELL is a lineal descendant, on his father’s side, of Nicholas Stillwell, an Englishman who came from Hull, by way of Leyden, somewhere about the year 1638, and settled on Manhattan Island. He remained there for some years; but finally removed to Staten Island, where he died in 1671. Mr. Stillwell’s mother was an Emmens, her grandfather being a Dutch preacher named Schoonmaker. Abraham E. Stillwell was born in Gravesend, on August 22, 1832, and attended the public school in his native village until he reached the age of fourteen years. Subsequently he was a pupil for three years at Flatbush Hall Academy. Leaving school, he made an attempt to make a living by teaching in Boston, Mass., but soon returned to Gravesend and worked for a few years on his father’s farm. With the exception of a brief interval, he attended strictly to the pursuit of agriculture until 1864. In that year he started in the second-hand and commission business on Grand street, Brooklyn, and subsequently engaged in the second-hand lumber business, on Thirty-eighth street, New York. This venture did not prove successful and once more he returned to Gravesend. he was appointed sexton of the town graveyard, and incidentally with his duties united the business of an undertaker. In 1860 he built the house where he now resides. Mr. Stillwell has been twice married, first in 1859 and again in 1887. The present Mrs. Stillwell occupies a prominent position in Gravesend society. For twenty-five years or more Mr. Stillwell has been a member of Franklin Lodge of Odd Fellows, an he also belongs to the Sheepshead Bay fire department and the John Y. McKane Association; he is now a Democrat, though formerly prominent in Republican circles.

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Billhead for A.E. Stillwell, General Furnishing Undertaker, Gravesend, L.I., 1887. {Collection of Joseph Ditta.}

Copyright © 2015 by Joseph Ditta (webmaster@gravesendgazette.com)

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