~ South Harbor Road where the EMERSON FARM is located. ~
By Danny McCarthy
Wednesday, November 6th {2019!}, JAY DEMPSEY e-mailed me: “We did not make it to Plymouth but had a great five days in Concord. Photo is the Emerson descendant {HAVEN EMERSON} that died in Southold and is interned in the family plot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. They lived at Frank Arnold’s former home. Will send photo separately.” -
Whenever they are “in the mood- it is so appreciated being assisted by folks - like Jay & Jean Dempsey. They keep the tradition going-on for me to-be-able-to-maintain gathering information and then composing in my own creative and much-appreciated style. - And you know what too? ~ I am so definitely proud to be “WRITE-HERE” again with you and, yes, and for you!
This was originally “post”-ed on-board my linkedin account June 7, 2019 & I was so thrilled to have made sure to add-in information re: Frank & Diane Arnold.
South Harbor Road is a two-lane road that leads from Main Road to the bay area. It is sparsely built up with open fields and woods. On the west side of South Harbor Road is the John Howell Farm. John Howell was born in 1801, the son of John Howell and Mary Halsey. He was a descendant of Edward and Eleanor Howell of Southampton who came to Southold from Mastic in 1827, the same year he bought his farm. His wife was Wading River resident Eliza Miller whose ancestor was a first settler of Miller Place. The Howell Farm had been held in the family for almost 135 years.
There is a double Cape Cod farmhouse on the property that stood first at the edge of the land and was later moved to the rear. It is a five-bay, 1-? story gable . According to Southold Town Landmarks Preservation Committee member Joy , the Southold Historical Society placed a marker on the double Cape Cod in 1960 that read “John Howell House, 1827.” She says John Howell bought his farm with the house already on it in 1827. Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (SPLIA) documents that the house was old when John Howell purchased it. The house dates back to 1817 and maybe even earlier. It might have originated with “Glovers, Hutchinsons, Cases, Goldsmiths, Richmonds, Overtons, Salmons or others.”
The John Howell House was moved twice, the first time being in 1895. On July 31, 1984, an inspection was done on the house by Louis Black of Greenport’s Studio Galleries. Louis Black too was a member of the Southold Town Landmarks Preservation Committee. He strongly felt that the owner “should be given leeway to preserve the house to maintain its character and integrity.”?In 1984 owner Bob Pettit had the house moved for the second time. The house was probably the least altered of any house in Southold until that 1984 move. An original truth window is still a part of the upstairs wall landing. Other notable features include the fact that the entire interior frame is mortised and tenoned, having joints secured with wood pegs. Hand-wrought hardware includes three Norfolk latches on the upstairs doors. Hand-made moldings and hand-planed wall panels are also found inside.
On the Howell Farm is an early 1800s barn joined by an 1895 barn at the right side. The property is where early farm buildings were kept which helped to preserve the once typical farm life on the North Fork. The property includes an “L” arrangement of the barns. This formed a cow yard that had a southern exposure and truly was a typical farm of the early 19th Century. A carriage-shed garage was rebuilt. These two did not change the basic form of the farm lot or its functions.
Miss Lillian Howell continued in residence at the house and a later resident was George Wells.
Miss Lillian Miller Howell was a lifetime resident of Southold. She was born on August 14, 1871, the daughter of George and Mary Goldsmith Howell. Of all of her interests one of the strongest was the preserving of the history and traditions of Southold.
August 1933 was a date to save for an exhibit of rare early quilts and early textiles that was held at the Howell Farm. The old and new quilts were owned on the East End of Long Island and most of them were shown for the first time. Admission was 50 cents and included refreshments and was to benefit the Ladies’ of the First Church of Southold.
The Howell House had been turned into a most adequate temporary museum for this exhibition as quilts filled the from top to bottom, over walls, on tables, on chairs, on beds. Each room overflowed with that haunting aroma of their historic beauty. Spread comfortably and almost majestically over the quaint old beds, one after the other, they could be turned back and shown reverently and gently. The Friendship quilts which caused many memories were there; the Philadelphia Pavement; those with patterns of oak and of locust; beautifully woven heavy, white cotton, dimity spreads of 150 years ago, all these appeared with many, many others. Here and there about the corners, tables, mantels, articles other than quilts had crept in as though to say “We belong here, too.” A corner of reminiscence was where a lady sat packing and unpacking a little old trunk of real treasures, caps, rarely stitched sleeves, pieces of linens, embroidered handkerchiefs, tiny shirts, waists, skirts, showing women as a smaller size than now. Bombazines, chintzes lay across tables, a beautifully conditioned horse-hair trunk held attention upstairs. Also upstairs a room was adorned with modern quilts while outside of the under the trees several ladies sat chatting and quilting. This showed that the ancestral influence of quilting is not a thing of the past; it is an inspiration for the present generation.
Miss Lillian Howell described some of her items that were going to be on display in the Southold Town Antique Exhibition in September 1936 that was held at the Mattituck High School auditorium in the August 27, 1936 Traveler. There was a doll on display, “three inches tall that belonged to Mrs. Carrie Corey Morton.” The doll was gowned in ancestral dress. Miss Howell said she had “a picturesque doll’s carriage with two large wheels and a little wheel, an old dollhouse, a leather-headed doll born in Cambridge, and dolls of all descriptions, and many dolls and toys dating back 100 years at least.”
The Town of Southold gave an exhibition of antiques in Mattituck as its contribution to the Tercentenary festivities. It was reported that there was a terrific amount of treasures to look at. In July of 1939 another exhibition was organized with the part showing old glass and silver of which some included those that were in the previous exhibition but in addition many were not previously in a public showing. Fine examples of the craftsmanship of local silversmiths included Whitney, Coleman, Pelletreau and Sayre. A promised exhibit included the famous John Stark silver service. New York and Connecticut that worked prior to the Revolution were represented by articles produced by Simeon Soumaine, Thomas Milner, Samuel Bartlett, and Joseph Smith. Miss Lillian Howell gave the use of her for this exhibition that was for the benefit of the YWCA.
In the summer of 1942, Mary Wells and Lillian Howell organized a list of octogenarians in Southold and Peconic that included Mrs. Louise Booth who was 89, Miss Mattie Wells and Miss Ida Wells were 87, Nathan Davis (and a Mrs. Davis of Orient) were 84, Mrs. Minnie Smith, Mrs. Thomas Phillips, Mrs. Bessie Clark and Frank Wells were 83, Mrs. Harry Fitz, Mrs. Katherine Wells, and Joseph N. Hallock (who died October 1, 1942) was 81.
In June of 1944, an annual garden party was held at the home of Mrs. William Rich. Guests strolled about the beautiful lawn. Indoors in the sun porch the goodly company inspected a splendid display that consisted of flowers commonly seen in Southold gardens at that season of the year. Roses and other fine specimens of other beautiful blooms were admired. According to a June 22, 1944 Traveler article, the outstanding exhibit was one brought by Miss Lillian Howell. “In a unique and clever arrangement the lowly potato blossom shone forth and had ribbons been awarded it would easily have won first place.”
领英推荐
August 12, 1944 was the date set for Southold’s Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Coming of the Long Island Rail Road. The program was held in Southold’s Community Hall (a.k.a. Belmont Hall) and included old-time songs that were sung by Southold residents who were dressed in costumes of 1844. An historical sketch by Louise Fitz Howell was included titled The Coming of the Rail Road as well as an historical exhibit. The historical exhibit was chaired by Miss Lillian Howell and included material such as letters of the railroad of the 1840s, books, records, and other railroad-related items.
The Association of Towns is the coming together of the officers and representatives of all of the townships in New York State for meetings and conferences on every facet of town government and activity. Governor Nelson Rockefeller was the brainchild for this idea. Ann Hallock Currie-Bell was honored February 8, 1960 when she appeared before the Association of Towns. There were over 100 historians at this meeting in the Hotel Biltmore and one of them happened to be Southold's ANN HALLOCK CURRIE-BELL.
When historian and author Ella Boldry Hallock (Mrs. Joseph N. Hallock) died suddenly at her home in August 1934, Miss Lillian Howell wrote a tribute to her friend as a letter to the editor of the Traveler, Mr. Russell Davison. Miss Howell says: “During the past century two persons most of us would agree have been outstanding in fostering and promoting our village life. In 1851 the Rev. Dr. Epher Whitaker came and worked without ceasing that Southold should know its rich heritage and build its rich heritage and should build worthily its future and then, after the years, as his physical strength began to fail, came Mrs. Hallock to carry on with unflagging spirit the same high endeavors. Over and over your paper has been their best means of helping us to see and understand their leadership.”
Southold Historical Society together with Ora Martin presented A Pageant of Historical Costumes 1640-1965?July 1965 at the Southold General Wayne Inn. Historic costumes and accessories were loaned by Miss Lillian Howell, Miss Elizabeth Elmer, Mr. George Wells, Miss Ora Martin, Mrs. Carroll Newell, Mrs. Frederick Newell, Mrs. Stanton Mott, Mrs. William Woodward, and Mrs. E.F. Baumgartner.
Miss Lillian Howell passed away on September 4, 1971 at the Riverhead Nursing Home at the age of 98. Several nieces and nephews of three generations survived her. Graveside funeral services were held at Willow Hill Cemetery in Southold on September 7, 1971 with the Reverend Alexander Sime officiating.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99820176/lillian-moore-howell
Joey Mac Lellan explained in a December 31, 1986?Newsday?article that originally George Wells was selling some farm land from?the?estate of his aunt, Miss Lillian Howell. She requested that her 'estate be used to help benefit Southold Town where she was born and raised.' We are reminded in?the?January 7, 1987?Peconic Bay Shopper?that?the?Southold Main Road Village Green was acquired by?the?Peconic Land Trust with contributions from?the?estate of Miss Lillian Howell of Southold.
George Wells, the well-known Southold maker of custom hooked rugs, retained a bungalow by the bay in Southold and had a studio “up-island” in Glen Head. “He’s a true Santa Claus,” as former town Councilman Paul Stoutenburgh said in the December 25, 1986 Suffolk Times. George Wells donated 22 acres of land to Hallockville in Riverhead and $200,000 to create the Southold Village Green. The article goes on to say that “In 1971, he gave the roughly 10-acre Howell Meadow off Goose Creek in Southold to the Nature Conservancy.” He bought an adjoining parcel for $25,000 for a right-of-way and also donated it to the Nature Conservancy.
Below is a findagrave.com link carrying an entry re: Haven Emerson! ~ that I located: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8008275/haven-emerson
If you don't know - In 1905 - John Howell had the first Southold car. It was an OLDSMOBILE. You know me there is a story in that: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/automobiles-merrily-do-roll-along-ought-tribute-dan-mccarthy/
"Write"-below is a link carrying the information about JAY DEMPSEY's genealogical-connection to WILLIAM BRADFORD of the Pilgrim era:
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/family-connection-up-dated-dan-mccarthy/
- I resigned from the S.H.S. in November 2017 but re-instated my S.H.S membership 2018.
However, I am so pleased that the Newsletters are online, and available to the public. NOW?it SEEMS?ALL?of earlier? Southold Historical Society Newsletters?were PERMASNENTLY?DELETED. Aha! I WAS?able to locate this where?my?ARCHIVES column?is about the South Harbor Road Emerson Farm! {within the Summer 2013 S.H.S. newsletter}: