Southold Supervisor David W. Tuthill - Making a Super Issue
By Danny McCarthy
The October 13, 1916 The County Review was “taking precedent!”: “John Hoffman is president of a Wilson-Marshall Campaign Club organized at Greenport a few days ago; {this Club featured} vice presidents, Supervisor David W. Tuthill, H. Seymour Case; secretary, Leo Sandman; treasurer, H. Everett Young. The club has raised a banner across Main street.” {1912 United States President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall who were both Democrats, served two terms from 1913 to 1921.}
“Out of Estate, Out of Mind!”
The December 15, 1916 The County Review had something: “Estate George F. Tuthill, Greenport, gross value, $16,868.36; net, $15,882.90; tax, $5.88. The net estate is equally between testator’s children, Supervisor David W. Tuthill, former Supervisor G. Frank Tuthill and Anna L. Phillips.”
The May 31, 1918 The County Review gave out the news: “The prospects appear quite bright at present for all of the towns in the county {Suffolk County, N.Y.} to receive the full amount of road oil ordered last winter for this spring and the shipment of which was prohibited by an order of the Federal Government. At the meeting of the Board of Supervisors this week a resolution presented by Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold town{,} was unanimously adopted requesting the State Highway Commission to urge the United States Fuel Administration to grant permission to the companies which the oil was bought to make deliveries at once.” {Record shows that Southold used 250,000 gallons of oil in 1917. Southold had already requested 118,000 gallons of oil for 1918, and received 32,000 gallons of oil (!) by May 31, 1918.}
The January 24, 1919 The County Review featured this: “Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Greenport, is prominently mentioned by some of the Democratic leaders for the appointment of Superintendent of Marine Fisheries. Mr. Tuthill is well qualified for the position, having for several years taken an active interest in Salt Water Fisheries. His appointment would be pleasing to the fishing interests of the county generally.”
The December 19, 1919 The County Review borrowed a Suffolk Times, Greenport entry: Supervisor David W. Tuthill joined some official gentlemen on a trip to New London “in reference to winter boat service between Sag Harbor, Shelter Island, Greenport and New London.” There was no final answer except that “New London officials propose to use every effort in their power to have the service continued and are going to take the matter up with {a} steamboat company.”
The April 29, 1921 The County Review “caught on to this fact”: “Supervisor David W. Tuthill and Reuben M. Arnold, who visited Albany with a petition signed by nearly 700 men from the East End, protesting against the taking of seed scallops from Great and Little Peconic bays and transferring them to Great South bay, were met with decided success.” “Supervisor Tuthill and Mr. Arnold {were told}that no seed scallops would be allowed to be removed from the local bays.”
The September 28, 1923 The County Review shared: “Capt. Arthur Halsey, of Greenport, president of the Shelter Island Oyster Co., is being prominently mentioned for Republican nomination for Supervisor of Southold town. There is no opposition among the Democrats to the renomination of Supervisor David W. Tuthill. The Southold Republican town convention will be held in Belmont Hall on Monday, Oct 1, at 2 o’clock. The democrats will hold their town convention in the same hall on Saturday afternoon.”
The November 9, 1923 The Long-Islander announced that at that time, one of the members of the Suffolk County Board of Child Welfare was Supervisor, David W. Tuthill, of Southold.
The October 5, 1923 The East Hampton Star listed the fact that: “Justice of the Peace Claude Neville, Supervisor of Southold David W. Tuthill, and former Deputy Court Clerk S. Lester Albertson of Southold, have been appointed commissioners to decide the necessity of laying out a public highway from old bridge location at Scallop pond across Cow Neck to Peconic Bay. {The property discussed here is in Southampton.}
The June 20, 1924 The County Review said this: “At the meeting of the Board of Supervisors {at Yaphank}, on Thursday of last week{,} a resolution was unanimously adopted requesting the State Highway Commission to place {a} Mattituck-Greenport highway on the list of roads to be constructed nest. The resolution was offered by Southold Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold Town{,} and seconded by Supervisor Charles H. Smith, of Shelter Island.”
The August 29, 1924 The County Review made it clear {in a way}, that: “Supervisor Robbins stated that residents of Babylon Town had complained that the use of nets in the Fire Island inlet was injuring the fishing industry in Great South Bay and he sought the information as to whether there was any law against net fishing in the inlet. Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold, and Supervisor Frank Rogers, of Islip, both well versed in the salt water fisheries laws, were at the opinion that it was a violation to use nets there. The matter will be taken up with the State Conservation Commission.”
The February 26, 1925 The County Review mentioned this: “On motion of Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold town, a resolution was adopted opposing raising the level of the roadbed for the Riverhead-Mattituck Federal Aid highway at the railroad crossing between Laurel and Mattituck. Supervisor Tuthill and County Engineer A. O. Smith were made a committee to go to Albany and take up the matter with the State Highway Commission.”
The East Hampton Star dated May 8, 1925 carried this announcement: “Captain David W. Tuthill, supervisor of Southold town, has purchased the gas filling business from the estate of his late brother G. Frank Tuthill. Until two years ago{,} Captain ‘Dave’ conducted a big trap fishing business on Montauk. He will now devote his full time to the gas business and his duties as supervisor. His office is at the foot of First Street, Greenport.”
The May 28, 1925 The County Review declared {at a Board of Supervisors of Suffolk County meeting} that “Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold, stated in his town{,} the dairymen were anxious to have the State test all of the cows in the township, but that the farmers and persons owning only one cow are opposed to having the cows tested, for the reason if they are found to be tubercular they have to be killed and they don’t want to take any chances on losing their cows, especially when difficulty is experiencing in obtaining adequate reimbursement from the State. Ninety per cent, of the owners of cows must sign a petition before the State will order the test made. ~ The Supervisors decided to wait and see how the plan works out in Southold.”
“You Say You Want a Resolution!”
The July 22, 1925 The County Review pointed out that “on motion of David W. Tuthill, of Southold town,” {at a Board of Supervisors of Suffolk county meeting, a resolution was adopted} “appropriating the county’s share of the cost of the Mattituck-Greenport sections, the estimates of which are $763,100.”
{At that same July 1925 Board of Supervisor of Suffolk County meeting, the July 22, 1925 issue has it that: “The Supervisors also gave their consent to the establishment of a fire district at East Marion, that resolution being offered by Supervisor David W. Tuthill.”}
The September 24, 1925 The County Review had some “super news!”: “There will be no opposition in the renomination of Supervisor David W. Tuthill of Southold Town, at the Democratic town primary to be held in Southold village this coming Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock. The Republican Town convention will be held next Monday at the same hour. No candidacy has been publicly announced for the G. O. P. nomination for Supervisor.”
At a meeting of the{Suffolk} County Board of Supervisors, “Supervisor Benjamin H. Halsey, of Southampton, was reappointed chairman of the important committee on contracts and supplies {for the County Board of Supervisors}, the other members being Supervisor David W. Tuthill, of Southold, and {a}Supervisor Warta.” ~ Supervisor Tuthill was also appointed to the Finance and Taxation committee for the {Suffolk} County Board of Supervisors. ~ This was in the January 7, 1926 The County Review.
“Supervisor David W. Tuthill, familiarly known about Greenport as ‘Captain Dave,’ is one of the busiest men in the community{;} not only {does} he have his own business to attend to at his gasoline station on the water front, but he also has the town business on his mind, and it is no wonder that he sometimes gets a little forgetful as he did last Friday afternoon, when he forgot to put on his brake and his car nearly rolled off the bulkhead into the water with ‘Captain Dave’ in the driver’s seat.” ~ This was in the July 16, 1926 The East Hampton Star.
The June 2, 1927 The County Review “shed a little light on a subject {!}. That edition said: “Nearly every small village in Suffolk will soon have a fire department of its own. This week the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution creating a fire district in Yaphank. A petition was also presented to Supervisor David W. Tuthill of Southold Town, that one be established in Cutchogue. The petition was signed by persons owning more than 51 per cent of the taxable property in the proposed district. Supervisor Tuthill was designated to represent the Board of Supervisors at a public hearing on the petition, which will be held in Dr. Peterson’s brick store at Cutchogue on June 15, at 2 p.m.”
The August 26, 1927 The Suffolk County News carried this: “At a meeting of the People’s National Bank of Greenport held last week{,} Supervisor David W. Tuthill who has been connected with the institution as director and also as Vice President for a number of years, was elected President in place of Samuel P. Hedges, who died several weeks ago.”
The March 19 1936 The County Review image seen on the Suffolk Historic Newspapers website that features keywords Supervisor David W Tuthill has a crease where there is an entry about David W. Tuthill. I composed what I was able to read: “Supervisor David W. Tuthill of Southold on Tuesday proposed {to} the county board a new law which would prohibit the taking of undersized or ‘bug’ escallops from {the} waters of Peconic Bay. The proposed bill was approved by {the] board and will be introduced in {the} State Legislature.
According to the received Suffolk Times obituary from the Mattituck-Laurel Library, David W. {Webb} Tuthill died on November 12, 1944.: “In April 1915 he was elected Supervisor of the Town of Southold on the Democratic ticket which position he filled with great honor and efficiency until January 1928.”
The obituary continues: “In 1927 Captain Tuthill was elected President of the Peoples {stet} National Bank of Greenport which position he held at the time of his death. For over twenty years he was proprietor of the Tuthill Socony Marine Filling Station at Greenport. Active in Fraternal Circles, Captain Tuthill was a member of Greenport Lodge, I.O.O.F. and of Empire Council, Jr. O. U.A. M., Patchogue Lodge of Elks and the Greenport Exempt Firemen’s Association.”
“Funeral services were held at the S.B. Horton Funeral Home on Wednesday, November 15, Rev. Floyd G. Ellis, pastor of the Greenport Baptist Church, officiating. Interment was in the Tuthill family plot in Greenhill cemetery.”
Where There’s a Will, There is a Way!
The December 8, 1944 The Suffolk County News carried the Daniel W. Tuthill will.: “The will of former Southold Town Supervisor David W. Tuthill of Greenport, filed this week for probate in Surrogate’s Court at Riverhead, disposes of an estate formally valued at $5,000 in personal and $5,000 in real property. Mr. Tuthill, who was president of the Peoples National Bank of Greenport and owner of the Socony marine dock in that village, died on November 12th.
The testament, executed on February 26th, 1920, bequeathed five shares of Peoples National Bank stock to Una T. Swertfager, daughter, and gave the residuary estate to his wife, Zora Y. Tuthill.”