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By Arthur Mattson
Lynbrook Village
Historian
January 27, 1998
Copyright protected
The names of many of Lynbrook’s -- and Long Island’s -- best
known families, the Doxeys, Smiths, Abrams, Riders,
Pearsalls, Driscolls, Hewletts,
Underhills and Lyons, are intertwined with the
history of the house at 71 Union Avenue. Many of Lynbrook’s streets are
named after the families of 71 Union’s
owners. The house was also home to two genuine Long
Island heroes, one a war hero, the other a more
gentle hero. They were David Driscoll, one of the Civil War’s
most honored soldiers, and Alma Kurtz Underhill, a widow, who 100 years later
fought to save the historic house at 71 Union, Lynbrook's most historic
house, from demolition.
Smith Doxey (as in Doxey
Place and Doxey Brook, Lynbrook)
Owned house from (?) to February 7, 1850 .
Smith Doxey sold the "land and premises" to Epenelus (Apenelus) Smith.
Apenelus Smith and Mana Smith (as
in Smith Street,
Lynbrook)
Owned house from February 7, 1850 to July 29, 1851
It is not yet known when Apenelus Smith and his
wife Mana Smith acquired the house and land at 71 Union Avenue.
The title search shows the date they sold it, July 20, 1851. At the time of
the sale the Five Corners of today’s Lynbrook
was named Pearsall’s Corners and Union Avenue was just a dusty farm road
not yet named on the maps. Even then the Smith family was one of Long Island’s oldest families. Apenelus Smith may be connected to the namer of Smithtown. At
any rate, Smith Street
in Lynbrook is named after this family. On
July 20, 1851 the Smiths conveyed the premises and 2 acres to Stephen Rider
and Elizabeth Rider. [Source: Queens County Records, H. Walling Map of 1859,
in Lynbrook Public Library]
Stephen Rider (as in Rider
Avenue, Lynbrook)
Owned house from July 20, 1851 to his death
Little is known as yet about the Stephen Rider. Lynbrook’s
Rider Avenue
is named after this family. Rider bought the house at 71 Union
on July 20, 1851. He later married Elizabeth Abrams. After Rider’s
death, some time before 1868, Elizabeth
became sole owner of the house. She later remarried.
[Source: Queens County Records.] [Confirming source: H. Walling Map of
1859, in Lynbrook Public Library]
Elizabeth Rider Pearsall, nee Abrams (as in Pearsall's Corners,
Lynbrook's former name; as in Pearsall
Avenue, Lynbrook; as in Abrams Place, Lynbrook)
Sold house on July 5, 1872
Elizabeth Rider Pearsall was born Elizabeth Abrams. The Abrams family is
one of Lynbrook's oldest and most numerous. Lynbrook’s Abrams Place is named after this
family. Elizabeth
lived all her life in Pearsalls. After her first husband Stephen Rider died, Elizabeth became sole
owner of the house. She later married Uriah Pearsall, a widower.
[Sources: 1) Queens County Records 2) Genealogy of the Pearsall Family by
Clarence Pearsalls, 1927.]
Uriah Pearsall and Elizabeth Rider Pearsall (as in Pearsall's Corners,
Lynbrook's former name; as in Pearsall
Avenue, Lynbrook)
Owned house 1868 to July 5, 1872
Uriah Pearsall was the second husband of Elizabeth Rider, widow of Stephen
Rider. Uriah Pearsall and Elizabeth were married on Oct. 24, 1868. This was
Uriah’s third marriage. Uriah, who was born in 1810, was a direct
descendant of Henry Pearsall, a founder of Hempstead
in 1640. He was also a cousin of Wright Pearsall, the founder of Pearsall's
Corners, the early name for Lynbrook from
about 1845 to 1894. Throughout the 19th Century and well into the 20th the
Pearsalls were the most influential family in the village. Lynbrook’s
Pearsall Avenue
is named after this family. The Pearsall name was also applied to the Lynbrook’s Pearsall Brigade, one of the
country’s only private militias. Another such militia was the Rough
Riders of Long Island’s own Teddy Roosevelt. Uriah Pearsall died on
June 17, 1878, after ten years of marriage to Elizabeth,
and six years after they sold the house on 71 Union.
He is buried in the Old
Sand Hole
Cemetery.
On July 5, 1872, four years after her marriage to Uriah Pearsall,
Elizabeth Rider Pearsall sold the house to David Driscoll, a Civil War hero,
who had returned home to Pearsall’s Corners.
[Sources: 1) Genealogy of the Pearsall Family by Clarence Pearsalls, 1927.
2) Queens County Records 3) Mattson, Arthur, "How Lynbrook Got Its
Names" Lynbrook Public Library.]
David Driscoll (One of Long Island's
most distinguished war heroes)
Owned house from July 5, 1872 to May 12, 1891
David Driscoll was born in 1841, the son of Capt. John
Driscoll, an Irish immigrant, and Mary Driscoll, both of
Pearsall’s Corners. He is one of Long Island’s
greatest war heroes. In 1861, the year the Civil War broke out, Driscoll was
a 20 year-old, living with his parents at 105 Smith Street, in Pearsall's
Corners. On October 21, 1861, Driscoll enlisted in the Union Army, and was
assigned to Wheeler's 13th Individual Battery, NY Light Artillery. Driscoll,
afraid to tell his parents that he had enlisted, hid his newly issued uniform
in the barn.
Most soldiers in the Civil War left the service as soon as they could,
generally after a one-year stint. Some even paid others to fight in their
place. Driscoll fought for four years, seeing many of the War's worst battles
from Virginia and Pennsylvania
to Tennessee and Georgia. He fought at Fredricksburg, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (where his artillery unit defended the Union
line against Pickett's Charge, suffering 10% casualties), Lookout Mountain,
Mission Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain,
and Murpheesboro. Driscoll rose to gunnery
sergeant. He was discharged on July 18, 1865, shortly after the last fighting
stopped. Driscoll was awarded many medals for his military achievements,
one of those medals was awarded by President Abraham Lincoln. That medal is
in the possession of a Lynbrook resident.
In 1872, four years after his army discharge, David Driscoll bought the
house at 71 Union using the money he had
sent home to Mary during the war. At the time, the house sat on two acres of
land. He lived there with his wife for over twenty years, finally returning
to his parents home, at 105 Smith Street, where he died. That
house is now gone. Although all the earlier residents of 71 Union had
Lynbrook streets named after their families, oddly, there is no Driscoll Street
in Lynbrook. With the destruction of the
Driscoll-Pearsall-Underhill House at 71 Union, the Driscoll name will
disappear from memory in Lynbrook.
[Sources: 1) Brooklyn Eagle, "David
Driscoll, Vet of Civil War, Dies", November 8, (?). 2) Queens County
Records, title search by LHPS. 3) Interview 11/5/96 with Driscoll descendant
(who wishes to remain anonymous). 4) Richard Rollins' Pickett's Charge, info
available @ http://www.arthes.com/gdg/picket.html 5) Also SUNY Morrisville
College Library, "N.Y. at Gettysburg,
pg. 108, "Numbers and Losses" @
http://www.snymor.edu/pages/library/local_history/sites/gburg/losses.html
John Lyon, as Referee (as in Lyon
Place, Lynbrook)
and Lewis L. Fosdeck. as Executor of the Last Will
and Testament of Abraham Hewlett (as in Hewlett, Lynbrook's
neighboring village)
Owned house from May 12, 1891 to April 3, 1893
It is not yet known why there was a referee/receiver’s sale of David
Driscoll’s property. Nor is it known why the estate of Abraham Hewlett
purchased the property and held it for less than two years.
[Source: Queens County Records]
William Jonas Hall and Lizzie M. Hall, his Wife
Owned house from April 3, 1893 to December 6, 1902
Nothing is yet know about the Halls.
[Source: Queens County Records]
George L. Kurtz and Alma
Kurtz Underhill,
his Daughter
Owned house from December 6, 1902 to 1995
George Kurtz , a German immigrant, purchased the
house in 1902 for $3,350. George and his wife raised four children in the
house at 71 Union. Alma (Kurtz) Underhill,
the Kurtz’ married daughter moved back into the house after George
Kurtz died, ca. 1940. In 1969, Alma was a
widow, still living at 71 Union. That year Lynbrook School District 20 began condemnation
proceedings in order to acquire the entire 71 Union property. The plan was to
demolish the house in order to enlarge the ball field south of Lynbrook High School. Alma began a ferocious, one woman campaign
to save her house. She spoke up at School Board and Village Board meetings to
make her case known. She wrote letters to newspaper editors and to State and
local officials. Newsday wrote about her campaign to save the house. Finally,
the District agreed to modify their plan. They settled for the rear acreage
of 71 Union, the site of the Kurtz’ barn and part of their former Victory Garden,
and allowed Alma
to keep her house. She lived there until she died. [
Source: Nassau County Property Records, Newsday, various Lynbrook residents]
Rivero-Stein Construction Corp., A/K/A
Paramount Construction Corp.,
57 Woodlawn Avenue,
Valley Stream, NY
11581
Current owner. When Alma
died, her heirs sold the house. It was purchased by a developer who wishes to
destroy the house and build multifamily housing. This plan will, if
successful, bring about the end of the rich history of the house at 71 Union Avenue.
[Source: Various Lynbrook Village Building Dept. documents including
"Demolition Notice" Stamped Dec 3.,1997,
obtained via FOIL.
Questions still remain about the house: Why did one of Long
Island’s most famous war heroes end up with his property
being sold by a referee/receiver? What are the contents of the buried cistern
buried on the site? Is there an Indian burial ground at the rear of the
property, as family history tells us? What is the origin of the unusual brick
structure in the basement?
ADDENDUM (1/27/98)
Here is a late update on recent research on the house:
1) A county document recently discovered shows that the house dates back
to at least 1838. We are investigating the document further. [Source: J.
Cooper]
2) A local expert on local 18th and 19th century basements and foundations
has indicated that the unusual, curved brick structure in the basement was
undoubtedly a root cellar. This type cellar dates the house as late 18th or
early 19th century. [Source: J. Bishop]
3) A local expert on glass and pottery found, on the property, at a depth
of two feet, an apparent prehistoric implement. The tool has been is shaped to
fit in the palm and appears to be a scraper or rough cutting tool. The tool
is being evaluated by an archaeologist. [Source: A. Leoni. ]
4) The location of the cistern has now been approximated, using a
1940’s photo of the backyard "Victory Garden".
[Source: photo in Lynbrook Library Historical Collection, donated by M.
Seeley (Alma Underhill’s daughter)]
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