Daddy Bill's Ice Pond was located east of North Main Street south of Seaman Avenue. It is believed that the pond was the result of the damming of a stream in the 1840s. The pond and surrounding property was owned by William R. Smith, a pioneering Freeport boat builder. Smith and his son Walter used the pond for boat building and for harvesting ice in the winter time.
In 1887, Smith raised the bottom of his pond by two feet in an attempt to stop a spring from thawing ice at the bottom of the pond. He also added six feet to the height of his ice house. This improvement allowed Smith to store 200 tons of ice.
Beginning in 1894, the pond dried up. After this occurred again in 1894 and 1895, Walter Smith sued the City of Brooklyn. Smith contended that the pond dried up because Brooklyn was siphoning water from local streams and aqueducts through a series of pumping stations situated along the south shore. Eventually, the courts awarded Smith $1,800. George Wallace was Smith's attorney for this case.
Click here for images related to Daddy Bill's Ice Pond.
See Also:
Sources:
"Fair Freeport." Brooklyn Times Union. November 21, 1887, 1. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/556995185/?terms=%22william%2Br.%2Bsmith%22%2Bfreeport%2Bwater%2Bbrooklyn.
"Long Legal Fight Ended." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 14, 1898, 16. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50337925/?terms=%22walter%2Br.%2Bsmith%22%2Bfreeport%2Bpond.
"A Setback for the City." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 11, 1899, 6. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50347339/?terms=%22walter%2Br.%2Bsmith%22%2Bfreeport%2Bpond.
"Sues for the Loss of His Pond." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 18, 1896, 5. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50459131/?terms=%22walter%2Br.%2Bsmith%22%2Bfreeport%2Bpond.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, June 18, 2019.
Daniel Combs' Boatyard (also known as Daniel B. Combs' Boat Yard, Combs' Boatyard, D. B. Combs Ship Yard, and Combs Shipyard) was located on Sportsman Avenue in the 1910s. In 1914, it was just north of the Acme Boat Company.
The boatyard was established around 1912 by Daniel B. Combs (circa 1896-1947).
Combs' Boatyard built many types of boats but was best known for his racing boats. One his most notable boats was the Commodore, a 30-foot pleasure boat built for Thomas Forbes in 1912. That same year the boatyard upgraded Forbes' racing boat Question from a 100 horsepower engine to a 250 horsepower engine. Other boats he built included: Bess for George Hubbell, the manager of Garden City Estates; a 26-foot launch for Henry Irwin of Amityville; Oneida, a 25-foot cabin launch for Dr. J. A. Anderson of New York; and a 25-foot cabin launch for C. P. Papp of New York.
Click here for images related to Daniel Combs Boatyard.
Sources:
"Boating Activities." Nassau County Review. April 19, 1912, 1. Accessed June 3, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1912-04-19/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Daniel Combs Rites Today, Pioneer Boatyard Operator." Nassau Daily Review-Star. December 29, 1947, 2. Accessed June 4, 2019. fultonhistory.com.
Freeport, New York, City Directory, 1914. Ancestry.com
1914, Freeport (Southeast Section, East of Sportsman Canal) [map]. E. Belcher Hyde.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, May 29, 2019.
Danley-Downs Sign Corp. Inc. was a sign painting company located on East Merrick Road in the 1920s.
Source:
Voyageur, 1927 (Freeport High School Yearbook).
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 23, 2016.
Dan's Supreme supermarket was located on West Sunrise Highway between South Bergen Place and South Ocean Avenue. The store closed in 1978.
Sources:
"Round-About With Rhoda." The Leader. June 22, 1978, 4. Accessed April 16, 2018. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1978-06-22/ed-1/seq-4/.
Timothy Brannigan (phone, April 16, 2018).
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, April 16, 2018.
Isaac (Isidore) DaSilva (circa 1855-1919) was a pioneering businessman in Freeport. Born in England, he came to the United States at the age of five and moved to Freeport in 1880. He started a business at the age of 15 in Sayville, NY. In 1919, DaSilva incorporated his businesses under the name "DaSilva 5, 10 and 25c Store Corporation." He had two stores in Freeport and one in Rockville Centre, Huntington, and Oyster Bay. DaSilva's children, Louis, Jacob, Moses, Louise and Daniel, were all involved in the family business.
Many early postcards of Freeport were published by I. DaSilva.
DaSilva was involved in many civic organizations including the Elks Club, Masons, Freeport Club, Foresters of America, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
DaSilva and his wife, Annie, are buried in Montefiore Cemetery, Springfield, NY.
Sources:
Obituary of Isaac DaSilva. Nassau County Review. December 26, 1919, 12. Accessed August 8, 2016. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1919-12-26/ed-1/seq-12/.
"Recovering from Serious Illness." Nassau County Review. November 28, 1919, 1. Accessed August 8, 2016. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1919-11-28/ed-1/seq-1/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, August 9, 2016.
Daughters of the American Revolution, Ruth Floyd Woodhull Chapter was organized in Freeport on February 26, 1927. In 1928, it had 27 members and Mrs. Sherman C. Holaday served as the chapter's president.
Membership in the society is obtained through direct lineal decent from a soldier or patriot who assisted in achieving American independence during the Revolutionary War.
This DAR chapter was named for Ruth Floyd Woodhull, Revolutionary War patriot, sister of William Floyd, and wife of General Nathaniel Woodhull.
Sources:
The Long Island Almanac and Year Book, 1928. New York: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1928.
"What the Daughters Do." The Leader. February 16, 1956, 6. Accessed September 5, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1956-02-16/ed-1/seq-6/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 1, 2017.
Dr. Arthur F. Davidsen (1944-2001) was a John Hopkins astrophysicist who helped define the density and composition of intergalactic space. Davidsen was born in Freeport to Norwegian immigrants. His father was a commercial fisherman. Davidsen graduated from Freeport High School in 1962.
Davidsen attended Princeton University and played drums in a rock band. He served in the Navy during Vietnam; first as an officer on a destroyer and, later, at the Naval Research Laboratory. It was during his time in the military that he became interested in space research. After receiving his Ph.D. he joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University. Davidsen worked on a team that designed a space telescope which obtained the first ultraviolet spectrum of a quasar. He also helped bring the Space Telescope Science Institute, the main center for analyzing data from the Hubble Space Telescope, to Johns Hopkins University.
Davidsen worked on the Hopkins Ultraviolent Telescope (HUT), which allowed scientists to study intergalactic gas. That telescope was later sent to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Davidsen was the founding director of the Center for the Astrophysical Sciences and was the chairman of the advisory council for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a multi-institutional project to map the universe.
Davidsen died of a lung disorder at the age of 57.
Source:
"Arthur Davidsen, 57, John Hopkins Astrophysicist, Dies." The New York Times. July 22, 2001, 34.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 2, 2016.
Reine Davies (1886-1938) was an American actress and singer who had a summer house at 78 Wilson Place in the late 1910s into the early 1920s. Davies was the sister of actress Marion Davies. Davies was known as the "Great American Beauty" and appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in a few movies. She was associated with the song, Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland.
On the night of June 24,1922, during a party at Davies' Freeport house, guest and neighbor Oscar Hirsch was shot in the face by his wife, Hazel. Hirsch survived and later claimed the shooting was accidental. It was widely reported that the couple was intoxicated at the time of the incident. Davies testified that only one bottle of Gordon's gin was used at the gathering and it was mixed with orange juice and served to 30 or more guests. However, others described Davies' basement as a rathskeller, complete with a bar and a professional bartender "who dispensed Scotch whiskey, highballs, cocktails and beer." It was also reported that an orchestra provided jazz music during the party.
Though authorities claimed the party was thrown in honor of Marion Davies, Reine Davies denied her sister was present at the party.
Sources:
"Hirsch Clears Wife But Nassau Doesn't." The New York Herald. June 27, 1922, 3. Accessed December 13, 2017. http://
Krieg, Cynthia J. and Regina G. Feeney. Freeport. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012.
"Like Love Birds, Hirshes Sob In Joy at Her Acquittal." The Evening World. December 22, 1922, 3. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
"One Lone Gin Flask, Reine Davies Says." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 28, 1922, 22. Accessed December 23, 2017. https://bklyn.
"Two Revolvers Deepen Mystery In Shooting of Hirsh by Wife At Party Given by Reine Davies." The Evening World. June 26, 1922., 1. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 23, 2017.
Margaret S. Davis (1881-1963) (nee Cole) was an active member in the Community Church of the Nazarene. Born in England, Davis moved to Australia with her parents as a child. At the age of 25, she went to Brazil to work as a Presbyterian missionary for four years. It was in Brazil that she met her American born husband, Arthur A. Davis. In 1920, she and her family came to America and eventually settled in Freeport living in a very large house at 420 South Ocean Avenue. In 1921, the Davis family rented out two apartments in their house. By the 1930s, their home was listed as an apartment house called The Cedars.
Davis was president of the Nazarene Foreign Missionary Society and the Busy Fingers Ladies Circle. She was a trustee and steward of her church and taught Sunday school for junior high school aged girls.
Davis' father, David Cole, was a landscape architect who is credited with laying out many of the streets in Melbourne, Australia. Her brother-in-law, Frank Shillerbeer, was the mayor of Melbourne.
Davis and her husband had five children. She died in 1963 of a heart attack she suffered while riding on a Hempstead bus. At the time of her death, she was living at 106 Prince Avenue.
See Also:
Source:
"Margaret S. Davis Former Missionary, Church Worker, Dies." Long Island Graphic. November 1, 1963, 4. Accessed May 13, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071111/1963-11-01/ed-1/seq-4/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, May 13, 2019.
Roswell Davis (1854-1924) operated an insurance underwriting agency on Railroad Avenue at Grove Street. He was the town clerk of Brookhaven and was also active in Yaphank. He was secretary and manager of the Hartford Insurance Company. Davis lived on Rose Street.
Davis is buried in Yaphank Cemetery in Suffolk County, NY.
Click here for images related to Roswell Davis.
Source:
Hazelton, Henry Isham. The Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens Counties of Nassau and Suffolk Long Island, New York 1609-1924 (Volume 5). New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1925.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, June 23, 2016.
Davis Street was named for Roswell Davis, who worked in insurance.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 23, 2016.
Davison Place was named for Alfred Davison, a lawyer and real estate agent.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 23, 2016.
Davisson & Company, located at 11-13 Olive Boulevard (now Sunrise Highway), sold dress goods, handkerchiefs, notions, and McCall's patterns.
Source:
Voyageur, 1928 (Freeport High School Yearbook).
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 23, 2016.
Taylor Dayne, born Lesley Wunderman in 1962, grew up on California Avenue and graduated from Baldwin High School. She claimed that her stage name came at the suggestion of Dee Snider, a fellow Baldwin High School graduate and lead singer of Twisted Sister. Before the success of her hit "Tell it to My Heart," Dayne performed with various bands in local venues such as the Right Track Inn.
Sources:
"Freeport-Baldwin Bred Star Proves Her Love of Music." Leader. May 26, 1988, 4. Accessed February 5, 2018. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1988-05-26/ed-1/seq-4/.
"Taylor Dayne." Contemporary Musicians, vol. 60, Gale, 2007. Biography in Context, 2018.
Research by Regina G. Feeney, February 15, 2018.
Arthur Deagon (circa 1873-1927) was a Canadian actor/singer who claimed to have sung in a church choir, and studied singing in Rochester, NY; he also worked in the lumber camps and mines of Michigan, and as a professional wrestler before launching his career as "The Cowboy Singer" at age 20.
Despite is his large size, Deagon was a highly physical performer as well as an accomplished singer. He played in vaudeville musicals, comedies, and melodramas like The Highwayman (1899), King Dodo (1900), The Belle (1901) and the smash sensation The Time, the Place and the Girl (1907) which toured America and Canada. He recreated his career around 1912 and became a monologist, telling stories of his life before and during his career. Deagon appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies productions from 1909 to 1914. In 1913, he toured Great Britain with Come Over Here. In 1922, he appeared in the George M. Cohan musical Little Nellie Kelly and in the 1924 musical production of the Oscar Hammerstein II and Rudolf Friml musical Rose-Marie. He was one of the founding members of the L.I.G.H.T.S. Club.
While rehearsing The Merry Malones, a George M. Cohan theatrical production, at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Deagon collapsed and died at the age of 56.
Click here for images of Arthur Deagon.
Source:
"Special Services Planned For Arthur Deagon, Actor." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 6, 1927. Accessed June 23, 2016. http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59863454/?terms=Arthur%2Bdeagon.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, June 23, 2016.
James Dean was the fourth president (mayor) of Freeport (1902 to 1905). He was a wealthy retired merchant from Brooklyn. Dean was a Civil War veteran and served as a captain with the 72nd Regiment of New York Volunteers and was a past commander of the Grant Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He collected flintlock muskets, powder horns, swords and other war relics. Dean also served as the treasurer of the South Shore Yacht Club. At the turn of the twentieth century, he was president of the Freeport Club.
Dean's house, located at 267 South Ocean Avenue, later became the Freeport Hospital.
Dean was preceded by George Wallace and succeeded by Julius Detmer.
Click here for images related to James Dean.
See Also:
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 29, 2016.
Dean Street was named for James Dean, president (mayor) of Freeport from 1902 to 1905.
See Also:
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 23, 2016.
Desire Defrere (1888-1964) was a Belgium-born stage director and former baritone of the Metropolitan Opera Company.
Defrere was performing at Covent Garden in London when he was hired by Oscar Hammerstein. He sang in the Manhattan Opera House. Between 1911 and 1934, he sang regularly with the Chicago Opera Company. It was at this time he became a guest singer for the Metropolitan Opera Company. He joined the Met permanently in 1935. His final stage appearance was in 1938, but he later became the stage director at the Met.
Defrere was married three times; two of these marriages were to operatic sopranos. All three marriages ended in divorce. He was a charter member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and served on its board of governors.
Defrere died at the age of 76 at his Freeport home, which was located at 65 West Second Street.
Sources:
"Desire Defrere, 76, Was Opera Baritone." Newsday. September 2, 1964, 46.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, August 10, 2017.
John F. DeLorme (circa 1881-1956) was a Village of Freeport trustee from 1927 to 1933. In 1950, he volunteered as Freeport's village historian. As historian, DeLorme was responsible for indexing and arranging village records beginning in 1950. He also organized 150 historically important photographs of Freeport into binders. Copies of these binders were given to the village, the Freeport Historical Society, and the Freeport Memorial Library. These images have since been digitized. He also transcribed a history of the Freeport Schools from an early document located in the clerk's office at the Town of Hempstead.
DeLorme was born in circa 1881 in Sumter, SC and was a descendant of the last colonial governor of Virginia on his maternal side. He moved to Freeport around 1919 and soon became active in local civic activities.
Though a southerner, DeLorme was vocal in his objection to Klan activity in Freeport. Missing a board vote that approved a KKK sponsored banner advertising a speaking engagement in Freeport by Senator J. Thomas Heflin of Alabama, DeLorme penned an objection letter about the senator. In the letter, he wrote, “Senator Heflin makes a specialty of speaking on topics of religion and has a reputation of being exceedingly inflammatory in his remarks. As I view it, he might easily incite to disorder and possible to riot. Freeport has had more than its share of disagreeable publicity, mostly undeserved and I object to taking chances which might lead to more publicity of that sort.” He continued, “Senator Heflin hails from Alabama and I am a native of South Carolina so it is easy for me to understand how a man of his type can be elected to high public office in the South but it would be impossible for any Northern man to understand it. Frankly, I believe the Senator disgraces the South and, I am not a Catholic." Senator Heflin, during his Freeport speech, mocked DeLorme for being a Mason and a marrying Catholic. When DeLorme was not re-nominated to the Citizens’ party ticket the following year, it was reported that his public objection to the Ku Klux Klan may have been a factor.
DeLorme left his New York weatherstripping business in 1942 to serve as chief clerk of the Freeport Rationing Board of the Office of Price Administration. Later, he became chief clerk of the Mineola Price Control Board. He was a former vice president of the Freeport Democratic Club, a member of the the Freeport Elks Club, the New-York Historical Society, Friends of the Freeport Memorial Library, and the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration. DeLorme also held honorary memberships in the William Clinton Story American Legion Post, the Police Benevolent Association, and the New York Association of Chiefs of Police. As a member of the Freeport Community Council, he helped organize a senior citizens group which met twice a week in the American Legion Dugout. This group was regarded as one of the leading groups of its kind in New York State.
DeLorme died of a kidney ailment at the age of 75. He and his wife, Louise, lived at 251 West Lena Avenue.
Sources:
“DeLorme Objects to Heflin Banner.” Brooklyn Times Union. July 16, 1928, 37. Accessed June 4, 2022. Newspapers.com.
"DeLorme Out of Picture in the Political Race." The Nassau Daily Review. February 22, 1929, 6. Accessed June 4, 2022. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071428/1929-02-22/ed-1/seq-6/.
"John De Lorme Dies; Was Village Historian." The Leader. November 15, 1956, 4. Accessed July 6, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1956-11-15/ed-1/seq-4/.
"John F. DeLorme, 75, Freeport Historian." Newsday. November 12, 1956, 83.
Metz, Clinton. Freeport As It Was. Freeport, NY: Village of Freeport, 1973.
"2,500 Hear Heflin In Fiery Speech Made at Freeport." The Nassau Daily Review. July 31, 1928, 2. Accessed June 4, 2022. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071428/1928-07-31/ed-1/seq-2/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, July 11, 2017.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, June 4, 2022.
Dehnhoff Avenue was named for the Dehnhoff family who lived on this street in the 1880s.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 23, 2016.
Dr. John Henry Baker Denton (1851-1912) was a local doctor who had also served as coroner for Queens County. He was involved in some high profile cases during his tenure as coroner, including the 1881 discovery of Ella Clarks' dismembered body in Freeport and the mysterious death of Mrs. Boyd in 1883.
Denton practiced medicine beginning in 1871 and was regarded as one of the foremost medical practitioners on Long Island. He married Emma Elizabeth Carman (1853-1911), daughter of Samuel S. Carman, on November 31, 1872. They had five children including daughter Jeannette (Nettie), who married Archer B. Wallace; Lila, who married Valentine W. Smith; and John S. Denton.
Denton's home, which featured columns and a second floor balcony, was located on the southeast corner of Merrick Road and South Ocean Avenue.
Denton was a member of the Freeport Odd Fellows Club and the Freeport Presbyterian Church. Denton had been a leader of the Queens County Democratic Committee. He also had served on the Freeport School Board of Education.
After his death on February 26, 1912, while in St. Petersburgh, FL, Denton's will was contested by his three surviving children. In his will, Denton claimed "that his children had not treated him as children should treat a father." Denton had left much of his estate, estimated to be worth between $7,500 to $10,000, to his nurse Elsie Lucy Vetter of Brooklyn. Elsie was described as a 22 year old pretty blonde. Denton's children claimed that he had been under the influence of morphine when he signed the will. His will was witnessed by George Van Riper, Dr W. J. Steele, and George Morton Levy, who drew up the will. George Wallace represented Denton's children. Surrogate Court judge John T. Graham found that Denton had been of sound mind when he signed the will. Two years later, the court upheld Dr. Denton's will and Elsie L. Vetter received $4,136, all that was left of the estate after the costly legal battle.
See Also:
Sources:
"Brooklyn Nurse Gets L. I. Doctor's Estate." Brooklyn Times Union. May 2, 1914, 1. Accessed November 2, 2019. newspapers.com.
"Dr. Denton of Freeport Left Estate to Nurse." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 17, 1912, 6. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/54322622/?terms=denton%2Bfreeport%2Bchildren%2Bvetter.
"Dr. Denton's Children Try to Break Will." The Standard Union. April 14, 1912, 4. Accessed September 30, 2022. Newspapers.com.
Dr. John Henry Baker Denton [obituary]. Nassau County Review. March 1, 1912, 8. Accessed November 2, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1912-03-01/ed-1/seq-8/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, November 6, 2019.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, September 30, 2022.
Denton Pond Creek (also known as Denton's Pond Creek) is a tributary of the Freeport River.
Source:
In re County of Nassau, Relative to Acquiring Title to Real Property on Denton Pond Creek, 51 Misc.2d 150, 272 N.Y.S.2d 560 (Sup. Ct. Nassau County 1966). Accessed May 10, 2017. https://www.casemine.com/
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, April 25, 2018.
Robyn Dessaure was crowned the 1977 Miss Black Teenager of New York State. At the time, she was fifteen years old and a junior at Freeport High School, and she lived on Jesse Street.
Sources:
"Freeporters Win State Contest," The Leader. July 21, 1977, 3. Accessed November 25, 2022. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1977-07-21/ed-1/seq-3/.
Taylor, Cassandra. "'I Didn't Expect to Win,' Miss Black N.Y. State Says," The New York Amsterdam News. September 3, 1977, B5. Accessed November 25, 2022. ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, November 25, 2022.
Julius Detmer was the fifth president (mayor) of Freeport (1905 to 1906).
Detmer was preceded by James Dean and succeeded by Hiram R. Smith.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 29, 2016.
Ernest George Washington Dietrich (1857-1924) was a noted architect. He designed Freeport's Christ Lutheran Church and a home for the John T. Bailey family (formerly located on northwest corner of Merrick Road and South Long Beach Avenue).
He lived at 88 North Columbus Avenue with his wife, Elizabeth Estelle; the couple had five sons. Dietrich died on the platform of the Long Island Rail Road. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn
In 1914, Dietrich's son Emerson Dudley Dietrich (1890-1914) was murdered in Chicago. Originally, Emerson's death was reported as an accidental mauling by a lion. Later, newspapers claimed that Dietrich was shot by a circus performer and his body thrown into the lions' cage. The murder was said to have been the result of the circus performer being jealous of Dietrich's relationship with Madame Adgie Castillo, a lion tamer.
Sources:
"Fiancee Bringing Home Body of Brooklyn Youth Killed in Cage of Lion." The Evening World. June 22, 1914, 1. Accessed September 9, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83030193/1914-06-22/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Man Claims He Shot Dietrich. The Paducah Sun-Democrat. October 21, 1914, 7. Accessed February 9, 2022. newspapers.com
"New Yorker Torn to Pieces by Lions." The Sun. June 22, 1914, 1. Accessed September 9, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83030272/1914-06-22/ed-1/seq-1/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, February 9, 2022.
Dockmaster's Quarters (also known as the Harbor Master's Quarters) was constructed as part of a waterfront revitalization program that included a transient marina, boardwalk, and a dockmaster's building. The project commenced in 2008 and was completed in 2009. The building resides on the grounds of Sea Breeze Park, which was named for the Sea Breeze Restaurant that once stood on the site.
Sources:
"A Message from the Mayor." Freeport Report. September 2008.
"Nautical Festival Crowds Break Records." Inside Freeport. July 2009.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, February 5, 2023.
John William Dodd (1891-1973) was superintendent of the Freeport School District from 1925 to 1961. Born in Pennsylvania he graduated Millerville State Teachers College. He began his career as and Latin teacher in Hershey High School in Pennsylvania. Dodd earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University and received his PhD from New York University. He served as principal of Columbus Avenue School. He left that position to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War I. After the war, Dodd became principal of Freeport High School. During his tenure: Freeport organized its first marching band; brought the National Honor Society to Freeport; created the first school magazine for public relations purposes called the Freeport Educational Review; and Cleveland Avenue School and Atkinson School were built. He was on the original board of trustees of Hofstra College. Dodd also held the title president for Nassau County Schoolmen's Association, New York Teachers' Association, and New York State Council of Village and City Superintendents. In 1960, Dodd began writing a column in the Freeport Leader titled "Education and Our Schools."
Arthur Pillsbury Dodge (1849-1915) was an early American follower of the Baha'i faith and founded the New York Baha'i Assembly around 1897. Dodge came to Freeport in 1914 and lived at 60 or 64 Jay Avenue (today Harding Place). It was said that Dodge regretted that he had not moved to Freeport earlier in his life. During his short time in the village, Dodge hosted many gatherings at his home to promote Baha'i teachings. These gatherings were promoted in local newspapers with news from other Freeport houses of worship..
Dodge was a lawyer, inventor, and publisher. He was born in Enfield, NH and was self educated. His was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1879 and became the attorney for Mary Baker G. Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science Church. He founded several publications including the New England Magazine, The Bay State Monthly, and the Granite State Monthly. In 1892, Dodge was admitted to the bar in Illinois and became an acquaintance of George M. Pullman, the railroad magnate. It was Pullman who encouraged Dodge, who had no engineering background, to design steam engines for street cars. Dodge would later found the Dodge Motor Company and the Kinetic Manufacturing Company. Dodge was the president of the Babylon Railroad Company and sold his interest to the Long Island Railroad in 1906.
Dodge was introduced to the Baha'i Revelation during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition).
In 1907, Dodge lost much of his fortune during a stock market crash. He continued to practice law and maintained an office in the First National Bank building. Dodge and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Freeport in 1914.
Click here for the book Whence? Why? Whither?" Man Things and Other Things, by Arthur P. Dodge. 1907.
Sources:
"The Baha'is on Long Island Reflect the Changing Image of the Sect Nationally." The New York Times. May 19, 1974, 116.
Obituary of Arthur Pillsbury Dodge. Nassau County Review. October 15, 1915, 1. Accessed September 5, 2016. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1915-10-15/ed-1/seq-1/.
Stockman, Robert H. "Dodge, Arthur Pillsbury (1849-1915)." The Baha'i Encyclopedia Project. Accessed September 9, 2016. http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=168:dodge-arthur-pillsbury&catid=37:biography.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 9, 2016.
Freeport's first Dollar Day occurred on Thursday, March 10, 1921. On this day, almost all merchants in Freeport offered merchandise to shoppers for $1. Though the first Dollar Day was not as successful as hoped, the sale continued for decades. Later Dollar Days were held at the end of August as an end-of-summer clearance sale.
Sources:
"Freeport Has Big Dollar Day Sale." The Daily Review. March 11, 1921, 8. Accessed September 8, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071431/1921-03-11/ed-1/seq-8/.
"South Main Street's Stormy History on the Upswing." The Leader. July 27, 1989, 10. Accessed September 8, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071065/1989-07-27/ed-1/seq-10/.
"Tomorrow, Dollar Day Throughout Freeport." The Daily Review. March 9, 1921, 1. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071431/1921-03-09/ed-1/seq-1/
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 10, 2017.
Doxsee Drive was named for the Doxsee family. Robert Doxsee was mayor of Freeport from 1949 to 1953.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 23, 2016.
Robert L. Doxsee was the twenty-seventh mayor of Freeport (1949 to 1953).
Doxsee was preceded by Cyril C. Ryan and succeeded by William F. Glacken.
Researched by Cynthia J. Krieg, May 29, 2016.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, March 12, 2018.
Dreadnaught Battery Service was located at 28 South Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue). In the 1920s, Charles A. Wardlow was the proprietor.
Source:
Voyageur, 1927 (Freeport High School Yearbook).
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 23, 2016.
Annette Driggers (1945-1980) (also known as Vivian Annette Driggers and Annette Randall) was crowned Miss U.S.A. in 1960. She lost the title when it was discovered that she was 15 years old and not 20, as she had claimed. It was also revealed that had been married at the age of 14 to Anthony D'Auria (also spelled Dauria) of 79 Martha Street. D'Auria, who in some newspaper accounts is identified as a hairdresser, alerted pageant authorities about her age and marital status. D'Auria learned of her pageant win after seeing newspaper accounts while he was on a two-week tour of duty with the Coast Guard Reserve in Virginia. At the time of the pageant, Driggers claimed that she and her husband were separated and working towards an annulment of the marriage.
In 1960, Driggers appeared in an episode of the CBS TV show Aquanauts.
Driggers' 1963 marriage to Marshall Berle, the nephew of comedian Milton Berle, was also complicated by age. Driggers sought an annulment the following year claiming she was not 18 at the time of their nuptials. The court ordered Driggers to produce her birth certificate.
Driggers was born on July 23, 1945 in a naval hospital in Charleston, SC to Eugene and Juanita Driggers. In 1960, Driggers lived at 186 St. Marks Avenue.
While living in Calabasa, CA as Annette Randall, Driggers was found dead in the bed of her pickup truck parked in the rear of a Holiday Inn. According to a newspaper account, the cause of her death was undetermined. Driggers was 34 years when she died. Driggers is buried in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Summerville, SC.
Sources:
Ancestry.com.
"Couldn't Prove Age." Press and Sun-Bulletin. April 5, 1964, 1. Accessed November 28, 2018. Newspapers.com.
"LI Girl Now Ex-Miss U.S.; She's Too Young to Reign." Newsday. November 1, 1960, 5.
"Miss U.S. is Mrs." Newsday. October 31, 1960, 1.
"San Bernardino." The San Bernardino County Sun. January 30, 1980, 39. Accessed November 28, 2018. Newspapers.com.
"Underage Annette Gets Wet in 'Aquanauts.'" Newsday. December 12, 1960, 3C.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, November 28, 2018.
Lyman "Lum" C. Duryea (1908-1985) was a Freeport florist and community leader. Duryea opened his flower shop in 1940.
As a child, Duryea was stricken with polio that left him confined to a wheelchair for most of his life. He served as a co-chairman of Freeport's polio campaign in 1960, which raised money to combat polio. In 1961, he was named chairman of the Southwest Nassau County Chapter of the March of Dimes.
In 1946, he, along with Eddie Vasil of The Leader, began the Duryea Orchid Award. This was a floral tribute bestowed on deserving women in recognition of their community service. Duryea was a two-time past Exalted Ruler of the Freeport Elks Club. He was also a stamp collector, dealer, and exhibitor.
Duryea died at the age of 76. He is buried in Greenfield Cemetery, Uniondale, NY.
Sources:
"Duryea Issues Personal Plea For Polio Donations." The Leader. January 28, 1960, 1. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
Lyman Duryea [obituary]. The Leader. January 17, 1985. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
"Lyman Duryea Heads 1962 March of Dimes. The Leader. August 17, 1961, 1. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
"Lyman Duryea Makes Special Orchid Award." The Leader. July 20, 1961, 5. Accessed December 23, 2017. http://
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 28, 2017.
Drake Funeral Home, Inc. was located on Alexander Avenue in the Bennington Park section of Freeport.
Source:
Sadie McKenzie [obituary]. Newsday. October 15, 1952, 101.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, February 15, 2018.
Henry Dunbar operated an open-air theater, also known as an airdome, which was located on South Main Street opposite Bedell's drug store in 1910.
Source:
"Local Topics." Nassau County Review. May 13, 1910, 1. Accessed January 16, 2018. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1910-05-13/ed-1/seq-1/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, February 3, 2018.
Dutchess Service Station was located on West Merrick Road at Bayview Avenue. It was managed by S. A. Moreo. In 1957, this service station was authorized by New York State to conduct motor vehicle inspections.
Sources:
Dutchess Service Station [advertisement]. The Leader. November 8, 1956, 22. Accessed August 22, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1956-11-08/ed-1/seq-22/.
"9 Stations Make State Inspections." The Leader. March 14, 2019, 9. Accessed September 16, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1957-03-14/ed-1/seq-9/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 16, 2019.