#41 - Long Island Photographs from abt 1900

 Long Island Photographs from abt 1900

Enjoy these photos I colorized. 

Don't you love the dog in the photo?

Wm Ephraim Hauxhurst at home Westbury NY abt 1900 - Bertha's father

Wm E Hauxhurst Marianna Hicks home Westbury NY

Wm E Hauxhurst-Marianna Hicks home Westbury, NY

Bertha C. Hauxhurst (Tyson) young adult

Isaac Hicks/Mary Fry Willis house, Westbury, NY Bertha's grparnts

The girl is my great grandmother, Bertha C Hawxhurst∗ who married Chester Tyson of Adams County, PA). 

Also shown above is Bertha's father, William Ephraim Hawxhurst, surveyor, farmer and land-owner in Nassau County, NY. 

William came to hold a lot of land in an increasingly popular area to buy. He sold a good deal off to those who would build summer homes on Long Island's north shore in the early 1900s. 

Bertha's maternal grandparents, Isaac Hicks and his wife Mary Fry Willis, also not far from the Hawxhurst home.

🞶Hawxhurst is also been spelled Hauxhurst. In some very old records, it has appeared in its phonetic form: "Hawkshurst"

#14 -Mary Fry Willis, wife of Isaac Hicks. Middle Name to the Rescue!

Mary Fry Willis (1817-1898), wife of Isaac Hicks.  Happiness is Finding A Middle Name

I love middle names: My brother’s middle name is “Bancroft” it was once a surname (family) name. As a surname, helps in genealogy so middle names can help--if you’re lucky.  I would urge caution, middle names can also muddle things.
 

Mary Fry Willis - D of John Willis & Mary W Kirby
Mary Fry Willis was named after her ancestor Mary Fry, and was born on 14 January  1817  in Westbury, Long Island, NY (Jericho Meeting).  She was the daughter of John Willis and Mary W Kirby. 

Mary Fry Willis married Isaac Hicks (found in another post) in Westbury, New York. 

Which Willis? Which Mary?

I looked through naming patterns (first names) and then at the Quakers on Long Island who intermarried. I began to despair when rather running into a genealogical brick wall, I was dealing with a profusion of possibilities. 

Mary Fry Willis’ Middle Name To the Rescue
I took advantage of Mary Willis’ middle name “Fry” beginning with the assumption that it was a surname in her family--and Quaker. 
I then was lucky enough to find a letter written by a family member who had grown up in the area, and was acquainted with all the families on LI; a letter written about 1910. 
The writer said Mary Fry Willis was given the name “Mary Fry”  in honor of one of her great grandmothers. 
So now I knew she had a direct ancestor with that name thus narrowing my choices. She was also descended from a Mary Fry, and the Fry family was a Quaker family, likely from Long Island. 

I was hopeful that I'd narrowed the possibilities to Quaker females on Long Island in the pre-Revolutionary War period who named Mary Fry.
Indeed, I found only 1 Mary Fry (or Frey) from the colonial era:

• Mary Fry Willis’ great-great grandmother was Mary Fry (1712-1800). She married Samuel Willis & MFW's great-great grandfather (1704-1782) Their son was:

•  Mary Fry Willis’ great grandfather was John Willis (1734-1789). His son was:

• Mary Fry Willis’ grandfather was Samuel Willis (1759-1838). His son was:

• Mary Fry Willis’ father was John Willis (1790-1864)

So, Mary Fry Willis was named for her great-great grandmother, Mary Fry who was born in December 1712 in Westbury, NY and died May 28, 1800.

 
Joining Families: Mary Fry & Samuel Willis to Phebe Willets & Adam Mott

• Fry/Willis/Willets/Mott 

Quakers were inclined to join families.  

For example, the Fry/Willis/Willets/Mott families became intertwined in one generation when three of Mary Fry & Samuel Willis’ children married three of Phebe Willets (of Post #22 and Post #23) & Adam Mott’s children.

Back to Mary Fry Wills: Her Parents and Grandparents:
 ~Mary Fry Willis’ Mother 
 Her mother was Mary W Kirby, born July 30 1791 and died June 28 1873. 

~Mary Fry Willis' Maternal Grandparents [Mary W Kirby’s parents]: 

• Her maternal grandfather was Jacob Kirby (11 Aug 1765- 3 Dec 1859/recorded as January 1860) and maternal grandmother was Mary Seaman, b 27 Mar 1774 and died 21 Sep 1854.

 ~Mary Fry Willis’ Father 
Her father was John Willis (some of his line Post # 20), born in Oyster Bay on January 2 1790 and died October 5 1864 in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. I have a photo of John Willis, Mary Fry’s Willis’ father which, if it is labeled accurately, must have been shortly before his death in 1864. 

John Willis - H of Mary W Kirby, Farther of Mary Fry Willis c1860

~Mary Fry Willis’ Paternal Grandparents [John Willis’ parents]: 

• Her paternal grandfather was Samuel Willis, born March 7 1759 and died June 28 1838, (also the son of John Willis & Elizabeth Mott - mentioned in the Willis/Mott Sibling Marriages earlier). And, her paternal grandmother was Rachel Pearsall, born June 14 1765 and died May 31, 1855. She was the daughter Thomas Pearsall (1725-1807) and Ann Williams (1733-1806).

Mary Fry Willis' Family: 
Mary Fry Willis’ Siblings, The children of John Willis & Mary W Kirby:
1-Edward John Willis - 1814-1904
2-Mary Fry Willis - 1817-1898 (Married Isaac Hicks, brother of Samuel Hicks)
3-Rachel Willis - 1820-1905 (Married Samuel Hicks, brother of Isaac Hicks)
4-Lucretia Mott Willis  1837-1838
 
Marriage & Family:
Mary Fry Willis was 19 when she married the Isaac Hicks (subject of Post #29). They wed March 24, 1836 on probably in Jericho Meeting, Long Island, NY. 

Isaac Hicks was 21 years old when she married him. They lived on Long Island the rest of their lives while Isaac commenced his nursery business (see more in Post #29). 

Mary Fry Willis & Isaac Hicks' children:
  1-Gilbert (1838-1922)
  2- Edward (1840-1915)
* 3-Marianna (1842-1920)
  4-William C. (1845-1846)
 *Marianna, my great- great grandmother, married William E Hauxhurst/Hawxhurst.

Residence and Death:
I would imagine that Mary Fry would have been quite busy as Isaac was tending to building up the Hicks Nursery. They lived in Old Westbury on Long Island, NY.

Census records exist for Isaac and Mary Fry Willis for the  years 1850 (33 years old), 1870 (53 years old), 1880 (63 years old). I haven't yet unearthed the state census for the 1890s.
 She died on Long Island at 81 on February 28, 1898 and is buried in Westbury, Nassau County, New York.
 

Hicks homestead from a Christmas Card c1960

Photos and Miscellaneous Comments
Of the photos I have, they were taken when she was rather old. Her granddaughter, Bertha C Hawxhurst had saved most of the ones I have. 

Bertha, who grew up on Long Island and knew her grandmother, wrote on the back of this one a comment:
“Grandmother Hicks-very precise, neat --and stern!” 

Mary Fry Willis W Isaac Hicks c 1878-1880

Of Mary Fry Willis' siblings listed above, I bolded her sister Rachel Willis to draw attention to the fact that Rachel wed Isaac Hicks' brother, Samuel Hicks.

Below is a garden photo of Hicks & Willis relations. 
I own a (separate) labeled photo of Rachel Willis Hicks, so I'm certain she's the middle-aged woman (wearing glasses) looking at the camera. 
Seated near her is likely (but I'm not sure) Rachel’s husband (and Isaac’s brother), Samuel Hicks. The young lady on the left might be Rachel and Samuel’s unmarried daughter Anna.
Seated on far right is Isaac Hicks and Mary Fry Willis (Hicks).

Hicks/Willis Family Members: in center, Rachel Willis Hicks & maybe Samuel Hicks.                                   Far Right: Isaac Hicks & Mary Fry Willis

The photo below is of the Isaac and Mary Fry Willis (Hicks) when they were quite elderly. It was probably shortly before she died. 

Mary Fry Willis and Isaac Hicks late 1890s

#13 - Isaac Hicks of Hicks Nurseries And His Hobbies

 Isaac Hicks of Hicks Nurseries

Isaac Hicks, the grandson of the more famous Isaac Hicks from a previous post. For the Hicks lineage leading to him, see another post. Isaac was my maternal great grandmother’s grandfather, or, my 3rd great grandfather.

If he had any notoriety, he began the "Hicks Nurseries" of Westbury, NY, the oldest family-owned business on Long Island.

From the banner Hicks Nurseries website

Isaac Hicks

The Swarthmore College Friends Collection on the Hicks’ has this to say:
“Isaac, son of John D Hicks and Mary/Sarah Rushmore Hicks (grandson of Isaac and Sarah Hicks), founded the Hicks Nursery in 1853. Active in the Westbury (Friends) Monthly Meeting and other Quaker organizations.”

Isaac’s wife and my 3rd great grandmother was Mary Fry Willis (who will/is in Post #30).
Issac Hicks' Vitals:
Birth & Parents
Isaac Hicks (as was most of his family) was born, raised and died on Long Island, New York. 
~He was born March 7, 1815 and he died March 13, 1900. **Hinshaw says he was born August 8, 1815 and died in 1898. I'm pretty confident Hinshaw's date of death is incorrect.)

~His paternal grandfather was Isaac Hicks
~His parents were John Doughty Hicks [Sr] (1791-1829) and
Sarah R. Rushmore (1790-1893).
More about Sarah Rushmore in post #30. 

Marriage
~In 1836 Isaac Hicks married Mary Fry Willis (1817-1898), the daughter of John Willis &  Mary W Kirby (more on Mary Fry Willis in post #30)
CHILDREN:
Isaac and Mary Fry Willis had
~Gilbert Hicks  1838 – 1922
~Edward Hicks  1840 – 1920
~Marianna Hicks 27 Sep 1842-13 Aug 1915 m William E Hauxhurst/Hawxhurst
   (Marianna Hicks & William E Hawxhurst are my 2nd great grandparents)
~William C Hicks  1845 – 1846

Earning a Livelihood - Hicks Nurseries
Isaac began as a farmer but founded what became "Hicks Nurseries."  It's been said that he was entered fruit trees in the Queens County Fair and won a $10 prize and certificate for having the best twenty varieties of apples. I'm not sure if that's what led him to the business, but he obviously had a passion for trees.

The business was on Jericho Turnpike, west of Post Avenue. 
 

Hicks Nurseries across from Old Westbury and the Hawxhurst Estate

"Hicks and Son" grew quickly: the Hicks family worked hard, and it helped that the surrounding population of Westbury swelled greatly. That there were many wealthy estates on Long Island gave them the opportunity to capitalize on their market.

Their son Edward enhanced the business when he struck on a method of moving and replanting large trees by the end of the 1800s.  Since then the family continued in the nursery business.  Some of the estates serviced by Hicks Nurseries include: the Morgan, the Vanderbilit, the Whitney and the Phipps (now Old Westbury Gardens) as well as planting trees on John D Rockefellers estate in Pocantico Hills. And, it is the oldest family-owned business on Long Island, but it is also one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the US, but it is the oldest one on Long Island.

When my aunt Margaret was researching Long Island family, she took her mother --my grandmother--Elizabeth Tilton (Bertha Hawxhurst's daughter) to Hicks Nurseries. On her maternal side, all of Elizabeth's  genealogical roots go back to Long Island to the 1600s.
Well, Elizabeth was tickled pink because she was treated her like a queen. As the founder's great granddaughter, the "family" part of "family-owned" business was still important.

Hicks Ad c1960s "The Hicks Homestead Westbury, LI, Built by Isaac Hicks 1838"

Isaac Hicks

More than a Livelihood--a Passion
 
It wasn't merely a business, I think Isaac Hicks was a devotee of trees. He wrote:

How does memory carry me back to those houses of Friends (Quakers), nestled near a piece of woods, showing a love of the beautiful and useful combined; and those noble trees that were of the primeval forest, when the country was settled…
There is something venerable and so conservative in these old trees around the meeting house that no lofty spire and no adornment of architecture can give. But all are not such.
Too many meeting houses stand out in bold relief, with no sheltering tree to beautify the lawn…But these trees, young men... will you not plant trees around your house of worship, and confer a lasting benefit to yourselves, meeting and the country?
....the time may come when you may enjoy their beauty and comfort of shade, and future generations bless the hands that planted the shade trees around your meeting house.

In Isaac’s poetic phrase the woods were “the beautiful and useful combined’ tells me he was  a businessman who did it for love of the product!

And Later, a "Weekend" Artist
I'm led to believe Isaac loved the outdoors. Collectors in my family had saved a few colored paintings of birds he made. Then someone scanned them-- and I have digital copies , The scanner scanned on the backs-"Red and White Warbler" is dated & initialed by Isaac, and the oriole painting is dated. 

Isaac dabbled with painting when he was elderly and unoccupied with work. (Could this be where the artistic streak in my mother comes from?)

"Warblers" by Isaac Hicks c. 1899

"Red & White Warbers 1900 I. H."

The color has faded in the warblers--but less so in the oriole below:  *note the date from the back*

Isaac Hick photo from Hicks Nurseries website

Now and then, I find a write-up on the Westbury area, such as this one-Click "Read More" to see it: