From the Mount Kisco Recorder:

• 18 Mar 1887 – Alexander Yerks hosts a “Japanese Surprise Social”
• 27 Jan1888 – Alexander Yerks and the Chappaqua Baptist Church hosts a “Donkey Socialable”
• 11 Jan 1889 – The Mount Kisco Recorder calls for his recognition of service to his Country.  He spent three years fighting for the North during the Civil War.
• 21 Jan 1889 – Cassius Yerks, Alexander’s son, left the Chappaqua Shoe Factory and took a position with a shoe Factory in Lynn, Massachusetts.
• 18 Jan 1889 – Alexander Yerks made signifiant improvements to his property, formally used as a Wheelwright Shop.
• 19 Apr 1889 – Alexander Yerks opens his new Grocery Store.
• 5 Dec 1890 – Just 15 days before the fire, the I.O.G.T  (possibly the International Order of Good Templars) voted to change Yerks’ Hall into a “Lodge Room”.

Near Conflagration Almost Destroys Chappaqua Just Before Christmas
Published int he Mount Kisco Recorder on December 26, 1890

The little village of Chappaqua was the scene of great excitement early on Saturday morning last, about 2 o’clock when the shrill whistle of the shoe factory woke the people of to the fact that there was a dangerous fire raging on Greeley Avenue, opposite the Harlem Railroad Depot. The property in flames was the store occupied by Mr. Alexander Yerks as a grocery store, (in which the fire first started) and from which it soon spread to the dwelling house north of it, occupied by Mr. Perry Quick and Mr. Wesley Smalley and their families.

The fire was first discovered by Mr. Ed Quinby, who was returning home from a social party, when he saw a bright light in Yerks’s store, and ran with haste to the spot to see what was the matter. He soon found that a serious fire had begun, and he immediately rushed around and alarmed several men, among them of the shoe factory the engineer, Charles Bouton. The latter at once dressed himself in a hurry, and rushed to the shoe factory building, entered the engineering room, and gave the alarm all over the village by blowing the steam whistle. While the villagers were arousing and dressing, Bouton raked the fire under the boiler and got more steam up, and then started the big steam pump that is kept for fire purposes. Soon others came to his assistance and they attached hose to the pump, and in a short time a stream of water was playing on the factory building to keep it from catching fire.

Then attention was given to the burning buildings across the street, and water was poured on the adjoining buildings to keep the fire from spreading. The Yerks building was now a mass of flames, burning embers flying in the air, and being carried by the wind in various directions, but mostly eastward to the main street up Chappaqua hill.

Messrs. Smalley and Quick had been aroused at an early period of the fire, and managed to get all their furniture out of the house. Their clothing however was consumed and they only saved what they had put on most hurriedly on being first awakened to their danger. The house was only 15 feet from the store.

The blazing sparks flew to Mr. Rem. Farrington’s barn, Mr. Thomas Young’s blacksmith shop, and eastward across the main street, to the Union Church, which at one time was in great danger from the flying and flaming embers. Indeed, nearly all the houses around there may be said to have been saved by good luck and providence, for the blazing sparks and pieces of burning shingles and wood were found next morning in all the dooryards of the houses nearby. The damage to Mr. Thomas Young’s shop was slight, being only about $15 or $20; and to Mr. Harrington’s bar, a little less.

But it was an anxious time for Chappaqua, until the fire was finally extinguished, and everybody felt safe to leave the scene and returned home. Had the fire occurred the night before, when the wind raged so fiercely, nearly all night, there is no telling where the fire would have stopped. Indeed, as it was, if it had not been for the fortunate discovery of the conflagration by Mr. Ed Quinby, half of Chappaqua would, no doubt, have been wiped out.

The insurance on Mr. Yerks’s building was $1000 with $100 more on store fixtures and $900 on groceries stock; but as Mr. Yerks had been closing out the business, it is probably that he didn’t have more than 200 or $300 worth of stock on hand.

The dwelling house next door, was owned by Mr. E. M. Van Tassel, of New York City, and was insured for $1000.

This is the third time that fire has broken out in Mr. Yerk’s store, and it has been a complete success at last. But for the vigilant and untiring efforts of the shoe factory people—including Mr. H. W. Bischoff and all the local resident workman—the blacksmith shop of Mr. Thomas Young, and doubtless other property would have been sacrificed by the flames.

Commentary of the Near Conflagration
Published int he Mount Kisco Recorder on December 26, 1890

If it had not been for “that nuisance siren” (the factory whistle) the loss to property would have been much greater. When the whistle is heard in the night no one stops to ask “what is the matter?”

No, we are not ready to spare the factory whistle yet. The wind was blowing quite hard from the Northeast and carried sparks a long distance, and in one or two instances set roofs afire, but they were closely watched and extinguished. Both buildings were insured.

This fire once more reminds us of the need of some means of extinguishing fires in the village. There is nothing except the hose at the factory, and that is of use only nearby, and there is no water of any account right in the village.

If a pipe could be laid from Greeley’s pond and two or three hydrants placed in the village, we would have an effective fire extinguisher.

The Lodge of good Templars lost all their furniture and regalia at the fire last Saturday morning. It is thought the loss will be about $50. It is reported that there are several new houses to be built on the site of those which were burned. That is just what we need in this place—small houses at reasonable rents.

Summary

Sometime between the 1891 and 1900, Alexander and his entire family left Chappaqua and head North to Lynn, Massachusetts.  His son Cassius, has moved to Lynn in 1889 to take a position in a shoe factory there.  You can’t help but wonder whether Alexander Yerks had worn out his stay… especially after THREE fires in his store.  There is NO mention of him in Mount Kisco Recorder after the fire. Alexander Yerks died in Lynn, Massachusetts on November 21, 1909.

The party was attended by numerous relatives and friends….

Mr and Mrs Reginald Parrett.
Mrs Reginald Parrett is also known as Irene Tierney Parrett . Irene was 21 years old. She was Reginald’s third wife and sister of Reginald’s second wife… got that? Yea it took me a while too. Irene’s sister Mary, was Reginald’s second wife. She died unexpectedly in 1909. Reginalds first wife died in 1908. Talking about a string of bad luck…. wow!

Mr and Mrs F. J. Parrett
F.J. Parrett is presumably Reginalds brother or son from his first marriage. I’m not really sure yet.

Margrite Parrett
I’m not sure who Margrite is. She could be his daughter from Reginalds first marriage.

Mr and Mrs James Sproul Tierney (James is about 28 years old)
James is a brother of Irene and the son of Mary Jane Kinneary and Thomas W Tierney. He was a NY Police Officer . He was married to a Sarah Gray. I don’t know if they had any children.

Mr and Mrs Simeon LJ Tierney (Simeon is about 25 years old)
Simeon is a brother of Irene and the son of Mary Jane Kinneary and Thomas Tierney. He may have been a Police Officer and possibly a private detective later in life. Simeon was married to Anna Smith. They had just married at the time of this party and had their first of four kids the following year. I don’t know if there are any living decendants of this branch of the family tree.

Mr James Tierney (about age 18)
James is a first cousin of Irene and is the son of Sarah Beattie and James Tierney. He married Adelle Lehr in 1927, but died in 1931 when the car he was driving went out of control on Edgecombe Avenue, 25 feet south of the Middle Bridge Viaduct. The car plunged 100 feet into Colonial Park, landing upright, but killing him.

Miss Grace Elinor Tierney (about age 19)
Grace is a first cousin of Irene and is the daughter of Sarah Beattie and James Tierney. She sang a vocal solo for the event. Grace later became Grace Dunn. They had no children.

Miss Isabelle Tierney (about age 14)
Isabelle is a first cousin of Irene and is the daughter of Sarah Beattie and James Tierney. She later became Isabelle Lewis. She is my Grandmother.

Mr Charles Beattie (about 43 years old)
Charles is the brother of Sarah Beattie Tierney.

Also in Attendance….
Mr and Mrs J F Dobbs (Capt. Dobbs made some humorous speeches)
Mr and Mrs R L Robins of Northport, Long Island
Maria Flood
Mr and Mrs Daragh – Police Officer
Mr and Mrs J Adams
Mr Lawrence McCaughery (played a musical instrument for the event)
Miss Precella Dobbs
Mr and Mrs John N Perkins of Boston
Mr and Mrs F.A. Kuell (Mrs Kuell played a musical instrument for the event)

Click To Enlarge

]]> http://hayesfamily.us/index.php/2010/07/23/a-chip-off-the-old-block-raymond-a-tierney-jr/feed/ 0 http://hayesfamily.us/index.php/2009/10/21/greenwich-artist-overcomes-dyslexia-to-pursue-artistic-passion/ http://hayesfamily.us/index.php/2009/10/21/greenwich-artist-overcomes-dyslexia-to-pursue-artistic-passion/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:00:41 +0000 Philip Hayes http://hayesfamily.us/?p=854 Greenwich artist overcomes dyslexia to pursue artistic passion By Frank Maceachern Staff Writer, Greenwich Times http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_13604552 Posted: [...]]]> This story is about one of the Hone cousins on the Yerks side of the family. It was first published on October 21, 2009 in the Greenwich Times.  Thanks to Jean Yerks for sending me the link!
blockquote>

Greenwich artist overcomes dyslexia to pursue artistic passion

By Frank Maceachern
Staff Writer, Greenwich Times
http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_13604552
Posted: 10/20/2009 09:52:49 PM EDT

Michael Hone doesn’t know how to describe himself when it comes to his art.

“I don’t know what I would call myself — I just like to draw,” said the retired backhoe operator for the town who dropped out of school at the age of 16.

His work, which is on display at Cos Cob Library through the end of the month, revolves around his love of his Model T cars — of which he has three — junkyards and scenes of Greenwich that the town native remembers as a youth.

Hone, 65, an Old Greenwich resident and self-taught artist, infuses humor into many of his works, such as one in which he and his wife, Lynne, sit in a Model T watching a movie at a drive-in theater — except the theater is, in fact, his cluttered garage and the couple views the movie alone.

“You can see I’m asleep and she’s crying,” he said with a laugh about their respective interests in the movie.

High school sweethearts, he and Lynne married in 1970.

It’s that subject matter, drawing on scenes of everyday life, that puts Hone fin the category of a folk artist, according to a folklorist.

Gregory Sharrow, the director of education at the Vermont Folklore Center in Middlebury, Vt., said it’s a broad term and doesn’t simply mean someone who has not formally studied art.

“It’s that intimate personal expression and experience that makes it folk art,” Sharrow said.

For Hone, art was a way of coping with dyslexia, a learning disability that makes reading and writing difficult and traditional school in the ’50s and ’60s a trying experience.

“They just passed you on, that’s what they did in those days,” he said about being promoted to higher grades in the even though his dyslexia took a toll on his grades. “I was an awful student.”

Hone did whatever he could to avoid reading and writing in public.

“I was a good liar,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know how many times I said I had a problem with my eye or that I had to go to the bathroom. But I think the teachers knew.”

What the teachers also knew was that he had a singular gift for drawing.

“I think it was around Grade 3 that I knew I could draw when one of my teachers saw me and said I was doing a really good job,” Hone said.

The middle of five children born to Robert Emmett and Eloise, Hone said he believed he acquired his gift from his father, who would draw mechanical objects.

Hone can’t remember if he completed the ninth grade, but said his mother made the decision that he leave school and get a job.

“It was actually a waste of my time and my mother said it was time for me to get a job,” he said.

He was 16 years old when he dropped out, and for the next seven years he held a succession of jobs, such as a landscaper and working at the Greenwich Field Club where he did a number of jobs, from stocking shelves to tending bar.

Then the Army came calling.

In 1967, Hone was drafted as the Vietnam War raged. He said the Army’s attempt to turn him into a rocket specialist was a failure.

“I told them you’re wasting your time,” he said with a laugh. “Light a firecracker, no problem, light a rocket,” he said, his voice trailing off.

His dyslexia made it difficult to read and write quickly and he had to absorb a lot of information for the unit.

After three months of frustration, the Army decided he was right and Hone was transferred to a unit that stored and cared for ammunition.

He struggled to take notes on what an instructor wrote on a blackboard. That’s when his gift of art came in handy.

“I couldn’t write the stuff down fast enough, so I would draw a picture of what he was talking about,” he said.

One day an instructor caught him drawing during a class and slapped him because he thought Hone wasn’t paying attention, he said.

But Hone explained to the instructor that it was his way of taking notes. Intrigued, the instructor offered him the chance to illustrate a training manual for the unit.

“I said that would be great, but I got shipped out; I got ordered to go to California — they made a cook out of me. Oh boy, that was terrible,” he said.

He was sent to a base in Germany after his cook’s training.

“I lucked out, I really did, everybody else, or nearly everybody else, was going to Vietnam,” he said.

Near the end of his time in Germany he was transferred to the motor pool, as a mechanic, and tapped into his love of automobiles.

Fresh out of the Army, he returned to Greenwich in 1969 and got a job with the town’s parks and recreation department in November. He spent the next 34 years there before retiring in 2003.

He continued drawing, sometimes even on the job, when work was slow and there was some downtime, he said.

Hone has never thrown any of his drawings away.

“I have boxes and boxes of it at home.”

He began selling his works in the early 1980s, but said the business side of art is uncomfortable for him.

“That’s the hard part, selling it. I can draw it, but selling it is another story,” he said. “I am just not a very good salesman.”

But his original works in pen and ink and watercolor range from $500 for a smaller work to $1,100 for a larger 21-inch-by-30-inch canvas.

A portion of his collection is on display at the Cos Cob branch of Greenwich Library. The original works at the library are not for sale, but he is selling prints of his works.

Yerks joined the Cos Cob volunteer department in 1933. “Seventy years is a long time to be a volunteer. Of course, I’m not an active firefighter anymore. I have been treasurer since 1953 and was treasurer from 1942-45. I was a volunteer driver for 25 years. It just got to be part of my life. It’s still part of my life,” he said.

Held on the campus of Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, the ceremony honored the district’s 800 firefighters for their contributions to the safety of their respective communities. Departments from Greenwich, Fairfield, Monroe, Norwalk, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stamford, Trumbull and Wilton were welcomed by Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and WCSU Dean of Arts and Sciences Dr. Linda Vaden-Goad. Yerks, who will turn 92 in May, gave a short speech at the ceremony.

“They wanted to know how I did it for so long. I told them it had to be born within you,” he said.

‘Inspirational,’ says Bysiewicz

“Listening to Mr. Yerks speak was really inspirational… He’s a remarkable man,” said Bysiewicz, who said she also asked for his secret to such longevity. (He told her a multivitamin keeps him young).

Yerks joined the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department during the country’s Depression years. “There wasn’t much to do in Cos Cob at that time. It was a really small community. Joining the volunteer fire department was just one of the things to do.”

But in the years that followed, volunteering became more than simply an activity to help keep him busy and was an outlet for service and a source of friendship.

“Down through the years, I’ve met so many wonderful friends. I had a lot of fun with the guys,” Yerks said. “We had any number of officers who started out volunteering at Cos Cob. Peter Robbins was a volunteer firefighter at Cos Cob and became the chief of police.”

In addition to his many years of volunteer service, Yerks spent much of his professional life in the fuel industry, working mainly with coal, then later with the Petro-leum Heat and Power Co. as an area representative.

Asked if he would recommend joining a volunteer department to others, he emphatically answered, “I sure would.” He then qualified the statement thoughtfully, “But like I told them [the firefighters at the ceremony] it has to be within you. It’s not an easy thing… When you’re a volunteer firefighter, you have to be on call all the time. Sometimes it’s not easy to get out of that nice warm bed. But it’s a great bunch of guys.”

Yerks said one outstanding memory was the collapse of the Mianus River Bridge in 1983. “I owned a scanner and had it on 24 hours a day. That one night, I don’t know what happened but it wasn’t on. I woke up and there were planes flying all over so I turned on the radio and saw what happened. I didn’t feel too happy about that.”

Demonstrating what the department has meant to him, Yerks said, “Even though I wasn’t driving anymore and they didn’t miss me, I would have liked to be there.”

The Public Service Awards were conceived four years ago to recognize and thank individuals in the state who contribute their time and skills to their communities.

“We started them four years ago to honor people who volunteer their time with municipals boards or commissions. This year we did volunteer firefighters by congressional district,” said Bysiewicz. “The reason why we do it is twofold. We want to say thank you to people who volunteer their time to make their communities better places. We also want to encourage more people to volunteer and contribute their time.”

Yerks said he was proud to be among the volunteers recognized at Wednesday’s ceremony. “It was a very nice affair.”

As much as Bysiewicz was in awe of Yerks, he was delighted to be recognized by the Secretary of the State. “It was a great honor,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to completing his 71st year with the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department.

This article originally appeared in the GreenwichCitizen.com Web Site on Friday, April 02, 2004 – 5:22:27 PM EST

James was just 37 years old when the crash took his life.  He served with the American Expeditionary Force in Word War I and was  living in the Bronx at 2500 Webb Avenue.  According to his Death Certificate, he was a salesman for an unknown company and appears to have been married to a Mary L. Tierney.

James was born in Manhattan, New York on June 6, 1894 to James F. Tierney and Sarah Beattie Tierney. He died on December 12, 1931 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.

The Association was organized on March 2, 1887 in the old hall at Third Avenue and 24th Street in South Brooklyn.  It opened with 15 charter members.  Within the first year, it had accumulated over $80,000 of assets.  By 1890, the association’s assets had grown to $250,000. When the “great Panic of 1893″ occurred, the association not only survived, but actually increased it’s assets.  In 1895, the association moved its offices to 91 Court Street.  It also had a branch office at 76 39th Street.  In 1897, the assets had grown to a whopping $465,000.

Thomas F. Lewis’ primary job was as a real estate broker in the Brooklyn area. It’s not clear how or when he became involved with the Association, but by 1897, he was the Association’s President.  It appears that his role as the president was a “part-time” job, although he maintained a desk in the office of the Association at 91 Court Street.  He was paid a nominal salary for his services, which prevented him from leaving his Real Estate business.

Trouble seemed to start on January 31, 1901 when an article was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle entitled “They Hoped For Better Times”.  The article talked about the collapse of the Kings County Co-operative and quoted Thomas F. Lewis several times about the problems plaguing Associations in modern times.

Just three days later, Thomas wrote a Letter To The Editor, rebutting many of the quoted remarks published in The Brooklyn Eagle article just days before.

Then, at 1 AM in the morning of February 13, 1901, Joseph V. Sculley, the Associations Vice President, reportedly ran to the local Police Station and requested a Police Officer to come to the association’s office and stand by while an emergency audit of the books was performed.  Apparently, at a regular meeting of the board, it was discovered that a member of the Association was 6 months in arrears of a mortgage commitment.  According to the by-laws of the Association, any lateness at all should have resulted in the Boards immediate notification.   Thomas F. Lewis indicated that he knew nothing of the tardiness, but the Financial Secretary, J. H. Kampf, admitted he did.

In an apparent “abundance of caution”, the board immediately suspended both the President and the Financial Secretary, pending a full audit and investigation.  It appears that the Board ultimately held Thomas Lewis accountable for Mr. Kampf’s actions.  Whether this was the opportunity the board was looking for to get rid of him or not is not clear, but the timing of events is most certainly interesting.

Although the audit revealed that the books balanced out to within a penny, the investigation went on.  Relations between Thomas and the Board remained strained when members of the Board were charged with Larceny for breaking into Thomas’s desk at the office on Court Street. Thomas contended that the desk only contained money, legal papers and documents related to his Real Estate business and the board had no business going into the desk.  The charges were later dropped when Thomas withdrew his complaint.

In October 1901, Thomas Lewis sued the association to recover $106 of his salary due.  The outcome of the suit is not yet known, but Thomas never returned to the Association.

The many details of the events mentioned are contained in multiple Brooklyn Eagle articles, which have I have compiled into a single PDF document.  You can  see ads and read the many articles by clicking the link below.

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