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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1897)
“THE LATE WILLIAM J, WEEKS A Sketch of a Eife’Both Active and Unique. Mr. William J. Weeks, ’44, died at his home in Yaphank, Long Island, on the morning of Sept. 2d, 1897, of can- cer in the stomach. He was 77 years old. The following sketch of Mr. Weeks was prepared for the Class Record sometime ago: WILLIAM JONES WEEKS, son of James Huggins Weeks and Susan Maria (Jones) Weeks, was born in Oyster Bay, Queen’s County, N. Y., on the 21st day of February, 1821. Until he was seven years old, his father, who was one of the promoters ot the Long Island Railroad, and from 1847 to 1850 the President of the Company, resided at Oyster Bay, which had been the ancestral home from the time of his progenitor, Francis Weeks, an immi- grant from England about the middle of the Seventeenth Century and one of the early settlers of the township. He was named for his grandfather, William Jones; whose father, Samuel Jones, often styled “the father of the New York bar,” was the first comptroller of the State, and whose great-grandfather, Major Thomas Jones, after fighting to uphold the fortunes of James II. at the battle of the Boyne in 1690, came two years later from Strabane, Ireland, and settled at Fort Neck, South Oys- ter Bay. His father having moved to the town of Brookhaven, his early education was obtained from the district school there until he was thirteen years old, when he was sent to the Academy at Southampton. duced to the study of English grammar and handled the parts. of speech in such an extraordinary manner as to upset the mental equilibrium of the assistant teacher. After spending ‘a year at Southampton, his studies were con- tinued for about four years at the academies of Bellport and Miller’s Place. He then remained at home for a year and half, principally engaged in the labors of the farm and garden. At this carly age he was a practical YALE! YALE | YALE |! Listen to my tale ! A FULL DRESS SUIT Made to order for $25.00 up FULL SILK LINED A perfect fit, or no sale. $35.00 THE YANKEE TAILORING Co. 938 Chapel Street, | NEW HAVEN, - CONN. Gus. ALHGREN, Cutter. Here he was ‘first intro-- YALH ALUMNI surveyor and was occasionally em- ployed in running lines and measuring land. To carry out his wish for a collegiate education, he was sent again to Miller’s Place in 1839 and completed his preparation. An only child, he returned from Yale to reside with his parents, who were then settled on a large estate in Brook- haven. That part of the town was known as Millville, from certain mills previously owned by his father and others, but there being another village in the State so called, the name, on application to the government about 1845 for a post office, was changed, at his suggestion, to Yaphank, the Indian designation of a creek and neck of land on the south side of the town. During all the succeeding years, he had been engaged in practical and scienti- fic agriculture; first, in assisting his father in the management of the pro- perty, and subsequently in improy- ing his inheritance. He cleared the swamps, planted vineyards of cranber- ries and grapes, was awarded many first premiums for these fruits at the annual fairs in Suffolk County and received a prize from the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. He was one of the first in the county to engage extensively in cranberry cultivation. When this industry first began to excite much attention in the neighborhood, he undertook to prepare some of his land for the pur- pose, but it was only by indomitable perseverance and the liberal expendi- ture of money, extended through a series of years, that he brought the business to the point of adequate re- muneration. One product of the landed estate has been cordwood, of which one year he superintended the cutting and sale of 2,000 cords. This was the result, in 1862, of the most destructive forest fires that ever occurred on Long Island, which lasted for two days and in its course swept over some 4,000 acres of his own and his father’s woodlands; the high price of fuel incident to the war enabled him to recoup a large part of the first loss. From the year 1850 he had been an extensive bee keeper, constructing an improved hive for the management of bees and making a special study of [Continued on 8th page.] OSBORN HALL PHARMACY. 1008 Chapel Street. D. J. BRENNAN, - Proprietor. Duress DRUGS, CHEMICALS, ETC. A full line of SPONGES, BRUSHES, AND TOILET ARTICLES. DRUGGIST TO YALE CO-OP. ASSOCIATION. SMOKERS’ ARTICLES. CIGARS. L. LAUBER, 860 CHAPEL STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONN. TOBACCOS. CIGARETTES. REPAIRING. BICYCLES RENTED ~~. = “REPAIRED A. C, BENHAM, 1078 Chapel St. MALLORY’S QOLtp Curtrostty SHOP 144 Orange Street, New Haven, Conn. Antique Furniture, Old China, Pewter, Brass Goods, Curios, Household Goods, Carpets, &c. Goods Bought or taken and Sold on Commission. PARK _ RESTAURANT DD Vad Vad Vad Val Gat Ant dat 400 Ga0 GaC dat dod 400 Gn 57 BROADWAY. ..-A Popular Resort for... BUSINESS MEN AND STUDENTS. R. H. WRIGHT, PROPRIETOR. PIPES. | Be =o Pp -b 5 es ep. Bi CHARLES -T. PENNELL, Successor to Wm. Franklin & Co., IMPORTING — | AILOR, 40 Center St., New Haven, Conn. J. EDWARD SOMERS, IMPORTING TAILOR, 63 Center Street, NEW HAVEN, - CONN. he. BLISS & CO., | TAILORS CHURCH AND CHAPEL STREETS, New Haven, Conn. VA a POPULAR HATTERS. ————————$—$———— iMpoRTED AND HATS CAPS ENGLISH GOLF AND HENLEY SPECIALTIES FOR YALE. ESTABLISHED 1867. SUIT CASES AND BAGS. THE BURGESS FUR AND HAT Co., 749-751 Chapel Street. jd. KALE, Merchant Tailor 26 Center St., New Haven, Conn. THRE MARK NAKODAS ~ LINEN [AN ENTIRELY-NEW PAINT =] is now used on Hee BRAND MELFORT and ©O.-K GOLE BALES. SAMUEL BUCKLEY & Co., 66 Maiden Lane, New York, eg THE YALE ge BILLIARD «. PARLOR, 280 York st., cor. Broadway. NEWLY: REFITTED THROUGHOUT. 40 per hour. 021% per cue. Billiards, Pool, CHOICE CIGARS and... COOL TEMPERANCE DRINKS. Why should an Educated Man — | One certainly is if he goes into business of any kind without knowing what is likely to be required of him. Those who know what is Best in Academic Education can appreciate most keenly the best PRACTICAL EDUCATION. Education in the minor details of any business may be obtained, it is true, by experience. But don’t be educated in this way unless youmust. IT’S EXPENSIVE. Employers charge dearly (in reduced wages) for what they teach. The long wait for a fair salary means more than the small outlay and short time required for thorough training in Eastman Business College, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., THE BEST TRAINING SCHOOL OF THE LAND. Write for its catalogue. It will prove interesting reading. If you cannot well attend the College you can certainly afford a course of instruction BY CORRESPONDENCE. Ia" By the way, Lieutenant-Governor Timothy L. Woodruff, of New York, Yale ’79, finished his education with a course at Eastman,
