Times Of Smithtown

In 1923, Sotir and Anastasia Gouras settled. Anastasia and Sotir Gouras relocated to Smithtown. Smithtown provided them with two children. James Gouras and his wife Estelle reside in Smithtown, close to their childhood home. James is the patriarch of the family. His daughters are Christina and Diana. The Gourases were one of the first Greek families to arrive at Smithtown Branch.

Sotir and Anna Gouras grew raised in northern Greece. 1891 in Greece. In 1892, he was born in Siatista, Macedonia. Sotir was orphaned at the age of ten and joined a church ward. After leaving home, he wound himself in Anastasia's hamlet. Sotir's fur industry began here. In his twenties, Anastasia worked for Sotir's fur company. In the hills of Macedonia, Sotir fought Turkish insurgents. Sotir fought valiantly for the Greek Victorian Cross. After the Balkan War of 1912 ended, Sotir returned to his business and sweetheart. Local Turks wanting vengeance after the Balkan War threatened his life. Sotir fled Greece while on death row. He afterwards relocated to Leipzig, Europe's fur capital. He sold his stuff and came to Ellis Island in 1913.

Sotir, 22, was discovered alone in 1913. His furry neighborhood house was located on 24th Street, just off 6th Avenue. Instead of becoming a furrier, he worked as an ovenman for the National Biscuit Company. Sotir lost weight while working in hot ovens. Sotir left the National Biscuit Firm in 1914 to start his own fur business at 138 Seventh Avenue. In 1916, Anna was persuaded to join Sotir in America. Anna, 25, embarked on a journey that would take her halfway across the globe to a foreign country. Anna crossed the Atlantic by herself. Sotir met her at Ellis Island, which terrified her.

At 1916, Sotir and Anna married in Manhattan's Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Sotir first opened its doors at 309 West 37th Street. Fur coat makers may want 48" x 96" "fur plates." These pelt plates might be used to construct a coat. Alexandra is welcomed by Anna and Sotir in 1917. James was born in the year 1920. The Gouras family grew up in a new country. Sotir became a citizen in 1922. Anna became a citizen in 1962 while working at a Smithtown fur store.

Sotir Gouras departs New York City in 1922. Anastasia and her two children resided in Manhattan's fur district, Hell's Kitchen. Anastasia desired for her children to grow up in the country. Sotir is looking for a low-cost home in a railroad town near New York City. Sotir couldn't buy in Hempstead, so he relocated to Hauppauge. In 1923, Sotir relocated his family to five forested acres on Route 111 near Bill Arns' Garage. The Gourases had to be bold to leave New York City for Smithtown Branch, where they discovered five acres of woodland along a gravel road.

Sotir cut down trees to construct a home. Arns recalled it. It had a slanted roof and a huge dormer. Front porch has been winterized." A lovely house. On his five acres, Mr. Gouras maintained sheep outside his garage." Jim Gouras remembers "kitchen coal stove, basement coal furnace, indoor plumbing, electric lighting, and kerosene lanterns for emergencies"

Sotir and Anna started a fur company from their new house. In New York City, Sotir purchased fur pelts and stitched them into plates for fur coat producers. Sotir established a fur shop on Main Street, Smithtown Branch. Sotir Gouras hired Johnny's Subside to put up a "Fur Manufacturer" sign. In the face of criticism, Sotir established a fur business in Smithtown. Anna and Sotir continued to produce plates for the New York market. Unsecured company lost furs. Sotir purchased premises on Main Street and established a fur business.

In 1924, Sotir Gouras paid $500 for Claude Conklin's land. Sotir separated the company into two halves. (The building is home to State Farm and ReMax.) Sotir relocated his fur business to the east side of the building and leased the west half to a grocery store. Blue Jay Market was run by the couple. Tenants covered Sotir's mortgage payment. In 1927, Shoemaker leased the third fur shop. Sotir became rich due to his fur business and renters.

In 1927, their second child was born. James passed away in 1926. After their first son, Anna and Sotir named their second son James. Theologia made her debut in 1931. The Route 111 house rapidly became overcrowded with children.

Sotir designed apartments for the growing Gouras family. Sotir expanded his business throughout the Great Depression. Dr. McCoy gave Sotir money to build an addition. Sotir is paid rent. Several people leased flats in Smithtown Branch. Jim Gouras remembers a German couple who ran a restaurant out of their apartment. His father leased the property to Kaplan and Dounias. Despite the downturn in the fur trade, Sotir was able to pay his rent.

Sotir Gouras was concerned about a 1934/35 winter since he resided distant from town and his business. The community was shut down by a 5-foot blizzard this winter. Snow was unable to melt due to the cold temperature. The Town Highway Department used two four-wheel drive Walters trucks equipped with V plows to clear the roadways. Gouras, Arns, Walsh, and Holtz, snowed-in families, ate their larders. George Arns recalls 12 prisoners. Pickled meats, glass eggs, and preserved vegetables were available from the Arns family. Sotir Gouras exchanged lamb for vegetables and eggs. George was well aware that things were not going well. Everyone was starving. The guys devised a path to the Hauppauge store. Hauppauge General Store employees dug north, while Arns Garage employees dug south. Today, workers dug a road at the intersection of Routes 347 and 111. Food was supplied at the Hauppauge General Store. To avoid being cut off by snow, Sotir Gouras moved his family into a fur business apartment. The Gouras family moved to Main Street in 1935. Sotir leased Route 111. In 1947, the house and 5 acres were sold for $10,000.

Alexandra, James, and Theo are Smithtown Branch School grads. James and Theo were reared in the flat of a furrier. Here, Jim met Walter Machecek. Jim and Walt swam in the river, swam in the fur shop's playhouse, and ridiculed Jim's sister Theo.

Patrons from Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor brought furs to Sotir Gouras' Fur Store in the mid-1930s for restyling, new linings, new collars, cleaning, and repairs. Sotir started marketing himself as a "Practical Furrier." Muskrat coats range in price from $40 to $75, while Raccoon coats range in price from $100 to $175. For a $50 Hudson Seal Coat with a Fitch collar, sheared muskrat fur was dyed black to look like seal skin. Warm and long-lasting. The Gouras family firm was able to endure the pre-war years because to Sotir's reality.

Jim was still in high school when WWII broke out, so he volunteered in 1944. Jim returned to Smithtown Branch from Japan in 1946. Sotir Gouras stopped renting out the flats behind his store and dismantled the partition. Jim received his own room in the Gouras' apartment. Jim came home with his parents, unsure of what to do. On the G.I. Bill, he attended Sol Vogel's Create School in New York. After driving to school, he went to work at his father's fur company. Jim's father had a job after school. Jim, a furrier, died as a result of Sotir Gouras' heart attack. He died alone on Labor Day, 1949, of a coronary thrombosis. 58-year-old

Anastasia assumed ownership of her husband's fur store since she was qualified. She taught Jim how to furrier. Jim created woven skin coats. His squirrel paw coat was stitched together. "Squirrel paws are inexpensive and make a gorgeous fur coat," Jim says. Jim's squirrel-paw coats cost $150. He used rabbit belly hair to make $50 rabbit jackets. He fashioned fantastic mink coats from of perfectly matched fur market pelts. Jim remembers making cerulean mink jackets for $2500. Honey Schubert's fur business relied on muskrat and raccoon skins.

Anastasia Gouras, who was 80 at the time, handed Jim the company in 1970. Anna resided behind the fur shop. Anna passed away in 1984. Jim retired and sold his fur store in 1988.

Sotir Gouras, a furrier, has shuttered its Main Street location. Because there are few independent furriers around, you'll most likely get a ready-made coat. On Smithtown's Main Street, the Gouras family created fur coats.

Winter

Our winters are becoming warmer as global warming continues. Several seasons go by without any snow.

George Arns remembers the early and continuous snow of the 1930s. Thanksgiving is usually accompanied by 2-3 feet of snow. Storms dumped snow. Storms struck in 1934 and 1936. "It was snowing in Smithtown in 1936," George said, "so he and his brothers and neighbors dug a path down Hauppauge Road from Arns' Garage on Maple Avenue and Route 111 to Kimbrig's Store." Our iceboxes were empty after three days. The roads were all snow-covered. Nonsense. A automobile took two weeks to get through the snow."

Highway authorities are short on snow removal equipment. "Ploughs were being towed. The grader is equipped with a wooden V-plow. The grader is powered by a Budagas engine. It was bound with chains. The major thoroughfares were open. Unplowed highways Despite obstacles, Route 111 Jericho Turnpike remained operational."

Following the 1934 storm, the highway department purchased a huge oiler to oil roads and plow streets. This Walters tractor could plow snow because to its four-wheel positive drive. A massive V-shaped push plow was used to clean the roadways.

Snow drifts engulfed the Smithtown Branch of the Bank of Smithtown in 1934.

""The transportation department employed a Haiss loader with large paddles to dump snow into chain-driven buckets after 15 feet of snow blanketed Main Street." Other fields received snow. How did they get the snowdrift out? My father, Bill Arns, created a portable conveyor in the 1950s."

The highway agency had enough snowplows and equipment by the 1950s. Despite the snow, highways remained open. Charlie Richardson argued that children are apathetic. Class. There are no school closings. Because snow drivers were adept, traffic was low. The majority of children were unable to attend school due to the snow."

Tom Hancock shoveled snow off the road. $0.75/hour. After a blizzard, the Highway Superintendent asked high school students to shovel the town's sidewalks. Tom swept down Broadway. "One of the older Fiedler men and Billy Mason assigned us chores and departed," he said after finishing the sidewalks. Years have passed. Main Street and its branches" Vitale skipped class to shovel. "What exactly did you do? The main entrance. Everyone crept away from Mr. Floody's office." Everyone got away.

The town's roadways were clogged by two snowstorms. In town, sledding was fantastic. No road salt in the 1950s. Following a snowstorm, two men would shovel sand on slopes and junctions where cars may skid. They only sand uphill slopes, not downwards. Long slopes cause children to slip.

Sledding is something Charlie Richardson remembers doing with Bull. You might slide down the north side of the road. Sunken Meadow's 25A slope appealed to us." Pete Vitale had a good time at the Blydenburgh Road dump. Our goal was Townline Road. Exciting! The sun melted snow on a bare road, creating sparks similar to welding." Rust was defeated.

On Golden Hill, children must keep an eye out for cars. Gus Metzger was charmed by Golden Hill. He slid down Bellmeade and Main Street. "In the snow, everyone drove carefully and used chains," Charlie Richardson remarked. Strap-on chains were required due to the inclement weather." On the compacted snow, sledding was enjoyable. Slopes exist in backyards. Popular restaurants included Micciches, Frank Friede's, Cherry Lane, and the Elks Lodge. Snowed-in kids rode Flexible Flyers.

Tom Hancock had the town's fastest sled. Tom skied by sprinting, hopping on his tummy, and flying. There were few young opponents. When a car's bumper bumped Tom, he soared. Near Lake Ronkonkoma, the Motor Parkway was renowned for hill biking. Tom recounts being carried up the hill outside the Hyatt Inn to the first curve, when "you were supposed to let go and fly down the road." "If you went too fast, you'd crash into the woods because skiers were afraid to let go. We squandered the day searching for them in the snow and forests."

Metzger was dragging skateboards. When the ice was thick enough, he drove his Model A Ford into Miller's Pond. He'd "crack the whip" and pull 17 or 18 skaters around the pond. They'd fly out of the water and smack onto a pole. Following a successful post, "We'd go to Schuberts and smash the fender. " WWII."

Miller's Water became a skating rink when the pond froze. According to George Arns, the pond was visited by 150-200 skaters. Skaters could see better at night because to bonfires. Roasted potatoes and marshmallows Gus Metzger sneaked two potatoes into the ashes and cooked them. Wonderful "After falling in the pond, Gus Metzger was kept warm by fires. My mother scolded me because my clothes were filthy, chilly, and wet. I'd get dressed and walk to the pond. I'd go home and change when I fell." Tom Hancock remembers following reed rivers into the woods and slipping through ice. Knee-deep was sufficient. Some youngsters were misbehaving in the pond. According to George Arns, one of the Ruppert twins perished in the ice. Gus Metzger remembers more drownings. Dams with streaming water and a lack of spring ice were issues. After a tragedy, the Millers walled off the pond, but skaters returned.

The town ultimately despatched people to gauge the thickness of the ice. "Skate at Your Own Risk," warned the placard in the 1950s. George remembers skating on shaky ice. "Falling meant stopping. "I couldn't skate as fast as these guys," Gus said before falling in the water. Gus lived near the pond on Maple Avenue so he could "get his little thrashing" and return.

Hancock is reminded of Miller's Pond. Dounias and Hendrickson planned and officiated the event. "Tom recalls layers. He undressed to his undershirt while he played and sweated, dying of thirst. They got their water from an ice spring. Afternoon layers were added in preparation for the nighttime chill. Tom used to play hockey without skates. He used a hockey stick and shoe skates to skate. He went to the line and played hockey. Without a hockey stick, his skating was subpar. While skating with his friends, he kept sliding. Tom knew his girlfriends would be there for him, and skating with them was more enjoyable.

Skating was popular at Judge's Pond, the Bull Pond, and the Wyandanch Club's Mill Pond. Everyone went ice skating at Miller's Pond. Smithtown Fire Department used water to smooth the ice. Firemen parked to allow night skaters to view the pond. Carol Palmer said that Miller's Pond skaters were served hot chocolate on frigid nights. The unexpected assistance of the firefighters demonstrates what Smithtown Branch winters were like not long ago.

Smithtown was founded by Smythe.

"Whisper" is reminiscent of Richard Smythe's foundation. The same as Richard Smythe's bull. "Bull Rider" Richard Smythe is enigmatic. We have a lot of information on him. The Nicholls Patent, given on March 3, 1665 by the Royal Governor of New York, acknowledged Richard Smythe's claim to the Nesaquauke lands, but we don't know how Smythe persuaded the English Governor to issue a Patent in his name and award Smith such a broad proprietary land grant. There are still questions. Speculations concerning his birth, family, and education. We don't know why Richard Smith came to America, how he got to Boston, or how he met his wife. We have no idea where he resided in Nissequogue, but he is buried on Whisper Hill. It is unknown whether he possessed a bull. "Bull story" describes how he came to own Nesaquake property.

The well-known bull tale. In John Lawrence Smith's 1883 History of Smithtown, Richard Smythe and his descendants are referred to as "Bull-Riders" and "Bull Smiths." He grabbed as much Indian land in a day as he could bull-ride. He started early, arrived in the valley between Smithtown and Huntington by noon, rested and ate his lunch, and accomplished the whole circle by midnight, astonishing the Indians." The quiet manner in which Richard Smythe obtained his title to the entire territory from Gardiner, as well as the great difficulty he later had with his neighbors in settling his boundary, make it certain that the legend about his sharp bargain with the Indians is partly drawn from the classic story of Dido's purchase of the site of Carthage and entirely false. The patentee was riding a bull. "The patentee was well-off" and "had a lot of horses" when the tax collector came." Rodeo? The judge believes the bull narrative is false.

He couldn't have gotten the Nesaquake lands any other way. In 1635, Richard Smythe traveled from England to St. Christopher's aboard the John of London. He went to America with 33 other single men and women. Richard Smith, 22, and six females aged 18 to 21 were among those on the manifest. "Singles trip"? Ships going for the West Indies came to a standstill at Boston. Richard Smythe might have come back from Boston or St. Christopher's. It is uncertain what he was doing. Richard Smythe first appears in documentation from Southampton, Long Island around 1643. The document relates to a Southampton General Court decision requiring Thomas Hyldreth to pay "Mr. Smith" "three pounds, twelve shillings, and four pence" in English wheate in order to settle "all problems." Mr. Smith's wheat was ruined by Thomas Hylreth.

Southampton was established by Massachusetts Bay colonists in 1639/40. In 1643, Richard Smythe joined the town's proprietors. By 1649, Richard had become a "freeman."

Richard's wife is a mystery. According to Dr. Frederick Kinsman Smith, Richard Smith met his wife in New England. According to legend, he married Sarah Folger. Ned Smith and Henry Hoff believe his wife was Sarah Hammond of Watertown. Richard Smythe dated in Boston from 1635 to 1640. Sarah Hammond, just 17, married Richard Smythe in 1640. Jonathan, who was born in 1641, implies they married before coming to Southampton. They are not wed. Southampton gave birth to seven of Richard and Sarah's children.

Southampton's Richard Smythe takes the lead. His three 50-pound lots were among the biggest in town, implying that he made a substantial investment when he arrived to Southampton. The majority of owners owned one 50-pound lot, with 14 having two. On Main Street, Richard Smythe lives near the Pond and the beach. He owned the whole town, was a free man, and could have any job he wanted. He was appointed constable and to the "Great Playnes" commission by the General Court. He was a town assessor, a slander jury member, and a whale cutter.

Richard Smythe, like Edward Howell, Lion Gardiner, and Richard Woodhull, was an active entrepreneur in Southampton. He was a 13-year community leader on September 17, 1656 "Richard Smith has been expelled for insulting the judiciary. If he changes his mind, he must depart within a week to prepare.

Banishment! Richard Smythe received a harsh punishment. Richard Smythe was fined "five pounds" for being in Southampton on October 6, 1656. His dismissal perplexes me. The expulsion is explained by Frederick Kinsman Smith.

Smythe, according to Smith, visited England in 1655. He came to see us for unclear reasons. Perhaps he was hoping to convince his parents to accompany him to America. According to Ancestors.com, both parents immigrated. Richard Smith was born in 1589 in England and died in Connecticut in 1667. Joan Barton died in 1664 in Rhode Island. When the Speedwell left for Boston in 1656, Richard Smythe was in England. Richard Smythe, 43, is a passenger. Eight friends took the trip. During the 10-week journey to America, Dr. Smith thought Richard Smythe became "intimately attached" to these Quakers and adopted their principles "after extensive study and argument." On August 7, 1656, when the Speedwell arrived in Boston, eight Quakers were detained. Richard was imprisoned for three weeks before being released and returned to his home on Long Island. He was expelled for "disrespectful conduct toward judges." According to Dr. Kinsman Smith, Richard Smythe got into difficulty with Southampton courts and people because he "disseminated his newly acquired beliefs." He would have been banished by Puritans. Richard Smythe's nickname, according to Dr. Smith, was "Quaker Smith."

If this is the true basis for Richard Smythe's deportation from Southampton, he was the sole Quaker in America in the spring of 1657, after Boston courts expelled the others.

Richard Smythe and his friends departed Southampton for Setauket. He stayed in Setauket until 1665. He bought Smithtown from Nesaquake and the Englishmen.

When did Richard Smythe decide to purchase Nissequogue? He contemplated purchasing his Setauket house since it provided him with extensive knowledge of the Nissequogue River region. He would triumph by chance.

"Nesaquake lived on both banks of the Nissequogue," according to legend. The Montauk tribe ruled over Nesaquake. Wyandanch was the sachem of the Montauks and the "undisputed ruler of all other sachems on Long Island's east end." No land could be purchased without his authority. He purchased land from subordinate chiefs and sold it to Europeans." Wyandanch bestowed Lion Gardiner Nesaquake in 1659. His selection is unusual.

Wyandanch and the Montauks sought guidance from Lion Gardiner, the first white man on Long Island's east end in 1639. In 1653, Narragansett Indians invaded Montauk. When they invaded, Momone was about to marry a Shinnecock sachem. During a Shinnecock wedding and feast, Narragansetts descended in Montauk. Half of the Montauk tribe was slaughtered, and Princess Momone, dubbed "the Heather Flower," was kidnapped. Nobody knows how many people perished in Montauk and Shinnecock. When the Montauks met Europeans, they had roughly 2,000 people, therefore the fight killed around 1000 people. Massacre Valley is located east of Lake Montauk.

Wyandanch pleaded with Lion Gardiner to help him find his daughter after the battle. Princess Momone was returned to her homeland at the request of Lion Gardiner. Ninigret kidnapped Heather Flower in exchange for wampum. Gardiner presented Wyandanch with wampum. "For Ninigret, John Wintrop's agents intercepted the ransom from Montauk vessels." Ninigret released the Heather Flower and returned Wyandanch's daughter to Richard Smythe in Setauket after Wyandanch asked Lion Gardiner to intercede again. In 1659, Lion Gardiner Nesaquake received lands from Wyandanch, a grateful father and sachem. Four years later, Richard Smythe bought the farm from Lion Gardiner.

Richard Smythe may have been interested in the Nesaquake lands after witnessing the deed signing, or he may have aided in the purchase. According to William Pelletreau, "Gardiner and Smythe planned it all." Richard Smythe obtained Nesaquake from Lion Gardiner via a "friendship deed" between Wyandanch and Gardiner. Gardiner's deed to Smythe was lost, so we'll never know what they agreed upon. According to David Gardiner's press releases, Richard Smythe owes nothing to Nesaquake. "Friendship Deed" is free of debt.

In 1663, Lion Gardiner gave the property to Richard Smythe. 14 years. He quickly tracked down the remaining Nesaquake chieftains who could have a claim to the Nissequogue River's east and west banks. Around 1664, Richard Smythe moved his family to the Nissequogue Valley. Richard Smythe constructed in Nesaquake. The hollow was close to the river for easy access to water, yet far enough inland to avoid winter storms. The depression had springs, ponds, and Indian-cleared fields. Trails lead to this ostensibly Indian settlement. Smithtown began here.

Richard Smythe moved from Setauket to Smithtown, though he retained ownership of his Setauket property until 1686. Richard Smythe assumed control by relocating his family to his "Nesaquauke" farm. On March 3, 1665, the royal governor of New York, Sir Richard Nicolls, handed him Nesaquauke estates. Nicolls' patent recognized his possession of the eastern bank while disputing ownership of the western bank. The Patent required Richard Smythe to establish ten households within three years, or twenty families within five years, if his dispute with Huntington over the western bank lands was settled. The Royal Governor said that Richard Smythe's properties would have the "same privileges" as any other town in the Colony and would be tax-free for three (or five) years while he established homes. (Taxes)

Smythe/Smithtown was founded by patent. For 12 years, Richard Smythe battled Huntington for control of the Nissequogue River's west bank. The Royal Governor of New York, Edmond Andros, confirmed Richard Smythe's sovereignty of the Nesaquake estates on both sides of the river in 1677 and designated his properties as a "township."

His residence was in Smythe's Town. He ruled like a father since many of his town's newcomers were children. He gave his relatives land on which to settle and name their children. His descendants and granddaughters did not divide Smithtown until 1736, 44 years after his death. The Smiths stayed because Smithtown had so much land, and hundreds of their descendants now reside there. Until the twentieth century, you might say "Good morning, Mr. or Mrs. Smith!" and be considered polite. They are Richard Smythe's heirs.

Richard Smythe left behind more than just children. His "y"-spelled signature, seal, and coat of arms, which is now Smithtown's seal, snuffbox, sword, chair, ceramic jug, and maybe a fragment of his original home. The Meserve House on Long Beach Road in Nissequogue was possibly his first home. When Richard Smythe died in 1692, he left behind clothes, weapons, slaves, and land. We have no idea where or if this person is buried. A monument stone atop Whisper Hill commemorates his life, death, and burial. He was hardly out of his grave when his second son, Richard, sued his mother for his inheritance.