Alfred Lawton Hammett, An Important Early Pelham Manor Resident
Alfred
Lawton Hammett was a notable early resident of Pelham Manor who moved to the
area in 1882 and resided in a house on Prospect Avenue. He later acquired an adjacent lot and moved
the house a few yards so that it fronted on Clay Avenue. The home still stands at 1030 Clay Avenue. He and his wife lived in that home until each
died more than fifty years later.
1030 Clay Avenue, Village of Pelham Manor, The Home
of Alfred Lawton Hammett and Elizabeth Burdick "Lizzie"
Hammett for More than 50 Years. The Home Still Stands.
Alfred
L. Hammett was a son of Charles E. Hammett, Jr.
Charles E. Hammett Jr. was a notable Newport, Rhode Island resident who
owned and operated a stationery store at 124 Thames Street in Newport during the
latter decades of the nineteenth century.
According to an 1867 Newport Directory, the business also tuned pianos
and worked on sewing machines.
Alfred
Lawton Hammett was born in Newport in about 1850. He graduated from Newport High School and,
following graduation, began work with his father in his father’s stationery
store on Thames Street.
About
October 4, 1875, Alfred L. Hammett married Elizabeth Burdick “Lizzie” Oxx, a daughter of Gordon Oxx of
Newport and Jamestown. Within the next
few years, the couple moved to the New York City area.
By
the beginning of 1882, Alfred and Lizzie Hammett had moved to Pelham Manor. Alfred Hammett later recalled that he
attended the annual meeting of the Pelham Manor Protective Club held on New
Year’s Day, 1882 and that he found everyone “so hospitable” that he and his wife
decided to stay in Pelham Manor for the rest of their lives. The minutes of the Pelham Manor Protective
Club indicate that at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Club held on
June 10, 1882 “Mr. Barnett moved, that the Secretary be instructed to write to
Messrs. Merry, Almy and Hammett, requesting their
application for members. Carried.” According to the minutes of the club, at a meeting of the Executive
Committee held immediately before the annual meeting of the club on January 1,
1883, “On motion, Mr. A. L. Hammett was elected a member of the Pelham Manor
Protective Club.” Mr. Hammett
then attended the annual meeting of the club held the same day at the
residence of Mr. George H. Reynolds.
During
the annual meeting of the Pelham Manor Protective Club held on January 1, 1887,
Alfred L. Hammett was elected to the Executive Committee of the club for the
ensuing year, together with Henry W. Taft, F. Carles Merry, and Cortlandt W. Starr.
He participated on the Committee on Tramp Notices and the Committee on
Watchman and Lamp-Lighting Service. Some
of the Executive Committee meetings that year were held in Hammett’s home. He was re-elected to the Executive Committee
for the following year during the January 2, 1888 annual meeting of the
club. He likewise was re-elected to the
Executive Committee for 1889 at the January 1, 1889 annual meeting of the
club. Hammett resigned from the club in
1890, the year before the club was disbanded upon the incorporation of the
Village of Pelham Manor.
Throughout
this time, Alfred L. Hammett was working his way from clerk up to bank teller at
National Bank of Commerce. In 1896,
however, Hammett was integrally involved in the formation of The People’s Bank
for Savings, New Rochelle.
Hammett
served as the bank manager of The People’s Bank for Savings, New Rochelle from
the time of its formation in 1896 until shortly before his death in 1937. He rose to the position of Executive Vice
President of the bank and was noted as arriving promptly at his desk even at the
age of 85 promptly at 8:15 a.m. each day.
Alfred Hammett nearly lost his life during the Great Blizzard of 1888 that reached the height of its fury on March 12, 1888. I have written about the blizzard and its impact on Pelham extensively. See:
Thu., Mar. 13, 2014: The Great Blizzard of 1888 in Pelham: 126 Years Ago Yesterday and Today.
Tue., Feb. 14, 2006: An Account of the Blizzard of 1888 by Pelham Manor Resident Henry W. Taft.
Thu., Feb. 20, 2014: Pelham Manor in 1883 and in its Early Years - Recollections of An Early Pelham Manor Resident.
Bell, Blake A., The Blizzard of 1888: Pelham in the Midst of the "Great White Hurricane." The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 34, Aug. 27, 2004, p. 9, col. 1.
Hammett was among several Pelhamites who became trapped on the "Peanut Train" commuter train on the New Haven Branch Line as they tried to get to work in New York City during the storm. Trapped in the train for the day, they began to break up wooden benches and burn them in the wood-burning stove of the passenger car for warmth. Finally, when it became clear that help was not on the way, the passengers took off into the storm to find their ways home. Hammett trekked with his neighbor, Henry Waters Taft and nearly did not make it. Taft found him collapsed in the snow near his home and helped him to his door.
In reminiscences published in the local newspaper when Hammett was 85 years old, he said about the Blizzard of 1888:
"Don’t let them tell you that it wasn’t the worst storm that this section has ever witnessed. With four other residents of the village I was caught in the storm while on board a commuting train on the branch line.
‘It was a thrilling experience and one that I will never forget. Our escape was regarded as miraculous because others in the village died as a result of the storm. When we reached home our eyes were closed by the ice and we staggered to and fro like drunken men. I do not care to again witness such a storm.’" (See article quoted in full below.)
Hammett and his wife were active members of the Pelham community for more than fifty years. Alfred Hammett served as Town Assessor of the Town of Pelham. He served as treasurer as well. He served as a member of the board of trustees of the Village of Pelham Manor after incorporation of the Village in 1891. He also was a long-time member of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church. He served there as Clerk of Session, Superintendent of the Sunday school, an Elder and a Trustee.
Alfred Lawton Hammett and Elizabeth Burdick "Lizzie" Oxx Hammett had at least two children: Anne Hammett and Alfred D. Hammett.
Alfred Lawton Hammett died in his home at 1030 Clay Avenue in Pelham Manor on Friday, August 20, 1937. Funeral services were held two days later in the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Willard P. Soper, pastor, and the Rev. Dr. Lewis Gaston Leary of New York, former pastor, officiated at the service. Interment took place Monday, August 23, 1937 in the family plot in Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle.
Elizabeth Burdick "Lizzie" Oxx Hammett died on December 12, 1938 in her home at 1030 Clay Avenue. She was also an active member of the community. Like her husband, she was a member of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church for more than 50 years. She served as Superintendent of the Sunday School of the church for many years. She served as treasurer of the Women’s Society of the church for 26 years. She was honorary president of the Pelham branch of the Needlework Guild of America, having become affiliated with it when it was founded by Mrs. Robert C. Black in about 1892. She was a former member of the board of directors of the New Rochelle Hospital, the Huguenot Young Men’s Christian Association of New Rochelle, and the Pelham Home for Children.
Lizzie Hammett's funeral was held at Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church on December 14, 1938. She was buried in the family plot in Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle.
* * * * *
Hammett was among several Pelhamites who became trapped on the "Peanut Train" commuter train on the New Haven Branch Line as they tried to get to work in New York City during the storm. Trapped in the train for the day, they began to break up wooden benches and burn them in the wood-burning stove of the passenger car for warmth. Finally, when it became clear that help was not on the way, the passengers took off into the storm to find their ways home. Hammett trekked with his neighbor, Henry Waters Taft and nearly did not make it. Taft found him collapsed in the snow near his home and helped him to his door.
Only Known Photograph of The Little Peanut Train
on the Branch Line. Photograph Taken Several Days
After the March 12, 1888 Storm. Alfred L. Hammett
was on the Train When It Became Stuck in the Snow
and Trekked Home in the Storm with Henry Waters Taft.
Photo Courtesy of The Office of The Historian of The
Town of Pelham. NOTE: Click Image To Enlarge.
In reminiscences published in the local newspaper when Hammett was 85 years old, he said about the Blizzard of 1888:
"Don’t let them tell you that it wasn’t the worst storm that this section has ever witnessed. With four other residents of the village I was caught in the storm while on board a commuting train on the branch line.
‘Two of us walked from below the Westchester station through the snowdrifts back to Bartow, where we rested for a while and then continued on to Pelham Manor.
Hammett and his wife were active members of the Pelham community for more than fifty years. Alfred Hammett served as Town Assessor of the Town of Pelham. He served as treasurer as well. He served as a member of the board of trustees of the Village of Pelham Manor after incorporation of the Village in 1891. He also was a long-time member of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church. He served there as Clerk of Session, Superintendent of the Sunday school, an Elder and a Trustee.
Alfred Lawton Hammett and Elizabeth Burdick "Lizzie" Oxx Hammett had at least two children: Anne Hammett and Alfred D. Hammett.
Alfred Lawton Hammett died in his home at 1030 Clay Avenue in Pelham Manor on Friday, August 20, 1937. Funeral services were held two days later in the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Willard P. Soper, pastor, and the Rev. Dr. Lewis Gaston Leary of New York, former pastor, officiated at the service. Interment took place Monday, August 23, 1937 in the family plot in Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle.
Elizabeth Burdick "Lizzie" Oxx Hammett died on December 12, 1938 in her home at 1030 Clay Avenue. She was also an active member of the community. Like her husband, she was a member of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church for more than 50 years. She served as Superintendent of the Sunday School of the church for many years. She served as treasurer of the Women’s Society of the church for 26 years. She was honorary president of the Pelham branch of the Needlework Guild of America, having become affiliated with it when it was founded by Mrs. Robert C. Black in about 1892. She was a former member of the board of directors of the New Rochelle Hospital, the Huguenot Young Men’s Christian Association of New Rochelle, and the Pelham Home for Children.
Lizzie Hammett's funeral was held at Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church on December 14, 1938. She was buried in the family plot in Beechwoods Cemetery in New Rochelle.
* * * * *
“Alfred L. Hammett, 85, Has Been A Resident of Manor for 53 Years
-----
Banker
Recalls Days When There Were Only a Few Houses in The Village; Tells of Blizzard
of 1888.
-----
There
have been many changes in Pelham Manor in the last 53 years. Few people in the village can record them
so well as Alfred L. Hammett, of Clay avenue, who has
been a resident of the village, living in the same house for the last 53
years. Mr. Hammett, who celebrated his
85th birthday on Sunday, was in a reminiscent mood when he was
interviewed by The Pelham Sun this week.
‘What
was Pelham Manor like in 1882?’ he asked in answer to our question. ‘Well, the first day I came up here, I heard
it described as a ‘godforsaken place,’ and I’ll admit that I might have been
convinced, at the time, but a second visit changed my opinion. I began the year 1882 by attending the annual
meeting of the Protective Club of the village [i.e., The Pelham Manor Protective Club],
and I found it so hospitable that I have been here ever
since.’
The interest that Mr. and Mrs. Hammett have
displayed in the affairs of the Pelhams since that day
are testimony to the fact that they were exceedingly pleased with what they saw
on that cold and snowy New Year’s day, fifty-three years ago. The many responsible positions that Mr.
Hammett has held in the village and town government and the close association
with which he and Mrs. Hammett have been identified with local social and church
activities make this all the more evident.
When
Mr. and Mrs. Hammett first came to Pelham Manor, they had only fourteen
neighbors. Old timers will recall the
names of some of those early villagers who were really responsible for the
inception of civic and social activities of the village, which they have seen
grow from a small settlement to one of the outstanding suburban residential
communities of the metropolitan area.
The fourteen families they met at the meeting of the Protective League,
which [preceded] the Village Board of Trustees, included those of R. Clifford
Black, Sr., Thomas De Witt, George Reynolds, John H. Dey, Mr. Starr, a business partner of Mr. Black, and a
family by the name of Hitchcock. All but
the Dey’s are gone, most of them forgotten. But Mr. and Mrs. Hammett who are now the
oldest residents of the village, will never forget their New Year’s greetings of
1882.
Mr.
and Mrs. Hammett moved into a house in Prospect avenue. The dwelling
has since been enlarged and moved to its present location, but it has been home
to them for 53 years.
Mr.
Hammett recalls the days when the streets of the village were lighted by
kerosene lanterns.
‘We
had to put up our own lanterns in those days,’ he told the interviewer. ‘There were fifteen houses and about
twenty-one lanterns, so you can see that the community spirit of the Pelhams was born early.’
‘Oh,
we had more than 15 buildings,’ Mr. Hammett hastened to inform the
interviewer. ‘There was the old Red
Church at the corner of the Boston Road and Pelham Manor; Christ’s Church at the
other end of Pelhamdale avenue, and the Prospect Hill
School where John M. Shinn was principal and teacher, on Jackson
avenue.
‘Two
villages had been laid out, but only one of them incorporated. The Village of Pelham Manor had its boundary
line on Prospect avenue and all that territory west of
that was laid out as the Village of Prospect Hill, but the developers never got
so far as incorporating it.
‘I
could show you an interesting picture of the Prospect Hill School not so many
years after we moved there. Among the
pupils were James Burnett (now a sergeant in the Pelham Manor police
department), Henry E. Dey and the Beecroft
boys.’
In
the early days, Mr. Hammett who was associated with the old National Bank of
Commerce in New York City (now the Guaranty Trust Company) used to commute on
the branch line of the New Haven Railroad.
‘It
ended at 133rd street in the Bronx,’ said Mr. Hammett, ‘and the Third
Avenue ‘L’ had just been completed.
Sometimes we’d use that, but more often we’d go down town from the Bronx
on the steamer ‘Shady Side’ and enjoy a fine sail down the East River. That beat the ‘L’ a thousand
ways.’
The
course of the interview wandered somewhat and Mr. Hammett was asked to go
further back and recall something of his life before he came to Pelham
Manor. He was born at Newport, R. I.,
the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hammett.
His father was one of the oldest booksellers in the United States. In his early life, Mr. Hammett worked with
his father.
One
of his earliest recollections is of the Civil War period when on an errand to
the express office, he’d see the black boxes bearing the bodies of Newport men
who were killed in battle.
‘One
doesn’t forget those things,’ he said.
‘Why I remember playing with a group of boys one day in 1865. Some one [sic] told
us that President Abraham Lincoln had been shot. Even to us youngsters, it was a
catastrophe.
‘But
we were talking about Pelham in the 80’s,’ he brightened up. ‘Perhaps the most interesting thing . . . of
our early days here was in the great blizzard of March 1888. Don’t let them tell you that it wasn’t the
worst storm that this section has ever witnessed. With four other residents of the village I
was caught in the storm while on board a commuting train on the branch
line.
‘Two
of us walked from below the Westchester station through the snowdrifts back to
Bartow, where we rested for a while and then continued on to Pelham
Manor.
‘It
was a thrilling experience and one that I will never forget. Our escape was regarded as miraculous because
others in the village died as a result of the storm. When we reached home our eyes were closed by
the ice and we staggered to and fro like drunken men. I do not care to again witness such a
storm.’
In
spite of his age, Mr. Hammett, who is executive vice-president of the People’s
Bank for Savings in New Rochelle, is at his desk every morning at 8:15
o’clock. He is recognized as one of the
outstanding savings bank executives in Westchester County, and was one of the
first bankers in the county to see the advantage afforded by the Christmas Club savings and also in school deposits.
Mr.
Hammett has served [as] village treasurer and town assessor. He has the distinction of being one of the
few town officers nominated by both the Republican and the Democratic
parties. He has been Superintendent of
the Sunday School of the Huguenot Memorial Church,
clerk of the Session of the Church and Treasurer of the Church for many
years.
Mr.
Hammett spent [h]is birthday quietly with members of his family. Those present included Mrs. Hammett, and
their son Alfred D. Hammett of Englewood, N. J., his wife and their three
children, Alfred Lawton Hammett, 2nd, Constance Hutson Hammett and
Robert Hutson Hammett, and Mr. Hammett’s sister Mrs.
Emily Rogers, of Stamford.
‘I’d
like to be as hearty as you are at 85,’ said the interviewer in parting with Mr.
Hammett.
‘You
can, if you live right,’ was Mr. Hammett’s immediate
answer.”
Source: Alfred
L. Hammett, 85, Has Been A Resident of Manor for 53 Years – Banker Recalls Days
When There Were Only a Few Houses in The Village; Tells of Blizzard of
1888,
The Pelham Sun, Aug. 16, 1935,
p.
3, cols. 1-3.
“FORMER NEWPORTER IS HONORED IN NEW ROCHELE
[sic]
-----
Alfred
L. Hammett Gives Mantel Clock at Anniversary Celebration of
Bank
-----
At
the twenty-fifth birthday celebration of the People’s Bank of Saving in New
Rochelle, N. Y. last week, Alfred L. Hammett, a former Newporter, one of the founders of the bank and now secretary
of the institution, was presented with a mantel clock from the trustees, in
appreciation of his service since the bank was founded, 25 years ago. Mrs. Hammett received a bouquet. J. F. Lamsden, one
of the founders of the bank, in presenting the clock spoke of the interest of
Mr. Hammett in the bank and the work which he had carried on during the
quarter-century of its existence. In
accepting the gift, Mr. Hammett told of the struggles of the young bank
immediately after it was started, and said that in the first year there were
only $2100 in deposits. Now the bank’s
resources are more than $3,000,000. Mr.
Hammett has been manager of the bank since it started.
Mr.
Hammett is a son of the late Charles E. Hammett, Jr., and as a young man was
engaged with him in the stationery business here. He was for many years in the clerical
department of the National Bank of Commerce, rising to the position of teller,
and started the New Rochelle bank in 1896.
He has lived for many years in Pelham Manor, N. Y., where he has held
various officers.”
Source: FORMER
NEWPORTER IS HONORED IN NEW ROCHELE [sic] -- Alfred L. Hammett Gives Mantel
Clock at Anniversary Celebration of Bank,
Newport Mercury and Weekly News, Apr. 17, 1931, p.
1, col. 7
(access via link requires paid subscription).
“ALFRED L. HAMMETT DIES IN PELHAM MANOR, N.
Y.
-----
Native
Newporter Was Engaged In Banking In New York City and New Rochelle
-----
Alfred
L. Hammett, a native of Newport, and for many years
connected with banking institutions in New York city and New Rochelle, N. Y.,
died last Friday afternoon at his home in Pelham Manor, N.
Y.
He
was born 85 [sic] years ago, a son of the late Charles E. Hammett, Jr., and
after being graduated from the old Newport High School, was employed in his
father’s book store on Thames street.
Later
he went to New York and for many years was a clerk in the former National Bank
of Commerce in New York, rising to the position of teller. In 1906 he was largely interested in the
establishment of the Peoples’ Saving Bank of New Rochelle, being in turn
secretary, treasurer and executive vice president. He retired only a few years
ago.
He
had been a resident of Pelham Manor for 53 years, having been one of the
pioneers of that village, locating there when there were only 11 houses. He had been assessor, treasurer and a member
of the board of trustees of the village.
He
was a member of the Old Huguenot Church for many years serving as superintendent
of the Sunday school, elder and trustee.
Surving
are his wife, who was Miss Elizabeth H. Oxx, daughter
of the late Gordon Oxx of Newport and Jamestown; a
daughter, Miss Anne Hammett, a son, Alfred D. Hammett of Englewood, N. J.,
several grandchildren, a sister, Mrs. Floyd W. Rogers of Stamford, Conn., and a
half-brother Philip M. Hammett of Long Island.
Fred M. Hammett of this city is a cousin, and Dr. C. Hammett Rogers, a
nephew.
Funeral
services were held Sunday at Pelham Manor.”
Source: ALFRED
L. HAMMETT DIES IN PELHAM MANOR, N. Y. -- Native Newporter Was Engaged In Banking In New York City and New
Rochelle,
The Newport Mercury and Weekly News,
Aug. 27, 1937, p.
3, col. 2
(access via link requires paid subscription).
“HAMMETT RITES HELD IN
MANOR
-----
Associates
at New Rochelle People’s Bank Attend
-----
(Special
To The Daily Argus)
PELHAM
MANOR, Aug. 23. – Funeral services for Alfred Lawton Hammett, executive
vice-president of the People’s Bank for Savings, New Rochelle, who died Friday
at his home, 1030 Clay Avenue, were held here yesterday in the Huguenot Memorial
Church.
The
Rev. Dr. Willard P. Soper, pastor, and the Rev. Dr.
Lewis Gaston Leary of New York, former pastor, officiated. Interment took place this morning in the
family plot in Beechwood
Cemetery.
Mina
Hager, mezzo-soprano, sang two hymns, ‘For All the Saints’ and ‘Faith of Our
Fathers, Living Still.’ Emil Nielsen was
organist.
Officials
and trustees of the People’s Bank, of which Mr. Hammett was a founder and
official for 31 years, were present at the services. They included C. B. Allen, president; John F.
Lambden, vice-president; Joseph McCoy, secretary, and
Joseph McNamara and Charles Kirehoff, assistant
secretaries.
Bank
trustees at the services were Melvin Hayes, Walter Young, Zeger W. Van Zelm, Clifford Bragdon, D. C. C. Guion, Michael
Bartnett, William Kirchoff,
of New Rochelle, and Walter Marvin, Jr., of Larchmont. Employees of the bank present were Robert
Cockburn and Joseph Walters.
Urbain
Le Gost, of the Savings Banks Association of New York
State, represented that organization. J.
Marshall Perley, vice-president of the New Rochelle
Trust Company, was also at the services.”
Source: HAMMETT
RITES HELD IN MANOR -- Associates at New Rochelle People’s Bank
Attend,
The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY],
Aug. 23, 1937, p.
2, col. 3.
“MRS. ALFRED L.
HAMMETT
PELHAM
MANOR – Elizabeth Burdick Hammett, eighty-four, widow of Alfred Lawton Hammett,
who was formerly vice-president of the People’s Bank for Savings, New Rochelle,
died last night at her home here, 1030 Clay Avenue.
Born
in Newport, R. I., daughter of the late Thomas and Mary Hannah Burdick Oxx, she lived in Pelham Manor since 1881. She was a member of the Huguenot Memorial
Church of Pelham for more than 50 years and superintendent of the Primary
Department of its Sunday School many years. She served as treasurer of the Women’s
Society of the church 26 years and was a leader in all its women’s
activities.
Mrs.
Hammett was honorary president of the Pelham branch of the Needlework Guild of
America, having become affiliated with it when it was founded by Mrs. Robert C.
Black 46 years ago. She was a former
member of the board of directors of the New Rochelle Hospital, the Huguenot
Young Men’s Christian Association of New Rochelle and the Pelham Home for
Children.
Surviving
are a daughter, Miss Anne Hammett of Pelham Manor; a son, Alfred Lawton Hammett,
West Englewood, N. J., and three grandchildren.
Funeral
services will be held tomorrow at 3 P. M. at the Huguenot Memorial
Church.”
Source: Obituary
News Of City and Vicinity – MRS. ALFRED L. HAMMETT,
The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY],
Dec. 13, 1938, p.
2, cols. 3-4.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."
Labels: 1882, 1937, Alfred L. Hammet, Elizabeth Burdick Oxx Hammet, Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church, Pelham Manor Protective Club, Village of Pelham Manor
posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:45 AM
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