Historian Inspired By Hauppauge's Early Settlers

Local historian Simeon Wood's book, "A History of Hauppauge, Long Island, N.Y." reads like a who’s who of Hauppauge’s first residents from the late 1700s and 1800s. It provides insight on some of Hauppauge's early residents, and their connections with Wood's own family. 

The Woods

According to Wood’s writings, his great-grandfather, Theophilus. and grandfather, Theophilus Jr. were enlisted in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. After beating the British soldiers, Theophilus Jr. moved first to Dix Hills before settling in Hauppauge.

Theophilus Jr. married Thomas Wheeler’s youngest daughter, Tabatha. Their farm was located on 300 acres of property east of Blydenburgh Road on the Islip side of Hauppauge, where they raised three children. Their youngest was Simeon Wood’s father, Thomas Wheeler Wood.

Thomas married Jane Smith, whose family came from Ronkonkoma. In 1839, their son, Simeon Wood, was born. The historian married Fannie Edwards and had eight children. Wood lived in Hauppauge until his death in 1914.

“He was the all-time resident," said Noel Gish, a local historian and  former Hauppauge school teacher. 

Wood’s nephew Wilmot M. Smith, son of Mary and Moses Smith, became a New York Supreme Court judge in 1895. According to Cornell University Department of Music’s website, Smith was also one of the lyrists who wrote Cornell’s alma mater.

The Hubbs

After Theophilus Jr. died, his wife Tabatha married Alexander Hubbs, creating a connection between the Wheelers and the Hubbs.

According to Wood, Alexander’s brother, Ira married Fanny Rolph, and they moved to Commack. Politician Orlando Hubbs, a congressman for North Carolina from 1881 to 1883, was from this branch of the Hubbs family tree.

Orlando Hubbs moved back to New York in 1890 and was a member of the New York assembly from 1902 to 1908. He also served in the New York state senate in 1910 and 1911.

The Rolphs

In his book, Wood wrote, “Benjamin Rolph, who died in 1832, and Sarah Rolph, who died in 1843, lived in different houses in the place, and had quite a number of girls that proved as attractive to the gallants of that generation as the Blydenburgh girls did to the one previous.”

The Ronkonkoma Smiths

Wood also referred to a Smith family from Ronkonkoma area in his writings. There was Nancy Smith, who was the wife of Joseph Blydenburgh, and they lived where Branchinelli’s is now located. Nancy’s brothers, Alexander and James, moved to Hauppauge from Ronkonkoma after purchasing land from their brother-in-law for one dollar an acre, according to Woods. They each had 100 acres and their farms were next to Theophilus Wood's homestead.

These earlier families lived in Hauppauge when it was considered an agricultural area. Gish said most families made a living from cutting wood or farming. Those who didn’t earn a living off the land worked at the Blydenburgh mills where the county park is located today.

Outside of gravestones and street signs, there’s not much evidence left in Hauppauge of these early families. However, due to Wood’s book, their family names are recorded for generations to come.