Footnotes to Long Island History
Carman
Had Many Careers
September 4, 1952
by
Thomas R. Bayles
One of Patchogue's
most distinguished citizens of the nineteenth century, George F. Carman made a
success of more than half a dozen careers.
Starting
out as a carpenter, he worked as a seamen, a federal tax collector, A newspaper
publisher and an editor, a railroad executive, a town trustee, sheriff of Suffolk
county and a state assemblyman.
Mr.
Carman was born in Patchogue April 18, 1827. His father Gilbert Carman came
from Hempstead, where the family had long been residents with a history that
places them among the early pioneers in the settlement of that town.
He was
educated in the Patchogue school and at the age of 16 learned the carpenter's trade.
Four years later he decided to go on a whaling voyage and went to Greenport
where he sailed on the ship "Nile" with captain Isaac Case on a trip that lasted
37 months.
He had
plenty of time for reading and study, and
besides seeing the world, mastered the science of navigation and learned much
of the language of the sandwich Islanders.
His one voyage was enough and returned to his trade of building
contractor.
In 1855
he was elected to the office of town trustee and one of the two overseers of
the poor. In the fall of the same year he was elected sheriff of Suffolk
county. After his term of office as sheriff he became proprietor and editor of
the Suffolk Herald in Patchogue and devoted his times to its interests until
the summer of 1862.
At this
time internal the internal revenue laws framed to provide funds to help meet
the extraordinary expenses caused by the great slave-holders rebellion went
into operation and Mr. Carman was appointed by the President as "collector for
the 1st collection district of the state of New York during the pleasure of the
President of the United States, and until the end of the next session of the
Senate of the United States and no longer." This appointment, dated August 1862,
was signed by Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and S.P. Chase,
secretary of the treasury, and has been carefully preserved, for Mr.. Chase
assured Mr. Carman it was the first of the kind issued by the department, and
was the first one signed by President Lincoln. Mr. Carman's appointment was not
solicited but on the contrary, President Lincoln asked him in person if he would
accept it.
He continued in this office until 1869 when he retired from this office of
the
South Side Railroad company as general manager, where he served for two years under
the president, Charles Fox. The road was then sold to Jacob R. Shipard &
company who operated it for one year, when failing to meet the terms for the
balance of purchase money, the property reverted to the original stockholders
and Mr. Carman was elected president.
When
sold to Shipard and company the road was in good condition financially with
provision for completing an extension of 15 miles east of Patchogue which the
purchasers abandoned. As president, Mr. Carman struggled along for six months
hoping to effect some compromise when it became evident that the state courts
were about to appoint a receiver. To avoid this the company, having made previous
arrangements for such a contingency handed the road over to the United States
marshal acknowledging itself bankrupt.
Mr.
Carman was appointed by Charles Jones, receiver in bankruptcy to operate the
road which he did successfully until its sale to Conrad Poppenhussen, and Mr.
Carman's official connection with it ended. About 1870 previous to his
retirement, he bought of Orange Judd for $100,000 the Flushing railroad from
Hunters Point to Winfield a distance of three miles. He sold this to the South
Side Railroad company.
In the
fall of 1869, Mr. Carman was elected to the state assembly and in 1879 was again
elected.
His
political standing was such that he was for many years one of the most
influential men in his district, not only at home but at Albany and Washington.
His integrity as a citizen and in the administration of public affairs was
never questioned.
Mr. Carman's
mother was Mary Ann, daughter of Samuel Homan of Brookhaven, where the Homan's
were among the first settlers.