by
Stuart
Payne Howell
Elijah Pierson RAYNOR was notable for having fathered seven sons
(no daughters), for having started several businesses in Westhampton Beach,
Long Island, New York, and for being the true patriarch of a large extended
family. His descendants on eastern Long Island, and elsewhere in the United
States, are numerous, and include many current members of the Raynor Family
Association (RFA).
Elijah Pierson RAYNOR was born 21 October 1833 in Westhampton Beach
to William and Harriett (JAGGER) RAYNOR. William RAYNOR was a farmer and
large landowner in Westhampton Beach (then known as Ketchabonack), in the
early mid 1800s. His farm stretched from Main Street to the Atlantic Ocean.
At the early age of 17, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR, the youngest of William
RAYNOR's seven children, struck out on his own, going to Greenport, Long
Island, to learn to become a ship's carpenter. Following a three year apprenticeship
in shipbuilding at Greenport (1850 1853), he worked in Connecticut for
eight months, then went to New York City, where he plied the trade of ship's
carpenter for two years, returning in 1856 to Greenport. Sometime between
1860 and 1865, Elijah moved with his family back to Westhampton Beach,
where he lived for the remainder of his life, residing in the homestead,
built by either his father or grandfather (both named William RAYNOR),
on the southeast corner of Library Avenue and Main Street. Elijah Pierson
RAYNOR died in Westhampton Beach 30 May 1911.
When he was only 17 years old, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR married a local
Greenport girl of 14, Harriet N. CARPENTER, in November 1850.
Elijah married again, in November 1856, to Harriett N. GOULDER (or
GOLDER). Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's oldest child, Franklin Carpenter RAYNOR,
was born 26 September 1856 - two months before Elijah's marriage
to Harriett GOULDER. I conjecture that Harriet (CARPENTER) RAYNOR may have
died in childbirth in September or October 1856, and Elijah remarried almost
immediately, as he needed a mother for his infant son, Franklin, whose
middle name was Carpenter, his mother's maiden name.
In 1875, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR founded E. Raynor's Sons, Building
Contracting and Real Estate, in Westhampton Beach. He also started a lumber
and coal company, owned a drug store, and was a Trustee of the Westhampton
Beach Methodist Episcopal Church, which he helped to build.
Franklin ("Frank") Carpenter RAYNOR, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's oldest
son, moved with his family to Southampton after the Ketchabonack House,
a boarding house he built and operated on Beach Lane, Westhampton Beach,
was destroyed by fire about 1892. He was a carpenter in Southampton. Both
RFA Treasurer, Laurie Dunwell COLLINS, and Diane Topping HOWE, RFA Hospitality
Chair, are Franklin RAYNOR's great granddaughters.
Charles Edward RAYNOR, the second oldest of Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's
seven sons, built and operated a general store, which also housed the Post
Office and telegraph office, on Main Street, Westhampton Beach. He was
the first Postmaster in the village, and was also in the insurance business.
Charles E. RAYNOR's home was on the corner of Main Street and Beach Lane,
in Westhampton Beach.
Genealogist William Randall HULSE, who has been active in the RFA
since its inception in 1992, is Charles E. RAYNOR's great grandson.
William S. RAYNOR, Ehjah Pierson RAYNOR's third oldest son, was
referred to as "Bachelor Bill". He was a carpenter, and lived in the RAYNOR
Homestead on the corner of Main Street and Library Avenue in Westhampton
Beach.
Elijah RAYNOR's fourth oldest son, Augustus Hiram ("Gus") RAYNOR,
operated the lumber and coal company founded by his father, and he started
Raynor's Garage, on Library Avenue, Westhampton Beach, which was later
owned and operated by his two sons, Clifford and Norman RAYNOR. Augustus
Hiram RAYNOR's granddaughter, Marion RAYNOR VAN TASSEL, is RFA Publicity
Chair.
Frederick ("Fred") RAYNOR was Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's fifth oldest
son. He and his family lived at various times in the Long Island communities
of Sayville, Islip, Bay Shore, Sag Harbor, Westhampton Beach, and in New
York City. He engaged in a number of business ventures, including a mustard
and pickle company, a clam bullion factory, and a realty company. Eventually,
he returned to Westhampton Beach, where he was a painting contractor. Several
of Fred RAYNOR's grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren
reside on the south shore of eastern Long Island. His descendants also
include yours truly.
John Mitchell ("Much") Burns RAYNOR, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's sixth
oldest son, took over the operation of E. Raynor's Sons building and contracting,
and real estate businesses, on Library Avenue, Westhampton Beach from his
father. J. Mitchell RAYNOR had two sons, J. Madison and Emerson RAYNOR,
who owned and managed the building contracting and real estate operations
upon retirement of their father. Emerson RAYNOR's two daughters, Carol
and Priscilla, currently reside in Florida. J. Madison RAYNOR's grandchildren
live in various locales in the United States.
The youngest of Elijah Pierson RAYNOR's seven sons, Dwight Elijah
("Doc" ) RAYNOR, was a carpenter in Westhampton Beach. He was married to
Nellie L. WHITE, of Sag Harbor. They had no children.
At one time or another, almost all of Elijah Pierson RAYNOR' s sons
lived on Library Avenue, in Westhampton Beach, on land deeded, or willed,
to them by their father. Elijah Pierson RAYNOR, and six of his seven sons
are buried in the Westhampton cemetery within about thirty yards of each
other. His other son, Franklin Carpenter RAYNOR, is buried in Southampton.
Although Elijah Pierson RAYNOR and his seven sons are deceased,
and their business enterprises are no longer extant, their influence continues
to be in evidence in Westhampton Beach, and elsewhere on eastern Long Island,
through the many buildings they constructed and through their numerous
and noteworthy descendants.
Note
from Stuart: For years, I had searched for a photograph of my great
grandfather, Elijah Pierson RAYNOR - without success. Then recently, when
I was in Westhampton Beach, LI) New York, I had the good fortune of locating
a photograph of him, thanks to my cousin, Harold (Buddy) Foust. Although
I never knew my great grandfather (he died seventeen years before I was
born), I always considered him to have been the patriarch of our RAYNOR
clan.
Raynor Shine,
pp.4-5
May, 2004
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