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Jan
Otten van Tuyl 1635
Isaac Van Tuyl 1681
Abraham Van Tuyl
Otto Van Tuyl
Andrew Van Tuyl
Otto William Van Tuyl
Otto William Van Tuyl Jr.
William Thomas
Van Tuyl (adopted)
Otto Wells Van Tuyl
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Otto Wells Van Tuyl was
born in Jamesport, Suffolk County, New York, on December 23, 1888.
His mother, Rowena Wells, could trace her roots back to eastern
Long Island’s first English settlers in the 17th
century.
On October 18, 1916, Otto married Birdina Mae
Chamberlain of Belfast, Allegany County, New York, near her home
in Angelica. The couple met in Greenport, New York—at the far
eastern end of the North Fork of Long Island—where they remained
the rest of their lives. |
They had three children;
Donald Wells
November 5, 1917 – February
7, 1986
John Weston
December 7, 1918 – September 13, 1986
Roderick
June 13, 1921 – December 26, 1997
Otto and Birdina designed a home
in Greenport, which was completed in 1924. (They lived in the garage in
November of that year until the house was completed.)
When Otto and Birdina met, Otto
was working as a land surveyor and Birdina was a second-grade teacher.
Otto began his own land surveying business in 1915 and Birdina left her
teaching post when her first child was born in 1917. There were three
children—all sons. Everyone had a hand in the surveying business at
one time or another, including Birdina. The youngest son, Rod, joined
the business fulltime in 1946, and grandson Colin joined the firm in
1975. Otto went to the office nearly every day up through 1985.
A Family excursion to the beach.
The couple were very active in
the community. Otto was a member of the School Board, the Rotary Club,
the Boy Scouts (where he earned a Silver Beaver Award), the Masonic
Order, and several engineering societies. He also served as a planning
and zoning consultant to the Town and for 70 years belonged to the Star
Hose Volunteer Fire Department. Birdina was a long-time member of the
Shakespeare Club and Town Choral Society, as well as with Eastern Star,
the Methodist Choir, and local historical societies. Together the couple
took part in local presentations of various musicals and theatrical
plays, and, as son Rod once put it, they “proudly but humbly enjoyed
gardening activities, and all and all were a pretty respected pair on
the local scene.”
After a number of years’ affiliation with the Methodist Church, Otto
and Birdina were instrumental in forming a Christian Science Church in
neighboring Southold, where both served as Readers and on various
committees.
Birdina died in on January 3, 1968 of “hardening of the
arteries”—what we now call Alzheimer’s Disease. Otto lived a
healthy life until the age of 98, marrying for a second time (Mary
Alexander) in August 1970 and outliving two of his sons. He died at home
on April 12, 1987.
Information: Patti Van Tuyl
Pictures: Patti Van Tuyl
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