This story is about one of the Hone cousins on the Yerks side of the family. It was first published on October 21, 2009 in the Greenwich Times. Thanks to Jean Yerks for sending me the link!
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For James Yerks Jr., serving with the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department is simply a way of life and has been for the last 70 years. His loyalty and service to the town were recognized last Wednesday when volunteer firefighters from 11 towns in the Fourth Congressional District were honored by Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz at a Public Service Awards ceremony.
James T. Tierney, son of Sarah and James F. Tierney, was killed on December 12, 1931 when the “hired automobile” he was driving went out of control on Edgecombe Avenue, 25 feet south of the Middle Bridge Viaduct. The car plunged 100 feet into Colonial Park, landing upright. Rescuers found him still sitting in the drivers seat, but accoding to his Death Certificate, he had suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries.
James was just 37 years old when the crash took his life. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in Word War I and was living in the Bronx at 2500 Webb Avenue. According to his Death Certificate, he was a salesman for an unknown company and appears to have been married to a Mary L. Tierney.
James was born in Manhattan, New York on June 6, 1894 to James F. Tierney and Sarah Beattie Tierney. He died on December 12, 1931 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
At the turn of the Century, Thomas F. Lewis (b. 1858, d. 1924), president of the Brooklyn City Building & Loan Association Co-operative found himself in the middle of a major power struggle with other members of the board.
The Association was organized on March 2, 1887 in the old hall at Third Avenue and 24th Street in South Brooklyn. It opened with 15 charter members. Within the first year, it had accumulated over $80,000 of assets. By 1890, the association’s assets had grown to $250,000. When the “great Panic of 1893″ occurred, the association not only survived, but actually increased it’s assets. In 1895, the association moved its offices to 91 Court Street. It also had a branch office at 76 39th Street. In 1897, the assets had grown to a whopping $465,000.