William Hamilton Fleet

According to his grandson William Hamilton Fleet, "Most of the Fleets scattered and William Hamilton Fleet...and an uncle named Richard Evans came up to NYC to trade muskrat pelts because that was the most profitable thing they had found to do in post-bellum Virginia. Grandfather was reputed to be 16 and a regular frontrunner around 1870."

The 1870 King & Queen County Census lists him as age 15, living with his parents and siblings and "attending school."

It appears he was living in Brooklyn, NY no later than 1874.[See sister Ellen's 1881 death cert.]

He founded the firm of William H. Fleet, Inc. in 1875. The 1878 Lain's Brooklyn City Directory lists - Fleet, William H., furs, 33 Wooster, N. Y., h. 130 2nd pl. Over the years, the fur business was located at 92 Gold Street, 121 Mercer Street and 52 East Thirteenth Street.

The Phillips Business Directories for NYC listed the following:

1887: Furs, Fleet, 92 Gold.

1891: Fur Dealers and Furriers, Fleet, William H. 92 Gold

1897: Furs and Skins, Fleet, Wm. H. , 92 Gold

The 1880 Brooklyn Census from 3 June has him living with his parents at 128 Second Place. He is single, 25 and a "Fur M'ch't."

The April 1885 marriage documents he completed show him age 30, living at 128 Second Place in Brooklyn. He gives his occupation as Mdse.

Living in Brooklyn with his in-laws until after the 1886 birth of Marie Eloise.

In a letter to his wife written 8 Nov (either 1886 or 1887) he is enroute by train to Fleet P. O., K & Q, Va. A couple of days later he writes from "Window View", Fleet P. O. K & Q, Va. that he is hunting - "fox hunting is fine sport but lots of hard riding of which I am very fond." He says he doesn't want her to be alone at Cresskill and hopes she will invite some company.

A note to his wife from The Hurd House, Jackson Michigan, 21 Sep 1887, says he has worked hard at a fair and was going on to Chicago the next night.

Probably joined the Demarest Baptist Church about 1889 (the memorial plaque says 31 years of service).

March 11, 1888 - a 70-degree spring Sunday was followed by an 80-mile an hour northeaster that dumped 20.9 inches of snow on the metropolitan area while the mercury fell to 12 below. March 12, 1888 - The Great Blizzard. Snowdrifts 10 to 20 or 30 feet high.

The Lain's New York City Directory for 1890 shows him as : Fleet, William H. furs, 92 Gold, h. Cresskill, NJ. The Trow's 1890 NYC Directory lists his home as Schraalenburg, NJ. During this period his house was just a block or two from where the current Camp Merritt monument sits, right on the border between Cresskill and Dumont. (Today, there is a Wolcott Road one block up from the Monument - should check the census for neighbors named Wolcott.)

1900 CENSUS: Palisades Township, Dumont Borough, Bergen County NJ. Vol. 3, ED 3, Sheet 13, Line 9. William Fleet is listed as an "Emporter (Furs)." In 1900 he had been married 16 years and had a birthdate of Nov. 1854. In addition to his wife and 5 children, the household included: Arthur Hilton, age 36, the coachman, Fanny Hilton, age 44, a servant and Louis Hilton, age 17, messenger (wholesale furs). His neighbors are Charles Osborn, an importer of wine and Dumont Clarke, a banker. This was Dumont Clarke, New York banker, for whom Dumont, NJ was named. The Census visit was 18 June 1900. (Dumont Clarke was the president of the American Exchange National Bank, NYC.)

NYT Nov 13, 1903, p.11: Bernhard Altman declared bankruptcy. The debts were contracted in 1890 as partner in the firm of B. Altman and Bros., manufacturer of furs. Among the largest creditors was William H. Fleet - $4, 598.

In 1904, the fur house moved to 52 East Thirteenth Street, Manhattan.

1910 Census: Dumont Borough, Bergen County NJ, ed 2, sheet 12A, line 36, collected in April 1910 has him living on Madison Avenue with his wife and five children. He is 55 and his occupation is Manufacturer - Furs. He owns his house free and clear and still lives next door to the Clarks and the Osborns.

The 1910 Trow's NYC Directory lists him as Impr (Importer) and his business at 52 E. 13th Street, Manhattan.

Correspondence from 1912-1914 show him with William H. Fleet, Furs and Skins, 52 East 13th Street (Five doors from Broadway). The 1914 letter has him as Importer and Maunfacturer of Furs and Skins with a cable address of "FURFLEET, NEWYORK" and telephone numbers of 5027 and 5028 Stuyvesant.

Mayor of Dumont, NJ from 1914-1917.

Sometime in the 1910s he built two houses a couple of blocks from the center of Demarest -Serpentine Road. (directly opposite the town commons from where his son William H.T. Fleet built his house about 1922.) One large house separated by a large garage, lawn and trellis work from a smaller house. In later years, his daughter Nellie Wright lived in that house.

The 1917 Trow's NYC Directory lists his fur business still at 52 E. 13th St, and his home at Dumont, NJ. Elsewhere, his business is listed under "European and American Furs."

He was the fourth mayor of Dumont, NJ., serving from 1914-1917. In August 1917, he was appointed to a three man committee to pass upon applications for exemption to the draft from the Fifth District. They met in City Hall, Englewood. He leased two parcels of land on Madison Avenue, Dumont, to the Army for right of ways needed in the Camp Merritt construction A supply building was located on his property.

In 1919, his business "was incorporated and placed in charge of his sons."

He grandson says when William Hamilton Fleet's eldest son son Bill became serious about Mabel Heath, he "put some moves on her " to ensure that she wasn't just a flirt.

It appears he went to Florida at or just after Christmas 1919. This was his first visit to St. Petersburg. All his immediate family, except one son, probably William, were there, too. He had been suffering from "chronic interstitial nephritis" for 3 years. On March 27, 1920 at 142 Mirror Lake Drive, St. Petersburg, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, was paralyzed on one side and in a coma, and died the following day at 4:30pm. According to his obituary he had been in improving health, and had just bought ". . .of C.Perry Snell, his handsome residence on North Shore, where he had expected next year to make his winter home."The family had planned to return to New Jersey on April 1. Charles C. Fleet was the informant. His body was removed from Florida on 30 March.

According to Brookside Cemetery (phoncon w/Debbie of 18 May 2001) his last residence was Tenafly. Yet, he doesn't appear in the 1920 Census of Tenafly done in January, 3 months before he died. His death certificate gives his permanent residence as Demarest, NJ.

His gravestone says he died in 1920. Cemetery records say he died 28 Mar 1920. Interment # 2270, Grave #2.  It appears that he purchased the Fleet plot in Brookside Cemetery  just prior to, or at the death of his first child, Marie Eloise, in 1891. According to the cemetery staff , she was the first to be buried there.

He named wife Nellie, son Wm. H.T., and brother Sidney J. Fleet as executors of his estate.

"Mr. Fleet was born and reared in Virginia and was one of the real old-time southern gentlemen, genial in his bearing and with the faculty of winning many friends. It was said of him in his home town that he was not only the wealthiest resident but also the most popular." (St Petersburg newspaper death report)

NYT, March 31, 1920, Obituary Notes: "William H. Fleet, who was in the wholesale fur business at 52 East 13th street, died suddenly on Sunday at St. Petersburg, Fla. The funeral will be held in Demarest, N. J. where Mr. Fleet formerly served as mayor."

NYT, April 3, 1920, p. 13: "Fleet - Suddenly, at St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday March 20, 1920, William H., of Demarest, N. J., beloved husband of Nellie Shepard. Funeral services at Demarest Baptist Church, Demarest, N. J., on Sunday afternoon, April 4, at 2:30, upon arrival of train leaving Erie Depot, Jersey City, at 1:45; leaving Chamber St., at 1:30; leaving 23rd St. at 1:10."

After his death, the members of the Demarest Baptist Church installed a wooden plaque in the sanctuary which read:

This tablet is erected to the memory of William Hamilton Fleet, a faithful deacon and exemplary Christian, who served this church as a trustee, deacon and Bible School Superintendent for 31 years and went to his heavenly home 28 March 1920, age 65. May the memory of his abundant labors and virtues live long in our hearts. Forever with the Lord. Amen. So Let it Be." The plaque was dark wood, with gilt or gold paint and a peak at the top.

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Business Info:

[NY TIMES, 9 Jan 1891, p. 2 "Failures in Business" - James E. and John Garlick, composing the firm of J. E. & J. Garlick. wholesale dealers in fruits and nuts at 254 Washington Street, made an assignment yesterday to Clinton H. Harris, giving preference for $1,096 to William H. Fleet and for $600 to Richard A. Evans. They succeeded Garlick & Phillips about seven years ago.]

[New York Times, Sep. 21, 1897, p. 4. "Fuller & Wilson Assign" - Edward H. Fuller and William Clark Wilson, who did business as bullion dealers at 29 Wall Street under the style of Fuller and Wilson, and with a working capital of $40,000, made an assignment to William H. Fleet of 92 Gold street, with a preference to James B. Colgate for $6,000...It was understood the the firm had speculated in silver both for a rise and a decline, and was caught both ways. It was asserted that James B. Colgate was the financial support of the firm and that he withdrew when he learned of the imprudent speculations...while the assignee admitted that the firm's backer had withdrawn and forced the assignment.]