Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

after following it for a time went into the
oyster business, being one of the first to
plant oysters in Manhasset Bay, formerly
known as Cow Bay, New York. During
the remainder of his active life he was
connected with this line of endeavor.
Simeon W. Crooker married Julia H.
Sands, an account of whose family is appended
to this biography, and they became
the parents of the following chil-
dren : Frederic S., mentioned below ; Ef-
fie, married John Noon ; Frank, of Port
Washington, New York; Alfred, deceased
; and Walter, also of Port Wash-
ington. Mr. Crooker died in 1914, at the
age of eighty-five. He was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, but his
wife held membership in the Protestant
Episcopal church.
Captain Frederic S. Crooker, son of
Simeon W. and Julia H. (Sands) Crooker,
was born May 10, 1866, at Great Neck,
Long Island, and received his education
in local public schools, in the summers
making boat trips with his father. After
leaving school, at the age of sixteen, he
sailed with his father for three years, and
at the age of nineteen purchased a boat
of his own, engaging in the oyster busi-
ness on his own account. After spending
about seven years in this business. Captain
Crooker came, in 1893, to Greenwich
and turned his attention to the clam industry.
For four or five years he engaged
in digging and shipping clams to the New
York market and at the end of that time
purchased his present property. He has
since devoted himself successfully to
painting, repairing and storing small
pleasure craft, making of the enterprise a
profitable and flourishing concern, giving
employment during the summers to a
large number of men.
Captain Crooker married, in 1889, Mary
Hahn, daughter of Charles Hahn, of Manhasset,
and they are the parents of one
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
355
daughter, Anna, who is now the wife of
William Miller, of Manhasset.
(The Sands Line).
This ancient race is of Saxon origin and
has been traced as far back as the reign
of Edward the Confessor. The name is
supposed to be derived from a place
called Sande, in the Isle of Wight. The
family was distinguished in English his-
tory from a very early period, many of
its members holding high offices in church
and state. The Sands escutcheon is as
follows
Arms—Or, a fesse dancettee between three cross
crosslets fitchee gules.
Crest—A griffin segreant per passe or, and
gules.
Motto—Probum non pcenitet.
Edwin Sandes (Sandys also being another
form of the name) was Archbishop
of York in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
and not more than two or three genera-
tions later we find the first of the name in
New England, Henry Sands, of Boston,
Massachusetts ; this was in 1640.
Captain James Sands, brother of Henry
Sands, was born in 1622, and is said to
have settled the same year of his brother's
emigration at Portsmouth, Rhode Island,
some accounts giving the date as 1658.
He is said to have removed, subsequently,
to Long Island, where his descendants
have since remained, constituting one of
the oldest and most distinguished families
of that region. Sand Point was
named in their honor. During the Rev-
olutionary War the family record was a
narrative of patriotic activities, and
throughout the century and more which
has since elapsed, bearers of the name
have rendered notable service in civil and
military life.
Gideon Sands, father of Mrs. Julia H.
(Sands) Crooker, was of Great Neck,
Long Island, one of the representative men