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Lessler-Leslie Family

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Henry Lessler and Louisa Deneke immigrated to the United States from Germany in the late 1840's; they married in 1853 and ran an inn in Flushing, Queens. Sometime prior to 1858 they rented a 12 acre farm located on the north side of Plain Hay Path (Haypath Road) in Bedell Town (North Bethpage) from George Powell, a direct descendent of Thomas Powell. In 1868 Henry and Louisa purchased the farm with nine additional acres of woodlands in "The Bethpage Purchase" (now a part of Bethpage State Park), and ten acres of marshlands adjoining Great Island in the South Bay near Amityville. The woodlands provided firewood and the marshland provided salt hay for the farm animals. When their boys came of age, they adopted the Americanized version of the family name, Leslie (only one "s"). Their daughters kept the family name until their marriage. In 1898 Henry and Louisa sold the farm on Plain Hay Path in Bedell Town and retired to a home in Amityville. They are buried in the family plot in the Quaker Cemetery on Quaker Meeting House Rd. Leslie (Lessler) Charles - Charles and his wife Margaret loved the Long Island countryside and rented the old Jarvis house in Central Park in the late 1800's. The farm was located on the west side of Stewart Ave. near Farmers Ave. Years later the farm was purchased by the Looney family, then Grumman brought the land, later the area became known as The Bethpage Community Park. They had three sons who were in World War I, Sydney, Walter, and Milton. All survived the war and their names were listed on the World War I Monument that stood in front of the Powell Ave. School.

From writings in the CENTRAL PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL by Robert Holzmacher

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