Jacob Treadwell (a.k.a. Tredwell or Ledwell) owned a 1.45 acre property and house at the north end of Orient Avenue (243rd Street) at the turn of the 20th century. The property is located on low land northeast of the junction of Depew Avenue (formerly Willow Street) and Orient Avenue and the property and there is no at grade intersection. The Long Island Railroad is at the northern boundary of the property.
The property was apparently not part of the 1853 subdivision and is located north of lot 54 of that subdivision. An 1873 map does not define the property boundaries and indicates that the general area was owned by O. Robinson and B. Alien(?). The 1891 map defines the property boundaries and indicates that it was owned by B. H. Cutter (possibly Bloodgood Haviland Cutter). The 1904 map indicates that the property was owned by J. Treadwell. The 1909 map does not indicate the ownership of the property. The latter three maps designate the property as #70. Presently the house and property boundaries no longer exist. The property may be part of Udalls Cove.
Other evidence of the property ownership at the turn of the 20th century is the 1907 report of the sale of property on the east side of Orient Avenue, north of Willow Street, and adjoining the land of Jacob Treadwell. (Flushing Journal, June 8, 1907)
The 1900 census lists Mr. Tedwell or Ledwell and 12 other family members on Sheet No. 5B in Enumeration District 658. The spelling was not clear and could have been mistaken by the census enumerator. The address is also uncertain and could be Willow Street. I presume that this entry. It is presumed that this entry refers to Jacob Treadwell. All family members were black and all were born in New York, except for one person, of uncertain relationship, who was born in Virginia. All were recorded as being literate, except for Mr. Tedwell, however, one child was too young to attend school. Mr. Tedwell was born in 1832, married in 1853, and was an oysterman. His wife, Adeline, was born in 1837, did not have an occupation, and had four children, all of whom were living at the time of the census. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Tedwell were also born in New York. Two children were in residence in 1900, a son Gilbert C. and a daughter Mary E. Gilbert. Gilbert C., born in 1869, was an unmarried oysterman. Mary, born in 1867, married in 1884, did not have an occupation and had six children. She was presumably married to S.J. Waters, also in residence as a son-in-law. He was born in 1866 and was a stonemason. The six Waters children, born between 1884 and 1895, were also in residence. All the children, except the youngest, attended school. Also in residence was a “daughter” and another grandson of the Tedwells. The “daughter”, Anny Tedwell, was born in 1877 in Virginia. Her parents were also born in Virginia and thus could not have been the Tedwells. She was married without children and did not have an occupation. The grandson, Wallis Tedwell, was born in 1888 and attended school.
The death of Mr. Jacob Treadwell, at the age of 71, on January 27, 1904 was reported in the newspapers (Flushing Daily Times, January 28, 1904). According to the report, “He was a well known character in an about Douglaston, where he has been a life-long resident. He is survived by a wife and two sons.”
The 1900 Census also listed a Tedwell or Ledwell family, who were also black, as owning a home on Orient Avenue. The head of house, whose first name is illegible, was born in 1864 and was a laborer. It is possible that he was a son of Jacob Tedwell. In residence were his wife and two children.
It appears that the census enumerator did not make his visits in a consistent manner. He seems to have occasionally skipped from street to street in an illogical fashion. He visited six consecutive homes on Orient Avenue where the second Tedwell family was identified. The houses was designated numbers 102 through 107 in order of visitation. The residents of four houses were black and two were white. This suggests a racially mixed housing pattern.
There were no references to the Treadwells in either the 1910 of 1920 census.