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Supervisors (1872-present)
From 1872 to 1893, the Supervisor was elected to a 1-year term, starting in April. In 1894, the Supervisor position was extended to a 2-year term, starting in April; except for 1898 when the Supervisor was elected to a 1-year term, presumably to reorganize the elections to a 2-year term commencing in odd years.
In 1919, elections were moved from April to November, and officials took office the following January 1. The Supervisor position continued to be a 2-year term until 2006 when the term was extended to 4-years.
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Elbert Carll, our first Town Supervisor, is the oldest person elected Supervisor, at age 64 years, 6 months and 14 days; Henry A. Brown was older but was appointed rather than elected. The youngest Supervisor was Stephan Titus, who was just 24; John E. Ireland was 27. When elected in 1992, Rich Schaffer was widely reported as being the youngest Supervisor in Town of Babylon history, at age 29, but this information was incorrect; he was, however, the youngest Babylon Town Supervisor in the 20th century.
For over 100 years, Edward Daily held the record for longest serving Supervisor; he died having served 13 years, 1 month, and 21 days. In 2016, Rich Schaffer surpassed Daily’s tenure, and has served as Supervisor ever since, with more than 19 years as Babylon Town Supervisor. (Rich Schaffer was Town Supervisor from 1992-2001, and then returned to the position in 2012.)
Thirty people have held the position of Town Supervisor:
- 7 have returned to the position for a non-consecutive term
- 3 have been appointed to the position following the death of their predecessor; 1 of them went on to be elected to the position in their own right
- 4 have been appointed to the position following predecessor’s resignation; each of them went on to be elected to the position in their own right
Several of the Supervisors have held public offices outside of the Town of Babylon:
- 3 have been Mayors of the villages of Amityville and Babylon
- 3 served in the New York State Assembly
- 1 served in the New York State Senate
- 1 was Suffolk County Sheriff
- 4 were Suffolk County Justices
- 2 served as Suffolk County Legislators
- 1 has been elected Suffolk County Executive
| Supervisors (birth-death) | Term of Service | |
|---|---|---|
1. | Elbert Carll (1807-1887)
| April 2, 1872 to April 1, 1873**
Other Public Offices Held: Town Trustee of Huntington 1856-1865, 1867-1869; State Loan Commissioner; Suffolk County Treasurer, 1857-1860 Occupation: Farmer and land owner
|
2. | John E. Ireland (1845-1913)
| April 1, 1873 to April 6, 1875
Occupation: Mr. Ireland operated businesses in the areas of insurance, real estate, grain and agricultural products, and held board positions with local banks, hospitals and community organizations.
|
--- | Elbert Carll * | April 6, 1875 to April 4, 1876 |
3. | Charles T. Duryea (1832-1899)
| April 4, 1876 to April 5, 1881
Other Public Offices Held: Member of the New York State Assembly, 1863-1864. Occupation: Mr. Duryea operated Huntington’s Suffolk Hotel for seven years beginning in 1867, and in 1874 came to Babylon to manage the Sumpwams House. He also served as editor of the Budget newspaper.
|
4. | Stephen A. Titus (1856-1917)
| April 5, 1881 to April 1, 1884**
Occupation: First employed by Henry Livingston of the South Side Signal, Mr. Titus was employed by several area newspapers. Beginning in 1875, he worked for the Port Jefferson Leader. After his terms as Supervisor, he became editor of the New York World Brooklyn edition, until his illness. Other Information: Titus is the youngest person to hold the position of Supervisor, at age 24 years, 7 months and 20 days.
|
5. | George A. Hooper (1854-1894)
| April 1, 1884 to April 7, 1885**
Occupation: Criminal Attorney, admitted to the New York State Bar in 1881.
|
--- | Stephen A. Titus * | April 7, 1885 to April 6, 1886** |
--- | George A. Hooper * | April 6, 1886 to April 5, 1889** |
6. | Richard Higbie (1857-1900)
| April 5, 1889 to April 6, 1893
Other Public Offices Held: New York State Assemblyman, 1892-1895; New York State Senator, 1895-1898. Occupation: Mr. Higbie operated a general store with John Clinton Robbins (his brother-in-law), from 1883 until his death.
|
7. | William G. Nicoll (1845-1919)
| April 6, 1893 to April 7, 1896
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Justice of the Peace, 1891-1893; Surrogate Judge, Suffolk County, 1909-1915. Occupation: An attorney, Mr. Nicoll moved his law practice from New York City to Babylon, in 1881.
|
8. | Thomas Powell (1838-1907)
| April 7, 1896 to April 4, 1899
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Tax Assessor, 1876-1882, and 1885-1888. Occupation: Farmer
|
9. | Edward Daily (1851-1912)
| April 4, 1899 to May 25, 1912^
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Commissioner of Highways, 1876-1882, and Overseer of the Poor, 1883-1885. In the Village of Babylon, Daily served four terms as Alderman and was elected President (Mayor), 1900-1902. Occupation: In 1875, Daily established an undertaking business which he operated until his death.
|
10. | Henry A. Brown (1835-1933)
| June 27, 1912† to April 1, 1913
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Commissioner of Highways, 1883-1886; Justice of the Peace, 1895-1901, 1908-1913. Occupation: Farmer; owned a general store
|
11. | Frederick Sheide (1877-1944)
| April 1, 1913 to April 4, 1917
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Town Clerk, 1907-1911. New York State Assemblyman, Second District, 1911-1912. Occupation: In 1900, Mr. Sheide and wife Agnes started a soda bottling business in Lindenhurst, which he continued until 1924 when he entered the hotel business. He operated the Plaza Hotel, Montauk Highway, Lindenhurst, until 1932. He also worked for the Lindenhurst Post Office during World War II.
|
12. | John Clinton Robbins (1861-1925)
| April 4, 1917 to December 31, 1919**
Occupation: Mr. Robbins’ father and uncle established a general store by the name of Robbins & Robbins, which later became Carll & Norton, and then Higbie & Robbins. Higbie & Robbins is the store which he operated with his brother-in-law, John R. Higbie.
|
13. | William T. Louden (1865-1922)
| January 1, 1920 to August 16, 1922^
Other Public Offices Held: He was elected to two terms as President (Mayor) of the Village of Amityville, beginning around 1900. Served as Supervisor of trotting race tracks under Governor Higgins. Occupation: Mr. Louden worked in the Almshouse on Blackwell’s Island before opening the Long Island Home, a large private sanitarium in Amityville, with his father and brother. |
14. | William S. Willmarth (1864-1926)
| September 6, 1922† to December 31, 1923
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Superintendent of Highways, 1917-1921. Occupation: According to his obituary, Willmarth was the manager of Macbeth Powder Work in Jamaica, NY. Upon moving to Amityville became engaged in the poultry business, and later operated as a real estate broker.
|
--- | John Clinton Robbins * | January 1, 1924 to October 16, 1925^ |
15. | Frederic J. Wood (1887-1964)
| October 16, 1925† to December 31, 1925**
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Justice of the Peace, Town of Babylon, 1920-1935. Babylon Village Police Justice; and Assistant State Attorney General, 1943-1958. Occupation: Attorney, admitted to the New York State Bar in 1912.
|
16. | Joseph P. Warta (1926-1931)
| January 1, 1926 to December 31, 1931
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Tax Assessor, 1915-1921. Suffolk County Sheriff, 1932-1934. Occupation: Insurance agent.
|
17. | Henry S. Johnson (1875-1951)
| January 1, 1932 to December 31, 1935
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Superintendent of Highways, 1922-1925. Occupation: Civil Engineer |
--- | Frederic J. Wood * | January 1, 1936 to December 31, 1941 |
18. | Donald E. Muncy (1900-1990)
| January 1, 1942 to December 31, 1947**
Occupation: Mr. Muncy owned a gas station in Amityville. He also owned an excavation and trucking business, and operated a motel in West Babylon. (According to a 1980 article, Mr. Muncy’s company worked on Sunken Meadow State Park and construction of the causeway at Jones Beach.)
|
19. | William F. Wolter (1899-1971)
| January 1, 1948 to December 31, 1951
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Justice of the Peace, 1924-1947. |
--- | Donald E. Muncy * | January 1, 1952 to December 31, 1957 |
20. | Arthur M. Cromarty (1919-2014)
| January 1, 1958 to February 8, 1963‡
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Councilman, 1956-1957. Served as vice chairman of the New York State Thruway Authority, before his appointment and subsequent election to the Supreme Court, Suffolk County. Occupation: Attorney
|
21. | William T. Lauder
| February 15, 1963† to February 1, 1965‡
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Justice of the Peace, 1962-1963. Historian for the Village of Amityville. Occupation: Attorney
|
22. | Gilbert G. Hanse (1914-2004)
| February 3, 1965† to December 31, 1967
Other Public Offices Held: Town of Babylon: Justice of the Peace, 1962-1965. Mayor of Babylon Village for 31 years. Occupation: Operated a family hardware store.
|
23. | Joseph A. Stabile
| January 1, 1968 to February 26, 1969‡
Other Public Offices Held: Appointed a County Court Judge by Governor Rockefeller. Occupation: Attorney |
24. | Aaron Barnett (1918-2018)
| February 25, 1969† to December 31, 1975
Other Public Offices Held: Member of the West Babylon Board of Education and Town of Babylon Planning Board. Occupation: New York City high school teacher |
25. | Thomas Fallon (1934-2002)
| January 1, 1976 to December 31, 1977
Occupation: Attorney |
26. | Raymond C. Allmendinger (1935-2002)
| January 1, 1978 to October 26, 1982‡
Other Public Offices Held: Suffolk County Labor Commissioner Occupation: Managed an oil trucking company in West Babylon and an ice cream company in Copiague.
|
27. | Anthony Noto (1937-2009) |
