Thursday, October 1, 2026
Donna Weaver, a relatively new member of the Lynbrook Fire Department, is following in the footsteps of her great-great-grandfather, Augustus D. Kelsey, who, in 1900, was the first foreman (now called captain) of Lynbrook’s Engine Company 1. He went on to become Lynbrook’s first president (now called mayor) in 1911 — when the village was incorporated and a village board was elected.
Weaver, who has been a paramedic for nearly 30 years, has been a member of the Emergency Medical Company of the Lynbrook Fire Department for the past two years. She is a fourth-generation Lynbrook resident, and her mom, Irene Young, Kelsey’s great-granddaughter, was Deputy Assessor in the Village of Lynbrook.
Weaver said that in 2014 she learned from a long-time friend, Dave Linzer, a member of the Emergency Medical Company that the company needed help, so she offered her services and joined, knowing her great-great grandfather had a rich history in the department and the village.
“Little did I know I would meet dozens of active volunteers in this dedicated fire department and meet countless residents, and also discover and learn even more about my family’s history in Lynbrook,” she said.
Weaver was recently at Engine Company’s firehouse on Carpenter Avenue to look at the old plaques and review the history of the fire company that her great-great-grandfather led 116 years ago. The grandfather’s brother-in-law, John Middleton, was also a volunteer firefighter. He was a member of Truck Company, Lynbrook’s first fire company, and was Lynbrook’s first fire chief.
Besides being a fire captain and then the first mayor of Lynbrook, Kelsey was also a member of the Lynbrook Board of Education for 13 years, the president of Lynbrook’s first bank, as well as Nassau County’s first sheriff. According to published reports, Kelsey’s closest and dearest friend was Sylvester Pearsall, who helped him organize the Lynbrook National Bank, where they both served on its board of directors for 45 years. While Kelsey was Lynbrook’s first mayor, Pearsall was Lynbrook’s first postmaster.
According to Kelsey’s obituary, “Mr. Kelsey was a successful businessman in Brooklyn when he came to Lynbrook to live as one of its earliest commuters. He quickly became one of the most prominent residents of the village, and continued to hold this role for 60 years until his death” (on October 31, 1952, at age 90.)
Kelsey’s obituary even mentioned his good friend Pearsall had died just a few weeks before, at age 88. Kelsey’s obituary ended with the statement, “In their passing, Lynbrook has lost two of its finest citizens.”
“I am happy to follow my great-great-grandfather’s commitment and dedication to the Lynbrook Fire Department and the Village of Lynbrook. I know my ancestors would be glad,” said Weaver.
