Sheriff Paul Stier  (1874-1916) Maple 165

Paul Stier was born in Germany in 1874. When he was 17, he signed on as a cabin boy

on a ship and earned his way to America. He got a job as a mason at first in Buffalo and then moved to Ridgewood, Queens. He built his first house in 1902 and bought many parcels of land and by 1912 he had built more than 700 homes in Ridgewood and Glendale. At that time, part of that area was called "Stiervile".

He was very active in the Democratic party and in 1916, was elected Sheriff of Queens County. He took this appointment very serious.

 He was presented with a diamond studded badge, rumored to be the costliest ever given to a Sheriff in Queens County. The gold badge contained a diamond that was FOUR and 1/3 carats, with the coat of arms of the state in enamel and surround with 203 diamonds spelling out his name and title.

 In 1916, his real estate company was having trouble with a tenant in Whitestone near the Old Mary Pickford movie studios. A tenant had been evicted from a house, but refused to pay and would not leave.  After a few attempts by his men to settle with this man, the man named Frank Taff pulled a gun on them and threatened to kill them.

They left and then Paul Stier went out there himself. He could see this man was distraught and not making much sense as he tried to reason with him. Taff pointed his rifle at the Sheriff and without much of a warning, shot him right in the chest. He then climbed on the roof of his house and held over 40 policemen at bay for more than two hours. Finally a policeman realized they could not hold off this man with the revolvers they were armed with, and secured a rifle and shot him dead.  The Sheriff did not survive the shooting.

He was only 42 years old. Buried with him are his two wives, Anna ( died in 1949) whom he divorced; and Bertha, ( died 1967), her sister whom he married after he divorced Anna. His estate at time of death was estimated to be $ 207,551.00.

His daughter Elsie, and her husband Charles Froessel, who was a State Supreme Court Judge are also buried in this plot.